Scooby Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 she's a beautiful, tall woman, probably underweight for her height & build...she's had a very hard life and has battled eating disorders for probably 15 yrs, I've really known her about 6 yrs, she's a dear and beloved friend of mine. So, recently she waltzed into a "weight loss" clinic here in the area and after initial consulation, they prescribed her phendimetrizine (sp?)along with other herbal supplements ...from what I understand this phendi (whatever spelling)is basically speed for the severly overweight folks as a last resort before gastic bypass. Again, she is thin, given her height (5'11) she weighs 150 or less on the scale soaking wet. My other friend and I urged her to stop taking those diet pills, we are worried she could suffer a heart attack. We feel it is not right this "clinic" would even prescribe these to her, given her weight and past history of anorexia. (she most likely did not mention past anorexia to the clinic workers). She never eats, maybe a bite or 2 a day + over-exercises and is constantly obsessed with food intake. She won't even eat around us. I guess I cant be naive, if she wants the diet pills, she could probably get them over the internet, but for this clinic to prescribe them makes me hopping mad and very sad--a lawsuit waiting to happen. Don't know what else to do to help her & dont know if I can do anything about this quack shack clinic. TIA for input and advice Huddle friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I'd ask her why she went to the clinic instead of to her normal doctor and ask what her normal doctor thinks of her taking this medicine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Smoke a nice pork butt for 12 hours, make some slaw, potato salad and chocolate cake, and invite her over. Nobody can resist that stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 there's another issue...she's been a contract worker for the past few yrs, so she didnt have health insurance...she just started a new job with health benefits that will kick in on oct 1st, so I hope she sees a doctor that can help her. I gave her a list of therapists that specialize in eating disorders here in the area. I hope and pray she follows thru. She's very skittish about her ED, she acknowledges it, but as we talk during the evenings she comes to visit me, she starts to make excuses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoopazz Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 her height (5'11) she weighs 150 Â You may tell her you know men this size who are perfectly healthy , so it shouldn't be a concern for a woman. And for sure you should encourage her to see a real doc as soon as the insurance kicks in. I should think he'd agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controller Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 (edited) I have a niece who is now in her 30's and she's been battling eating disorders most of her life. My sister (her mother) has tried everything at least twice, and nothing has worked. There are no quick fixes or easy answers. These eating disorders are as difficult to overcome as drug addiction, smoking and other complusive disorders. Professionals often fail to help, so don't expect to be able to solve this for a friend. Maybe you could look up profiles of people who have successfully overcome these disorders and figure out what they did, then send her the links. Good luck. Edited September 17, 2011 by Controller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Another idea...encourage her to get married. She'll be 200lbs before you know it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 (edited) Another idea...encourage her to get married. She'll be 200lbs before you know it. This guy is trying to help someone who could ultimately be endangering her own life, asks for advice, and you provide a couple of lame jokes. Classy. Not that it suprises me from this place. Â Scooby at least she acknowledges the problem, which is a start. As cliche as it might sound these days, what about some kind of "intervention?" How well do you know her family/closest friends? Y'all might want to try and connect w/them and discuss, maybe consider some kind of "joint effort" to help her, even if it's not that drastic. How rational of a person is she generally? When she starts making excuses, rip them up one by one. Maybe she will see they don't have a leg to stand on. But you have to balance being firm, even harsh if need be, with being supportive. g/l Edited September 17, 2011 by BeeR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowboutthemCowboys Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 This guy is trying to help someone who could ultimately be endangering her own life, asks for advice, and you provide a couple of lame jokes. Classy. Not that it suprises me from this place. Â Â Hmm...would you be suprised from this place if you knew Scooby was'nt a guy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Not especially, just an assumption on my part (which is irrelevant regardless). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Â yer a real friend Scoob, keep it up, hope things workout for her Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 First step is to fire bomb the freaking clinic. Short of that, alert the local media and ask if they want to run a story if they promise to keep your friend's identity hidden. Â I really couldn't think of much else than how effed up it is that they didn't turn her away when she went in. I shouldn't serve a drunk guy booze, they shouldn't facilitate someone's eating disorder. Which is exactly what they're doing. Â Her BMI, which, if anything, errs on the side of saying you're fat when you're not, is 21, which is "normal". So, you'd think they'd have to point to something that says why they wanted to basically give her speed. You can't stop someone from finding these sorts of drugs on their own or throwing up their food, but it would be nice if a freaking clinic would not actually enable this behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 I'd ask her why she went to the clinic instead of to her normal doctor and ask what her normal doctor thinks of her taking this medicine. This, plus her BMI w/ the stats you provided put her in the healthy/normal range and not over or under weight. BMI... That said no weight clinic should prescribe weight loss drugs to someone who has a good BMI. They should be reported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 5'10" 150 pounds for a woman is in the normal range. Did anyone bother to check that fact before you decide to bomb a clinic? She's not underweight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 (edited) 5'10" 150 pounds for a woman is in the normal range. Did anyone bother to check that fact before you decide to bomb a clinic? She's not underweight. Â My youngest daughter (25 yrs old) is 6' and 150 lbs. and is completely healthy. This "clinic" needs to be held accountable for what they're doing. Edited September 17, 2011 by The Holy Roller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 5'10" 150 pounds for a woman is in the normal range. Did anyone bother to check that fact before you decide to bomb a clinic? She's not underweight. So, why should a clinic suggest a woman in the normal weight range take speed to lose weight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 yes...yes .... yes ...... Â Â but there has to be accountability for your friend scoob..... if she doesn't disclose her history to the new docs/clinic, they can only do so much to find out what she's gone through. Â Â how is det supposed to know that the person ordering a drink is a recovering alcoholic going through a bad time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 (edited) So, why should a clinic suggest a woman in the normal weight range take speed to lose weight? Â Sounds to me like she walked in and asked for it, and that's normal these days: youve pretty much been able to walk into a Drs office and ask for prescriptions for years... Why is this a surprise? If anything this is on her. Edited September 18, 2011 by Pope Flick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cunning Runt Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Not minimizing the issue, but I honestly do not think 5'11" and 150 lbs is what I would call "underweight". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_am_the_swammi Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 So, why should a clinic suggest a woman in the normal weight range take speed to lose weight? Â because they likely also sell it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 because they likely also sell it.... Speaking with some knowledge of this industry, this is not true for most reputable clinics. Many have a set per visit fee that includes the cost of medication, whether or not any is prescribed. Also, at reputable clinics, the doctors do go over detailed medical history and often refuse treatment when warranted. Not knowing anything about this particular clinic, I won't speculate as to their reputability, however, and this is not just towards you swami but to many of the posters in this thread, to disparage an entire industry based on one example is asinine. Â BMI is okay as a very rough guideline, but ti is generally quite poor. Body fat percentage would be a greater indicator as to the need, if any, for this person to lose weight or at least be exploring options for getting to a better body composition. Â That said, there are individuals that do abuse drugs, including this and other weight loss related pharmaceuticals, and detecting and catching fraud can be difficult. I know of people that have used multiple identities at multiple clinics to get multiple prescriptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I'll have to echo the sentiment... 5'11" and 150 ain't anorexic. My wife is 5'8" and 125/130, far from anorexic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 It should be noted that it seems as if scooby was estimating her weight. "She weighs 150 or less, soaking wet". Doesn't exactly sound like a number that we should be assuming is entirely accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.