If you’re a women who experiences menses, then you are no stranger to the pain that comes with cramps. That means you also know just how taboo of a subject periods can be in general. That’s actually absurd and can be rather dangerous. Women are conditioned not to discuss their periods and the pain that comes with it. So, many of us suffer in silence and pretend like there is no pain. Sadly, it’s not uncommon to be dismissed even by your own doctor for menstrual pain. The danger in the dismissal is that there can be something seriously wrong with you, beyond the physical agony you’re already experiencing from your period.
I recently came across a question on Quora that was likely posted by a woman: “Why don’t doctors take period cramps seriously even when women are suffering a lot of pain?” A male physician, whom I can only assume was annoyed at being lumped in with unconcerned doctors, attempted an answer. However, he did not actually answer the question. Rather, he clinically explained possible causes of the period pain and how it can be alleviated in some cases. To make matters worse, he condescended to the initial poster: “OK, I have a question. Why do people on Quora ask oversimplified questions with ridiculous generalizations? Apparently your own doctor is not taking your medical complaint seriously, and as a result you are asking why all doctors do not care about dysmenorrhea.” After his explanation, he added: “Finally, I have one more piece of advice for you. Get a new doctor.”
As Bad as a Heart Attack
While I’m sure the physician above had good intentions, he still did what doctors frequently do with women’s pain: he dismissed her question entirely. And many women find this happens more often with male physicians than with females. The reasons for that should be obvious, but in case their is any doubt, female doctors are likely to understand the pain better because they experience it. The same cannot be said for the male counterparts. Those are definitely generalizations. In fact, my own experience has been quite the opposite. I’ve experienced more compassion and been taken seriously by my male healthcare providers than by females. But I suspect that’s not the norm.
It’s not like periods are some new female-specific condition. Yet, modern medicine still has very few options for pain relief. Some of these include ibuprofen, IUDs, and birth control pills. John Guillebaud, professor of reproductive health at University College London, says that patients have described the cramping pain as “almost as bad as having a heart attack.”
So why is it that there are so few options to help women in severe pain and agony from cramps and conditions like endometriosis? Because there is a strange lack of research and even a willingness to fund more research. And where are those female physicians that understand better? Why aren’t they stepping up? Guillebaud adds, “I think it happens with both genders of doctor. On the one hand, men don’t suffer the pain and underestimate how much it is or can be in some women. But I think some women doctors can be a bit unsympathetic because either they don’t get it themselves or if they do get it they think, ‘Well I can live with it, so can my patient.’”
“Women’s Problems”
If you haven’t experienced having your period pain dismissed, then you likely know someone who has and possibly suffered severe consequences as a result. Just do even minor digging on Google and you’ll find a wealth of women who were dismissed over and over for years. Take, for example, the case of Lydia Brain. Despite all her extra symptoms including massive blood loss at random times during the month, various visits to doctors, anemia, passing out, and much more, she was just dismissed over and over again with “women’s problems.” It turns out, that at just 24 years of age, she actually has endometrial cancer. Could that have been prevented if she was taken seriously from the start?
And these women’s issues that we just sweep aside extend beyond menstruation. Two years ago, a family member went to her physician for a lump in her breast. He dismissed her without so much as a test. He just sent her on her way and told her it was nothing to worry about. By the time she went back six months later due to visibly obvious problems with that same breast, she was finally given the proper attention by a new physician. However, she was already at Stage 4 with breast cancer. She just passed away a few days ago.
The doctor mentioned at the outset has excellent advice: if you’re doctor is dismissing your pain or symptoms, then find a new one. Don’t let them dismiss you, your questions, or the pain. Periods and gynecological issues are serious business, folks. Were you dismissed by your physician? Tell us your story.
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