Call me skeptical....

[Guzzler]

Interesting how everyone seems to believe their own home scales even though they have probably never been calibrated and may not even have any method of calibration.

I hope my home scales are wrong. I wish they were showing me to be one stone lighter than I actually am because then I wouldn't be so concerned about my weight.

 

[Diakat]

My dietician told me that once she used a consulting room where the height measuring stick had been put on the wall incorrectly, everyone was 6cm too short...

 

[chips]

just a thought, i assume he wasnt wearing many clothes when he weighs himself at home right? at my local hospital i weigh around 58kgs, yet at home its 55kgs

 

[JohnEGreen]

Last time my doctor weighed me I was fully clothed with boots and an over coat on then he told me that despite over the previous 12 months or so I had lost over 8 and a half stone I was still slightly over weight I laughed.

 

[Glucobabu]

Isn’t it ironic that in this age of high tech we can’t seem to be able to produce simple devices to accurately measure our heights and weights?

 

[mischief123]

Did you know that if scales are on a carpet they will weigh heavier than if on wood. My doctors scales are kept on a large flat piece of wood. I checked this out after the DN told me and moved mine into the bathroom on to wood floor. I weighed 4 in different from carpeted floor.

 

[JohnEGreen]

Did you know that if scales are on a carpet they will weigh heavier than if on wood. My doctors scales are kept on a large flat piece of wood. I checked this out after the DN told me and moved mine into the bathroom on to wood floor. I weighed 4 in different from carpeted floor.

I think that mainly applies to analogue that is mechanical scales rather than modern digital scales with strain gauges.

 

[masonap]

Many people battling with diabetes also struggle with their weight which I guess is why the DN likes to record the patient's weight.

When Hubby was diagnosed last June the DN weighed him and suggested a weight loss target. As he decided to follow the LCHF mode of eating he began to lose weight. To date he has lost two stone. Today at his DN appointment he mentioned the weight loss to the nurse.

'oh that's excellent, well done you !.' and asked if he would mind hopping on the scales so she could update his notes. Hubby duly obliged and then laughed as the scales registered exactly what they had done last June. Whilst you might expect a doctor's scales and your own to differ slightly this was obviously wrong.

'No that's clearly wrong, I've had to buy an entire new wardrobe and have lost 4 inches off my waist. You need to re-calibrate those !'

The nurse looked over his shoulder and said 'No I'm sorry you haven't lost an ounce, perhaps your scales at home are wrong ?'

He pointed out that I had also lost 2.5 stone so no, it was the nurses scales that were clearly wrong but it was obvious that she didn't believe him.
So according to his notes, he is still overweight and should be on medication !! Why don't they take body measurements ? A waist measurement would clarify matters.

The same scales used to weigh a person suffering from an eating disorder, the same scales that might worry a mum-to-be ?

Funny how the results are never in the favour of the patient. I think I have some trust issues !

What I think is important is that YOU know what has been happening and the actual weight loss that you have achieved is not that important, the weight loss (as has happened to me) is seen by the reduced inches around your waist. I've read lots of the other comments and I would say that it doesn't matter what the DN thinks or says. All scales are going to be a little different, I think the most important thing is to use the same scales to weigh yourself on each time. For example lets assume that your scales are wrong by 7lbs (I'm not really suggesting they are, just work with me for a moment) but if you weigh yourself say once a week and you've put on 2lbs, or reduced by 4lbs those are the numbers you should be interested in, regardless of whether or not the scales are actually correct. I wish you good luck.

 

[Grant_Vicat]

When I was suffering nephropathy, the diabetes clinic were obviously sharp on blood pressure. One morning after a 42 mile drive to the clinic, a taxi ploughed into the passenger door of my car less than half a mile from the hospital. On arriving (late of course) I was seen to have my weight, BS and BP measured. I said "I wouldn't bother with that at the moment, I've just come out of a car accident!"
"Oh, you're okay!"
On seeing the consultant, whom I had not met before, she decided to up my dose of hypertension drugs, in spite of me telling her what had happened only 30 minutes previously. I was given a prescription for a new drug, which was ceremoniously burnt in our incinerator.

 

[Guzzler]

When I was suffering nephropathy, the diabetes clinic were obviously sharp on blood pressure. One morning after a 42 mile drive to the clinic, a taxi ploughed into the passenger door of my car less than half a mile from the hospital. On arriving (late of course) I was seen to have my weight, BS and BP measured. I said "I wouldn't bother with that at the moment, I've just come out of a car accident!"
"Oh, you're okay!"
On seeing the consultant, whom I had not met before, she decided to up my dose of hypertension drugs, in spite of me telling her what had happened only 30 minutes previously. I was given a prescription for a new drug, which was ceremoniously burnt in our incinerator.

Conversely, when I was pregnant with my first child when we arrived at the ante natal clinic the first question was always 'how did you get here?' This was because that particular hospital was near the top of a steep hill and the bus stop was near the bottom of the hill. If we had travelled by bus we were asked to wait 20-30 minutes before having our bp measured.

 

[Grant_Vicat]

Conversely, when I was pregnant with my first child when we arrived at the ante natal clinic the first question was always 'how did you get here?' This was because that particular hospital was near the top of a steep hill and the bus stop was near the bottom of the hill. If we had travelled by bus we were asked to wait 20-30 minutes before having our bp measured.

Sounds like a thoroughly joined up hospital! To be fair I would not necessarily have had the same reception from a different nurse and therefore I shouldn't judge the hospital on one episode. It does show that living with a chronic condition requires input and judgment from the patient.