I am an obese woman with chronic health problems- problems I’ve had since I was a young, thin, active teenager.

Among the worst of my problems are my digestive issues, which most days render me swollen, in pain, pooping and useless.

After having a flexible sigmoidoscopy, polyps were removed and I was going to ease the pain of my inflamed tissue by going on a gut-gentle IBS diet.

The slight relief I felt from the diet and procedure were not enough to get me back to work- so I went to my doctor, asking what more I could do.



Somehow convinced my pain, fatigue and other symptoms were due to me being overweight (polyps included?!), I was told to diet and exercise.



At my next checkup, I had lost 6 lbs. (due to a particularly gnarly flare up I had experienced a few weeks before the appointment- consequently forcing me to sustain myself on chicken broth and little else) and my doctor was ecstatic. He asked how I was doing, and I told him I was still in quite a lot of pain. Still fatigued. Still sick. I asked him if there was anything else I could do to get some relief, and he just kind of looked at me.



He then proceeds to get out of his chair, and- walking towards me- says ‘now that you’re losing some weight, you’re going to want to have more support!’ and lifts my bra strap, which in turn hoists my breast so far up it almost smacks me in the face-



'see! how nice!’ he says, and returns to his desk.



Angry and embarrassed, I sheepishly left his office saying not much else.



Weeks turned into months, and I still had not gotten another primary care physician. This guy was the 6th doctor I had been to in the past year, and like the ones before him, he was denying me care and confusing morbid obesity (illness CAUSED by obesity) with obesity. Another painful intestinal flare up had me calling for an appointment, and soon enough I was sitting there in his office, grasping at my abdomen, asking if there was anything more that I could do to help ease my symptoms.



He looked up at me and informed me that I had gained back the weight I had lost. I nodded, wondering why he was bringing it up.



'You say you have diarrhea? Doesn’t seem like you’re having much diarrhea if you’ve gained 6 lbs!’



I couldn’t believe, after all the time I’ve spent with this doctor- he was still convinced that I was the cause of my problems and that losing weight was the answer.



I’m now in the process of finding a new doctor, again. And I’ll keep being in the process of finding a doctor until I find a doctor who treats me with respect. I can’t waste my time with biased, creepy, boob-touching fossils. I’ve got a life to live. I’ve already wasted too much time being sick and apologizing for it. It’s time to find a doctor who can be a partner and resource.



I’m willing to do my part, they’ve gotta be willing to do theirs.