Why are we accepting this?

[howtorebuild]

When it comes to healthcare, we are getting second rare care.

www.psmag.com/health-and-behavior/is-medicines-gender-bias-killing-young-women

www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/introduction/gender-and-autism/preparing-girls-for-adulthood.aspx

There are other conditions such as ME, CFS, Fibromyalgia, Ehlers danlos syndrome and postural orthodontic tachycardia syndrome (often first misdiagnosed as CFS/ME fibromyalgia) taking a long time to be diagnosed, with poor treatment if any available. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/10904532/ME-one-third-of-patients-wrongly-diagnosed.html Conditions that predominantly make women and girls worse due to female muscle type and hormones. Yet EDS is thought to be the most neglected condition in present day medicine, by a leading expert in the condition.

Why in 2015 are women being given poor health care, considered second class to Men in cardiovascular and autism in diagnosis and treatment? Why are we being fobbed off as primarily mentally ill when we are actually physically ill or simply in ownership of a different autonomic system/ brain structure/connective tissue type?

I've been fighting to get an endometrial ablation for years and I'm getting nowhere.

I have very heavy periods, more often than not I'm housebound for the first two to three days as I can't risk being too far away from a toilet. The flooding wakes me up four or five times a night and I have to sleep on a pile of old towels to prevent ruining the mattress.

I can't take either the combined or mini-pill, I've tried both tranexamic acid and mefenamic acid and do not want the Mirena.

I finally got referred to a gynaecologist a few years ago to hopefully get an ablation and he refused to do it because I was too young to be making permanent decisions about my fertility. I had a choice between the Mirena or nothing.

I'm now trying again and my GP has said she doesn't think there's a consultant who will do it until I'm at least 38. I'm only 32, I don't want another 6 years of having to fit my entire life around my periods.

DH, on the other hand, was able to get a vasectomy (in the hope that us having permanent contraception in place would increase my chances of getting an ablation) at a similar age no questions asked.

passiveaggressive I would say that is on the heavy side. Has it always been like that, or has it changed?

Some women find that a combination of tranexamic acid and mefenamic acid during the period makes the bleeding lighter. However, as a PP said upthread, these are not good for every condition, so check with your GP if they are appropriate for you. Also, mefenamic acid is an NSAID, which means it is a painkiller in the same group as ibuprofen - so don't take it with ibuprofen.

Interesting thread. Marking my place.

trionic - that's what happened to me! It got worse and worse from the age of 32 until three rounds of surgery earlier this year (I'm 37). During the last year, I didn't stop bleeding - and I mean every single day. The lack of sleep combined with the anemia resulting from bloodloss combined with my inability to leave the house or to get GPs to listen or take it seriously meant that I nearly lost my mind. (I am not exaggerating!)

I'm going to talk very pragmatically here- not about what I think is right, but about what I think might be most effective within our existing, sexist system, to access help for you. My experience is that there is a very slow, very cumbersome flowchart that you have to work through with menorrhagia, and that if you skip a step it can cause you problems. This should not be the case, but there you go.

I understand your concerns about the Mirena - I shared them and still have reservations. However, I found that it was a step that I was pretty much forced to go through in order to access further help (otherwise, they turned around and said 'Well, it can't be that bad, you haven't tried this'). It did absolutely nothing for me - BUT I am in the minority. Many women find it really helps them and does reduce their flow by a considerable amount. It sounds as though it might be worth a try in your case??

Do you know what is causing the bleeding? When you saw the consultant, did they do an ultrasound? In my case, it was a fibroid - not even a large one, but one in very much the wrong place. There are very new techniques that they can use to remove these without affecting fertility (it's called 'morcellation') and it is much easier to access this at your age. Of course, there are other removal technique too, but they worry about scarring - even where the woman is screaming at them, saying that she just wants the bleeding to stop, doesn't want children/more children etc.

/end of pragmatic bit

I agree with you that there is a double standard in relation to vasectomy. (I think this is deeply gendered). There seems to be a working assumption that women are irrational and liable to change their mind about having children. I understand that this is a concern, but I do not believe it should overrule our decision and that if a woman can show that she has seriously considered all the consequences and understands fully what she's letting herself in for, then it should be her final call.

I was over 38 when it was offered to me. I can't find anything on Google which says one way or another whether there needs to be a minimum age apart from an American research report on a follow up study of different types of ablation which contained the comment Median age of patients was 39 (range 29–50) years.

I suspect the age limit is because medical professionals won't believe women when they decide they don't want to breed at all or have bred enough.

I do recall being pestered ( by health visitor ? Not sure , it was a long time ago ) to make appointments to have something checked to see if I could have a VBAC after my son was born by caesarean. I definitely recall explaining several times I only wanted 1 child.

Unfortunately Trionic If you do not have private insurance cover getting cover now (which in itself is not hugely expensive) to get this treatment might not be an option as there might be an "existing condition" exclusion. (My cover was an employers' group cover with very few exclusions) If you or your husband have employers who offer private medical insurance it might be worth looking at.

You might be able to get it done privately but well over 10 years ago it cost my insurers several thousand.

Oh by the way several sites I've read today say the need to change sanitary protection every 2 hours is heavy and abnormal.

Buffy - does she have kids already? From anecdotal things other women have told me, if you have two or more, it seems like there is a willingness to accept your word that your family is 'complete'. With one, you might need to do some persuading. If you have no kids, then my own experience is that they are very unwilling to do anything at all, even if there are other issues that make it highly unlikely you are able to have children.

Ooops, posted too soon - wanted to add 'And even if women turn up and say categorically that they have no intention of starting a family'.

I think the thing that annoys me is that there is such a devastating, long term impact on quality of life with just heavy bleeding - let alone if other things start kicking off as well. I don't feel that this is fully appreciated by the medical profession in terms of the practical support offered. Perhaps part of the issue is that we don't all get together often enough and say what the personal 'costs' of it have been.

As a slight side issue, any beautician will tell you that you shouldn't get anything waxed close to either side of your period as your pain threshold is lower. I have never been asked where I am in my cycle when I've been prescribed painkillers by a doctor. When I ask about it they just look at me blankly. Drugs affect women differently for lots of reasons but no-one seems to take this into account

Youremywifenow
I've never heard that before, re period and pain threshold. Does it make a difference if you are irregular, or if you have heavy or light periods?

The female hormone fluctuations, also can apparently make you more prone to injury too.

It's not just your pain threshold, your skin is much more sensitive too. A wax can be awful! Same when pregnant I think?

I hadn't either until I asked why sometimes it's painless and sometimes it makes my eyes water. All waxers seem to know this. Try plucking your eyebrows at different times of the month and you'll feel it really clearly

And I think you're more prone to injury when you have higher progesterone levels which is why you shouldn't lift heavy stuff etc. during pregnancy. Nothing to do with harming the baby, it makes your ligaments / muscles
slacker so you're more likely to pull something. A midwife told me that

I know that a lot of women experience a few days when they're uncharacteristically clumsy just before their period arrives.

I have never had a wax, so I haven't a clue what that feels like anyway, but I get itchy just before my period, often in the breasts and along my jawline. I've always thought it was just me, because no one else has ever mentioned it. If I forget when my period is supposed to be, those warning signs always let me know!

This reminds me of the thread about women's pain in childbirth...

An accident victim screaming in agony - expected to be given pain relief immediately. A woman in labour screaming in agony and begging for an epidural - sorry dear, the anaesthetist is busy right now, it'll be a couple of hours at least, just do some breathing exercises, remember your body is built for this.

Totally agree OP.

I had ashermans syndrome (inner uterus scarring) following an erpc for miscarriage. Symptoms were lack of/very very light abnormal periods. It led to several more Miscarriages and often total Infertility. First (male) GP I went to told me i should "think myself lucky" I now had such light periods.

It took two more visits to GP to finally see a female one who then referred me for treatment.