Feminism and gynaecology

[pawpawpawpaw]

When I was (much) younger I went to Brook clinics for sexual health gubbins and they were fantastic, even told me to ask for a particular speculum for a more comfortable smear. It was a very woman-positive atmosphere and there were people there who changed the way I thought about my own autonomy, like my genitals didn't just exist relative to penetrative sex and pregnancy.

Now I'm in my 50s and perimenopausal, I feel pretty manhandled by my GP and I dread asking about gynae issues. Made an appointment to ask about bleeding and pain, GP talks over me and keeps sending me for blood tests... to see if I'm perimenopausal.

Is there a female-positive solution? I would go anywhere and do anything to avoid retreading this path. I just would like to be treated with some basic respect really, I need for this not to be such a draining experience.

ask other local women to recommend a GP?
ask to see a practice nurse- they can prescribe, I would imagine they deal with menopause

I specifically asked for a woman GP. She was wonderful and prescribed HRT with no hassle.

I get your point though, I just don’t want to be treated by a man ever for gynae issues.

That approach from your GP sounds useless!
I've found local sexual health services brilliant, is there a clinic you could self refer to?

LadyDoc yes, useless. You're right, I used a local GUM clinic when I had what turned out to be lichen planus. They don't (or didn't) do smears though, and I had to see dozens of strangers over the year or so I was trying to get a diagnosis. The attitude was generally better.

I think I'm having a panic at being asked to go into the surgery to have this useless blood test when it seems like someone should have a look at my cervix.

If you are able to afford private treatment there are a few fantastic female consultants with expertise in menopause. If not, I second the advice to ask around to find a GP who specialises or is at least sympathetic, and apparently there are some NHS menopause clinics though I haven’t looked into it for a while.
I have found this a useful resource www.menopausematters.co.uk/

Noticed you mentioned bleeding, does this happen after sex or in between periods?

Expat here (see username), so somehwhat different healthcare system. But:

Yesterday, I spent an hour on the phone with my health insurance account manager. Lovely chap, by the way, no hard feelings! But, here's what happened:

Naturally, he tried to upsell me on a whole bunch of stuff (fine by me, that's his job after all).

I explicitely mentioned that, as a woman in my mid-to-late thirties with one child and s client with a) shit tons of spare cash and b) somewhat unresolved feelings on the question of whether or not to have another child I was interested in options that would make gynaecology and also pregnancy a better deal for me as a health insurance customer.

He came up blank and (poor bloke) must have felt somewhat sheepish at having to inform me that I was welcome to purchase a package that would cover me if I decided to get Botox but that there was literally no product in his portfolio that would alliw me to buy coverage for less painful pap smears or insure me against the eventuality of having a difficult pregnancy the 2nd time around the block.

... also: sorry for the typos. Sausage fingers on mobile.

LadyDoc it's almost constant now, light bloody discharge all the time, plus pain on one side. I don't have penetrative sex.

That sounds like it needs attended to urgently to me, I'm out of clinical practice for many years so can't give a medical opinion though.
If you can tell me what area you're in I'd gladly look at self referral options, or perhaps insist on seeing a different GP?

Brexpat yes, funny you should say that, I had a brief browse of Harley St style private docs online and that version of boutique healthcare still doesn't help me in any obvious way. The focus seems to be on conception and hrt (nothing wrong with hrt, just doesn't help me with smears).
I've asked local friends for recommendations. I think a lot of women put up with quite a lot and I'm not sure their recommendations would go beyond who is nice, who has appointments etc.
LadyDoc many thanks, may I pm you? I understand you're not in a position to give me a medical opinion, I just don't want to put my details here.

And thanks for the replies.

Of course, please do! I'm using the app, no idea how to direct replies or set alerts for responses, ha!
Happy to help any way I can x

When my friend had a similar set of symptoms she went to Marie Stopes who helped her get her cervix issue diagnosed and referred her on for treatment.

Holly how interesting, they would be a good choice. Was that recent? Their website says they do birth control but not healthcare as such. MS are such a great organisation.

LadyDoc I tend not to use the app so no words of wisdom from me. I sent a message but let me know if you can't find it.

I asked my GP to refer me to here:
www.chelwest.nhs.uk/services/womens-health-services/gynaecology-services/menopause-and-pms-clinics/referrals
They were great. But I suppose you have to persuade your GP in the first place. Change GP?
(I do find it odd that a GP would feel the need to give a blood test to a woman in her 50s rather than use common sense. Maybe dim as well as patronising?)

I wouldn't ever use a male GP for gyn issues, just as I wouldn't expect DH to use a female GP for e.g. testicular issues.
However, not all female GPs have been good. With online booking you can choose the ones you like and ignore the useless ones. FInd a good one and stick to them.

I think it's finding the right doctor, regardless of sex. My old GP, a bloke who has retired now, was brilliant. Really gentle and empathetic, whereas I once had a woman doctor who was very brusque, physically speaking.

I have a theory that women HCPs who have easy periods and no gynae problems tend to assume that women who DO have problems are hypochondriacs or plain making a fuss. I remember throwing Miriam Stoppard's pregnancy book in the bin after reading her claim that pain in labour was largely psychological. Fuck that

DF, a retired GP, says he always assumed that women who complained of painful periods were telling the truth. Said that without a uterus he was in no position to think otherwise, whereas he noticed some of his female colleagues were judgemental and unsympathetic.

Is there a Dr at your surgery who takes an interest in women's health? The smallish surgery I go to has a a woman GP with gynae experience who handles most of the more "intimate" female health problems.

Just for clarity my GP isn't male and I don't think having a female doctor is the solution.

bornto thanks for the recommendation. I plan to change surgeries so I may ask if they new one will refer me. I'm still at this surgery because they prescribe a medication I'll find it hard to get elsewhere and I've been gearing up to make the change.

Yes, I don't understand what can be gained with a(nother) blood test and I think it contravenes the NICE guidelines?

Prawn I agree, it's not about the sex of the doctor, it's about their values. Maybe I'm imagining sepia-toned 80s feminist spaces? Or maybe middle-aged women didn't have access to this kind of space then, I was a young woman accessing provision for young people.

In fact the more time I spend thinking about this the more I realise it's not just about feeling alienated - as a middle aged feminist - from the larger culture, it's about feeling alienated from spaces I'd have expected in a previous life to be for people like me. I miss the old school feminist spaces.

I came across the My Body Back Project, where they do smears for women who have been sexually assaulted, which sounds like a fantastic service. Closed now due to cv but I may get in touch with them when they reopen.

Clanger thanks for the reminder. This surgery has more problems than the one I've mentioned, it has the poorest patient survey results in my area and I need to make a change anyway, but I will make sure I ask when I register with the new one if they have someone with an interest in women's health and menopause.

pawpawpaw I have similar and am diagnosed with ovarian cysts and also cervical erosion (irritation on the opening of the cervix. Not saying that is definitely what you have, but I have a lovely GP and after a few appointments, smear test and scan got a diagnosis. Waiting on a Consultant appointment, but Coronavirus has knocked that for six, so God only knows when it'll be rescheduled for