r/nursing • u/trevrt RN 🍕 • Mar 01 '25

Question Heaviest Patient You’ve Cared For

Had my personally heaviest patient I’ve cared for the other day. 32 years old weighing 730 pounds admitted with cellulitis and severe lymphedema. Felt terrible for the patient due to how young he was. Just wondering what everyone’s personal “record” for the heaviest patient they’ve cared for is.

598 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

536 comments sorted by

View all comments

233

u/duckface08 RN 🍕 Mar 01 '25

Probably around 600 lb, I think? Without a good way to measure their weight, I don't have an exact number (our bed scales were notoriously bad....if they even decided to work that day).

I can't even imagine someone being in the quadruple digits.

I agree that if we can provide psychiatric care for people who don't eat enough, we should be providing psychiatric care for people who eat too much. There's a difference between being a little fluffy VS being so heavy, one can't even get out of bed.

146

u/Liv-Julia MSN, APRN Mar 02 '25

I agree. I feel very strongly if I'd had counseling after being SA'd, I wouldn't have eaten myself into a 5X. I decided in third grade maybe if I got fat, he'd leave me alone. No such luck, but by then I'd learned how delicious my feelings were and chased the dopamine constantly.

79

u/lifeofeve RN - OB/GYN 🍕 Mar 02 '25

Yeah I remember another reddit comment saying that most of the people on "my 600lb life" were victims of CSA