Get your tickets! The Veritas Collaborative Shit Show: Part 2.

I quickly became the “difficult” patient during my treatment at Veritas Collaborative (V-tas). I fell into that category after I started to question and challenge my healthcare. As someone taking a more active role in my health, I want and need to know why something is being done and how it will advantage me. As a part of self-love, I am finding it not only a right, but a requirement that I look after my own best interest. When my cholesterol levels and weight both climbed, I wanted to know what was going on. I never received an answer as to why, on their program, I was gaining weight. Now, anyone who knows eating disorder treatment knows that we are not allowed to see what our weight is during program weigh-ins and we are discouraged from weighing ourselves or looking at our weigh outside of programming. So, how did I know that I was gaining weight? I have lived in this body for A LOT of years. I do know some things about myself. One of them is that when I get to a certain weight, I start to have arthritis pain in my left knee. Once I take off some weight, the pain goes away. This has happened on numerous occasions and I can confidently say that this is a truth. I started to complain about my knee and told them that I knew why it was hurting. I explained that I didn’t come to V-tas only to leave in worse condition than when I got there. It was finally confirmed by their nutritionist that I was indeed over that threshold weight. Nobody was ever able to explain to me how, under their care, I was gaining weight and having issues with high cholesterol. Since nobody could intelligently explain this to me, I have been left to make my own assertions. My meal plan was VERY similar to other patients who are in the process of gaining or restoring their weight. I felt that the easy way was taken with me. Instead of studying up on how to safely and effectively lower my weight within the confines of an eating disorder, they took the “one size fits all” approach and slapped something together for me that should have been for someone trying to gain weight. This experience definitely solidified my lack of confidence in their program and its goals. Oh…and so did the “Tuna Croquette Debacle”. But, more on that in the next post. By the way, I'm one week out of treatment, my jeans are fitting more comfortably, and I don't have any knee pain.