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Going to the doctor as a "normal"



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I'm about 15 months post-op. Several months ago I switched jobs to a work-from home situation and the GP who I have been seeing for several years and saw me through uterine cancer and ACL reconstruction, as well as the sleeve and subsequent gall bladder removal, is no longer convenient. All my prescriptions are in sync and running low, so I booked in with a GP closer to my home.

What a bizarre experience. I have a lot of anxiety seeing a new doctor. I'm used to feeling judged and looked down on and like any problem I have must be related to my weight. This doctor clearly had no idea I had ever been fat. She had a completely open mind about why I might be there. I has actually booked a longer appointment because I knew my medical history would take a while and I also wanted to discuss some medication changes with her. But I felt so in control and so heard. I don't think the doctor was the most gifted doctor on the planet, though she did seem nice and competent. I think I felt so much more confident and also of course, doctors are human and there is documented weight bias in medical care providers. I know it's not breaking news that I was treated better, but just wanted to put it out there as something that might be interesting to vets.

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When you've had bad experiences in the past, this is reassuring to hear. Thank you.

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I also saw a new doctor at about 10 months out. She looked at my chart and said well it says here you are obese but your BMI is 24! I explained to her about my surgery and congratulated me and clicked obesity off the list of health concerns on my chart. It felt great!

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I'm about 15 months post-op. Several months ago I switched jobs to a work-from home situation and the GP who I have been seeing for several years and saw me through uterine cancer and ACL reconstruction, as well as the sleeve and subsequent gall bladder removal, is no longer convenient. All my prescriptions are in sync and running low, so I booked in with a GP closer to my home.

What a bizarre experience. I have a lot of anxiety seeing a new doctor. I'm used to feeling judged and looked down on and like any problem I have must be related to my weight. This doctor clearly had no idea I had ever been fat. She had a completely open mind about why I might be there. I has actually booked a longer appointment because I knew my medical history would take a while and I also wanted to discuss some medication changes with her. But I felt so in control and so heard. I don't think the doctor was the most gifted doctor on the planet, though she did seem nice and competent. I think I felt so much more confident and also of course, doctors are human and there is documented weight bias in medical care providers. I know it's not breaking news that I was treated better, but just wanted to put it out there as something that might be interesting to vets.

Misty what is happening with you. I loved reading about your journey but have not found any updates in quiet a while. Hope all is great with your health, family and the job

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    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
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    • ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!
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    • Onedayatatime365

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