Well, that's part of it. And you have a more comprehensive frame of reference -- you're more likely to know if something was "just not cool" or "dead fucking wrong" (and the ability to discuss those things with an informed party if you don't). It's not just "My Daddy is Dr. House so I get the bestest". You have a better clue. That's useful.

It's also something anyone visiting a medical professional should learn and probably could. Although maybe not the way I did (which was by running out of things to read and reading medical textbooks, lather rinse repeat for over a decade), but with a few trips to the library. It's critical for being a strong advocate for yourself. As my mother has lectured her non-RN sisters about frequently.

I have a more general thought about this, which is not directed at any one Buffista but was inspired by this conversation. I think we all rant and ranting can be GREAT. I am all for a good rant. But ranting can be tempered, not just here but everywhere. Any statement which starts with "All X are bad" is leading to a line of thought which is dangerous. Not really to the X, who may not even be reading the post, but to the poster. Taking personal experience and extrapolating to the whole world seems like it might close one off to that world.

I mean, after a few bad experiences with a profession, say, dentists, I might feel like all dentists are rip-off artists, and I have felt that. Oh BOY have I felt that. But taking my personal feeling about dentists and then saying that defines all dentists, even in a kinda fun hyperbolic rant, is way of dehumanizing someone and that can be a harmful path to go down. I can't control how I feel, but I can work to be aware that they are my feelings and not the world and I can control how I express those feelings.

Boubon, ChiKat, bourbon.

I have some at home. I think I will partake this evening.

Or some weed.

I wish.

And chocolate

surprisingly, even though it's a regular PMS craving, NSM this month.

And, the day has just gotten worse (white fonted for personal icks):

I've been having to change an overnight pad every 2 hours. And, this morning, I soaked through one bad enough that during my lunch I had to run to Target to buy new underwear because mine was unwearable. Good thing I have on dark brown pants today. And, yes, that heavy a flow is waaay unusual for me.

Being a girl is a lovely and dainty thing, let me tell you. (I'd end that sarcasm font, but I can't right now. Maybe in a week.)

Ah, ChiKat, been there. Sympathies.

And now I'm appreciating menopause in a way I hadn't before.

On a day like today, a week like this one, I'm looking forward to menopause. Hot flashes? NSM.

Speaking of self-advocacy, for those of us over the "acceptable" BMI, lists like this are a good place to start looking for a health care professional: [link]

There are a number of people out there who collect lists of fat-friendly doctors in various areas of this and other countries.

I have some at home. I think I will partake this evening.

I suggest doing so in moderation, or if you do, make sure that you drink a lot of water. Drying out your tissues with booze can increase your cramps.

Re: your whitefont, have you been checked for fibroids? Because I was having the same sort of issues before we realized the problem. I was glad that I was wearing a black skirt.

I want my menopause, dammit.

re: pathologists--I thought they were medical examiners, or is it that medical examiners are pathologists but pathologists are not necessarily medical examiners?

I shouldn't get so much of my medical knowledge from detective shows.

It's also something anyone visiting a medical professional should learn and probably could.

But its not something they'd necessarily KNOW to learn or quite HOW to learn.

An example. My Mother the teacher. (This is all very hypothetical) She has more of a sense of how do discuss with the principal if she thinks Christy Jones shouldn't be in Mrs. Smith's fourth grade class next year.

She can say, "Christy gets really anxious and stops communicating when she's put on the spot. Fourth grade teacher Mr. Jackson is really good at encouraging a kid like that to feel confident enough to raise her hand and participate."

Mrs. Jones, Christy's mother, wants to go to the principal and say, "Mrs. Smith is mean. She made my older daughter cry ever day after school. I don't want Christy in her class."

That's a reasonable thing for a mom to think and feel. It's a bad thing for her to say. Particulary to this principal who quickly digs in his heels when told what to do - he won't be pushed around.

So, in the medical example (and now I'm completely hypothetical so please bear with me) someone with a sense of "the doctor knows best, the doctor is always right, just do what he says" gets scolded for being fat before she even mentions her breathing problems. Or in response to mentioning her breathing problems. She might not know that's inappropriate, unhelpful, could be handled better, etc. Have this happen a dozen times.

She eventually starts avoiding the doctor. Unlike yourself (who knows she's avoiding the doctor because the doctor makes her uncomfortable), she could easily (and logically) think, "Well, if I wasn't fat I wouldn't be having breathing problems. There's nothing they can really DO since I'm so fat. If I loose weight it'll go away. If it doesn't go away, well, that's my fault."