Q. I think I am going to fire my doctor. He didn’t seem to care that my pain medicine was not working, his only comment was I needed to lose weight and I might not be in so much pain. Can you believe that? I know I need to lose weight but I have pain. What do you think?
A. The above patient, Mary, also shared that she hurt to bad to exercise but admitted that she did not make healthy food choices. She stated that she needed to lose approximately 200 pounds. She also frequented many of her drug houses (Sonic, Arby’s, McDonalds’s, etc) several times a week.
Food addiction is a drug and just as dangerous as all the other addictions. Only this one you wear around on your body everyday. Yes, everyone can see your addiction. As your body increases in weight many changes begin to occur, pain being one of them.
When you go to your doctor to get pain medication or complain that your current pain medication is not working, what do you bring to the exam table? As far as I know there are not any magic tricks a doctor can pull out of his medical bag when you are 200 pounds overweight. The absolute, most effective medicine is weight loss.
What are you doing to assist with the pain medicine? Are you trying to make healthier food choices? Are you attending a 12 step support/recovery program to learn about your addiction? Are you talking to a therapist to understand why you are 200 pounds overweight?
You must be proactive to make your pain lessen. I promise you, there is no magic!!! When people go to their doctor or therapist they must participate in their treatment plan. PARTICIPATE!!! What are you willing to do?
When Martha, an obese individual, attended her counseling sessions, she wanted to talk about everything except her weight. Her addiction was sitting in the chair with her, how could we not talk about it. She would exclaim, “I really don’t eat that much” and then complain about how much her ankles hurt. She went to her doctor to get more pain medication, he told her, “You are fat and need to lose weight.” She called to say how much he had hurt her feelings. (and then most likely ate a pie).
Stop medicating the symptoms and attack the problem. Become more involved in your own destiny.
Bring more than just your pain to the appointment, bring solutions.
