Rant about GP's and the NHS!

[Kingy19]

Yes starlight, I was told by fpc and the gp that the mini pill is less effective on women over 12 stone and I should take two until im at least near that weight. One nurse I went to after poo'd the idea and refused to prescribe me double though, but if you look online there's loads of info on it and I think there's even official literature from the drug manufacturer stating it too x

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[Starlight]

That's a real worry. Ive checked my prescription and it's definitely for one a day.

Think I better phone or see my doctor. I'm taking it as a contraceptive, I've got a 'friend with benefits' and jeez the last thing we'd want is a mishap

 

[RebekahR]

Deffo get it checked, may be fine with your particular minipill. (Didn't mean to cause a worry! Sorry hun)

 

[Starlight]

No I'm glad you said. I'd rather check than take any risks x

 

[Chellywelly]

Do NOT take more than one a day! that is stupid! its classed as an over dose! do NOT listen to male doctors when talking about womens issues im not been sexist its from vast experience! never in all my life have i heard such bollocks! larger ladies! wtf! your a size 10 Rebekah! tell him to **** off! haha im 13st 8lb and ive been bigger and never in my life have i been told to take two! the hormone in the pill goes to your brain through your blood to signal certain changes that protect you against pregnancy! seriously what on earth! i had one male GP diagnose me with appendicitis when i told him it felt like a cyst, he told me off because a cyst inst an emergency (but ofc if i was a block with a lump on his bollock it would be different!) anyway it was a cyst! obviously, female doctor rolled her eyes and said male doctors constantly make mistakes when it comes to womens stuff because they half shut off out of embarrassment or sense of ignorance! please dont take two it can effect all sorts and you can develop problems with your ovaries and can go into early menopause, no im not a doctor but im medically sound its one thing after another with these crack pots!

 

[Chellywelly]

Yes he told me for ... As he put it, larger ladies should take two a day. Assume there is a BMI guideline for them to stick to.

Bear in mind I take anti-epilepsy so have to take two regardless. Not on it anymore but two a day suited me lovely (hoping to go back on it!!)

awh hun i didnt know you had epilepsy! ofc if you have other medication thats why x

 

[Chellywelly]

My brother is apparantly obese.... he looks it doesnt he

Far far too much emphasis is put on BMI - its ridiculous

So true starlight! he looks very healthy

 

[Starlight]

My GP is female maybe that explains why she said one

 

[Chellywelly]

I don't think it's 'GPs' who are on that bandwagon but some of them. I've never heard of patients being encouraged to go an operative route unless it's absolutely last resort. Loads of complications, expensive & as you say - doesn't address the underlying cause.



Hmm, I think that's probably the key part... yes, it's not perfect - but any other suggestions for ways of classifying and giving weight advice to people..? Waist circumference is already also used in some risk stratifications like cardiovascular risk.

I think people do seem to be getting bigger & our perspectives are skewed - people at work (& we're medical!) were surprised when I told them what my BMI had been when I started this - saying I didn't look that big etc. I suppose I dress well etc. but I was carrying way too much extra fat - it wasn't healthy.

On the contraceptive pill note - as Rebekah R says, there may be other options like the mini pill.

Yes besides BMI how about make annual health check ups and health tests? such as measurements, how you cope with running/walking on a treadmill, do you excercise? do you have alot of lean body mass? it's time to move on from BMI i think as a nation, im most cases it is accurate but the frustration for people who are fit and healthy HAVE to be put down as obese or overweight on there medical record when in accordance to BMI, this can effect many things such as a breast reduction surgery on the NHS like Rebekah is wanting done but at a size 10 she was "obese" because she lifts, even tho it was screaming the doctor in the face she was obviously a healthy size and weight for her own personal build, he still said loose weight! this is the problem! my uncle was a body builder and was in running for Britain's body building champion or w.e but he was classed as obese on his medical record, do you think thats fair that someone who is evidently not fat be put in a category of people who are, because of a stupid mathematical equation of weight and height? Most olympians are classed as obese, that is just plain idiocy! and im already on the mini pill it was just a shock when at a size 14/16 i was too "heavy" to go on Mycrocogen 30, it was the pill i used before, goodness me its like they think im going to develop DVT and keel over with my shear obesity! ¬.¬

 

[Chellywelly]

My GP is female maybe that explains why she said one

Hehe so true at the end of the day i have no clues about mens stuff! so i dont expect them to know about mine haha

 

[shabz]

Hi guys i've been reading through your posts and i agree with each and everyone of you. I am 5ft0.5inch si i class myself as 5ft, and i weigh 10st8lbs which doesn't sound like alot but for someone as short as me i am verging on obese! And yes even if i go down to 6st i will be classed as normal, the thing that amazes me is that the lowest weight i have ever been is 7st 10lb and that was from starving myself, and suffering from bulimia. I have to fight with depression and i have never ever been comfortable with my weight because of people's pre conception of what overweight/obese actually is! I think this whole country should scrap the idea of bmi and introduce something a bit more realistic!! I seriously give up with gp's and the nhs!!! most of the times i cant be bothered to go to see my go because i cant be asked to hear whatever comes out of her mouth! maybe there are some good ones out there but i think most of them just cant wait to get the patient out of their room and just prescribe whatever they can think of to get rid of us! forget about advice or support from them! That's why alot of people including myself visit forums like this one for a bit of support and to meet people going through something similar! All i can say is chin up! and hoping everyone can be happy and comfortable whatever their size as long as their health isnt affected by it

 

[BordersGirl]

Well I think my BMI weight is pretty much spot on. I have 11lbs to go to get to BMI 25 and many people have said that I'm fine now and don't need to lose anymore. That's when I'm dressed though and when I'm not I can see how much excess flab I have on my stomach and thighs especially. That's not going to disappear in 11lbs but it will be better and I'm stopping there mainly because I can't envisage being lighter than that. When I was in my early 20s I was under 9 stone and was no doubt towards the bottom end of the healthy BMI range and to be honest many more people were lighter back then (20 years ago). We all just seem to be fatter these days and so normal looks bigger than it ever did before. It hit home somewhat when someone I know posted a photo of someone from back then along with other people I was friendly with. Now this person back then was considered to be pretty fat. When I looked at the photo 20 odd years on she would only be looked at as a bit overweight today and everyone else in the photo would be considered skinny. Back then that was normal. The person in the photo herself commented that she thought that she had been fat in those days but what she would give now to be as 'fat' as that as she's now much heavier. So BMI is an old fashioned measurement and is wrong for some people, but for many it's a pretty good guide in my view.

And don't focus on what the bottom BMI weight is, there is quite a wide range and anywhere between the 2 may be right for you as an individual.

 

[weasey]

I'm not an appologist for BMI - I think there are big issues with it. It isn't appropriate for people with a high lean body mass for example. So if you are in that group don't worry about it - tell your doctor straight out that you have a high lean body mass and bmi is an inappropriate measure. Why does it matter whether a measure which isn't suitable says that you're overweight or obese? Not sure I get why this upsets you guys. There are other measures for weight related issues but they often take longer to work out. I believe the best one is body fat percentage.

However, some of the figures quoted above and rather misleading so I just want to correct them so that people reading this who have less knowledge of BMI have the facts.

At 5'11" the top healthy weight according to BMI is 12 stone 11. At that weight you would be considered to be healthy and you would not have to be 10 stone.

At 5'1" you would be underweight at 6 stone 12 lbs (bmi 18.14). You would be considered to be healthy at a top weight of 9 stone 6 lbs.

At 5' 0.5" you would be severely underweight at 6 stone (bmi 16.13) and would be considered to be healthy at 9 stone 4 lbs.

I personally do not have a high level of lean body tissue and have found my bmi to be a really good guide. As I re-feed I have a fitness plan to follow which will cause me to increase my lean body tissue. As I do that I won't care about my weight/bmi but instead I will be looking at my size/body fat percentage. That's what's important to me. Choose the measure which works for you.

 

[Bananas]

If your male GP 'doesn't know anything about women's problems'I'd be making a serious complaint there...

 

[omgawsh]

I'm not an appologist for BMI - I think there are big issues with it. It isn't appropriate for people with a high lean body mass for example. So if you are in that group don't worry about it - tell your doctor straight out that you have a high lean body mass and bmi is an inappropriate measure. Why does it matter whether a measure which isn't suitable says that you're overweight or obese? Not sure I get why this upsets you guys. There are other measures for weight related issues but they often take longer to work out. I believe the best one is body fat percentage.

However, some of the figures quoted above and rather misleading so I just want to correct them so that people reading this who have less knowledge of BMI have the facts.

At 5'11" the top healthy weight according to BMI is 12 stone 11. At that weight you would be considered to be healthy and you would not have to be 10 stone.

At 5'1" you would be underweight at 6 stone 12 lbs (bmi 18.14). You would be considered to be healthy at a top weight of 9 stone 6 lbs.

At 5' 0.5" you would be severely underweight at 6 stone (bmi 16.13) and would be considered to be healthy at 9 stone 4 lbs.

I personally do not have a high level of lean body tissue and have found my bmi to be a really good guide. As I re-feed I have a fitness plan to follow which will cause me to increase my lean body tissue. As I do that I won't care about my weight/bmi but instead I will be looking at my size/body fat percentage. That's what's important to me. Choose the measure which works for you.

If that'll be classed as underweight for me, Boots would have to sort their machines out as I got weighed again today and it says 6st12lbs for normal BMI.

 

[Starlight]

Im not in the least interested in my BMI now or later. As I said, my brother is classed as obese when hes most definitely not, is very fit and active and passes medicals checks with flying colours. As far as my weight goes, I dont need a BMI to tell me Im very overweight, and Im not going to use it as a guide when I get closer to goal. Im going to diet til Im happy and sod the BMI numbers

 

[caketalks]

Im going to diet til Im happy and sod the BMI numbers

Great attitude, wish i wasnt as driven by the numbers as i am

 

[BordersGirl]

I'm only driven by the numbers because for me I believe they are right. If I didn't think it was right then I wouldn't worry about the numbers. I'm far more interested in clothes size really but a size 12 - 14 (with J cup boobs I won't be fitting into smaller) which is where I want to be I'll be under BMI 25 anyway.

 

[Saddlebag]

I've never had a problem with my GP- to be honest I'd always follow my doctor's advice over someone's advice on a forum, whether they're male or female.
Drs follow rules, just like everybody. I don't like BMI scales either as I don't like the fact it doesn't take into account body shape. However, it's not really tooooo far out... In the past when I've had medicals or whatever, even for medication/ operations etc., the doctors have done my BMI but also taken into account what I look like and used that primarily.

 

[weasey]

If that'll be classed as underweight for me, Boots would have to sort their machines out as I got weighed again today and it says 6st12lbs for normal BMI.

Yep - let's have a rant about Boots scales - I could enjoy that!