Weighty [Adventure]

 [Adventure 42]

I am under the care of many medical professionals. I see a primary doctor (also does my gyn care), nurse practitioner at my primary practice, gastorenterologist, endocrinologist, sleep doctor, hepatologist, physical therapist, osteopathic manipulative treatment doctor, optometrist, interventional radiologist, and rheumatologist. I think that's it, but might be forgetting someone. 

And I'm obese. 

And this past year has been horrible for me in terms of my ability to walk/move my body. I had plantar fasciitis in both feet for nine months. I have dislocated my hips multiple times. My left knee was out of commission for a month. In addition, my left shoulder has been dislocating often, even in my sleep, making the use of crutches and propelling myself in a wheelchair nearly impossible. And my sleep is horrible according to my sleep study and personal experience - I wake over three hundred times a night. And we're in a quarantine, so I'm not out and about on a daily basis as usual.

Needless to say I've gained weight over the past year. 

Some of my doctors are understanding. I'm on multiple meds that have the side effect of weight gain. I've had horrendous mobility issues and an increase in debilitating migraines, which can cause me to be bedridden for days. I don't get much actual sleep - definitely not any restorative sleep. Add all those up and weight loss isn't easy.

At a recent doctor visit I was told that I need to lose weight (obviously) and that I should consider weight loss surgery. When I expressed my unwillingness to entertain such an idea during a global pandemic, the doctor was not at all receptive to my concerns. My concerns about the feasibility of bariatric surgery as a person with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome were dismissed, as I have yet to find a doctor who will give me an official diagnosis, even though my daughter's EDS diagnosis by a geneticist is partially based on me meeting the criteria. Also dismissed was my assertion that should I be able to figure out the sleep part of the problem as well as the mobility part of the problem, I would be able to lose weight on my own. 

I understand how beneficial weight loss would be for my overall health and my specific health issues. I'm not diabetic. My liver enzymes are normal. I eat a healthy diet. I want to go hiking a couple times a week, use my treadmill daily, do rails to trails in my wheelchair with my kids twice a week, and get a good night's sleep every night. So instead of causing additional trauma to my health through surgery, why don't we get myself to a point where I can lose weight on my own and maintain a healthy weight? Why not advocate for me to get the medical testing I need, the medications I need, and the medical support I need in order to address my current urgent health issues? 

Oh - I remember the doctor I forgot - I have an upcoming appointment with a neurologist to hopefully figure out my migraines, neck pain, and left side weakness. 

So, doctors  - fat people know they're fat. Most people with chronic illnesses who are obese know that their weight has a negative effect on their health but aren't getting the support they need from medical professionals to properly address the chronic illness part of the picture. Most of us are on meds that promote weight gain. We're not lazy. We're sick. We want you to help us fix what is causing us to gain weight so we don't gain weight anymore - illness, pain, mobility issues, exhaustion, stress ... especially the stress of medical professionals who don't take fat people seriously.