Whenever anyone asks me what is the top benefit of having bariatric surgery, I don’t have to think hard..
It’s my health being taken seriously.
What do I mean?
If you’ve ever been overweight, then you know where I’m coming from. As an
obese child, whenever I was sick, it was always blamed on weight. Sprained ankle,
asthma, eczema, lethargy, the solution was still weight loss. At seven, I had
my tonsils, adenoids, and uvula removed, the added benefit the doctor said: “the
soft food diet should help her drop those pounds.” It didn’t. Eventually, I avoided the doctor at all costs,
trying to feign well when I was suffering.
Nowadays, when I’m at a healthcare provider(HP), our conversations go like this:
HP: *reading chart* you had gastric bypass?
Me: yes, in 2002.
HP: that’s young! How much did you regain?
Me: I’ve kept off x lbs. My highest was X.
HP: Wow, that’s great. Let’s get some tests and see what’s wrong!
Still not entirely sure of the why? Is it because surgery is the most drastic action? Is it the side effects of rewiring your insides that have been shown to prevent certain diseases? Personally, I’d like to think it’s because I am in good health. But I know better.
Friends and family, some smaller than me, relay stories of long battles to diagnose PCOS, vitamin deficiencies, mental health issues, even cancers. The reason? Doctors told them weight loss is a panacea. Insurance wouldn’t cover blood tests or CPaps until X pounds were lost or enrollment in nutrition classes to show they could demonstrate “self-control.” Instead of compassionate care, they get shamed, pamphlets, and diet pill prescriptions.
Honestly, my weight rarely comes up as a cause. Even when I think it’s my weight. After my mother passed away, my blood pressure was rising, so was my weight. My doctor was rightly concerned. I tried to pass it off on weight gain. “Not so fast,” she points at my chart on the computer screen. “You were this weight 4 years ago and your blood pressure was great. That’s not it.” Must admit, that interaction made me like my doctor even more.
I’m not entirely exempt. First visits are
full of nurse’s assumptions that I must have diabetes and “awful” eating habits,
one bite away from a heart attack. For a
while, I had a doctor that required me to get my blood sugar tested. As someone
with reactive hypoglycemic who has never been even pre-diabetic, it seemed a
waste of time. Finally, I asked the
nurse, “Why do we do this every time?”.
“It’s your demographic: African American, female, obese.”
In the categories of people who get shoddy health care, overweight Black women, are really high on the list. Healthcare providers don’t listen to our concerns, brush them off, or assume our non-compliance. Personally, I think this for a lot of discriminatory reasons including race, gender/gender identity, and class. Didn’t realize how much class was a factor till they learn I’m an engineer. Canceling appointments are now considered “she’s busy” not “she doesn’t care about her health”, eating fast food infrequently no longer gets the response “Well you ought not to eat it at all”. No, now it’s “I know your job must be very demanding.” I often get passes for being an engineer and I still feel conflicted about that.
Being treated as a human being at the doctor, what a difference it’s made. I’m still obese but I no longer experience the level of fat-shaming in healthcare. Which goes to show you it’s not all about a number on the scale. Allot of is about societal “norms” and control.
Oof
So many feelings come up from this.
I’m overweight. I have been all my life. According to every medical professional I’ve ever had, everything is the cause of my weight. My sore throat was because I was overweight. Conjunctivitis was because of my weight.
I have PCOS, I’ve been showing symptoms since puberty. I got diagnosed by a PA (not even a whole ass doctor) at 26. And only because his wife had the same thing, so he had a suspicion of it.
I still didn’t fully comprehend what that meant until YEARS later. I was told of my diagnosis over the phone and given a prescription for Metformin. I didn’t even know that it was a chronic illness. I thought you just finish out the bottle like you do with antibiotics.
It took a while before learning that Metformin isn’t even made for PCOS. PCOS can just make you insulin resistant and therefore prone to Type 2 diabetes.
I was pre-diabetic for 11 years before someone decided to tell me more than just “your lab results have come back and are normal.”
I was 17 years old when my first blood test showed I was pre-diabetic. I was 28 when someone finally bothered to tell me.
Thankfully at 29, I am in the healthy range.
Last month I had my first ever appointment with an endocrinologist. Apparently you should start seeing one as soon as you’re diagnosed. Another thing I was never told, and just didn’t know about. And it’s not like I could go to one without a referral from my PCM anyway (thanks Tricare!).
They want me to start on another medication. It works a lot better in preventing Type 2 Diabetes.
My insurance won’t cover it unless I have the official diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes.
What.
Ugh, I’m frustrated for you! It’s difficult because somethings you can make yourself believe but finally, you get to a point where it’s ridiculous. There’s also big difference in how women are blamed for their weight versus men in healthcare.
That’s the second story I’ve heard of somebody taking Metaformin and later finding out it wasn’t what they actually needed.
They want you to be diagnosed before you can have a med to prevent being diagnosed? Sounds like health insurance logic. oy.
Thanks for sharing and I hope you get the full care you needed soon!