Monday, January 24, 2011

Fat but healthy.. Huh???

I went to the doctor today for my yearly physical. I don't mind doctors all that much. Maybe cause I have been to so many. I didn't used to like my general doctor all that much because she seemed like a huge bitch for lack of a better word. I had asked about a few things she gave me quick curt answers and didn't seem to really give a rip about me. But as I have gone to her more I am starting to really like her.  Today I had an appointment at 3 pm and they told me that I had to have a 12 hour fasted blood work done for it. I was like 12 hour fasted blood work? How is that going to work when my appointment is at 3 pm? The receptionist told me that I just had to figure it out. I ended up waking up this morning at 3 am and staggering out of my cozy bed, shoving a power bar, some Greek yogurt and pre-packaged protein shake in my mouth before going back to bed until 7 when I had to wake up. I knew that without that food I would not have been able to function in my morning actives.  By 11 am I was hungry, but I powered through only getting a little bit of a head ache from the lack of substance in my system, and made it to the appointment with an empty stomach.

Of course the doctor’s office was running late. I mean how come every time I see a doctor, well with the exception of the podiatrist last week, the office is super late. Do they just plan super crappy? Or is it just my bad luck that causes it? I sat in the waiting room for nearly 40 minutes with my very empty stomach and now full blown headache, waiting till anyone could come and save me from having my stomach eating itself.  I finally got into the room had all the normal vitals taken and history given, before starting the wait for the actual doctor to arrive.

She came in, we talked some, and she did her exam, bla bla bla. I'll skip the details and jump right to the end of this post. She told me that all in all I am a very healthy overweight person. How can that be you ask? I mean aren't all overweight people unhealthy? Aren't they products of not exercising and overeating? Don't they sit on the couch and eat ice cream and candy all day long? How can you have one and the other? Well I am the prime example of how you do. See I eat great, I work out regularly, I beat most people in hikes and walks, I am super physical, and on my feet all day. And yet here I am almost 300 pounds, being what they consider morbidly obese.  My doctor today told me that she thinks I should get weight loss surgery. She said that the best time to get it is while I am healthy, because then I would be preventing the chance of developing any sort of diseases from being obese in the future. And because I am so healthy I would survive the procedure and the lifestyle changes with ease. Since they are what I am already doing (eating great, working out, etc.) She said that I should really consider it now. Because obviously eating great and working out like I have been doing isn't going to end up being enough for my wacky body to lose some weight.

She said that the problem with referring surgery for me is that she knows my insurance company won’t cover any of it, because I would be in that purely cosmetic group and not the medically necessary group. So because of how healthy I am, I won’t be covered for something that would make me even healthier and prevent me from having to use more insurance down the road?  It is such an oxymoron in terms of our health care system?  I am not even sure if I want to have weight loss surgery. I mean I want to remain healthy in the future for things like kids, family, activities, and all that. And I certainly don't want to develop some of the things that I know overweight people can get like diabetes, heart disease, and such. But I am truly happy with what I look like and honestly don't think of myself as that morbidly obese person because of the fact I am so active and healthy. But now that this doctor has planted this seed into my brain I am stuck processing it over and over again and again because I have to make a decision for my future. The future I want to remain healthy in. 

The one good part about seeing the doctor is that she was able to give me what I had wanted to get from her today. I wanted a prescription for medical massage. Because I am so active and I use my back, neck, and shoulders so much at work and my extracurricular activities, I want to make sure I am not going to develop issues with them down the road. So getting started with some massage will be a good idea I think. She seemed to agree because I got a script for a year’s worth. So maybe the best move to make next is to see about talking to a weight loss surgery specialist and see what they think about the situation. Maybe that will be the next doctor I can add to my list. 

1 comment:

  1. Wow, that's definately a big scary decision. I applaud you for facing it. You've always been so brave. I want you to know that if you end up going through with surgery, I'm totally driving out there to help you out. You're gonna need someone to bring you smoothies and soup and make you laugh until your stitches burst. LOL :D Love you!

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