My visit with Dr. Budati was not what I was wishing it would be. I waited months to get this…read moreappointment since I had switched insurance plans, and was excited to finally come in today. The appointment was rushed, I was told I could only address two concerns outside of the appointment and what it involves itself, and I was made to feel ashamed about my weight. I am currently in graduate school to become a marriage and family therapist, and have always cared deeply about mental health and wellness. It is clear that she does not think about how her words can affect people's mental health or even trigger their traumas. Dr. Budati rushed through my appointment, and then swiveled in her chair, adjusting the computer monitor for me to see, saying "now I am going to discuss your weight. I am going to put you on a low carb diet, okay?" She had not asked me one thing about my body yet involving exercise, diet, or anything. This was a total whiplash and unexpected change in topic which I gave no consent to discussing. She just assumed that because I have more body fat, I am unhealthy. I eat a healthy diet now and lift heavy weights at a gym for two hours at a time at least four days a week. I also work an active job and garden regularly. I am the healthiest I have been in years. But she saw my body, and made assumptions. She, without asking, told me she was putting me on a low carb diet, and proceeded to tell me to intermittently fast, never eat past 5PM, stop eating pasta and potatoes (I rarely do) and to stop drinking juice (I cannot remember the last time I drank juice within the last year). She told me that in a few months if I haven't lost weight there are "medications to help with that." All the while, she never stopped to ask if I had concerns or questions...she just dumped this all on me without any room for me to speak. That is so terribly unhealthy and toxic for the mind. I did not ask her for advice, or about how to shrink myself. All I wanted was a normal checkup and referral to an OBGYN. It is rude to tell someone who has extra weight to shrink themselves with medications without them asking for it. After all of this when she was about to leave, she said that she should've asked if I ever had an eating disorder or if I currently do...well a little too late. It turns out I do struggle with disordered eating reminiscent of a binge eating disorder I've struggled with for over a decade. I have trauma around diet culture and body shaming, and she completely reignited those awful thoughts about myself. She, though maybe not intentionally, was very fatphobic towards me today and it caused me to cry on my way home. Her lack of awareness can easily send people in a downward spiral or even cause a relapse in eating disorders for some. She needs to educate herself on how to deal with clients of all different diverse body types. In this appointment, she also told me she signed me up for HIV testing because I have tattoos (they were done in professional studios using medical grade equipment that was freshly opened when I got them done, as every single legitimate shop does). I did not appreciate her making this assumption especially because I am gay and indicated so on my chart. I cannot help but wonder if she assumed I have HIV because I am gay. She made many assumptions about me based on my weight, sexuality, and the way I present myself, all of which are false. I usually do not like to complain, but this is all beyond unacceptable.
