At first I was humiliated, but now I am just MAD
 

Friday I found myself back at the dr's office. Relapse of the same upper resp/bronchitis crap that I've had on and off again for 2 months. :(

So anyway, when I was called back the nurse did the standard temp/blood pressure/weight thing. When she was writing my weight down she said, "Wow, you're a porker aren't you?" WTF???? What makes me even madder is that I didn't call her on it right then. I just smiled politely and told her I'd had a rough year and half. I even APOLOGIZED to HER for my being so fat. :(

I waited until I was in the room and she walked out and closed the door before I started to cry. When the dr came in I still didn't say anything about it. I just told him I was crying because I didn't feel good and I was tired and frustrated and just wanted to get well once and for all - which was partially true.

What kind of nurse says that to someone? WTF was she thinking? I mean she wasn't exactly thin herself. I'd say she was a little above average. She was at the very least a size 12-14.

I LOVE my doctor, but honestly, I just don't think I want to go back to his office again. I just don't feel like I can show my face there again after being so embarrassed.

I KNOW I have gained a LOT of weight in the past 18 months. Its been a combination of surgeries/medications/depression/inability to exercise.

Now I am just angry. I am angry at her for saying it and I am angry at myself for letting her get away with it. :mad:

OMG! As an overweight female myself, I'm PO'd for you! I'd have to tell the Dr what she said even if I had to leave a message for him to call you back! He needs to know how patients are being treated.

I've gone thru the same weight gain thing since my husband died and I don't need anyone to tell me about it. I have mirrors and a closet full of clothes I can't get into anymore. The nerve of that heifer!

Omg what an awful thing for anyone to say, let alone a nurse who is suppose to be compasinate to you, I wuld of told the doctor what she said, that is totally uncalled for, Iam sorry you are not feeling well, hopeyou find a different doc and feel better soon, Iam peed right along with you:thumbdown hugs and prayers to you:hug:

WOW!....Don't you just hate it when some one is so in your face rude that it catches you so off guard that your stunned into silence and later on after you recover it's to late .....

I don't blame you for being mad/furious, that was so unprofessional of her....I can't believe that people think they can say whatever they want to another person like that, our society is in such a mess....

I would call the office and speak with the doctor about it....

I hope you feel better soon...

OMG...that is totally out of line. :mad: :thumbdown I like to think that if I were in the same situation that I'd let her have it, but I can imagine being caught off guard like that.

You have nothing to apologize for. It's none of her damn business! Don't feel bad about yourself for another moment! I'm sure you are far more beautiful than she could ever be even if she were a size 2!!

I would have said something to the doctor about it. I know how frustrating it can be to gain weight. I have gained this yr and after the holidays I am going on a strict diet. I am so unhappy with the extra weight and I have always been a small person

Thanks, ya'll. I was a little afraid I was overreacting. I think I will call and talk to the dr in the morning. I talked to my grandmother (who has been an RN for over 30 years) and she said what that nurse said was both unethical and unprofessional and she should absolutely be reported. Then she told me I should use what she said as incentive to lose weight. :rolleyes:

I've always been tiny too. I'm barely 5'4" and my weight has always stayed between 95 and 100 pounds. I've put on a good 70 pounds since last June.

Your grandmother is right-you do need to report this, and make sure your voice is heard! You don't want another lady to have to go through this the next time they're at the doctor, so use your "Steam" to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else! See? In the end-it's a POSITIVE, because you might have just helped someone else!!! :D

Wow I'd actually go back up there in person and demand to see the doctor and tell him what happened. What she said was so rude! Even if she needed to make you aware of your weight gain (which I don't think she did) she should have said it in a professional and non-embarrasing way...not using the word "porker". I can't believe that happened...so rude. I'd definitely make a huge fuss about it now. Just let them know you were so embarrassed at the time that you were just speechless and had no idea what to say - you just wanted to get out of there. I'd actually want to go back up there and not only talk to the doctor in person but tell that nurse exactly what I thought about her as well! :mad:

You're right-as a healthcare provider, if she felt she needed to say something, she could have worded it differently, saying something like, "Ok, your weight is XXX-that's up a bit from last time, and I'll make a note of it because the doctor will want to watch it closely" or something...but I think that's really up to the DOCTOR, not the weight/temp/blood pressure nurse!

I cant believe she said that! It was very rude and she should be reported! Im sorry she made you feel bad, I too struggle with my weight so I understand how hurtful that must have been :-(
You are NOT a porker...we are just big boned! ;)

You have every right to be furious, and that woman must be reported. If she said that as casually as she did to you, who knows how many others she's said similar things to?

If you don't want to talk about it with your doctor because of embarrassment, write a letter. Make sure you include the date and time of the appointment and all of the details you can remember. I find that written complaints are usually more effective in getting results anyway. They can't be ignored as easily.

Also, many doctors now have email addresses for non-emergency questions, so you might be able to email him.

No matter what you do, let the doctor know what happened so that it doesn't happen to anyone else. That was terribly wrong! :(

As far as I know "Porker" is not correct medical terminology....That nurse needs a thermometer put where the sun don't shine ;) ....

Oh, I'm so sorry this happened to you. I'm sure I wouldn't have said anything either because I never want to make waves and I probably would have been too embarrassed to say anything in person. To me it's easier to handle these types of things over the phone. Good luck. "Fat" and any other word that implies it are considered bad words in my house. My BIL thinks that I'm censoring my kids and he makes sure to say all of the "bad words" when he's over. :mad: I'm proud of my girls though, they've never intentionally hurt anyone's feelings and I've never had to be embarrassed in public by them asking why someone's so fat. Sounds like this nurse needs to go to manners school. I'm sure your doctor has no idea how she treats people and he's probably lost patients before due to her rude behavior. Her comments could lead some people to eating disorders or even suicide if they have low enough self-esteem. She definitely needs to find a new job.

Why dont you call the Dr and let him know what happened? Give him a chance to handle it and also demand an appology from her. Give it a few days and if she still works there then change dr's and be sure to voice your opinion. I am a CNA and in my last year of nursing school. If me or anyone I work with would ever say anything demeaning like that to a patient we would be fired on the SPOT and it would go on the NC nurse registry as PATIENT ABUSE, cause that is exactly what it is.