Photo courtesy of the LiveStrong Foundation
I know, I know. We often avoid getting our annual exam or our mammograms because we are often treated rudely by our doctors and their staff.
Talk about being bullied. Sometimes healthcare providers are the worst. Now, I know they spend their life watching people get sick and sometimes die due to complications due to their weight or due to their drinking habits or whatever. So, yes, they are on the front lines and see a lot. But, please do not judge me by my weight alone. Please take a look at my “numbers” before you judge my health. And, by numbers, I do not mean the number on the scale. I mean my good cholesterol and my bad cholesterol. I mean my blood sugar levels and my fasting blood sugar levels. Check my heart. Check my blood pressure and then we can TALK, ok? That is not too much to ask of a trained doctor or nurse.
But, I digress. The reason I am writing this blog post is to remind my CURVY friends to go and see their doctor. I know we often put it off because we know we are going to get lectured and judged by supposed “well meaning” nurses, p.a.’s and our doctors and gyno. So we put it of and put it off. But, Curvy Girl, when we put them off and there are issues, that leaves is with less time to start working on getting well. Sometimes when we have serious stuff going on and when we wait too long… it can mean some of our options are diminished just because we put it off.
If doctors and nurses realized their judgey behavior kept some women from coming to see them (and likely, men, too) they might RIGHT their ways and be more empathic and sensitive and look for supportive ways to help their patient.
In light of my annual this Friday, it got me thinking about how us curvy girls put off our health care because we know we are going to be weighed and JUDGED. I try really hard to go and see my gyno every year during my birthday month. I try to look at it as a birthday gift to myself. I am three months late – but it’s mostly because I am here 6 days a week. But, I have a fab new employee who opens on Fridays for me now so I can take care of things like this.
So, this is my plea. Curvy Girl. Please call in and make an appointment for your annual. If you are over 40 and have not had a baseline mammogram – you are way over due. And know your numbers – your blood pressure, your cholesterol levels and your blood sugar levels so you know where you are on the HEALTH scale – which is way more important that the scale the tells you how much you weigh.
That is all. 🙂 Blissfully, Chrystal Bougon, Resident Curvy Girl