When Google MD is the Only Doctor that Listens

For superfat patients, doctors tend toward the one-size-fits-all answer: “Lose Weight.” But what if there’s something else going on?

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Trigger warning: There are some mildly graphic images of swelling / wounds below that may be uncomfortable for some.

By and large, I am an aggressively pro-science person. My default nature is to trust medical and scientific expertise. I don’t think the scientists are out to get us. I don’t buy into conspiracy theories or deep-state nonsense.

I’m also fairly dismissive of hypochondria. It’s easy to Google your own symptoms and come up with the worst-case scenario — something that isn’t helped by the popularity of TV shows like House, MD and Grey’s Anatomy, where the medical cases tend toward the exceptionally rare, absurdly unlikely diagnoses.

I don’t look for zebras. And, generally, I trust doctors when all they see are horses.

When the stripes start showing up.

I’m fat.

I’m really fat. The kind of fat that stops traffic so people can stare. The kind of fat that, if I wore a Goodyear shirt, small children would be excited about seeing the blimp so up close. The kind of fat…