I told her she was wrong, I knew it wasn’t true. She just shook her head, said I was wrong, that I was lying to her and to myself and that I had to be stuffing my face all the time, that it was the ONLY explanation. So I left, after paying the bill we had no insurance to cover back then, and cried all the way down the elevator and then all the way home.

Fortunately I did eventually find the answers I needed: it was discovered that I have Cushing’s disease (which I already knew actually) and I was able to find an online list of fat-friendly health care providers in my area. I have to travel into Portland whenever I want to see my nurse practitioner (who rocks!), but it’s totally worth it to be treated like a regular ol’ human patient again!

I hope everyone here searches for a similar list for whatever area they live in; your life, health and dignity are worth it, YOU are worth it!!

I visit my regular doctor once a year. I had a calf on her a few years back when she asked what I was going to do about my weight. I think she might have made a note on my chart because she doesn’t ask anymore. I also see a neurologist once a year.

I guess I’m so regular because I have a health background and an overactive imagination.

As for seeing a Dermatologist, do you need a referral? Couldn’t you just look one up in the phone book?

One of the commenters mentioned the anxiety of seeing a new doctor. I feel the same way. Hate it. Especially when they have an intern. Nerve racking.

The take away lesson from my experience is you DO need to go to the doctor when something seems physically wrong.

I’ve been screamed at, cursed and literally mis-treated (wrong treatment) by doctors. My anxiety levels go off the scale when I have to go to a new doctor. I usually don’t argue (that kind of person is NOT going to give my opinion any credence), other than to say I will never be back. Then I do persist until I find a doctor who is a decent person and will treat me respectfully.

Lord willing and the creek don’t rise – I’ll live to my late 80s and dance on all their graves. Bwahaha!

I’ve had to get over it, recently, because I’m pregnant. I’m now at the point where I’m going in once a week. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a wonderful OB who has never taken any issue at all with my weight, and has been assuming that all will run normally with the pregnancy. But, she’s going to be doing delivery duty at the hospital for one of my appointments coming up, and I have to admit that I’m terrified, because it means having to see a new OB that week. I’m hoping the fact that I’ve gained very little weight this pregnancy will mean that he won’t automatically assume I have unhealthy habits, but even that is just sad. I would LOVE to just skip that appointment, but I’ll be 39 weeks and so it’s not really an option. I’m just hoping that the OB will have the good sense not to harangue a woman a week away from her due date about her size.

I don’t have anything coherent to say about the rest of it because it is so predictably depressing.

I don’t really have any comments on the study except this: No fucking kidding.

I know you didn’t ask for advice on your skin condition, but I’m going to offer some anyway, so feel free to ignore it! I’ve also suffered from chronic dry skin around my mouth for years, and I feel your pain. Things that have worked for me: changing toothpaste (it is possible to be allergic to your toothpaste and for it to only show up around your mouth or on your chin), moisturising my lips before bed-time with a natural beeswax lip balm (mineral oils make it worse), and avoiding mouth breathing by using antihistamine nasal spray (if you have allergies, you may be mouth breathing at night).

(Long time reader, first time commenter!)

But yes, I do it too. They never get my b/p reading right (I could have high blood pressure, or not, but who knows, because the auto machines can’t get a reading and the nurses who do the readings never support my arm, chat to me while doing the reading, all no-nos). I am worried every. single. time. I see a health practitioner because I’m scared that the weight issue will come up.

I am such a weak hearted fool, I can’t even confront my mom to go drive me to the clinic for a checkup; and even then, the doctor doesn’t really diagnose me at all so it still doesn’t help. I do worry I am going to die and end up inflating the statistics that ‘fatness kills’. I rather avoid arguing with my mom about weight and health, because I’d end up crying like a baby and she’d say ‘you’re raising your voice because you don’t believe that fatness isn’t harmful, you’re just trying to convince yourself by raising your voice… a stupid idea my mom got from her idiot mom.