Women’s health / medical misogyny

[CapitalD]

AIBU to think (and I’m sure there is evidence of this) that if a health issue isn’t immediately obviously diagnosable + you are female the inevitable answer is that you are stressed/hormonal/over weight

Its like the second their isn’t an obvious answer on imaging or blood work they just give up

I’ve had “non specific” pain for 7 days now. Not a pain I’ve ever had before. I know my body very well, I know what my period and ovulation pain feels like; I know what a muscular pain feels like. But as soon as the tests returned all normal you get the head tilt and the “are you particularly stressed at the moment” talk.

Since you ask, yes yes I am, probably because of the increasing pain I’ve been in for 7 bloody days 😡

Contrasted with my ex partner attending ED because he had a quite similar pain and they threw the kitchen sink at him trying to find out what it was because it’s unusual for a young man to be in such pain?!

So you both had tests? Not seeing misogyny here but if a woman broke a nail it would still be a man's fault

You're not wrong.

It's not just misogynistic, it's class based too.

I get gold-standard public service because I'm a bit posh and articulate.

I'd say it's more class than sex based how one is treated by public services.

Although there's a misogynistic boot up the arse there too.

women’s bodies are more complex.
dr’s struggle when the answer isn’t obvious regardless if you’re male or female.

I'm not sure that's true.

They're not more complex, it's rather the hegemonic medical system hasn't bothered to learn everything there is to know about them.

And so women centered problems are dismissed.

I got offered paracetamol at a&e for what I described as 9/10 endometriosis pain. Had already taken that, plus morphine
waited 2 years for treatment and it nearly cost me my job
i did feel like men wouldn’t put up with screaming pain for 2 years and be told there was nothing they could do in the meantime. When I did get referred and get treatment, they were excellent but the wait was insane

How many cases of health anxiety do medical staff have to wade through in the overrun nhs?

I wouldn't have put up with that either.

Problem is what do you actually do? I begged, pleaded, offered to take cancellations, made friends with the secretary
gynae is a shit show up and down the U.K.
I think it’s an average of 7 years before someone is diagnosed with endometriosis, and then wait times for gynae are 2-7 years in some places. It’s shocking

I’ve had endometriosis pain since I was about 12. I’ve been told, over the years, that it must be:

• Growing pains
• Trapped wind
• Grumbling appendix
• Trapped wind
• Growing pains
• Stitch
• Trapped wind
• Indigestion
• Stomach acid
• Trapped wind
• Muscle pain from exercise
• Am I pregnant?
• Am I sure I’m not pregnant? (No, doc, my name is not Mary).
• Normal period pain - try a hot water bottle.
• Normal period pain - try going for a run.
• Normal period pain - try taking some paracetamol (OMG never thought of that before wasting my time at the doctors).
• Am I sure I’m not pregnant? Oh then it must be trapped wind.

Funnily enough, like most adults with a brain, I can tell the difference between muscle, wind and period pain but pointing this out just makes them stare blankly at me and repeat their shit non-diagnosis.

Anyway, I gave up at 23 and found out age 32 during a CS that it was endometriosis. Cue every issue I ever have being blamed on the endo. 🤪 But can’t get in with a gynae to treat it.

Isn't endometriosis fairly common though?

Is it just because it's women's fanny problems it's distasteful?