My PCP and P-Doc work as a team on my disorders, and I always refuse to do the weight check. My P-Doc told me last time I saw him that I was due for a "mandatory weigh-in", for medication reasons. It sounded like a bunch of bull to me, but I am nervous because I see my P-doc in 3and 1/2 hours. Is there really such a thing? Can your P-doc or your PCP force you to be weighed.

I need a fast answer, please!

-Fleeing

[Inedible]

If you have a place with free legal services in your area you can ask them if there is such a law. We don't know where you are and it can vary from place to place so we can't even try to Google it for you.

Then again, if you think your P-Doc would lie to you, it sounds like you need a new one.

Or maybe you could just step on the scale? Do you know for a fact that your weight is going to be a problem?

[QUOTE=Inedible;2796864
Then again, if you think your P-Doc would lie to you, it sounds like you need a new one.

Or maybe you could just step on the scale? Do you know for a fact that your weight is going to be a problem?[/QUOTE]


I wouldn't call him a liar, as much as I would call our 'relationship' difficult, as I am not the easiest patient he has, however, yeah...I kinda think HE would see a problem, and if they can't make me, I am not going to do it. If there really is some kind of insurance requirement or something, then I will go ahead, if I have to.

[Inedible]

Maybe you could call your insurance company to ask them?

Maybe you could call your insurance company to ask them?

Good idea! Thank you, Inedible.

[eskielover]

Medication much of the time is prescribed based on weight.....it can determine the amount of doseage they are able to go up to on certain medications.......just like vets weigh our pets to determine the appropriate dose of medication they give.

Originally Posted by eskielover

Medication much of the time is prescribed based on weight.....it can determine the amount of doseage they are able to go up to on certain medications.......just like vets weigh our pets to determine the appropriate dose of medication they give.

Hi Eskielover,

I went, and weighed, but am thinking about your comment. Would it still have to be mandatory, or couldn't a doctor just ask the patient? Have you ever been 'required' to weigh?

-Fleeing

[eskielover]

Yes, they could just ask....but the problem is if they know the person refuses to be weighed & they just "ask" & the person says no.....they either they have to tell them that they don't have a choice at that point or they don't get the information that they really need to treat the person.

Just easier for the Dr to say that the weighing is mandatory when they absolutely need the information from a person they know doesn't usually willingly cooperate with being weighed.

Have you ever been 'required' to weigh?

Yes......when I first went into my Dr's office when the nurse does all the weighing & I had just been in the previous week, I choose NOT TO get weighed....but when the Dr came in.......I had been loosing so much weight before that that he didn't give me a choice & yes, he required me to get weighed....not for meds because he wasn't prescribing me any.....but because he was trying to monitor my health side of my weight loss & needed to know how much I was loosing. The blood tests became mandatory also.

My pain specialist always weighs me.....I'm on a very high dose of meds with him.....luckily when I lost so much it didn't have a bad effect on the high dose I was on.....but it definitely could have been a very serious problem.

[buttrfli42481]

Are you hesistant to get weighed because you don't want to know where you are on the scale? If so, have them weigh you backwards or "blind". I do this and they normally have no problem. I have had a few occassions where they forget and tell me how much I weigh and then I freak out, but those were rare. My PCP's nurse is so used to it that I just step on the scale backwards and then she puts it at zero when she is done. They get the information they need, and I don't. It is a win win situation for me. Ana of course doesn't like it, but she just needs to shut up and be quiet.

Originally Posted by buttrfli42481

Are you hesistant to get weighed because you don't want to know where you are on the scale? If so, have them weigh you backwards or "blind". I do this and they normally have no problem. I have had a few occassions where they forget and tell me how much I weigh and then I freak out, but those were rare. My PCP's nurse is so used to it that I just step on the scale backwards and then she puts it at zero when she is done. They get the information they need, and I don't. It is a win win situation for me. Ana of course doesn't like it, but she just needs to shut up and be quiet.

butterfli,

I do weigh "blind', but I just don't like having others know my business. I am extremely private, believe it, to not. Plus, I have recently had my scales removed from me home and locked into one of my sheds my an OVERPROTECTIVE friend (sorry, that was for their benefit, should they read this post) and I am feeling out of control without them. As you know...when Ana ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

Thank you for your suggestion, however...and your care.

-Fleeing Bellocq

[Callista]

Sorry to butt in here--I don't have an ED; I'm overweight because I have trouble taking care of myself because of my autism, and because they over-medicated me for a while. But I have had a bit of the same trouble with my doctors, with me not wanting them to weigh me and them insisting on it.

It is not a matter of law or insurance; it's probably just that the doctor feels like he is not doing his job if he doesn't know how much you weigh. He does need to know to prescribe medication doses, and he's probably using your weight as a benchmark for recovery.

It's ironic that people who are overweight have the exact same issue: The doctor wants to weigh you, wants to use it as an indicator of how you're doing. They stereotype you by your weight. You could be stabilizing nicely, emotionally, but if you've lost a pound they think you can't possibly be recovering. Or, in my case, I could be doing rather well in taking care of myself--my apartment is clean, my grades are going up--but when my doctor sees I've gained weight, he thinks I must not care about my health.

Lately I've managed to get a decent doctor who really does understand that weight is not the be-all and end-all of health. In the case of someone who is underweight, the problem is to get enough nutrition to keep your body running, to keep your health up; if you gain weight but don't get the nutrients you need, things aren't going to go as well as they should. An overweight person who is eating real food, getting physical activity, is often doing rather well even compared to normal-weight couch potatoes. My doctor now is keeping track of things like blood pressure, metabolism, blood sugar, kidney function, and similar, and says that I am in good health for anyone of any size. She's the first to ever do that. Everyone else just weighed me and assumed I was unhealthy. Yeah, I'll slowly go back to a more average weight as time goes on, because I am taking care of myself better now than I used to (thank goodness for aides)... but focusing on health rather than weight really helps to keep the guilt out of it.

I don't know if this is possible for someone who is recovering from an eating disorder, but if you could find a way to get your doctor to focus on your health rather than your weight, things might go easier for you. Find some other biomarkers that say "My body is running efficiently"--I don't know, maybe your heart rate and blood pressure, your blood sugar, how well your circulation is flowing, whether you have nutritional deficiencies? Things like that. Weight is connected very deeply to your emotions--try to get your doctor to focus on your health instead of your weight. Maybe after a while, you'll feel more secure about being weighed, especially if you see that you are getting stronger.

Once again, this is from my perspective, so I could be completely off base, and maybe weighing is an integral part of ED recovery. Surely you'll eventually need to learn not to fear the number on the scale. But if you can try to focus on health instead of weight, maybe you can trick yourself out of those reflexive negative associations with eating and weight gain. Maybe you can tell yourself, "See, I'm getting stronger; my body is working better now than it used to."

Anyway, good luck, hope you figure this out.

[Victoria'smom]

My pdoc tried the "need my weight" thing because insurance. I told him no, so he took my blood pressure instead. I really don't want him to have a "base weight" as big as I am right now.