"if you weren't so obese, you probably wouldn't have 1/2 the illnesses you do"

Nurses General Nursing

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i'm not sure if this is a vent or just an effort to regain my sense of nursing compassion, but WHAT HAPPENED to honest patient teaching? some of the RNs on my floor seem scared to address the obvious- being an obese smoker who seems allergic to any type of a healthy lifestyle is the main reason a majority of our patients are here, on our med/surg floor.

The main illnesses I see? uncontrolled Hypertension, uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, CHF etc. How can I be more compassionate yet still addressing the truth?

At least in the children, the odds of them being "at fault" for their illness are very, very slim- I'm considering a transfer to Peds.

How can I keep "the hunger" I started with when I see so many chronic diseases that are intrinsicly linked to poor lifestyle choices?

Please help. i dont want to become a RN who is there to clock in and clock out while secretly wanting to smack some common sense into them, lol

Thank you all, in advance.

Specializes in Cardiology and ER Nursing.
Can you give some realistic examples of how this works, scott?

Person completes 30 minutes of exercise. Person rewards self with some sort of a treat. (Doesn't have to be food.) Person eats a healthy diet for a week. Person rewards self at the end of the week with a treat. (Perhaps a trip to the movies.) Is this the end all be all cure to obesity, hell no. The issue is so multifaceted that no single method of treatment, surgical, pharmacological, cognitive-behavioral, economic or otherwise is going to solve the problem. Operant conditioning is just another tool that can and should be used. That, and I'm a big fan of the work of Burrhus Skinner.;)

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I'll throw in another reason at the root of obesity for some people: pre-existing physical disability. Take me for example: I'm 5'3" and about 180 lbs. I HATE being this heavy. I never was until I blew out two disks in my lumbar region during my early 20s. After two back surgeries, I ended up with a condition called adhesive arachnoiditis. It's extremely painful and irreversible. I "walk" (well, more like stump) with forearm crutches. I used to be a competitive swimmer, a lifeguard, and a cross-country runner. I was never overweight until my back went kablooey on me. Ever since then, my weight has crept inexorably upwards.

I exercise to the best of my ability, but it's hard to find many exercises I can do, even through physical therapy, which I no longer have access to because of the expense involved. I like to cook, and I make a point of cooking healthy meals. I don't smoke. My primary vice is sugar, although I depend a bit more than I'd like on convenience foods with 19 hours this semester and primary charge of a preschooler. I have cut back on sugar and tried to find natural substitutes (i.e., dried cranberries instead of starbursts) for the items I like most. I never drink juice or full-sugar soda, and I use skim milk and part-skim low-fat mozzarella for my dairy. I've never liked sour cream or mayo, so I'm lucky there.

My point isn't to throw myself a pity-party or to pat myself on the back; I'm trying to say that there are a lot of people like me out there. We started out healthy and had an accident or an injury that eliminated many of our exercise options. I'd kill to be able to get in a pool and swim 50 laps or go out for a long run to clear my head the way I used to do! But trying to manage the gap between my exercise opportunities and a diet that isn't basically grass and leaves is pretty tough. I'm obese, but not because I sit on the couch and eat bon-bons and hamburgers all day!

If obesity is such a costly condition (and a lot of research says it is), then wouldn't it make sense to support people who honestly want to lose weight with fully funded nutritional counseling, physical therapy, and/or gym memberships? My husband and I pay wild amounts of money for our health insurance, but I still can't afford the physical therapy that could help to hold my weight gain at bay on a regular, continuous basis. Even a gym membership is out of our league, and the staff there couldn't responsibly advise me on the types of exercises I could safely attempt. Wouldn't it be worth the increase in premiums to pay for full coverage of PT and gym memberships in order to lessen the major cost increases coming from people developing costly obesity-related conditions like diabetes or hypertension down the line?

As someone who was physically active my entire life I hear very clearly what you are saying. I have always had to watch every single piece of food that entered my mouth........challenging genetics.........and exercise my butt off. I now have dermatomyositis that requires high dose steroids (80mg a day) and muscle weakness that keeps me pretty much furniture surfing in my home. My weight has ballooned, as has the roundness of my face, and with the violet purple discolored rash the covers my face chest and arms, I have been subjected to the most insulting, insensitive,degrading medical professionals and I am ashamed for all of them.

The looks, the stares, the bullying......YES BULLYING!!!!! does nothing to help people feel better about themselves so they can be better. My treatment as a "normal" weight patient and as a "obese" patient show desparaging differences as we as medical professionals should be ashamed. Just reading these posts makes me sit here with tears pouring down my face at the utter lack of compassion and caring.

I am not blind. I know I am fat. And I happen to be purple. That does not affect my IQ nor my ability to hear EVERY single word being said around me. You don't need to speak loudly or slowly to me and "Look at you,how pretty with all your make up on" makes me want to spit in your face. It is no wonder us fat folk go thru the drive thru to stuff our faces as we sob behind the wheel after the degrading self rightous medical professionals degrade our right to self esteem by their self righteous holyer than thou, look down your nose smug attitude. You better pray and hope that you don't end up like "those obese discusting patients" who refuse to help themselves and be treated with less than a barely concealed aura of contempt.

Take a moment and think before you speak or judge.

There but For the grace of GOD go I

Thanks........I feel better now..........

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I did google it Christine! Some of the photos were indeed of a rotund bunch! Your First Ladies dress is so much more interesting than ours who have always tended to the conservative suits and "prep school casual" outfits!

I find it interesting that in the land of plenty the focus is on how small or thin you can be and not indulge in eating and in a country where there is plenty of nothing the focus is on getting the most to prove you can.....yet they are both examples of showing prosperity.....:rolleyes:

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I am not blind. I know I am fat. And I happen to be purple. That does not affect my IQ nor my ability to hear EVERY single word being said around me. You don't need to speak loudly or slowly to me and "Look at you,how pretty with all your make up on" makes me want to spit in your face. It is no wonder us fat folk go thru the drive thru to stuff our faces as we sob behind the wheel after the degrading self rightous medical professionals degrade our right to self esteem by their self righteous holyer than thou, look down your nose smug attitude. You better pray and hope that you don't end up like "those obese discusting patients" who refuse to help themselves and be treated with less than a barely concealed aura of contempt.

.

Someone makes you mad and yo stuff your face.You hate it, it makes you sob, but still yet, you stuff your face as you sob? How apt!

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Specializes in Health Information Management.
Person completes 30 minutes of exercise. Person rewards self with some sort of a treat. (Doesn't have to be food.) Person eats a healthy diet for a week. Person rewards self at the end of the week with a treat. (Perhaps a trip to the movies.) Is this the end all be all cure to obesity, hell no. The issue is so multifaceted that no single method of treatment, surgical, pharmacological, cognitive-behavioral, economic or otherwise is going to solve the problem. Operant conditioning is just another tool that can and should be used. That, and I'm a big fan of the work of Burrhus Skinner.;)

Is Walden Two your bible? ;) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Two (Just in case anyone is curious.)

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Specializes in Cardiology and ER Nursing.
Is Walden Two your bible? ;) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Two (Just in case anyone is curious.)

LOL, no. The book does sound like something worth reading. Although, I do believe in the value of higher education, and I wouldn't call myself a socialist.;)

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Someone makes you mad and yo stuff your face.You hate it, it makes you sob, but still yet, you stuff your face as you sob? How apt!

Actually I can't........The muscles in my throat are affected and I have trouble swallowing.......I can only eat certain foods......it was an example to show how uncaring calous "medical professionals" with their "holyer than thou atttudes callous behavior is hurtful not helpful! It is discriminatory! It is an advanced concept but I thought to help enlighten my fellow professionals...

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Actually I can't........The muscles in my throat are affected and I have trouble swallowing.......I can only eat certain foods......it was an example to show how uncaring calous "medical professionals" with their "holyer than thou atttudes callous behavior is hurtful not helpful! It is discriminatory! It is an advanced concept but I thought to help enlighten my fellow professionals...

You also mentioned that you are on a steroid. Our peers also seem to forget some of the side effects of such drugs. I also have to take them periodically but it wasn't until 2000 that it was recognized that we need to be on a sliding scale of regular insulin(at home), glucose monitoring and even tighter control of our dietary intake. And if that isn't enough, trying to control my run a way appetite, is even harder. And it is not a simple matter of control.

Right, it is just a matter of our total lack of control. If we would only take control:p:yeah:

GrannyRN65

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Closed for review.

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