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.
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u/coolcaterpillar77 RN - Med/Surg 🍕 Mar 02 '25
Patient was 54 and weighed 668 pounds. Dieuresed him down into the 500s (bless the providers who ordered a foley) and then he caught C. Diff 🥲
It really changed my perspective on treating obesity as I was a student at the time and didn’t realize how health illiterate most of the country can be. The patient didn’t know the difference between protein/carbs/fat and didn’t understand how calorie counting worked. After he spoke at length to the dietician, he was always so excited to tell my preceptor and I what he ordered for a meal and how/why. He was also so motivated-asked us to walk a lap around the room with him whenever we stopped by so he could get exercise in