Before I became really ill I was extremely fit and slim and very hard working. I always found extra tasks to do at work, very highly motivated and enthusiastic. College courses etc. Always going out, the life and soul.
However, now I'm just fat and will pretty much only do something if I have to. If I do anything extra I have to have a duvet day to get over it. Apparently this is because I've turned 40 and eat to much and don't exercise.
So my theory. I have been both and unfortunately I have to admit.......people (I'm mainly talking doctors) treat fat people differently. Never was I treated so badly when I was slim. People look at you differently talk to you differently. It's like you shouldn't have any opinions on anything. And any illness, pain, symptoms is because I'm fat.
I put this to my doctor the other day and predictably he rolled his eyes and carried on staring at his computer muttering about exercise and lifestyle (think he must be stalking me to know so much.
So wadda you think of my theory?
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mitchell66
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That's what I love about this site, defo not on our own!
Hello Mitchell, I can add two other groups to your theory about those suffering from thyroid disease - teenagers (it's those awkward teenage years!!!), and if you are over 60 (dispensable now). However, if you smoke, drink, take drugs or want underage sex you will be given all the help in the world. Where's the fairness?
The truth is that awareness by patients of the extent of thyroid disease, particularly in the UK, is showing up the inadequacies of our health system and making doctors feel very uncomfortable. The only way they can deal with that is to blame you and me. Jane x x
There is no room for guilt as we all know here that it can be part of the thyroid condition, but factually there is no doubt that one generally tends to feel fitter with less weight if one has managed to get their thyroid condition under control. Chicken and egg situation.
Many on this website have managed to lose weight as well as attempting to sort out medication in their search for homeostasis. That is the bonus of this site, we are able to discuss and approach our problems from many different angles with a fantastic amount of feedback from those struggling with different issues.
It is hard when one used to be slim and active then find we have become fatter and lazier, there may be exceptions but often, with positive motivation, we can start to tackle our weight. Everything starts with a thought and so we need to get our thoughts into positive gear. I can hear the sighs when one is feeling low but we must never give up and taking a little step, even a tiny weeny one, each day helps enormously.
There is much information here on nutrition and people on paleo/insulin resistant diets etc. if this spikes interest, people who have managed to lose weight even when they are struggling, so please reach out and ask for help, it may instigate the motivation you need to get back to somewhere closer to where you used to be.
Please do not misunderstand, I am well aware if medication is faulty this creates serious problems but I do believe for many of us all is not lost and we can find ways to tackle our weight.
That's an interesting point and one I tend to agree with! However, I think it can work the other way too. For instance, I'm slim (under 8 stone) despite being Hypo. And it's not because I'm fit and healthy I can assure you. I'm pretty sure it's a result of malabsorption of nutrients, low cortisol etc...
And whenever I've tried to get help from the GPs at my surgery regarding my thyroid issue and feeling dreadful, they have been completely unhelpful. I have been told "Oh, but you look well" and "You're not overweight though" Once I mentioned a low blood pressure reading of 86/42 and the comment was "Oh that's fine, nothing to worry about" and on it goes...
The consensus appears to be; Well, she's not overweight. She can't be suffering THAT much from her underactive thyroid. What's she got to complain about...
What angers and frustrates me the most is that despite me being underweight the signs of my illness are clear to see. My bloated stomach and swollen ankles. My facial puffiness. Yellow complexion. Brittle hair etc. But it's like they can't see past the fact that my slimness does not equate to healthiness.
That said, I sympathise greatly with those struggling with excess weight due to thyroid issues. I abhor the way patients are patronised by their doctors and made to feel they are using their illness as an excuse. It is quite appalling.
Yes agree with that Joan. The doc said she is very jealous of my hairless smooth legs and says I have the blood pressure of a top athlete!! Oh and remarked she had some shoes that would match my bag!
I could go to my GP with my arm hanging off, and it is my fat that has caused it.
I have seen many consultants over the years, and the one that did the ECG was priceless. He looked at the reading, then at me, then the front of the file, asked my name and date of birth, then checked the details on the reading, then stated..... errrmm well, errr you have a very healthy heart. He couldnt get over the fact that someone that is classed as morbidly obese can have a healthy heart!!! lol
I truly believe that some doctors (usualy slim ones) try to blame a lot of our problems on being overweight...I was advised to join an excersize class ,a walking group, and cut down drastically on my food portions.....He has no idea how much I eat, or exersize but I am 75 years old so he had to speak very slow & loud....what a lucky man he didn't get his jaw broken.
Thank goodness my regular doc has now returned, or I may have risked a charge of GBH if I saw old skinny legs again.
Gawd this makes me mad! If you have a broken thyroid gland your metabolism is b******d, you are likely to put on weight and this is a vicious cycle any decent doctor will get to the bottom of your metabolic illness and help you fix it!
Please research the other deficiencies that go along with thyroid disease, including B12 and get vit D checked
I post about B12 on all of the threads were weight and depression come up because it is a VITAL vitamin and patients are being mistreated if their GP doesn't understand how to get to the bottom of it (not just a simple blood test)
I was always a size 8-10 and weighed 8 stone and used to worry a lot whenever I went up to a size 12. I have always had a very small appetite. Now I'm a size 22 and weigh 12 1/2 stone and its still piling on. Now I would give anything to be a size 12 again ! I am very conscious of my size now as I look massive (especially my face). I have a photo taken of me a few months ago and my face and body look like someone has blown me up to the max. I keep reminding myself its mucin I'm carrying not fat and that will go once my treatment has been optimised but it still gets me down a lot as I can only wear tent like dresses now. I even had two male senior partner GPs tell me in the past the only reason women put on weight is because they eat too much so needless to say I never went back to them again.
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and says I have the blood pressure of a top athlete!! Oh and remarked she had some shoes that would match my bag!
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