I may have stumbled upon a rare thing: a doctor who listens.
My last one was just sort of there and judgmental as all get-out. Granted, I was heavy enough that it was affecting my joints moreso than now, but that was no reason to dismiss my concerns out of hand as if it was all due to my weight. As it turns out, thyroid trouble along with endometriosis and fibroids all have this little way of interfering with life (those and other things are under control now). She's no longer in practice, thank heavens. Which leads me to:
A Miracle
I just switched primary care doctors, so I had the whole annual physical, health questionnaire, and overall once-over. She mentioned that my labs and everything looked so I was doing well. Not one peep about me being overweight. Not one blip about it. No prod to lose. Instead she focused on my mental health and how I was on top of that as well. I mentioned that even when I was 50 pounds lighter, my bloodwork and blood pressure were nice. I got the thumbs up for getting healthier, but she really was focusing more on me as a whole instead of me as a statistic.
And she listened. For twenty minutes we were in the room and chatted about everything that needed to be covered. Vaccines: got 'em. She was wowed that my RA was under control. And I walked in with extensive labs that had just been done, so she got to have a full view of me as an organism as well as a human being with a brain. She mentioned that she was there if I needed anything, but that I was doing well and to keep it up.
Those of us who are of a certain shape know that we are doing the best we can. Harping on it just doesn't do any good. In fact, when someone looks at me and says I should lose weight, it makes me have the knee-jerk reaction of reaching for the first cookie I see. Maybe two. Highly unproductive for either party.
But she didn't. She listened. And I hope that she continues to be in practice for a long time!
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