ammi - vegas isnt that bad for me. i stay with a friend who lives locally, so we dont even go to the strip. dont forget if you ever get a chance to come back out, you better let me know! we will tear that place up (and i know lots of good little places that are cheap off the strip. the only time i really care about the buffet is if its seafood night. im a sucker for crab legs.

nancy - when you get your eyebrows waxed, it will hurt, especially if you never have had it dont before. DONT LET THAT DISCOURAGE you. the more you do it, the less it hurts. also keeping it up with tweezers will help it hurt less the next times.

tasha- *big hug* now. gind. a. new. doctor. period. you do not deserve to be treated like that. you are a person and should be treated with respect. doctors look at "the surgery" as a quick fix. i know that you are committed to doing this yourself. do you have any friends or work associates (i know you hate it there) that are in a similar situation weight wise? have you talked to even your skinny friends about if they have nice doctors? ask people. im sorry your doctor was an ***, but you can do something about that. take your business elsewhere. you may only be paying your deductable, but he gets payed by your insurance. you can have some say over whether he gets your money or not. *hugs again* good luck

Tasha, run do not walk to a new doctor. I waited 6 months to get an appointment for a complete physical about 10 years ago. When she finally saw me, she acted like she was afraid to touch me. She actually used the things you look into ears and nose at arms length in a way that she couldn't have seen a thing. She left and didn't return. The nurse came to tell me to get dressed and leave. I told her that I needed to have blood work done, and wanted my thyroid checked. I insisted the doctor come back and talk to me. She was so mad that the doctor started screaming at me when she came back. I screamed right back at her. When I left, people in the waiting room looked horrified. I couldn't go to a doctor for years after that. My thyroid went untreated for about 8 years because of her. Don't make that mistake. This journey shouldn't be about losing weight, but about getting healthy. If there is something seriously wrong with you, God forbid, then the earlier it is caught, the better. I did file a grievience with the local medical association, and my HMO about this doctor. If people don't complain, then the doctor's have no incentive to get better. You can be strong enough to do it for someone else who may not have the strength to complain, or to get another doctor. Our prayers will be with you.

Hey kayley! ME TOOOOOO!!!!!

I had bought 5 prs of jeans that were a size smaller than I was, some almost 2 sizes smaller and couldn't even get them up around my hips they were all on sale for 9.99 reg price was 39.99 and 49.99 so I thought, what the heck!.... well I went upstairs earlier to get a pair of jeans (ones that fit) to drop them off to my Mom to hem, and I thought "What the heck?" so I tried them on, HOLY CRAP! Steve heard me squeeling in delight and dancing around, getting louder each pair as I tried them on. They ALL fit!!!!!! One pair of dress pants are a little too snug to wear to work yet ( Just on the off chance that I bent over and they split wide open ) but WOW. Am I ever going to have a great night!!!

Anyways, I am having my sleep apneoa test tonight. It is done in my own house which is nice! I am so hoping that this is what is wrong with me. I read today that morning headaches are a sign as well and BOY do I ever get those.

Anyhow, I have to run. Hope everyone had a super day!!!!

Brenda

Oh Tashabella, that's just horrible! How I wish I was there to give that Dr a piece of my mind! There's no excuse for how he treated you. You come in with a serious health concern and he won't even consider any blood tests or anything? You should definately go to a different doctor. AND you should definately start off by telling the new doctor exactly what happened at the last one, that you do not believe that it is only your weight as you have been fine until very recently and that you would like to be tested for various illnesses that match the symptoms!

You have the right to adequate health care and you must demand it. Do not let that idiot cause you to put your health at risk.

It may be that you will be a person who should have surgery. But you are absolutely right to want to do it yourself if at all possible. Please, please remember that we are all here for you and rooting for you and you can lean on us whenever needed.

I myself had another bad food day. Not sweets this time, but fattening Mexican greasiness. Ah well, tomorrow is another day!

Tashabella - Big

OMG - your doctor is a total !!!

You need to go find someone else who will listen to your issues. They do exist out there. My recent example was that I went to my doctor and told her I was having some knee pain. Most doctors would have probably dismissed it - because I'm fat, but she wanted to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong and had me tested for Lyme disease (which I didn't have). She is so great and always makes me feel totally comfortable. If you are in the NY area, I would definitely send you her way.

I am as fat as you and have never had any of those symptoms. The only one of those symptoms that is possibly fat related is being tired, but even that kind of tiredness isn't dismissible. Please, PLEASE go find another doctor who will listen to you and help you find out what is wrong. One place you might try looking is a listing of fat friendly doctors:
http://www.cat-and-dragon.com/stef/Fat/ffp.html

Your health and wellbeing is too important to let some get in the way of.

Tasha, I just read your post to my husband. He was also appalled!

FWIW, He had the same urge as your husband. In fact, he told me he was sorry, but he'd have probably spent the night in jail for popping the guy in the face!

Catherine - You've mentioned this before about that horrible doctor. I hope she is no longer practicing medicine....or that she gained 200 lbs - either would be such a nice fate.

NO ONE SHOULD BE TREATED THIS WAY! DO NOT LET THESE PEOPLE WIN!

Brenda ~Kayley You two Rock!, I am so happy for you both,,,,,,,,, woooohooooo...........congratulations girs!!!!!!!!!!!

Tasha... I am SOOO sorry that a-- of a doctor treated you like that... I'm so angry just reading that. I really do hope that you have the strength to try again-- but WITH A DIFFERENT DOCTOR. And I agree with whoever said --- make the first thing you do to tell the new one about your experience with the jerk one. That will help set the tone for what YOU need from the new one and you can gauge the support of the new one. Please know that we are all supporting you here! It really pi--es me off that he just jumped to "have the surgery".... how dare anyone...especially a doctor...look at such a drastic and invasive procedure as the answer when you're already finding the answer that is right for you and you're already making strides. I say --- let's all road trip to Tasha's doctor's office and go in together to "respond"

So..... weigh in today. Weighed myself (twice, just to be sure...) and was down 1.5. Not a great victory, but a victory. Then.. I just HAD to mess it up for myself. After getting dressed and just before I left for work...I did it. I got back on the scale again. 1.5 exactly back up. So..... I tried to tell myself that is was because of my sweater and pants... but... it totally took what good feelings I had before that away. grrrrr..... Now I'm not confident about logging myself as down 1.5.

POO.

So that's my story. I did have a nice moment yesterday---my secretary told me she could tell I've lost some weight. I wish I could. But that was nice to hear anyway.

Hope you all are finding little victories.

Tasha--that doctor is an a**--well you all know the rest of the word I'm sure. You need to get your butt to another doctor and make him do the testing that you need. Then when it comes back that there IS something wrong--(not that I want there to be, of course )--then you can tell that doctor what a disservice he performed for one of his patients. And--I'm also NOT one for lawsuits--but if you go to someone and find out that there is a problem--I'm thinking that you could actually sue this jerk for malpractice. How much sooner would you have been able to have it diagnosed and treated properly if he had done the job he was PAID for and ran the tests?! I am so angry on your behalf right now.

I know that it's only a virtual hug--but the feelings are there for you and I hope you can feel the love and support. I'm going to be praying for you. Take care of yourself.

Vicki

Brenda- Good luck with your sleep study! Let me know when you get your results & if you have to go on a machine or anything. I've learned way too much about apnea in the past few years since I was diagnosed with Central Sleep Apnea (no obstruction/snoring for me- I just forget to breath)- there are some things I wish I would have known early on that would have made things easier.

I'm going to take this opportunity to remind everyone in the group that sleep apnea is not just a disease for overweight, middle aged men- even if that's what most doctors want to believe. So many women go undiagnosed with sleep problems- particularly apnea. You don't have snore to have apnea (either type) & not everyone who snores has apnea; and if your partner snores loudly, it can interfere with your sleep almost as much as if you were the one with it. So rarely is sleep even addressed by doctors, even during yearly physicals. Honestly, do they need to know if I wear my seatbelt more then how I sleep? And too often people don't bring up sleep issues with their doctors- is it because we assume everyone has problems sleeping? That we must be to blame some how? That its just a bad habit we should be able to handle on our own, like drinking too much coffee? Sleep is 1/3 of our lives- and 1/3 of our health. Unfortunately all of us are at higher risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea, due to our weight and if anyone is having any sleep problems, they need to talk to their doctor and if necessary, push for a referral to a sleep specialist. Its not cut & dry that weight causes apnea- skinny people can have, as can babies; plus recent studies have shown that apnea leads to weight gain & if untreated, it can make it harder to lose weight. All the more reason for anyone who suspects they may have it to talk to their doctor.


Tashabella situation made me think about how did things go on so long for me, with my sleep problems and other health issues. At the time, I didn't think I was getting substandard care because of my weight, but I realize now that it clearly affected my doctors views and how they treated me. It took way too long for my sleep disorders to be diagnosed, almost as long as I had to deal with my knee problem. Nothing like having had a torn muscle in my knee from the time I was 16, until I finally had surgery were it was discovered and repaired when I was 29. I complained over the years, starting within a year of the original surgery- and you can guess what I was told: “it hurts because you're overweight & you have had surgery on it” over & over, by countless doctors. Gee, why didn't my other knee hurt- it had the same type of surgery and carried the same weight? By the time I finally found a doctor who took me seriously, my knee was so screwed up that he sent me out of state to the top surgeon in the country for my type of knee problem- and this was before they even knew about the muscle tear, which wasn't found until they operated. Several more surgeries since then, and my knee is the best it can be, given the circumstances- but it all could have been prevented if someone would have taken my complaint seriously and done a simple knee arthroscopic surgery, which they probably would have done if I hadn't been overweight (and I only weighed around 180-200 when this all started). With my sleep problems in particular, I had told my doctors something was wrong with how tired/fatigued/sleepy I was and how I never seemed to be refreshed from sleeping at all; only to be told countless times that if my thyroid test came back okay it must be depression. It got to the point I didn't even want to say anything about the fatigue & sleep problems anymore- I was sick & tired of the BS they gave me so I suffered in silence needlessly. Nothing wrong all those years other then being fat & depressed, right?...lets see- how about having had one kidney failed & going unnoticed for 10 years, having a torn muscle in one knee for 13+ years and two severe sleep disorders that should have been addressed years before, and yes, I probably was depressed at times...who wouldn't be? I did keep going to doctors, I tried to never let the medical prejudice against the overweight prevent me from seeing doctors regularly- I just spent too much time going to the wrong ones & not finding ones that were willing to treat me as a whole person...not the lazy, hypochondriac, obese women I'm sure some of my former doctors thought I was.




Tashabella- Please find yourself a new doctor now- this has to be your top priority. That other one isn't worth another thought- don't let his ignorance & prejudice prevent you from obtaining the health care you need & deserve. If you just ignore your problems and something happens, he isn't going to care- it'll just prove his point in his sick & twisted mind. Don't let him hurt you any more than he already has- you have to do what is best for you and find a doctor that will support you in your effort to improve your health in a manor you choose. Remember- you pay a doctor for his services, that means you can fire him....just like any other employee. A good friend just found a new doctor by picking the one closest to her in the phone book under weight control- she got lucky in that he's a family practice doctor who specializes in nutrition & doesn't believe in surgical weight loss methods until all other avenues have been explored. She likes him so much that her husband switched to him too- and he's pretty much normal weight.




I can't believe I wrote that much :0 – I need to get to bed after my extremely long day. I did terrible with eating today- I didn't eat nearly enough and only ended up with about 1000 calories total. I thought about trying to eat more tonight to get my total a little higher, but I was worried it would make my nausea worse- and I don't need that...so I decided I'm just going to accept that this is were I'm at for the day and just try to do better tomorrow. Hopefully it will balance out over the course of a week- its nice that with FitDay that I can see how I'm doing over time and see if notice any trends or anything.

Tasha: Big hugs girl! That is absolutely awful treatment from a health care professional! PLEASE do not let him turn you off against going to see someone else. I have gotten bold in my old age and after 12 years of not going to a GYN and many years of not going to a General Practitioner I have found wonderful women doctors. I also, just today, made an appointment to see a podiatrist for my painful feet and ankles. But what I have done with all of these doctors, when I make my first appointment, I ask point blank "do the doctors or anyone else in the office have a problem with BIG people?" Today the podiatrist's receptionist said "I really don't think anyone here has a problem. I've never heard anyone say anything and as a matter of fact, I think our waiting room will be very comfortable for you. It has generous chairs and we will be happy to accommodate you." I got so sick of the stares, the whispers and the rudeness of doctors and their office staff that I made up my mind I was going to just be upfront because I would not tolerate that behavior any longer. I know perfectly well that my weight has brought on a good portion of my problems, and I'm willing to have a discussion on the issue. But if you want to be condescending and condemning, you can just go to blazes. I won't put up with it, especially in places where I'm the consumer. Know that all your friends are here standing behind you. And another addage I like to remember is "they put their pants on the same way you do" don't let them intimidate you. Go and seek the support and care that you need and don't stop looking until you find it.

Sorry, that sounded preachy. I didn't mean it to. It just gets my dander up when people, myself included, are treated badly.