"Cutting Desire" response

I have heard of BIID before reading this article but never really understood it or really thought much about it. I now know that BIID is a very serious disease and we, as society, need to help the people who are suffering. The first time I heard of BIID was while watching one of my favorite TV shows- Grey’s Anatomy. The episode was about an Iraqi veteran with a mysterious leg pain, he asked Dr. Torres and Dr. Hunt to remove his perfectly good leg and to fit him with a prosthetic so that he can return to the ar. The episode concluded with the doctor’s completing the surgery. A major issue with BIID is there aren’t many cases, which makes it harder for there to be any coverage or discussion regarding this issue. This is similar to the topic of transgender individuals since neither feels comfortable with them; “it took years for people who felt they were born into the wrong gender to convince the medical and psychiatric professions to recognize their plight.” If people can accept others for not being comfortable with their gender then why cant people accept that fact that some don’t feel comfortable with their limbs?

I do believe the only true treatment for BIID is the removal of the limb. There should be an intense screening process before the surgery to make sure that this is truly something that the person wants. I don’t consider these people to be choosing to be disabled. They are choosing to do something that makes them happier and more accepting. Being happy with your body and who you are as an individual is crucial. If the removal of a limb is the difference between their happiness who are we as society to tell them they can’t amputate? They struggle everyday with having a limb that doesn’t feel like it belongs to them.

I agree with Dr. Smith, “Dr. Smith argued that by preventing his patients from pursuing more life-threatening alternatives, he was following the Hippocratic oath to do no harm.” This relates to the conversation we had in class about how it is safer for a medical professional to preform these procedures rather than some random sketchy guy in the basement. The opening paragraph put into perspective how dangerous and how willing people are to remove these limbs, “he had tried to cut it off before—once putting it underneath a truck and trying to crush it (the jack didn’t collapse right); once attempting to saw it off with a table saw (he lost his nerve).” The risk of infections and even death sky rockets when someone does this, in the article they mention a man who traveled to Mexico paid 10,000 dollars to have an illegal operation and he died of gangrene.  We have the doctors and the technology in this country to help these people accept themselves. If there is intense screening and the individual still wants the limb removed it should be removed, no more questions asked.

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Living in your skin can be extremely difficult, especially if you are not comfortable or happy with the way you look. Attaining the perfect body can be extremely difficult and is possibly unattainable. Body builders put an unimaginable amount of effort into forming the perfect bodies; most of them use performance-enhancing drugs, which include the most popular choice, steroids. Even with all the known side effects, body builders and even casual gym attendees use steroids. Body Builders use steroids to help them attain their idea of the “perfect” body, regardless of what they can do to the human body.  Body builder, Roxanne Edwards admitted to using steroids during her interview with Dis Magazine. H. Cassils used steroids to help form his perfect body.

            There is so much more to body building then just going to the gym and lifting some weights, staring at the mirror and occasionally having a spray tan. As seen in “Bodybuilding” by Brian Finke, it is amazing how people can transform their bodies. Some of the people featured are massive and their bodies look almost superhuman. Bodybuilders are extremely self aware, they keep track of everything they put into their body and they know what certain drugs and foods can do to their bodies. There is a limit to what the human body can do, “many of these people have come face to face with the limits of the mortal body” (H. Cassils). Over working your body and the chance of hurting yourself are two thoughts that are very important, and are very crucial in deciding if something is healthy or not.  Some bodybuilders aren’t healthy with how they put on weight or how they lift. Steroids are popular amongst bodybuilders because they build and strengthen muscles while reducing body fat. Unfortunately, there are so many side effects for steroids. “For men some side effects are shrunken testicles, infertility and baldness. For women some side effects are a deeper voice, increased body hair and also baldness.” This is just a small list of the possible side effects someone can develop through their use of performance enhancing drugs.

            When asked if she had ever used steroids, Roxanne Edwards’s response was of course, like it was something everyone did. She used steroids to achieve a “peeled” body structure. The term “peeled” refers to the ultimate level that someone’s body could appear. You can see all the muscles extending through the skin when watching someone whose physique is “peeled”.  Roxanne Edwards is very intimidating to look at; she can easily kick anyone’s ass that she wanted to.

            H. Cassils did everything he could to reduce the risk and side effects of taking steroids, “I got blood tests before and after and I took half of the lowest dose recommended” (Cassils). The steroids made H. Cassils even more aware of his body, “The weights that had felt like lead the weeks before suddenly felt like feathers in my hands.” Overall his body transformation is overwhelming, as seen in the video, it is obvious how much he truly struggled with this project. Overall this project was not healthy and H. Cassils put his body in danger by going through with it. In the video, it states “23 pounds in 23 weeks”. That is 23 pounds of muscle gained in 161 days, the average for a man to gain in 1 month is 1-2 pounds.

            The most important thing to keep in mind when discussing the topic of health is that it depends on the person. Bodybuilding by itself is not bad for you. Steroids can be detrimental to someone’s health. With so many negative effects why would someone use them?