More on Medical Gaslighting

 

First of all, I know that there are some great men in the medical profession. This post is not about these professionals, mostly kind people, but rather the individuals who discount the words of their patients for the express reason of being a woman.

I saw a few videos on Instagram with women telling their horror stories of when a male medical professional discounted what they said and sent them home instead of treating very real medical problems. These videos made me cringe because they are all too common; while a lot of progress has been made in this area, there is still a lack of understanding to be sure. 

I did an informal poll on Facebook and was amazed at some of the experiences of my friends. Here are a few:

• "I was told that a D & C is not actually painful, just that I was emotionally traumatized and that resulted in what I perceived as pain."

• "I was dealing with tachycardia and when they couldn't figure it out, I was told to take Tylenol and try not to think about it."

• "My doctor said that the heavy flow and horrible cramping I was experiencing was normal. Turns out it was endometriosis."

• "I was experiencing abdominal pain worse than anything I had felt in my life. But, because I was on my period, the male doctor at the ER said it was just cramping. I had ovarian cysts that went unchecked for two more weeks and could have led to sepsis." 

I wrote about it briefly, but for six months the doctor who oversees my doctor was convinced I was just depressed instead of having POTS. Once I got my diagnosis, after much haggling for referrals, I feel vindicated. But it shouldn't take months of fighting with your doctor to find out what's wrong, should it? 

I was messaged many more privately because the patients were too ashamed to post them publicly. My heart breaks for them. It created unnecessary pain in an already painful situation that haunts them to this day. In these instances, what should one do? For me, I had a really strong partner who advocated for me and reminded me that I wasn't all that crazy (a little joke we share). But for people who feel like they are going at it alone, what are some tips that might help them? 

Blessings, 

Jessica