Whose Fault That I’m Fat?

Just a few weeks ago I was debriding and dressing a diabetic wound for a very obese patient.  It had spread from his foot all the way to his knee and this was the first time he was seeking care for it.

It’s a sad scenario because he’s going to have to make some really difficult decisions that will change the whole course of his life.

What would it be like to lose your leg?

Diabetes damages blood vessels that nourish nerves and skin.  That means he cannot feel the wound, so he cannot protect it from being injured further.  It also means that IF this wound heals it will happen very, very slowly.  That is why upwards of 25% of people who have these ulcers will end up having the foot and/or leg amputated.  That changes everything.  Imagine your life without your leg.

What does preventable actually mean?

Treating this patient brought back memories.  I used to wonder why someone would CHOOSE to live this way.  I didn’t.  I worked out 5 days a week.  I ate healthy, most of the time.  Why couldn’t they?  Didn’t they want it bad enough?  You see, I had bought into the lie that it was their fault.  The research told us that foot ulcers were preventable, that diabetes (type 2) was preventable, that obesity was preventable… Unfortunately, we (doctors) made some pretty big assumptions.  If it’s preventable and you get it then it must be your fault, so we should be frustrated with you.  The problem is that almost everything is preventable.  Car accidents are preventable.  House fires are preventable.  Getting the flu is preventable.  These things happen for a lot of different reasons.  Just because they are preventable does not give justification for blaming the victim.

In my case, I was applying all of the knowledge that I had accumulated over the past 20 years of college and professional practice and still ended up overweight and prediabetic.  It was a huge wakeup call for me and completely changed my perspective on how I approach losing weight, living healthy and stopping the progression of metabolic disease.  So, the good news:

• It’s not your fault
• It’s preventable
• If I can do it you can do it!

I believe in you and I am here to help however I can.

Question: When it comes to losing weight, getting healthy and reversing the progression of metabolic disease what is your biggest hurdle for getting started? You can leave a comment by clicking here.