AIBU to think I don’t need to go to the gynaecologist every year?!

[Watchagotcha]

I live in France but am from the UK. I was out with some friends last night - some French, mostly Brits who’ve been here a lot longer than me. We got talking about various medical issues, and it transpires that pretty much all my friends go to see their gynaecologist every year! I’m not sure what for: smear tests, when they are due; breast exams; and just “making sure everything is okay”.

Is this really necessary? What kinds of conditions might they be picking up on that I wouldn’t notice and go to the dr with myself?

Do I need to see a gynaecologist yearly?
YABU = yes you do, the gynaecologist might find something that needs treated
YANBU = no, don’t be daft, go to the dr if you need to and get regular smears when they are due

@Virtualhamster An ovarian cyst bursting can be incredibly dangerous and a cyst can also twist the ovary. I had a large cyst discovered during a work medical that explained the stabbing pains I’d had and thought were just one of those things. It was drained via ultrasound. Lost about two inches off my waist!

sympathetic because I was forcibly held down and had speculums inserted etc . I was seven or eight the first time, sixteen when it became routine . I didn’t really know about sex or my body, either time, and wasn’t told what was happening . NHS apologised profusely in the end and diagnosed me with PTSD , because I’ve had so so many internals and scans . You end up absolutely terrified and with a multitude of issues - or I have anyway .

What drspouse says. As a health care worker who had a husband with chronic ill health, now dead, I stay away from doctors as much as i possibly can and feel bloody lucky that I'm healthy enough that I can usually do so. A check up is still intervention to me, it has an effect. But I'm used to this system and glad that most GPs here are proper generalists who can garekeep pretty well. Just wish there were more of them.

To me a system where gynaecological health is taken seriously is one where there is education about these issues so women are able to recognise when something isn’t right, where they are able and empowered to visit their doctor and have an honest discussion about whatever is bothering them, and where the doctor investigates and treats the problem appropriately.

Pelvic examinations from 14 is a bit much too!

surely the answer will come partially from the effect on the population - do these places with the annual gyno check have women with better health, better cancer survival rates (and also, what's their rate of false-diagnosis and treatment).

Obviously hard to do if you're comparing the UK and the US where so many people can't afford healthcare, and there'll be reporting differences between European countries but if these yearly checks were necessary, surely there'd be a noticable difference in the incidence/survivability in the different populations?

As others have said, it really is just a different system here. DH sees a dermatologist every year because he has had a couple of minor skin cancers in the past and a cardiologist because he has medication for high blood pressure. I have a mammogram every two years at the specialist radiography centre in our small local town, there is a physical check done and you get the results straight away. My doctor wanted me to see a gynaecologist until I pointed out that I hadn't had a womb or cervix for over twenty years.
We have full blood tests every year and immediate follow-up for anything unusual.
What we don't have are any ancillary services at the doctors, no nurses, no specialist advice. Our doctor sees us for minor illnesses, checks BP, heart, breathing etc and mostly refers us on for anything more complex. It works as a system, but it does take up a lot of time and we collect .ologues. My favourite is the podologue. 😀

Yes. It's simply different systems.

I am bit baffled by people having issues with regular gynae check ups while half a uk moans that women's health isn't taken seriously enough...

@TheGreyInThisCity very often there are no symptoms

True but surely that argument applies to everything? Why not see a dermatologist, neurologist, audiologist, cardiologist....however many -ologists there are?

This was my line of thinking too. If we went to see a specialist to check every different body system we'd be forever visiting doctors. What makes the reproductive system (though only that of women) more important than all of the others?

The difficulty with any form of checking for asymptomatic people is that sometimes you pick up on things early that would otherwise become a problem, but sometimes you pick up on things that would resolve themselves and not require treatment, but treat them because you know they're there now, and there are risks stemming from this too. If you test and examine more frequently you'll do more unnecessary procedures and incur the risks from that, if you do it less frequently you're going to pick up some problems too late to do anything about them when you could've sorted them earlier. The key is finding the sweet spot in the middle.

I have french family who go every year and were shocked that I dont . I asked my (female) gp and she said its unnecessary as if there was an issue she would refer me, and in france they do it to make money (due to the hybrid public/private insurance system

very often there are no symptoms

I was just about to type out a whole reply and then I saw that BoxedWine has posted my exact thoughts, so what she said

I do think the UK has a lot of room for improvement in terms of women’s health, but I don’t think yearly check ups are the answer.

we'd be forever visiting doctors.

I’m quite a healthy person (as far as I know) and I am currently seeing:

Podologue for custom made orthotics and follow up twice a year
Ophtalmologiste for yearly eye checks
Physio for twice weekly appointments to treat sciatic issue (these will continue as long as I need them to)
Rheumatologue for MRI and follow up cortisone injections for disc problem

I have a referral letter to see a dermatologist for rosacea and a persistent verruca - just haven’t made the first rdv yet

And now I will have to add the gynaecologist to the list!

@dietworries
I am really sorry to hear about your experience, it feels like a massive failure on the NHS side. I don't know anyone in my country who was forced to have an exam, it is offered but voluntary, and it is seen as a good thing.

And definitely not a conspiracy from male gynecologists to stare at teenage vaginas. Like going annually to the dentist for a check up, even if nothing hurts and your teeth are not falling out.

dermatologist, neurologist, audiologist, cardiologist
Again, I am talking only about where I am from but.
Dermatologists-GP checks you over during annual
Neurologist -GP does the most basic tests during annual but it's expected there would be some symptoms if there were issues.
Audiologist - GP checks your hearing during annual.
Cardiologist- GP listens to your heart for irregularities, checks your blood pressure. Mine use to listen and then make me do few jumping jacks and listen again.
However, they will not do internal exams. That's it

Schools in certain countries were very included in the healthcare prevention system. Mine had a dentist office when I was really young. Like an actual fully equipped dentist surgery. They used to take us to gp surgeries or obgyn etc. I got vaccined in a classroom. It was good if school given up couple of days a year to do this because it meant working parents (or the parents who didn't give a fuck) didn't have to make appointments and drag the children there. We were in a group so we were less scared😁 It was the only time anyone could come near to me with a needle without me bursting into full on hysteria

In Aus some have a dentist and offer vaccination. I couldn't get mine done at school as I need restraining, at 10 I broke the gp nose during routine vaccination, I was restrained by 5 people all up. If I'd had any done at school, I'd have been the laughing stock
But internals wow, never knew that was even done to kids in normal health checks in some places. School or otherwise

I think the attitude/culture is different in France. Women take their gynae care more seriously and there isn't the same embarrassment as in the UK because it is just part of your regular routine. However, I don't know if the uptake is the same for all socio-economic groups and I imagine there are the same problems as in the UK for the hard to reach/vulnerable population. In general the GPs here don't really do much compared to UK, they just signpost you to the relevant specialist. For example even to get basic blood tests the GP send you to the blood lab, the same for urine tests. For children it is normal for them to have a paediatrician rather than a GP. As a patient you have the flexibility and choice of choosing your own specialists but it also means you have to be more proactive and independent. If your GP thinks you need physio (the French go to Physio for everything!) then you are responsible for finding your own physiotherapist and making your own appointment. Probably results in a lot less missed appointments than in the NHS.

what I find weird is the lack of care and support in this country, it's shocking how we are brain washed to think that our health and how we are treated is acceptable and normal.

yes, yearly check-up are a good thing.

Over diagnosis is a thing
Really shocked about schoolgirls having internals from a young age
Re USA there are a lot of articles on the net about balance and questioning yearly invasive (internals) from a young age
USA also not so fab women's health around reproduction, highest maternal mortality in West

I understand that the regimen where you live is the 'norm' and also agree that there are issues with treating women esp find reproductive things in UK, with women not being listened to etc

However there's something about the annual invasive stuff for girls from young that feels like a hangover from the idea embedded years ago and seemingly not eradicated that women's reproductive system is problematic. And many things invented years ago by men who saw women in a different way are still in use eg speculums, recently redesigned by a team of women to be more comfy etc not sure their design caught on.

The practice in many countries until recently and still going on in some of getting students to examine women under GA without consent relates to this as well.

In general there's a host of issues, and balance needs to be found.

This thread seems to be very low on evidence, from either side.

I’m glad that other posters are trying to emphasise there are very different systems in other countries. I go to a dermatologist regularly, take my son to an orthopaedic surgeon, have organised an appt for a scan at the radiologist. And I go yearly to the gynaecologist. If I needed a colonoscopy I would make an appt at the gastro doctor.
I go every 2 years for a full health check up at the GP but otherwise rarely go to her.

There are other ways to deliver medicine that aren’t the NHS or the pay per visit system in the States. I pay my health insurance out my wages and won’t pay anything towards any of those visits no matter how many times I go. I would find it difficult to go back to the NHS after many years away from the UK

True but surely that argument applies to everything? Why not see a dermatologist, neurologist, audiologist, cardiologist....however many -ologists there are?

Which bit of "It's a different system without gatekeeper GPs do you not understand?" Of course people see all these specialists! I see a dermatologist, an ophthalmologist and a gynecologist every other year as standard. My DC see a specialist pediatric ophthalmologist - opticians are not allowed to examine children in France, different country different rules. One of my DCs and my Ex see a podologist, my Ex sees a pulmonologist, I see an allergologue...are you getting it?

Also we don't need to go to the dentist evert year.

Dentist friend says a big proportion of her NHS income is made up of healthy wealthy educated people with good dental hygiene. Occasional small fillings, practice makes lots of extra money with scaling, polishing, visit to the hygienist etc. Most would be fine coming once every 3 years.

She must work in quite an affluent area then? The ones near me would likely give a different account! Raises the interesting point of how much screening/prevention type health stuff is safest at different frequencies for different demographics.