If Your Doctor Only Tells You to Lose Weight, Consider a Second Opinion.
It’s no secret that doctors sometimes cannot help but pay attention to body weight while observing larger patients. If you think your real health problems are being ignored, it’s worth turning to a different opinion.
I think about it because comedian Jen Curran tweeted yesterday about how she almost missed a cancer diagnosis because the first specialist she saw blamed her concerns on her recent pregnancy and her size.
Obstetrician Curran noticed something odd about her lab tests during pregnancy and recommended that she see a kidney specialist after having a baby. So she did, and the specialist seemed to decide that time and weight loss would solve the problem.
But she actually had cancer, which she found out after asking a second opinion from a doctor recommended by her obstetrician. Her story illustrates several things to remember when navigating the healthcare system:
- If you have a referral from someone you trust, you may have better results if you reach out to that person, rather than just finding the most convenient provider.
- If your doctor is not listening to you, consider this a red flag. Some doctors may perform well despite being silly in nature, but if they feel like they don’t really hear what you are saying, they may lack information to help them diagnose correctly.
- Listen to your intuition. Curran watched as other aspects of her body bounced back while the protein levels in her urine remained sky-high. This is why she eventually decided to get a second opinion.
Without being a doctor, it is difficult to know when you are getting good advice and just need reassurance, not when you are misdiagnosed because your condition is rare or complex. Sometimes you will get advice that you don’t like to hear, but which is really worth following.
This is why a second opinion can be so valuable. The American Cancer Society provides advice on how and why to get it . More often than not, people seek a different opinion after a life-changing diagnosis or before a major surgery, but you can also do what Curran did: seek a different opinion because you think something might be more serious. than what your first doctor thought. Your doctor should not be offended and you can talk to one or both of them afterwards to discuss your options.