STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

TheLovelyLady71 · Hermes

Weighing @ doctor's office

hotcocoa · Kate Spade

my problem is that it doesn't seem very accurate. like in the winter when i've got my big heavy-ass boots and 17 layers on. that must be adding a significant amount of pounds that aren't really there, right?

i think they just do it to torture you.

here's an off-topic semi-funny story: my girlfriend recently told me that a random guy we went to high school with is a nurse at the dr. office that she goes to. he weighs her. how would you like that? not seeing a classmate for 10+ years and then next thing you know... he's weighing you.

-- Edited by hotcocoa at 23:57, 2007-04-13

Kelly · Hermes

my doctor always has me take my coat and shoes off before weighing so it's most accurate, plus since I go in about the same time every year I have a comparable amount of clothing weight on every year.

I don't know if you can opt out of being weighed or not. I feel like it might be mandatory because a significant weight gain/loss could be a signal of a problem. But why does it bother you so much? You don't have to look at it if you don't want to. And I'm sure the nurses don't care. They do it all day long - it's just a number to them!

cahabo · Kate Spade

I always took my shoes and coat off for a more accurate reading. I don't get why people make a huge deal about the number they see on the scale. Just because 120lbs is right for one person doesn't mean it's right for another. It is important though to get weighed as ttara123 mentioned.

ILoveChoo · Hermes

I think its pretty imporatat to be weighed. Both for the reasons ttara mentioed and for the correct dosage of any meds you might need.

Try to dress lightly and take your shoes off! And honestly, take the weight with a grain of salt. I don't find them to be accurate at all- especially since every doctor I've been to has the scale on carpet wich right there will add 5-10 pounds. (try it with you scale at home- weigh on a hard surface, then move it to a soft one- big difference!!)

small fry · Chanel

I agree with the other ladies dress lighter and take off your shoes. Also if you go later in the day your weight will most likley be more b/c of the water and fluids already built up.

Elle · Hermes

small fry wrote:

I agree with the other ladies dress lighter and take off your shoes. Also if you go later in the day your weight will most likley be more b/c of the water and fluids already built up.

So true!

If seeing the number on the scale at the doc's office sends you into a tizzy every time (it does me, yikes!) just step on the scale backwards, ask the nurse not to tell you the number, and ask her to make a note in your file about your preferences for next time. It's a pretty common procedure so you definitely wouldn't be the first to request it! Sometimes you can request you not be weighed at all, and just report the number on your home scale yourself. I don't think weighing you the one day they see you out of each year is adequate screening for great gains/losses - clearly, you would be a better monitor of that! And minimizing the whole weighing portion would be protecting your mental health, which is just as important!

I hate those shitty nurses who announce 'the number' in a booming voice as they record it in your chart. How is that necessary?! Bleh !

-- Edited by Elle at 14:40, 2007-04-14

luckylily · Gucci

I usually get around this by saying, "oh, i weighed myself at home this morning, i weigh x." of course, i'm honest about it. every doc and nurse i've seen has been fine w/ that, i probably haven't been weighed on an office scale in 15 years.

subwolley · Kate Spade

Why wouldn't you want to be weighed? I don't see what the big deal is at the doctor's office. I think it's important to be weighed.

Teresa · Kate Spade

i just turn the other way...so i am facing away from the scale, so i just dont look at the scale. i have a history of body image issues tho, so i just dont look at numbers.

Kitty · Hermes

I weigh myself every single day, and so I know what my weight is. My doctors scale actually weighs me about 5 lbs lighter than my scale at home...which I definitely do not mind!

mz.shanzie · Kenneth Cole

For as long as I have had a scale, it has been UNDER what the dr office says by atleast 5 lbs!!!!!! And I am talking multiple scales here biggrin

I get so sad when I leave the darn clinic........I worked in one for a long time, and they are only supposed to add 3 lbs for shoes, and coat. Seems like it should be more... evileye

TheLovelyLady71 · Hermes

Thanks for all the kind words! I'll just ask the nurse NOT to tell me the weight, and I'll turn AWAY from the scale when they weigh me! LOL wink

Thanks again, now I'll schedule my appt. for EARLY in the A.M., I use to do them late in the afternoon, literally starve myself all day, so again - thanks. smile