Years ago I asked my doctor how much weight I needed to lose before I could get off my blood pressure medicine. And he said, based on his education, that you would have to lose up to 20 percent of your weight for it to make a difference. Although, if I lost that much he'd consider a trial of letting me get off the lisinopril.
And keep in mind that I brought up the topic of my weight, not him.
That said, since then I got a new doctor. And this new doctor let me trial no lisinopril recently. The only reason we discussed this trial is because of the side effect of coughing. And it did not go well. My blood pressure spiked and I had to go back on it.
So, it appears I have to be on my blood pressure medicine. Still, this information got me to thinking lately: if losing weight might resolve my blood pressure issue, why doesn't my doctor ever talk to me about losing weight?
Now, my old doctor did bring up weight loss one time. And it was during the last seconds of my last appointment with him. He said, "Oh, and by the way, you would probably benefit by losing some weight."
So, he only mentioned it at the last second that he was my doctor.
No offense, but if you're fat, or if you are overweight as I am, you increase your risk for health issues. And yet doctors, at least mine, rarely mention this. Why?
I think this situation is similar to parents. And we have a modern trend of parents wanting to be friends before parents. And I think doctors want to be our friends. And I do think I am friends with my doctors. We have conversations about life. "Hey, how are things going with you?" Or, "Hey, doc, that's a nice car you have." And I think it's the need for conversation that makes doctors avoid the complex topics. They don't want to offend us. They want to be our friends. And friends don't bring up things like, "Hey, you are fat. You should lose weight."
But, parents should focus on being parents before being friends with their kids. And the same is true with doctors. They ought to put our health first, and worry about offending us second. I'm sorry, but it my doctors job to think about my health first. And if being overweight is causing me to have poor health, then it is his job to tell me. Right? Am I wrong?
No, I am not wrong.
But, the trend, I think, today is towards doctors being your friend. And I understand that. It is probably hard to talk about the hard issues. Similarly, this may be a reason doctors seem to avoid topics like, "How do you want to end your life?" And that is a topic I have discussed before.
There are many people in the communities I hang out in who say they get offended when their doctors mention their weight. I have heard comments such as, "I have asthma and all he wanted to talk about was the fact that I am fat. All I want him to do is treat my asthma."
And so, for this reason, doctors avoid such topics. They yearn to keep you happy over keeping you healthy. And so, the topic doesn't get brought up. I am just saying here that I don't think this is a healthy trend. I think doctors can say in a nice way, "Hey, I know this is a sensitive topic, but I truly think if you lost about 20 pounds we could perhaps get you off some of these medicines. What do you think?"
And, perhaps, that would result in a neat discussion. And perhaps a good doctor would have some tips. Perhaps it may result in a referral to a dietician. Although, no discussion on my part has ever exceeded the allusion of losing weight.
Now, in my case, I am well aware of the need to lose weight. I have a diet I think works for me and I try to exercise often. I have a plan. But, I know many other people who are overweight, some who are very obese, and even they tell me their doctors never discuss the topic.
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