# Fat patient in the blood lab center **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 8, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059 "2009-10-08T15:58:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/161 "2009-10-09T17:33:11Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > As for people being fat because they eat too much? Yes, many are. So what? It’s not like it’s any of your business, and that nurse should be fired for violating HIPAA. The problem with this is, you see, that it never happened. The nurse did not tell bri, “Fatty McFatface over there can’t be pricked by the needle in her arm because she’s so fat.” There was no conversation between bri and anyone in the waiting room, especially not with the nurse about the goings on of other patients. ---
**Author:** ![bri1600bv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@bri1600bv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bri1600bv)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/162 "2009-10-09T17:54:37Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > The problem with this is, you see, that it never happened. The nurse did not tell bri, “Fatty McFatface over there can’t be pricked by the needle in her arm because she’s so fat.” There was no conversation between bri and anyone in the waiting room, especially not with the nurse about the goings on of other patients. There was no conversation in the waiting room, I didn’t say there was. She did assent that it was “that large woman” as I put it, who caused the delay. I don’t know if it’s a HIPAA violation. HIPAA violation has to be a medical condition connected with a name or social security number IIRC (and I was tested on it actually). I didn’t know her name or her social…or even her medical condition other than a) being monstrously, morbidly obese (which no one needed to tell me) or b) being a “hard stick”…not sure if that is a medical condition. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/163 "2009-10-09T18:04:08Z")
You mean to tell me she told you the fat lady was a “hard stick,” and that she had to be shot in the hand? I think you’re lying, but you tell me you are not lying. Impasse. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/164 "2009-10-09T19:13:21Z")
I think a better question is why the hell we are providing healthcare for people like the OP who are healthy and in shape? You have NO excuse for being sick. Why should we waste valuable healthcare provider time and resources on keeping you healthy when your magic lifestyle should do it for you? For all we know your time wasting 5-min trip to have blood drawn made some sickly fat person behind you late for work! Save our precious healthcare resources for the sick fat people who actually need it. Makes about as much sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/165 "2009-10-09T19:30:40Z")
> [@bri1600bv](#): > > Being fat has everything to do with a bad stick. I saw them say it on a TV show we’re they’re trying to operate on a blimpo. The veins are buried under 2-3 inches of blubber. > > Yeah, I should blind myself because some blimpo wants to be 400 pounds. It’s not like it’s her responsibility to you know, act like a human being, instead of an eating machine. > > As for her being on medicaid, she could barely walk and was dressed in rags with fat bulging out. How does a blimpo like that actually work a job? > > Starve it. Ok, I’m going out on a limb here, but the problem you seem to have is with fat people in general. I won’t get on a high horse, since I understand that. But I try to look at it as this: 1. Is this person morbidly fat because they have a medical problem? (and I lump psychological problems in that category) or 2. Are they fat because they just eat too much crap and are too lazy to exercise? You can’t know what this woman’s problem is so I would tend to give her the benefit of the doubt. But thats me. For my number 2 reason there, yes, than I am a bit of an asshole too. I find it ridiculous that while there are people starving in the world we in the US have folks that eat themselves into health problems. I don’t hate fat people, but I do have a problem with people that kinda let themselves go. I know that as people get older and become less active they may gain weight, but I know people that are in their 20s and are ridiculously fat for no other reason than they they just eat too much crap and don’t try to change that. If I’m an asshole for being bothered by that, so be it. I just know that if I started gaining weight and hit 250 lbs or so I’d start adjusting my behavior and eating habits to lose weight before I got any heavier. (FTR I weight between 150 and 160 and I’m 45 yrs old and abboutt 5’10 in height. Im not a big guy buy any measure, but I hit 175 once and I decided to start losing weight because it was too much weight for my frame,even at 175 I was under the weight limit the army had for my age/height, but I was getting too chubby) I’m sorry if this offends anyone…but it is how I feel about it. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/166 "2009-10-09T19:33:57Z")
> [@bri1600bv](#): > > There was no conversation in the waiting room, I didn’t say there was. > > She did assent that it was “that large woman” as I put it, who caused the delay. > > I don’t know if it’s a HIPAA violation. HIPAA violation has to be a medical condition connected with a name or social security number IIRC (and I was tested on it actually). I didn’t know her name or her social…or even her medical condition other than a) being monstrously, morbidly obese (which no one needed to tell me) or b) being a “hard stick”…not sure if that is a medical condition. Just as a side note, in my time working in a hospital, we were told to err on the side of caution, and that an incident very, very similar (but not the same) to this one had, in fact, lost someone their job recent to my training. So, personal cite there, I guess. Oh, and I’m fat, and I’m an average stick (once or twice, when I go in for testing. Depends on the day, I guess.). I don’t exercise enough, but I’m eating a lot less than normal. The eating thing is under my control, the exercise is because I have diagnosed psychological issues. I also consider being overweight as a problem in the world, and also as one of the few things that it’s perfectly socially acceptable in most places to disciminate or hate someone for, which bugs me a lot. Hope I’m not being too rational for the pit… Should I be adding some curse words? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/167 "2009-10-09T19:39:14Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Fat much? Yeah. It shows. Sorry about your “glandular problem”. Asshole much? Yeah, it shows. Sorry your parents didn’t raise you better. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/168 "2009-10-09T19:43:07Z")
Who the hell says things like “hard stick”, anyway? My wife has had two blood tests a week for some time now, but I’ll be damned if anyone has tried calling her a hard stick. I have to wonder if anyone who uses this phrase so comfortably in this thread has ever actually said aloud. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/169 "2009-10-09T19:47:40Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > Who the hell says things like “hard stick”, anyway? I do. But only in particularly naughty phone conversations. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/170 "2009-10-09T19:47:52Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > Who the hell says things like “hard stick”, anyway? Candy makers? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/171 "2009-10-09T19:53:15Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > Why haven’t you been warned for such a grievous insult? 😉 The privileges of being a sex symbol.😛 Although you gotta admit zombie and bush supporter are pretty close, for that reference. Both mindlessly amble about causing destruction, and both would have their situation improved with brains. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/172 "2009-10-09T21:09:00Z")
…with the candlestick! ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/173 "2009-10-09T21:24:09Z")
Why is this thread four pages long? The OPer informed us back on page 1 that he wasn’t an asshole, so that settled it, no? ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/174 "2009-10-09T21:24:14Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > …with the candlestick! You fool, haven’t you been paying attention? It was with the hard stick. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/175 "2009-10-09T22:13:04Z")
> [@bri1600bv](#): > > I’m an inbred hick? Neither, and I graduated from one of the top schools in the country to boot! While they are indeed highly regarded, I don’t think Montessori schools are what people have in mind when they talk about “top schools in the country.” ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/176 "2009-10-09T22:23:48Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > Who the hell says things like “hard stick”, anyway? My wife has had two blood tests a week for some time now, but I’ll be damned if anyone has tried calling her a hard stick. I have to wonder if anyone who uses this phrase so comfortably in this thread has ever actually said aloud. Actually, my mother worked as a lab technician/phlebotomist at a hospital for a few decades, and that’s one of the terms she used. She also said that she couldn’t believe that anyone had problems with my veins one time…she just circled my upper arm with her fingers and tapped my inner elbow with the fingers of her other hand, and said that I should be an easy stick, I’ve got a lovely vein right there. Probably only a mother, or a phlebotomist, would refer to a vein as “lovely”. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/177 "2009-10-09T22:34:11Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > You know, when threads like this pop up, I always feel that it should be a requirement that the OP post a picture of him/herself. C’mon, let’s see a photo of YOU, **bri**. I think people who advocate requiring others to post photos of themselves should post photos of themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/178 "2009-10-09T22:35:26Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > Who the hell says things like “hard stick”, anyway? My wife has had two blood tests a week for some time now, but I’ll be damned if anyone has tried calling her a hard stick. I have to wonder if anyone who uses this phrase so comfortably in this thread has ever actually said aloud. Unfortunately I have way too much experience having blood drawn - and I can vouch for the fact that phlebotomists do use this term. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/179 "2009-10-09T22:51:50Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > It’s true that might happen to him. And if he brings it on himself by stuffing his gob full of chocolate-covered, batter-fried, bacon grease 24 hours a day while playing Everquest, then he deserves to be humiliated. Given his posts I think he’d do the work there for us, complete with melodramatics, I can see it now… There is a reflective TV screen down here. I will describe myself as I see myself: I am a great soft jelly thing. Rolling, full, spilling over, barely a point missing a bulge, with rotund stubs where my fingers once were. Flabby appendages that were once my arms; bulks of fat hanging down into giant pockets of soft jiggling matter. I leave a moist trail when I move. Blotches of vile, untamed acne come and go on my face, as if to admit to the world my sins. Outwardly: gasping, I waddle about, a thing that could never have been known as human, a thing whose shape is so alien a travesty that humanity becomes more obscene for the vague resemblance. Inwardly: alone. Here. Living under the land, under my parents, in the belly of this basement, where I stayed because I was perhaps too aware of my own incompetence. At least I have the comfort of food to fuel my slovenly ways. The SDMB will be all the more scornful for that. It makes me a little happier. And yet … Frito Lay has won, simply … it has taken its revenge … I have no neck. And I must eat. -with apologies to Harlan Ellison ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059/180 "2009-10-10T00:08:21Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > And yet … \*\*Frito \*\*… has won I was thinking it was Ellison, until we got to the Lord of the Rings reference. [QUOTE=Lynn Bodoni] Probably only a mother, or a phlebotomist, would refer to a vein as “lovely”. [/QUOTE] When I was the go to guy for veins in the MRI suite, I found I would sometimes absentmindedly caress \*\*Ms. Attack’s \*\*veins and compliment her on them. By the way, I still want to see **bri1600bv** ’s six pack abs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-patient-in-the-blood-lab-center/513059.md?page=10)