Medicine Has Failed Women #endometriosis

Medicine Has Failed Women #endometriosis. Throughout history, medicine has often treated women worse than men, manifesting in various forms of discrimination, neglect, and disparities in healthcare. While strides have been made towards gender equality in medicine, significant challenges and inequities persist, reflecting deep-rooted biases and systemic barriers that have historically marginalized women's health. Here are some ways in which medicine has treated women worse than men: Underrepresentation in Research: Historically, women have been underrepresented in clinical trials and medical research, leading to a lack of understanding of how diseases manifest differently in women compared to men. This gender bias has resulted in diagnostic and treatment protocols that may not be as effective or appropriate for women, potentially leading to misdiagnosis, inadequate treatment, and poorer health outcomes. Dismissal of Symptoms: Women's health concerns have often been dismissed or trivialized by healthcare providers, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment. Conditions such as endometriosis, fibromyalgia, and autoimmune diseases are frequently misdiagnosed or overlooked in women due to biases about gender-specific symptoms and pain perception. Stigma Surrounding Reproductive Health: Women's reproductive health, including menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause, has been stigmatized and marginalized within the medical community. Issues such as menstrual pain, postpartum depression, and menopausal symptoms are often downplayed or dismissed as "normal" experiences, leading to inadequate support and treatment options for women. Inadequate Pain Management: Studies have shown that women are less likely to receive adequate pain management compared to men, leading to disparities in pain treatment and outcomes. Women's pain is often attributed to psychological factors or dismissed as exaggerated, resulting in undertreatment and unnecessary suffering. Inequities in Cardiovascular Health: Heart disease, a leading cause of death worldwide, has historically been viewed as a "man's disease," leading to underdiagnosis and undertreatment in women. Women's symptoms of heart disease may differ from men's and be less recognized by healthcare providers, leading to delays in diagnosis and poorer outcomes. #health #gender

[Delicate_Disaster]

"It's just your period. It's supposed to hurt."
Sir, I AM ON THE FLOOR. I passed out from the pain! That's not normal!

[MK-pjwr]

What's worse than being dismissed by the doctors is when another woman says "its not as bad as mine" or "we all get a period, suck it up" whe youre really struggling

[umhi]

Even if periods are painful, we should still be working towards ways to eliminate or minimize the pain instead of doing nothing because "everyone's suffering"

[davinatest]

Dismissing women’s symptoms can lead to an early death….be persistent and get second opinions ….my sister died at the age of 27 in the 70s because her doctor said that her condition was simply painful periods ..turns out it was ovarian cancer .it wasn’t just that she died it was the way that her doctor dismissed her as a fraud.

[karensmith]

Too many doctors dismiss female pain. Either females don't really feel pain, or they're exaggerating. And that's not just male doctors.

[neniaemm]

I had been suffering with incredibly painful periods from about age 14. I would repeatedly go to the doctors and ask if there was anything that could be done, I was missing days from school, and as I became an adult, University and eventually work. I was always told "Oh it will settle down if you do this, if you take the pill, bla bla bla." it never did so I just gave up and accepted this was how it was. At 35 I went to hospital for another procedure and they asked me "Did you know you might have endometriosis?"
I managed to get a referral and a diagnosis that same year. To say I'm livid with all those past doctors who listened to me explain how much pain I was in and not take me seriously, is a major understatement.

[TrainerSpyro]

My sister suffered from unimaginable pain with her cycle for years because she believed she'd be ignored because
"it was just cramps".
One day the pain was so unbearable she caved and went to the ER and the first thing the useless doctor and nurse said was "you realize you're coming in to the ER on a Friday night... For help with your... Period cramps..."
She just stormed out without a word and ended up even more terrified to seek help since her worst fear was realized.
It took two more years of the agony only getting worse before we convinced her to go back to a doctor. She got an obgyn and this absolute saint of a man was so determined to help. Almost immediately he found both uterine fibroids and adenomyosis.
People really don't understand how terrible periods can get.

[AnnieEclectic]

My friend is now in a wheelchair and mostly bed bound because her endometriosis was dismissed by male and female doctors. Even after several surgeries she is still in endless pain. It’s absolutely disgraceful and seeing a friend go through this and loose her quality of life like this gives me great fear. Sad beyond belief.

[beutful.strlght]

girlfriend has this and the pain she goes thru on a daily basis because of doctors shrugging it off as period cramps is infuriating.

[jbach]

God I feel so bad for that woman. I've been there. It took 28 years to get diagnosed and finally get the surgery that would help me. When the lab finally looked at the organ that had been removed from my body, the question to me was, "how were you even walking around?" Simple answer. I didn't have a choice. The entire medical system needs to do better for women.

[Evridikibio]

Currently in med school. During our clinical rotation on OBGYN the told us that a period is NOT supposed to incapacitate you. What on earth are they teaching doctors in US?

Edit since it's not just the US. What on earth are the teaching doctors everywhere?

[LE_TXTAFIM]

I went to the ER with extreme stomach pain that was keeping me up at night and I couldn’t eat and it hurt to breathe. The doctor said “it’s probably cramps” and sent me home. I wasn’t on my period and told him it wasn’t cramps multiple times. A week later still in lots of pain I went to the regular doctor who is a female luckily, turns out it was a really bad stomach ulcer. I’m glad that my female doctor understood it wasn’t cramps and helped me. More male doctors need to understand women know the difference between normal period cramps and other more serious things.

[re--dacted]

Dude: Doc, I can't get hard.
Doc: We have a pill for that.
Dudette: Doc, my period is torture.
Doc: That's normal.

[iminyeear]

I’m 17. Ever since I was around 12 I’ve been telling Doctors Im in pain and each year it kept getting severely worse. We told them many years it could be Endometriosis and they all said I was “Too young for it” and to “Go to a Psychologist” etc..

Finally after years we finally got a laparoscopy (after all the begging) and it was indeed Endo. Turns out I was riddled with it on my appendix aswell!! Had to have another surgery to get it removed and found out it turned into Acute Appendicitis.

Now I’m left with Pudendal Neuralgia (The Nerve in your pelvis) most likely from Endo and I’m crippled. I’ve been bedridden and can’t even get out the house. Everyone still thinks it’s an exaggeration when I tell them.

Thanks to Incompetent doctors, my life basically has no meaning since I have to rely on my parents for everything.

And they still wonder why women kill themselves!!

[LeeLeeC]

You know what else these doctors don’t realize, they give some of us a death sentence. I went through so many doctors until one actually listened to me. I had endometrial cancer. Had it spread any further, I would not be here today. The unnecessary pain, medication, treatments, and sickness, I went through…..brings me to tears to think about. All they had to do was listen.

[i_am_valphy]

I had pain so painful i almost passed out, but never went to doctors because my mother had them too and she had the exact same experiences whatsoever.

Still can't believe how cruel medicine is with those who have it worse than I do.

I hope sometime, somewhere in the far future, women can be treated of their pains and not be dismissed of it.

Stay strong girlies!💕

[cantthinkofaname]

As a woman who doesn't get any period pain, I always though "If I don't get pain but others do there must be a reason for it. Why haven't we found the reason yet?" but no, I didn't have pain because I was lucky and having pain is the "normal". Pain should never be treated as normal. If men had to go through pain every month the reason for my pain free periods would've already been found centuries ago.

[ksoltau]

My friends mother unalived herself because she was in so much pain and not a single doctor believed her. One doctor actually laughed at her and said she ought to break her foot maybe that would distract her from the pain. Another doctor said she was just making it up to get pain meds and involuntarily committed her to a rehab center. She deleted herself on the fourth day in the program because the pain was making it impossible to eat or drink without becoming I'll and everyone said she was faking it. My friend and her siblings and her dad lost their mom/wife at 34. My friend was 8.

[MetalGoddessJen]

My daughter has stage 4 endometriosis. She had an excision early last year, they found it in her diaphragm and removed it. However, in the late fall and winter, she started having bad chest pain, breathing issues. Her lung had herniated through her diaphragm where the excision was. She had it fixed a free months ago. She lives in constant pain. She’s tried to have a baby only to have 2 miscarriages. My heart breaks for her, it’s hard to see your kids in pain, even when they are adults.

[anonymouse]

My own daughter told me I was exaggerating my pain when she was 14. Some days I couldn't even get out of bed. She never had a painful period so she didn't believe I could b in pain. It was so heartbreaking. I'm 57 and was never diagnosed with anything. I'm done with my periods now, so I am thankful that I never have to deal with it again.