Medicine has always been sexist // The History of Hysteria [CC]

[@CobaltKitty]

Soranus: “Maybe the trauma of childbirth is a cause of these issues in women.” Victorians: “lol you have demons in your womb go do cocaine about it”

[@ulyssemartinfrigault1021]

GO DO COCAINE ABOUT IT SKJSKSJSKSJKSJSKSJS

[@iciajay6891]

Childbirth is traumatic to the body. Not to mention mentally taxing. Idk ppl think it is easy or a small thing. I left my old Dr who was a 70+ old white man. Was extremely sexist and had almost killed me a few times by not checking my chart to not prescribeing me contradictory medications. If my pharmacist did not chevk, I would have died at least twice. I have sence learnt he dose this a lot. And has lost hospital privileges. I found s female Dr who is under 50. She actually try's to keep me healthy! Who knew.

[@SkylerLinux]

@@iciajay6891 If it wasn't for the fact that my Mother went to the same Pharmacist, she'd have been giving Med's she is badly allergic too

[@MSYNGWIE12]

Yes we laud, laudanum for all that ails you...

[@themedia1271]

Victorians: *has problems* Victorian doctors: HAVE YOU TRIED COCAINE YET? IT FIXES EVERYTHING!

[@raspberryitalia3464]

My sister almost died twice in HS because the hospitals would not believe her or my mom. When she first started feeling unusual back pain, they told her the usual about it just being period pain regardless of the fact she'd never felt pain like this before, and our family dr was the one to suggest appendicitis and sent her to the hospital immediately. After the surgery, my sister's temperature kept spiking and dropping dramatically, but when my mom called the hospital to express concern they told her she was just being a paranoid, hysterical mother. My sister's skin turned gray so my mom took her back to the family dr who realized the surgical wound had abscessed internally to the size of a grapefruit. Absolutely shameful the way women are dismissed and left to die by so many medical "professionals"

[@LegendOfMoonDragons]

That's disgusting on the part of the hospital, thank god for your GP. I'm so sorry that happened, hope your sister is doing better these days!

[@raspberryitalia3464]

@@LegendOfMoonDragons she's doing great, thank you!

[@Judymontel]

I'm so sorry to hear that. Sadly, to provide balance, my dad's GP ignored his repeated requests for tests because of ongoing back pain for 3 years, until finally he found an orthopedist who sent him for a CT scan. He had a tumor that had eaten away most of one of his vertebrae. Sigh. May we all find good doctors when we need them

[@aperson433]

@@Judymontel No balance is needed, it is said in the video "it affects everyone some more than others". Also sorry both of these things happened, and will probablyly continue to happen.

[@Judymontel]

@@aperson433 Good point. I had forgotten that she said that.

[@Taizu314]

“Is your womb running? Then you’d better go catch it!” -transcript from Ancient Greek prank call

[@InvisiblerApple]

I am laughing imagining a scribe being sent across Athens just to deliver this joke.

[@emmamatthews3184]

I'm so glad I wasn't the only person that came out of this video with those kinds of jokes running through my head 😂

[@abigailbailey6098]

@@InvisiblerApple h

[@Museofmemory]

In her youth, my mother experienced a crippling amount of pain during her period. It was dismissed and ignored through her teens, and when she finally as a young woman got a doctor to investigate, he told her she was "rotting from the inside", that it was degenerative, that she'd never have children, and sent her home without treatment. She said for years she felt filthy, never clean, rotting. Flash forward to her marriage to my father. My father was the first person to take her seriously, when he caught sight one day of how much she bled. He demanded the medical professionals actually DO something. With much bullying and standing over (he was a large man), he finally got a doctor to do a proper investigation. One microsurgery later, my mother's endometriosis was alleviated and she went on to have two children. Lifetime trauma notwithstanding.

[@raspberryitalia3464]

That's truly horrific and inexcusable, I'm so sorry your mom went through all that, and I'm so glad your dad was able to advocate for her.

[@purplekittigaming]

Microsurgery. I've never heard that term. Seriously, what the hell. That was all it took, and doctors just can't be bothered. I'm so sorry your mother had to go through that. I'm very glad she was able to get through it though, and with the help of your father.

[@karenbass6663]

My mom had fibroid tumors her whole life and was put off also. She finally had a Dr listen her and found a 7lb fibroid tumor! She was almost 50.

[@kaydoeteccc7741]

Awwww so sad, should I get you a tissue

[@OnyxWylde]

I’m a woman of colour, I’m not femme presenting, I’m disabled, I’m autistic and I’m bisexual. My experience with the medical system is ✨stunning✨

[@maepoole1977]

Oh my that must be fun

[@QALibrary]

from all my stuidies I have come across you are at the bottom of all the list :(

[@CeruleanWings]

Same...

[@quirkyblackenby]

Oh god. I bet.

[@ChaoticKris964]

Im autistic and not straight and female

[@alias616]

My doctor did mention I might have hysterical tendencies, because they could not find another reason for my fainting. Fun.

[@jessicaoutofthecloset]

🥶 🥶

[@Poppy-]

What?

[@blueocean43]

My doctor went with "Some people just faint." I stopped taking the metoclopramide (anti sickness drug) that they prescribed and stopped fainting. Blood pressure issues are a really common side effect of this drug.

[@josiewie20]

When I was between the ages of 15 to 19 I woul regularly have to miss school, because I would feel faint and basically not be able to move from pain during my period. I was told by multiple doctors (female ones too) I was just overreacting and it couldnt be that bad. good times. So glad I haven't had problems for five years, but am so scared they will come back and no one will believe me again.

[@Poppy-]

@@josiewie20 I totally hear you. I'm sorry that you suffered that much. If possible have an ultrasound or X-ray to eliminate anything serious: endometriosis, tumors, cysts... In a way, I'm almost happy to be premenopausal, they can't play that card anymore.

[@CityKanin]

”Oh yes, you have a history of depression, sometimes that makes you imagine pain.” -”No, i was just in a motorbike accident and my knee was dislocated. Thank you.”

[@viannetteherrera7477]

It always happens; in my case it was a fractured finger, but the doctors only read depression and immediately there is no need to order X-rays. I was saved that another doctor, one who seemed to have just graduated, walked through the door and convinced the one who was treating me to order the X-rays. A couple of hours later (slow health system) they were immobilizing me for a double fracture.

[@kudzu_]

My mother, a charge nurse in an ICU for 25+ years, had to go to 4 doctors before one would take her symptoms seriously and not write her off as menopausal. It was a woman doctor who did the tests she wanted. She had uterine cancer.

[@lesbiangoddess290]

Oh my god I hope your mum is ok. That's disgraceful

[@victoriadiesattheend.8478]

Christ I am so sorry.

[@EddVCR]

Oh dear God! I’m so sorry she was subjected to such treatment. I hope she’s going to be all right!

[@tatianaleutwiler1867]

"Trust women's pain! Don't just tell us we're insane!" is a great T-shirt I'd wear to all my medical appointments.

[@N0p3er5]

That might put you in danger. They will see you as combative, and really take it out on you.

[@paulamugabi7320]

​@@N0p3er5😔😔😔

[@kaleidoscopingme]

Does it work? Asking not for a friend. -.-

[@kaleidoscopingme]

​@@N0p3er5 weeds out abuse? If they do that runn!!

[@BlackCatMagic0]

How about the age-old question of "are you on your period, or something?" when a person with a uterus expresses any emotion aside from happiness. Never gets old at all!

[@garakbashir1736]

I mean Plato's not wrong. When my womb is without a child, it becomes distressed and sorely disturbed. That is called a period.

[@yosoysoya7944]

True, but pregnancy disturbs your entire body, sooo... Can't win, huh :D?

[@isabelhoch3713]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@LynneWolf]

Exactly! We've got enough problems with our wombs rebelling cause we dared to not get pregnant every month without medicine adding on to it!

[@KatBFabulous]

@@yosoysoya7944 lose/lose situation, eay?

[@yosoysoya7944]

@@KatBFabulous the struggles of being a woman

[@zraashaq]

As a trans man, it literally changed my life to get my gender marker changed. Suddenly, doctors started listening to me. Suddenly, I was getting referrals that I had been begging to get for years. Suddenly, nearly everything I had been told was "all in my head" when I was seen as a woman was researched and diagnosed as a man. I dealt with sexism in the medical field for over 20 years.

[@sophiechandler2064]

That's crazy! I mean it's good that you've had both experiences and are now in a better position, but it's really interesting that you've seen an actual difference! Thanks for sharing this, blew my mind 🙂

[@katefriend4085]

My young sons (10 and 8) and I have been talking about trans people occasionally of late, I think it's time they knew before the internet has its way w their budding brains; and I recently told them that whatever the story about "where this phenomenon comes from," I was firm that I don't believe G-d makes mistakes. I told them trans people have things to teach us, it's our job to mostly leave people alone, but also to keep our eyes out for those lessons. Well here's a lesson, one that would be hard to learn by any other means than someone honestly and openly experiencing life as both genders. Incidentally, I am always shocked by the way misogyny trumps transphobia in the case of a lot of transgender persons, I'm not sure if this has always been your experience, but I've seen it before, and for some reason, it still leaves me speechless when it comes up, as in this story of yours. In any case, I'm glad you're getting the care you always deserved, and I hope we can benefit from those experiences you and others care to share. I am partly moved to comment at all out of indignation on your behalf that you had to go undiagnosed so long!

[@lyndabird9401]

I would like to interview men in your situation. How many have found the same result? Also, if the reverse happens when transitioning from male to female.

[@shannonp3400]

I am really happy your pain is being treated but OH MY GOSH THAT IS SUCH BULLSHIT.

[@jospinner1183]

@@katefriend4085 You're spot on with the fact that misogyny generally trumps transphobia. To me, this is the main reason why trans women face even more public transphobia and transphobic violence than trans men. On the other hand, it must be really eye-opening for folks like the OP who suddenly get a taste of what it's like to no longer be treated like a woman by society.

[@MathIsMagical]

Hysteria is no longer a valid diagnosis. Now they say “it’s just stress”. 🙄. Yeah it’s a genetic disorder, not stress.

[@bobblefish]

No fucking kidding. "Just stress" is my favorite diagnosis to regularly receive

[@NaomiJameston]

I've gotten "it's just stress" so many times, too. My favorite was when the stress ended up being a dying gallbladder. But yeah, sure, reducing my work hours would totally take care of that. 🙄

[@odin4306]

Or they say you have a panic disorder. I was in the hospital bc my legs stopped moving and my world was turned upside and they diagnosed me w a panic disorder because I was... distressed by a scary situation? Turns out Im chronically ill. I've had a neuromuscular doc tell me it was psychosomatic bc he didn't feel like looking any further or referring me elsewhere (if i listened to him I would be on the edge of dying atm) Gotta love ableist misogynistic doctors.

[@odin4306]

@@NaomiJameston Terrifying how, if we listened to our doctors, we might've died.

[@katejackson6502]

Oh is this ever frigging TRUE!!!!!!!

[@AngelavengerL]

My grandmother for years went to doctors and hospitals with intense pain in her head. They told her that it was just "in her head" or basically psychological and refused to do any diagnostics. She died at the age of 40 from a large brain tumor that they could have found years earlier if they'd just taken her pain seriously.

[@JwanDeFleur]

Wow... I hope these doctors have the same terrible death😃 May your grandma Rest In Peace

[@catpoke9557]

My mom suffered from chronic migraines for unknown reasons. The doctors gave her a lot of medication to stop the pain. I wonder if she had something similar going on.

[@manifestationsofasort]

Here are a few of my experiences. Note: I'm only 20. -Kept being dismissed by psychologists and doctors whenever I brought up my memory issues. They all just chalked it up to depression or anxiety. Wasn't until I moved and found a new doctor who actually listened and referred me to a neurologist did they figure out I have a neurological condition (fittingly, I don't remember the name). -Wasn't told that I had ADHD for years, and when I confronted my psychologist about it, she said I'd "grown out of it, so she didn't think I'd need to know." No, I didn't grow out of it. -School ignored and rejected testing for dyscalculia (a learning disability, like dyslexia but with numbers and equations). When I got to my new school, they tested me and I have it. -Same school forced me to take PE, fully knowing that I have a severe case of scoliosis that makes certain exercises and sports extremely painful to do. -Dozens of doctors thinking I was lying when I said I couldn't see. They refused to refer me to an eye doctor, and when I was referred, the eye doctors told me I was "too young" to have anything wrong with my sight, and didn't even test me. I'm blind. I have been since I was born. Since my eyes look normal, no one bothered to check. -When I was 15, I went to the ER in extreme pain. First time I went, it was just my scoliosis. Second time I went, I was just backed up. Third time, they finally tested me and I had a stomach ulcer. And most recently: -Went to get my tubes tied (I believe it's called tubal ligation). One said she wouldn't do it because I would "change my mind" and that I'd "ruin my life" by getting them tied. Second one said I needed permission from someone else, like my husband. According to a few of my friends, he'd said this to other women before. Apparently I'm not allowed to make my own reproductive choices. Currently searching for someone willing to do it.

[@binglemarie42]

You’ve been through the ringer. I’m sending strength and hope that things will improve.

[@wolveshowling26]

This is heavy- I wish you strength and good luck for the sadly probably ongoing struggle.... your last point is especially frustrating- it's basically stating that your potential not alive and wanted children are more important than your health and this is seriously concerning and I am sad to say this isn't the first time I hear about this procedure being denied with this argument

[@queerbotanicalqueen]

Wait, it’s not normal to have troubling remembering things constantly? I thought that just had to do with anxiety. I keep being told I have fine memory and I just “don’t want to remember certain things.”

[@brinagotsued]

@@queerbotanicalqueen that is hogwash!

[@thefadingmoonlight]

I've had several physicians refuse to let me get my tubes tied saying similar things to what you experienced. One doctor told me that wanting to get my tubes tied was the equivalent to amputating a healthy limb and that I needed to mental help...

[@liskazoek2135]

I may be "hysteric" according to ancient Egyptiana. The perspective of lying down and not getting back up sounds really good

[@deefitzgerald2906]

As WOMEN we do NOT get to just lying DOWN.....We are the ones keeping OUR FAMILIES TOGETHER and also WORKING at the same time.....

[@igw2309]

@@deefitzgerald2906 wtf

[@ace-of-teacups]

I feel you.

[@Stinkyfefefe]

@@ace-of-teacupswait what’s going on

[@RagDollCookie]

This is how I imagine it going: Wife: You treat me so poorly, I'm struggling to clean the house and cook your dinner at 8 months with child, the other children are sick, I need your help!" Husband: woman, you're getting hysterical. The doctor prescribes more marital sex for that. Wife: no, I just need you to listen to me and help me!! Husband: you're clearly mad. There is no other explanation.

[@bunhelsingslegacy3549]

Definitely the problem is not enough sex, anyone can see that

[@sissinoklahoma2057]

I mean, the "cure" prescribed by Men For Men. Least they're loyal to each other. 🤷‍♀️

[@lisa8a8e]

this is legit how I saw it in my head... the satire of men

[@oldsof69]

what bothers me a bit, is how lots of women have painful periods, but have to pretend nothing's wrong since it would seem 'weak' or inappropriate to admit, or to take days off

[@lidu6363]

Or eat painkillers like candy and willingly cause long-term damages to their bodies...

[@bluejay8422]

I have gone to doctors about my pain, and they told me I was more or less overdramatic or weak. Yeah, because passing out and not being able to physically move due to pain is 'normal.'

[@N0pleaseN0]

I have endometriosis and already extremely heavy periods, but my doctor still put me on a big dose of blood thinners despite me being really concerned about it. "Period blood is not the same, it shouldn't be an issue." I ended up in the ER with a cyst and uncontrollable bleeding, where I had a whole other ordeal with a misogynistic/racist/homophobic gyno. I guess the story has a happy ending, I sued the hospital and won.

[@mydogeatspuke]

None of us "have to" do anything. Some of us feel like we have to, but it is absolutely just a feeling. The vast majority of adults understand that we women have periods and sometimes they are very painful. A lot of women oppress themselves, I'm afraid.

[@satisfyhelter-skelter4666]

I was heaving extreamly painful periods almost since the beginning. My mother did too, my doctors were suggesting that it's normal. Some said that pregnancy would relieve this problem. Oh but it would not. I finally found a doctor who said that it is not normal to be in such menstrual pain. I was diagnosed with advanced endometrosis that could be damaging other organs and eventually cause death. So check yourself up girls and search for better medical PROFESSIONALS.

[@saena971]

The history is maddening. Also maddening is that the medical field went from "everything is because of your uterus" to "leave women entirely out of modern medical research because men are the baseline". Great video!

[@chantalbellmont6937]

This deserves to be a top comment

[@maleahlock]

Yes. Oh my giddy aunt yes.

[@moshpitprincess1]

“Oh you have extreme needle phobia caused by repeated traumatic medical events throughout your childhood/young adulthood? If you were my daughter I’d give you a smack and tell you to grow up.” - my surgeon while discussing my understandable anxiety prior to having my gallbladder removed. -.-

[@erowe6153]

It was ridiculous how my birth control wasn’t covered under insurance when the reason was severe abdominal pain but was cleared when the doctor listed it as to prevent pregnancy. Period pain can be agonizing but it still isn’t treated seriously.

[@JustAnotherPerson4U]

Yeah, they're more willing to pay for your prevention of accidental pregnancy than of treating your pain is absolutely ridiculous!

[@iciajay6891]

In my country it can be covered for medical reasons. Prevention is not one though.

[@feathers13]

Oh, I relate to this so much. I've been on some form of birth control for a while now due to ovarian cysts. Am on Depo now, and doing much better, but when I was on the pill, I had to tell the pharmacist what it was actually for because they didn't refill it in time. So I asked my OBGYN and she sent a note to the pharmacy listing what it was for exactly 🤦‍♀️

[@Jemini4228]

Also on the flipside, religious fundamentalists hate birth control pills because they 'prevent God's will' (aka a woman fulfilling their sole purpose in life according to their scripture) while failing to acknowledge that they are prescribed for reasons other than stopping pregnancy. Either they are too ignorant to find that out or they hate women so much they would rather leave them in pain/discomfort for the sake of making sure God (or more accurately the patriarchal systems in change of their religions) is in control of their bodies.

[@shannonp3400]

Yep. My female primary care doctor took my period pain seriously and my male one acted like I was addicted to opioids. When I switched back (I had only switched because I was in another state, I’ll drive 3 hours thanks) my female doctor was like “ya, whatever, how are you addicted when the last time it was prescribed (24 oxicodone pills) was A YEAR AND HALF AGO.”

[@FiMilton]

“Well young women often have lots of symptoms like you do, you’ll just grow out of it” Doctors should not be telling teenage girls that it’s normal to be in pain, fainting, vomiting, etc. Apparently losing weight would also solve all my issues. Doesn’t matter that they started before I gained that weight, losing weight cures autoimmune diseases apparently. I have been refused treatment for my autoimmune disease once the first option failed bc “if you’re not sick enough to be in the hospital you don’t need the treatment”

[@eglolis]

ffs....

[@laurencreates359]

exactly 🤦🏼‍♀️😕

[@shannonp3400]

My old doctor thinks my period pain is not appropriately treated with pain medication “because opioid epidemic”

[@EMJ113]

I feel your pain. I had the exact same treatment. Apparently I'd 'grow out' of blacking out and pain in my joints. I'm now 33 and still blacking out and collapsing (often resulting in injury) and have joints dislocating on a weekly basis. A neurologist told me last year ''its all in my head''. Sigh

[@sophisticatedPJs]

fatphobia is awful. I haven't been to the doctor in a long time but I'm scared that at some point I'm going to have something really bad happen and no one is going to take me seriously because of my body type. Once my dad told me that heart palpitations were normal. Another time (*TW: Eating disorder descriptions*) I was struggling with an eating disorder and everyone kept congratulating me on my weight loss and telling me how "healthy" I looked, even though I was literally starving myself and felt like garbage. If I went to a psychologist right now they'd probably deny that there was ever a problem, but I'm pretty sure healthy people don't spend 8 months straight eating around 200-400 calories per day and then working out to burn said tiny amounts of calories off, then feeling awful about yourself when you couldn't do it anymore. I'm doing much better now thankfully, but I think it's safe to say I had some fuckin issues and it's scary to me how everyone around me kept pushing me on and encouraging my unhealthy coping mechanisms.

[@azylisemiku6117]

My former general practitioner :"Girls can't be autistic! Your sensory issues come from your female fragility" (wasn't in english, but that's about what he said) ^^Also, my 27 year old self did not enjoy being called a girl either ^^

[@ixykix]

I am so mad that they sometimes (or often!) refer to grown women as 'girls'. Even past the age of 30!! They would never call a 25 year old man, a boy!

[@pipitameruje]

Metaphorically flipping a table in your behalf right here

[@azylisemiku6117]

@@pipitameruje thank you =)

[@schlehehe8371]

I literally almost died when my gallbladder was in the process of exploding inside my body, and the Paramedics originally refused to take me to the hospital because "As a girl your age, it's probably just Anxiety". I don't have, and have never had, an Anxiety disorder. What I had was a super-infected-and-mid-explosion-gallbladder. I literally almost died, and I would have if I had been alone or hadn't had family present to fiercely advocate for me to be brought to the hospital.

[@laurenvance1426]

First of all I’m so sorry. Secondly, I’m glad you did have someone there to advocate for you. I experienced something similar last year when I started having abdominal & flank pain. As a nurse my first thought was, “damn a UTI.” Went to doc did antibiotics the whole thing. But the pain kept coming back. Finally one Sunday, after I had also been puking for two days straight, my husband took me to the ER. The doctor didn’t even want to see me because of my last period date and history of PCOS. He said it’s probably just your period it’s normal for them to be irregular with PCOS. And told the nurse to discharge me (no urine test or anything). I looked at him and told him that was impossible, he said, “well are you a doctor then?” I said, “No but I am a nurse so I actually know how to read my patients’ charts, much less talk to them, and if you’d look at mine you’d know I had a hysterectomy.” Days later (and another ER visit this time with a CT scan) and I was having emergency surgery for kidney stones that were literally marked as “too many to count” on the reports.

[@k.l.3741]

When my mom was in her 20s she went to a doctor for anxiety and depression symptoms and he told her she "just needs a boyfriend"

[@m.g.4446]

I literally have a friend who was put in a mental institution when she was a teen (in the 2010's mind you) because she kept saying there was something wrong with her and no one believed her. Turns out she had an ovarian cyst.

[@justintime6998]

Oh my gosh!! That’s horrific.

[@m.g.4446]

@@justintime6998 There is more! The cyst got to the size where it looked like this 14 year old virgin was pregnant and they gave her a pregnancy test before they finally said, "hm, maybe there's something else going on here."

[@justintime6998]

@@m.g.4446 I didn’t even know it could get that large. How did they not realise?!

[@m.g.4446]

@@justintime6998 idk, see above video

[@justintime6998]

@@m.g.4446 I know. Sexism can be a big problem in the medical system, but still. I’m surprised it can go THAT far.

[@ERYN__]

9 year old me describing chest pain as "cramps in my lungs" because that’s the vocabulary of a 9 year old. Mom says "it's growing pain, it'll go away" nope. It was panic attacks. I still get "growing pains" and I'm almost 30.

[@Contessarebours]

Maybe you'll end up really really tall!!

[@ErynnSchwellinger]

I see your panic attacks, and add to this one 7 year old saying "I can't breath". Diagnosis? Attention seeking. It was afib and my chest muscles crushing my heart.

[@aprible1129]

Growing pains are in your bones and muscles though? Not your lungs?

[@ERYN__]

@@aprible1129 it took me till my late twenties to realize I didn't have a particularly good mom. Fortunately marriage gives a second set of parents!

[@ErynnSchwellinger]

@@aprible1129 doctor probably thought the kid was misreporting. Sigh. Kids are an intersection. Kids are not treated as ful people by society.

[@hjsimmer1742]

When my mother was in labor with me and the nurse offered her pain medication, my father asked if that was totally necessary... 😒

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

That reminds me of that cartoon of the woman in labor holding two strings that are tied around her husband's testicles "so he can share the experience"....maybe that would actually be a good idea in some cases?🤔

[@MissRedheadRapunzel]

Your mum slapped the living daylights out of him right?

[@stephaniehowe0973]

Are they still together?

[@mandypandy111ify]

Hopefully, she said it was and told him to shut up.

[@AmazingRebel23]

@@gozerthegozarian9500 This needs to be shared all around

[@no-one.in.particular]

I was 14 when I learnt that most people aren't in pain all the time and 15 when I learnt I was born with a serious neurological condition and needed brain surgery. Until then I was "dramatic" or "attention seeking" etc even though I am painfully shy. Afew years later,i spent 5years begging doctors for help or referrals due to my symptoms progressing to the point of me being house bound and they put me in the psych ward, where I finally got tests that confirmed my neurological condition had deteriorated severely 🤦 one doctor apologized for not taking me seriously and within 6months they're all back to insisting it's all in my head.

[@minksrule2196]

I remember going to the doctors when I was 14 saying that I often get dizzy. He said it was just puberty. 5 years later I had a blood test and found out that I was iron deficient and that I was probably iron deficient for all those years. It took a year to correct and afterwards I realised my dizziness, drowsiness, problems focusing at school, lack of energy and depression all stemmed from undiagnosed iron deficiency. Iron deficiency doesn't sound that bad but the deppression it caused almost killed me.

[@hazelthenut2864]

same I used to have pain so bad i missed lots of elementary school gym but if I mentioned pain I was told it was "growing pain"(it was) and dizziness was solved by "eating" (I'm tall and thin like my parents) it was in 5th grade when it was suspected I had some other life threatening thing (I forget what.) I had a blood test, negative but I'm Iron deficient. With the amount of physical exercise we did in middle school I probably would have fainted multiple times.

[@tiramisunsun]

same, I'm iron deficient since childhood (I was literally always chewing on metallic stuffs + easily tired and dizzy) but only got diagnosed around high school. But even then, my PE teachers thought I was faking being tired just to sit lazily instead of exercising... It's incredible how people don't listen and care about young women's health.

[@cynhanrahan4012]

Add to your list older women. I'm 62. At a recent visit to my American health care provider, she suggested a PAP smear. She also told me that at age 65 they will stop giving me PAP smears. I asked her if it was assumed I would stop being sexually active at 65? She said, well, uh, um, do you plan to be? I gave her an emphatic YES, and that right now I didn't have a partner but that didn't mean I was just going to cut off enjoying sex at 65. She had no answer for me.

[@Rigpixie]

That’s so backwards! Do doctors forget that one of the groups of people with the highest numbers of new diagnosed STD’s are senior citizens? Those re-entering the dating scene (in the last 20 years) failed to use condoms as they saw them only to prevent pregnancies, not STIs. Oops. As different generations age, ideals around sex and dating will change as will the need for medical practices to keep up with social change.

[@jaciem]

Sitting here shaking my head because I have exactly the opposite experience. My doctor insists I need an annual PAP at 52 despite the facts that 1) I've never had an abnormal smear and 2) I haven't had sex in over a decade and a half and have no plans to start back up. We really can't win.

[@paulinevanderwardt4395]

The pap smear is for finding cervical cancer and it is most likely between 30 and 45 years because it is linked only with having the (dermatological/sexually transmittable) hpv virus (which is quite common and 99% of peoples bodies do get rid off without problems) and develops slowly; about 15 years, so thats why its most likely in that age bracket. So if by age 60 you dont have atypical cells its not likely you will ever get cervical cancer; you probably had hpv and your body got rid of it without problems

[@irenerichards9533]

@@Rigpixie yep, drugs like Viagra hit the market and boom! Huge surge in STI’s, notably syphillis in people 55+

[@SquiddyHiggenbottom]

"Oh, haven't you heard? You become magically immune to HPV when you retire from the workforce!" -that doctor, probably

[@FalcoSparvarius]

My mother was diagnosed with anxiety and depression when she was having trouble with depth perception. Turned out she had a brain aneurysm about to rupture. I will always be filled with rage at the medical system's treatment of women who flag that something is wrong.

[@frostyskeletons8950]

I am so sorry to hear that. Our world is so very frustrating and upsetting. Sending loving energy your way. Take care ❤️

[@FalcoSparvarius]

@@frostyskeletons8950 Thank you, that's very kind. It's been three years since she passed now and I'm finally doing much better.

[@deefitzgerald2906]

OMG I am so very SORRY....I just lost my DAD on 9-16-20 and he had Parkinson’s and I live with my Parents so I saw what my Poor BEAUTIFUL DAD was going through.....What has been so DAM HARD is he was in the Hospital the week before he came home on that Friday and I THANK GOD he did a few day’s later he was setting in his chair and I was going to the store my mother was laying down at that time and when I was leaving and this was At 4 in the afternoon He had died.....I had set there at 3 with him just making sure he was ok then this happened....I’m sorry to keep going on but this is what has been so DAM Upsetting THEY did NOT TELL US HOW BAD MY DAD WAS......They told my Aunt when he was in the Hospital but they sad nothing to US....This has been the WORST thing in my life I just relive this every day and my Mother also....If we have to DIE my DAD died the way we all would want to....He just went to sleep and his ♥️ STOP.....I feel when you are OLD the DOCTORS just do not CARE.....I also feel that this Virus has caused people not to have MEDICAL HELP that they NEED.....

[@emschlef]

I had a doctor tell me there was "little to no chance" I had endometriosis because I played men's sports. Seriously, she thought I was too tough to have endo, despite dealing with chronic pain, nausea, fatigue, heavy bleeding, painful sex, and a majority of the other symptoms associated with endo. 10 years I finally got a proper endometriosis diagnosis. I constantly need to correct doctors who know less about the condition than I do, and it's incredibly frustrating that I still encounter this "you're too tough for endo" rhetoric from some providers.

[@contempgirl]

Too tough for endo?! that might just be the dumbest thing I have ever read. I've never met a person with endo who isn't tough, you have to be to deal with that much pain and ignorance.

[@Z.A.M.1359]

😡😤 Why, throughout history to today, are doctors so ILLOGICAL?! What does a piece of tissue growing in the wrong spot have to do with "toughness", it doesn't even have to do with physical fitness! (And why the hell do they think "men's sports" require more "toughness"?! Not paying attention to the actual world around them!) If someone was "tough enough" to put with the pain and symptoms then wouldn't they go unchecked and undiagnosed and make things worse? In actuality, I have a high pain tolerance, so if I'm in enough pain to be going to a dr about it, for it to interupt my life, then it must be extreme pain that indicates something serious is going on! (Now I have deja-vu from ranting about the stupidity of racial discrimination in medicine. What logic is their to ignoring pain complaints from black people because they supposedly feel less pain? By their outdated logic the pain should be taken more seriously!) 😤😡

[@MelinEvie]

Ah yeah sure, good to know, you can just avoid all illness by appearing fierce... Ima note that real quick and work on looking though enough so the illnesses get scared away... 🙄

[@katw5840]

At 45 when I had a hysterectomy, my surgeon found such severe endometriosis that he had to spend four hours scraping it off my other organs, once he had completed the full hysterectomy. I had my first period at 10. All those years of extreme mood swings, heavy flow, and agonizing abdominal pain were just my body's way of expressing the monthly cycle.

[@BVenge-pe4wi]

Thats real woo magical thinking. Embarrassing for a supposed health professional.

[@SkyLeoHeart]

For 29 years I believed not being able to walk during my period was normal. As doctor and my mother told me that it is all in your head. It was not until one day I mentioned it to someone and instead of telling it is all in my head told me that was not normal. Which finally lead me to go to a doctor for second opinion and they told me that is not normal. I cried that day it was so nice to finally hear someone tell me that is not in head.

[@citrus8944]

i have a severe anxiety disorder and am currently being evaluated for adhd and asd,, i go to a counsellor and the FIRST thing they ask me is 'are you sure this isnt just something to do with your mentstrual cycle?' I AM VERY SURE THANK YOU

[@MiffoKarin]

Doctors take one look at my medical history, see the "depression/anxiety" diagnosis and think that I must be imagining whatever pain I'm in. It took YEARS to get my IBS diagnosed. "Oh, it's probably just your cycle". AAAARGH!

[@scrappypatterns]

The only reason why I think my IBS got diagnosed when it did was because 1, a really good GYN and 2, I was too closer to too young than average age to be starting my period

[@Saf333]

Yeeeeeeessss!!! Worst part is that I do have psychosomatic pain sometimes. And I try to go to the doctor to figure out if it is, only to have the doctor refuse to do any tests 😭😭

[@gmiill]

me too! except with endometriosis. people kept saying i was just trying to get out of school or something. news flash, i was not

[@brendamcleod4172]

Well obviously anxiety rules out all possible medical problems 🙄

[@sammygirl6910]

Same here. It took my appendix bursting because of a 10cm cancerous tumor for them to pay attention to my symptoms, which I'd been trying to get an answer for for 5yrs.

[@random23287]

Women have been considered, and are still often considered, dramatic and overly emotional, even by other women. Ej. the annoying "is it that time of the month" when a woman gets mad, or thinking that your feelings are invalid and that you're being "dramatic" or "overreacting" when you are not.

[@dedeadam9698]

Oh but wahmen cri at titanic and they dont lauwh at dankmrmes B(

[@baileyanderson6824]

@@random23287 I’m pretty sure they were mocking the men who say that sort of thing

[@random23287]

@@baileyanderson6824 Oh. Rare for me to not get the joke, oops.

[@nicoleashley3906]

I can attest to that. Its really hard for me to keep friendships online when I use my microphone because people are always accusing me of sounding overdramatic during normal talk or discussions.

[@Knrr-yr2dd]

Those people are just trolling.

[@stephaniet1389]

I broke my finger for the second time in 6 months. My finger was swelling up, turning purple and I couldn't move it without it hurting. The doctor didn't believe that it was broken since I was acting very chill and not bawling my eyes out. Thankfully I was in high school and my mom acted as my advocate and forced him to send me to radiology. Surprise, surprise, it was broken.

[@jaciem]

I once slammed my thumb in my car door and, having horrible insurance, I didn't want to go the ER. (Plus, I wanted to pick up the steak dinner I'd ordered for my birthday and enjoy it.) So I waited 12 hours to go to the minor emergency clinic when it opened in the morning. For 8 of those, I slept quite soundly. I mentioned this to the clinic doc and he was very apologetic about having to get an X-ray, but it was policy to rule out a broken bone. When the x-ray came back, he took one look at it and exclaimed "You slept on THIS?!" I've been really grateful about that policy ever since. I would've happily accepted it was just a sprain and probably done serious damage before realizing it wasn't.

[@kal-muzel875]

@@jaciem 😂😂😂 Well how was the stake? And I had a similar thing tho I was rushed to get checked (I was in 3rd grade and parents around when the door got closed on my thumb - not of a car's tho) took pictures of my finger on the way and had them sent to my uncle who then became on the phone with my father to ask some questions and give some advice until we reached the hospital (he is a doctor) luckily in my case no broken bones were found just... Huh actually Idk what it was called but damn that pain

[@jaciem]

@@kal-muzel875 The steak was delicious! LOL

[@codename495]

I didn’t get an ECTOPIC PREGNANCY diagnosed until I was 12 weeks, having been seen by the OB for bleeding and pain for six of those weeks, and having had a D&C. I sat in an A&E room for seven hours and only got taken seriously when I finally started weeping in pain and started going into shock due to internal bleeding. I got four units of blood and nearly died, but supposedly it was round ligament pain.

[@johannageisel5390]

* Woman, crying in pain * Reaction: "Don't be so dramatic! It can't be that bad!" * Woman being a badass cool bitch * Reaction: "If you're that calm, it can't be that bad."

[@hausofstructure8705]

Also I just saw an ad on the TV about how if a man “suffers” with a curved penis there is now a cure. Yet the entire female side of my family SUFFERS from migraines and I am willing to bet if more men had migraines there would be a cure. And only recently have their been ads for medications that may help with migraines. I’m always told “it’s just a headache, take a motrin”

[@whateverta]

A curved penis!? I thought that was a natural thing. Some curve some don't, and it's okay. Is that an Actual issue out there or is this just someone trying to make money? Maybe I'm being sexist, or maybe I'm just ignorant, but I can't imagine why that would be a medical issue.

[@ojiverdeconfleco]

I'm a professor of Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, and I want to send this video to all my students (and some very old fashioned faculty members). What a light you are, Jessica

[@neantogtae]

I'm a woman. It took four years for me to get a diagnosis for a disability caused by a neurological disorder because I kept being told that I'm fine despite having alarming symptoms such as chronic pain that limits the use of my hands, loss of feeling in fingers, blindness in the morning, migraine halos and numb patches of skin spreading on my body. I was once told "it's clearly from stress, you seem very stressed" and I responded with "of course I'm stressed, I keep being told I'm fine when I'm not." Being a woman with invisible symptoms sucks.

[@maleahlock]

Ah. The gaslighting. Such a dick move. ugh. I feel your pain.

[@darcybrummett7004]

“You seem very stressed.” Me: “Gee, I wonder why!”

[@graceygrumble]

If my brothers and i were hurt and had to go to hospital, my father would always take us. He knew we would be seen more quickly than if we went with my mother. (This was back in the 70's).

[@MiljaHahto]

It seems to still be the case.

[@maepoole1977]

I always noticed I was seen much faster when my dad was there

[@Jill-ih9dq]

when I was 15, I was rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pain (they suspected appendicitis). they did some tests and told me it was just period cramps, told me to take up to 1000 mg of ibuprofen, and sent me home. this pain started when i was 13 and gradually worsened every month for years before I was able to self-advocate and get an endometriosis diagnosis. most doctors were just sympathetic, but ignored my concerns and refused to run diagnostic tests.

[@SevCaswell]

If only it was possible to sue for malpractice in such cases...

[@Z.A.M.1359]

Wow, wtf is wrong with those ppl? Why are so many medical professionals convinced that periods are suposed to be appendicitis levels of painful? If it wasn't appendicitis it could be so many other things. After all these comments I feel so lucky. When I was 14 my endo pain gave me cramps between my periods instead of durring them. The pain couldn't be brushed off as "normal" period pain since the cramps weren't happening durring my period. One of the times it was severe enough for my mom to take me to the hospital, they thought I had appendicitis by where the pain was. (The drs/nurses were freaked when they couldn't find my apendix on the ultra sound.) At that point, though, there was already suspicion my problem was gynecological, and my mom was able to advocate for me. Shortly after that appendicitis scare I had surgery to see what was wrong and get any growths removed.

[@filmgurl25]

Literally curled around a heating pad right now as I wait another month to just see a doctor about getting an endometriosis diagnosis. This has been my life for 7 years, and because I have “anxiety” it’s always been attributed to “psychiatric issues”. Thank you for posting this!

[@adalie4632]

Even though I identify as non-binary, I was assigned female at birth. Ever since I was born, I had very serious sensory integration issues, motor control dysfunction and paralysis, and an inability to express my pain because I was semi-verbal and seemingly emotion less. Every time my mom would take me to the doctor they just told her that she was being an over sensitive helicopter mom. I’ve read the medical reports for me years later and they are grossly dismissive. It was always, “well, no brain damage shows on the MRI” or “well, nothing seems wrong with your bones or muscles”. I even almost died of a urinary tract infection because I couldn’t express to my mom that I was in pain in a recognizable way. These issues persisted and I didn’t grow out of them. I nearly ended my life because later I developed endometriosis at the age of 10 and on top of my sensory integration issues, it was just too much. I am 18 years old now and I finally got my autism diagnosis *last* *year*. LAST YEAR. I WAS 17.

[@annisaurus]

This is what really angers me. Most of the research is done according to autistic males, who often present their autism in a different way from females (or fem-presenting, or female bodied). It really is an under researched field in terms of girls.

[@adalie4632]

@@annisaurus Honestly, I think I was expressing my symptoms the same as an autistic male would; but, it got dismissed because of stereotypes assigned to females. E.g.: nonverbal and unable to speak = just quiet and shy, recoiling to certain sensory experiences = dramatic and over sensitive, fairies as special interest = very normal to like girl things, lines things up and spins for hours = girls are prone to being highly anxious, isolated from others = well-behaved and low maintenance, is scared to engage in P.E. for fear of injury = that’s ok because girls don’t like athletic stuff anyway, meltdowns = hysterical, shutdowns = dramatic, doesn’t show pain = good low maintenance child, etc. There were some people to whom it was obvious: one of my teachers, my mom, and a family friend who was a neurologist. But I was also in a weird situation where my dad was… way less then nurturing and supportive… and used financial and legal methods to make sure I didn’t get a diagnosis. I didn’t learn the full extent of that till recently.

[@moltresNL94]

@@adalie4632 Wow.... sorry you had to go through all that 😞 but yeah, same for your list here.... no endometriosis though, but got my autism diagnosis last year, AT 28!!!! And my mother's reaction (who I am convinced is also autistic): yeah must be vaccines, and yeah didn't think it was necessary to tell you so you could """grow up normally"""" thanks mom for 15 years of severe depression, suicidal ideation, and all that gaslighting through my life.... how are you supposed to get help if your own parents don't even take you seriously... So, hat's off to your mom at least for trying to get you help!

[@Lounar_Shro0ms]

My experience with a Male doctor who wouldnt listen: I, a woman, was presenting with ALL appendicitis markers? But the surgeon I had been passed onto decided "must be her period...no? uterus issue then, send her up to have people poke around down there without explaining what’s going on despite her saying she has sexual related trauma and it being all over her notes not to do exactly that. Then when it comes back she has appendicitis keep her on the gyno ward and basically “lose” her until she’s screaming even though she’s on morphine because her appendix is about to burst and then rush her into surgery while disorientated and have her sign a NDA while doped up so she can’t sue the HSE." My appendix was near bursting, I could have died, just because a doctor decided it must be a womb issue despite my having a letter from my gp stating it was appendicitis, a nurse telling him it sounds like appendicitis and another doctor telling him it was appendicitis, but then again all the ppl who told him it was my appendix were women. We must have been hysterical.

[@shumshai]

Just so you know, NDA's are not valid if something is illegal. I'm so sorry you went through that :( I had to go through a lot of similar stuff for 18 months and it's horrific.

[@maleahlock]

wtf. I'm so sorry you went through that.

[@shumshai]

It was really fucking hard but lots of therapy has helped me heal a lot from it. I still have a lot of issues stemming from it that probably won't go away, but i've had to accept that now. I'm now 4 years cancer free and the second i woke up from surgery to get rid of my appendix and get endo growths cut out, i was in so much less pain, even tho it was post op.

[@UnknownVir]

Wistful: looking longingly at wisteria wishing you didn't have to deal with medical discrimination...

[@katw5840]

Great book about this "Doing Harm: The truth about how bad medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed and Sick" by Maya Dusenbery. Brilliant book.

[@isabelhoch3713]

thx m8

[@pebblesmiller9026]

And now in 2020 more women are given Electric shock therapy than men Mmm WHY and also given it under the MHA often against their will and not properly told the side effects. Human rights , equality NOPE

[@quixentric]

Another great book is Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez. It's a bit more general but also relates to the medical field. Love it when drugs for women aren't even tested on us because we're complicated! :rollseyes:

[@katw5840]

@@quixentric the Dusenbery book cites a study on uterine cancer where no women were used as test subjects.

[@apostatelizzy6836]

@@katw5840 how is that even possible?! 😵

[@anymouse8221]

It took me 13 years to get a diagnosis for endometriosis and that was only because I brought my husband with me and let him speak for me.

[@lalalacie]

Of course, everything a woman experiences is always related to her uterus unless it’s ACTUALLY related to her uterus, in which case it’s stress and/or weight I haven’t had a not-forced period in almost a decade and I still don’t know why because nobody cares about the reason :)

[@ashe1317]

I'm a paramedic and a woman, and every time I watch your vids I take mental notes because I don't wanna be THAT medical professional 🙄

[@logo9470]

Thank you for that

[@N0p3er5]

Thank you

[@WanderingSwitchback]

Same!!

[@kellyp136]

The cramps I am having right now feels like my uterus is moving hither and thither in my flanks. 😜

[@jessicaoutofthecloset]

lol 😆

[@thisisarecycledaccount3366]

Mine were doing that yesterday and earlier today. Pained digital high-five! ✋

[@xomdlynn]

me too friend

[@unicornalley_30]

Yup, I can relate 🙌🏽.

[@Grace_Zandile97]

100% agree 😂😂😂

[@Kate-mu6xn]

Not only do men still dismiss womens' pain, so many women do it as well because they have been told that their entire life. I have begged my mother on numerous occasions to go to the doctor with me and see if I can go on birth control because of how heavy and painful my period is but every time she just tells me that its normal and I shouldn't be such a baby about it and that all women go through it.

[@jinijinxer97]

Tell her that not all women go through it the same, be it the symptoms but also the pain. Seriously, I think there's a video on women experiencing each level of menstrual pain & you can see a huge discrepancy between the ones who get the comparatively, not so painful cramps already whining to the nonchalant one going through the max pain on the stimulator. Shows how people experience, express, & tolerate pain differently. Who knows, your pain might be worse than what she'll ever imagine.

[@KatarzynaLenkaSabria]

My mum was in her fifties, when she found out she has migrain. She thought it is normal as a woman to have so much pain.

[@MiljaHahto]

@@KatarzynaLenkaSabria I was around 30 when I realized that part of my headaches since teenage had been migraines, and that my periods were significantly worse than average in both painfulness and volume.

[@SquiddyHiggenbottom]

Maybe switch to a menstrual cup- they have measurement lines inside so you know exactly how much blood you're losing. This can be important information in getting a diagnosis or treatment (or at least getting your mom to understand). A "heavy" period is one that results in blood loss over 80 mL over the course of the period. If you can confront them with concrete numbers, as opposed to just a vague sense of "this doesn't seem right," they may have no choice but to listen.

[@KatarzynaLenkaSabria]

@@MiljaHahto so sad, isn't it? But I hope you found now some medicine, which help you with migrain.

[@ala4935]

my favorite medical misogyny was having bladder cancer that made my *bladder* bleed a lot and being repeatedly asked if i am sure it’s not just my period.

[@harriet2114]

"Wondering womb" makes a good band name, and "running hither and thither in the flanks" a good song title!

[@joannaerhardt7294]

I work in health care (16yrs) and everything you said is 100% truth for female patients. There is also SO MUCH sexism working in health care. Misogyny runs rampant in it! It's repulsive.

[@barrythebluebear]

"I got it from my dad." I hit the floor. I am still chuckling (while I thank God I have a Y chromosome). If this is not your best ever, absolutely top notch, to be widely envied episode, it is in the top two. When I moved from California to the American Midwest, I immediately noticed the level of healthcare my wife received was comparable to the care a vet gave to my dog. Seems the message that women are not cattle has been stillborn at the state line. Love you two. Hope for no complications on delivery. You are great parents.

[@erinmckenzie923]

I was originally told that my pain was my anxiety... three years later and I'm finally on a waiting list for a genetics consult because I convinced my doctor that anxiety can't cause dislocations (I most likely have EDS).

[@candaceowens4102]

When I have my students read "The Yellow Wallpaper" I give them a lesson on hysteria, specifically the "rest cure" by Silas Weir Mitchell. They are so horrified, and rightly so! I'm so glad to be a woman in the 21st century, not the 19th.

[@reneewittman3294]

I herniated a disc in my back. I went into the ER, in the most pain I'd ever been in in my life, and the Doctor brushed it off because I was Bipolar and must be having an episode and gave me a prescription for Aleve. My primary care doctor got me in to a MRI three days later and called me before we were even home to verify it was a herniated disc.

[@morganbudreau8957]

You would make the most interesting history teacher.

[@Judymontel]

"would"?

[@SweetAsCookiePie]

She is the most interesting history teacher... and even better she does it on the internet so everyone can enjoy it, not just her classroom

[@lesbiangoddess290]

I would absolutely just die if she taught at my school.

[@aaaariane]

this is going to be a rant: i am pretty sure i have chronic fatigue syndrome but i am still in the process of getting diagnosed and, let me tell you, it has been a PROCESS (: i literally had a male doctor dismiss all of my symptoms because "you're just a hormonal teenager, my daughter has that too" and another male doctor tell me that i should be happy about having lost almost 10kg within a month because "isn't that a good thing?", my dad wants me to go to church because "your inner self is out of balance", my mom just wants to wait for it to go away and even my female friends routinely ask me if i'm sure that it's not just bad mental health manifesting as physical symptoms... it is really frustrating and discouraging constantly being gaslit like that, especially when i notice it working and i start second guessing my intuition :/ but reading though these comments and watching the video made me feel really validated, so thank you Jessica for opening up the conversation ^^

[@elizabethstranger3122]

Im so sorry to hear this :( i have gone through almost the exact same thing.. it took over 3 years and earlier this month i was finally dianosed with ME / cfs by a doctor who specializes in this illness. I have now begun treatment, but im so sad that my illness had to progress as far as it has done before I was taken seriously. I truly Hope that you can get the proper help you need!!

[@rennewman7828]

Doctor "no, you don't have EDS, you just have anxiety." 2 years later I got my EDS diagnosis. Thats funny, I didn't think that joints popping out was an anxiety symptom. Love this video, its great to have this issue highlighted

[@rexv5109]

Fellow EDSer here just wondering exactly how anxious you'd need to be in order to dislocate a rib ...

[@Jellybeansatdusk]

@@rexv5109 anxious to the point of throwing yourself from high places probably. Idk how much force it takes to dislocate a rib typically, but probably a LOT more than anyone would be willing to inflict upon themselves.

[@bassetsbooks6942]

I get insane migraines monthly. After years I was finally diagnosed with “hormonal imbalance migraines caused by the female cycle” I do not want children. My husband does not want children. Asked my female doctor about the possibility of a hysterectomy. She informed me that even though it would most likely considerably help my migraines, because of my age she would not consider it. As I may still one day want children. I then informed her that my husband has had a vasectomy and we have already made a permanent choice. She still will not do it because if I one day divorce my husband and find someone new, I may want children with that man. I have had this conversation with at least 3 general practitioners. In summary, my female Dr. will not do a procedure that would help my chronic pain because it would cause me unable to have children. Even though my husband is unable to have children. Just in case.

[@archeopterixneuroza4715]

How is that even possible...

[@arandomqueerfanpeep7655]

I also get insane monthly migraines

[@JwanDeFleur]

Wth??? It’s your body who do these doctors think they are they piss me of so much makes me think about murdering them

[@jessicaroy7194]

"Trust women's pain, do not tell us we're insane!" I LOVE IT!

[@ayshap1076]

The amount of times I've been totally ignored by doctors because my two year CONTINUOUS headache is "just hormonal migraines". None of the pain medication they gave me worked, I was completely debilitated and couldn't finish my studies. Ended up going to see a private neurologist and was diagnosed with a spinal CSF leak and eventually IIH. I'm still disabled but my life is so much better because someone actually LISTENED and didn't just assume there was nothing wrong with me because my imaging was negative. And it wasn't just doctors - almost everyone I know lacked empathy. Thank you so much for sharing this. Would be great if you did a video on how medicine is racist too!

[@blueegg713]

Can I ask how your neuro check went? I went to the neurologist yesterday for a similar thing and the Dr just prescribed more meds. But my neuro check was fine. He said there's no indication I need an mri

[@ayshap1076]

@@blueegg713 hey! My neuro put me in for an MRI, it didn't actually show anything but I had a positional headache and my headache started out of the blue (0 history of headaches/migraines) so he knew something was wrong. I would definitely push for one if you can, or get it done privately which is what I ended up doing.

[@abbycolby4543]

I also have IIH! And I think that it's ridiculous how it wasn't discovered until the early 1900s when it was discovered on accident. It's debilitating and painful, you'd think that people would figure out that something was wrong before then. But, I suspect that IIH mostly occuring in women means that IIH symptoms would have been dismissed as Hysteria and not investigated further.

[@ebonybryant8553]

2 IIH comrades! I thankfully had a proactive pcp. I think he had just done some education on IIH so he started the ball rolling. But now I hear of or run in to neuros who can be quite dismissive.

[@ulyssemartinfrigault1021]

You know, I actually like that you smile the whole time. I feel like it's an accurate depiction of how women act in reality as well. If you're not smiling or speaking in a calm demeanor- even about something as upsetting and important as sexism in the medical world- you won't be listened to, you won't be heard. If you're not smiling or calm you're disregarded and called- you guessed it- hysterical. Over emotional. Dramatic. Blowing things out of proportion. But even then, if you can smile and speak calmly, it must not be a big deal after all. You must see the dilemma?

[@pipitameruje]

This right here!

[@theoistrying9904]

I see her smile as a big ‘fuck you!’ It’s great lol

[@anygirly1]

Oh yes that time my doctors told me my headpain was coming from stress because I am a "young woman with a busy schedule", till one doctor (actually a men who was really nice and supportive) was able to have the hospital to make an MRI of my head. Well I had a brain tumor and would possibly be dead or completely crazy by now. But no it was just the stress...

[@sammygirl6910]

You have my 5yrs-with-undiagnosed-cancer beat, holy hell. I hope you're doing well now.

[@binglemarie42]

I'm glad they finally found it, and I hope you're okay.

[@anygirly1]

@@sammygirl6910 oh I am so sorry for you. I hope you were/are able to beat the cancer. I am better know. Thank you! Just some unidentified symptoms which could be explained through the tumor

[@anygirly1]

@@binglemarie42 thank you! I am doing way better now｡◕‿◕｡

[@shumshai]

I had cancer and endometriosis that were dismissed by doctors for 18 months. My PCP was good and knew i was in pain and managed that, but I was in the ED like 2-3 times a week because of how bad my pain was and how much i was bleeding. My cancer was in my appendix so i had appendicitis pain for 18 months straight. I got into an endometriosis specialist and the day i met her, she scheduled a surgery for 3 days later. If they hadn't gotten my appendix out that day, i could have died. I also had stage 4 endometriosis and my organs were literally fusing together and it took a LOT of cutting scar tissue and endometrial tissue out. I had been kicked out of a pharmacy because i "was too young to be on that amount of oxy, even old people with cancer were on less' and i was so upset. I was treated like a drug seeker for 3 years because that's how long i was on opiates because of the pain. It was horrible. I was very lucky my PCP understood that i was in so much pain and took me seriously, but it was out of his scope. I had a neuroendocrine tumor in my appendix (an NET). They are an incredibly rare type of cancer and basically never happen in the appendix/are found before death. Mine spread to my liver and i had to have a chunk of it cut out. There is still not a day that goes by that i want to go scream at that pharmacist for telling me that i wasn't in pain. She actually got in trouble for stealing narcotics from work and she lost her license and i think she's in prision now. Just because I was 19-22 doesn't mean that i wasn't in constant pain. I was bed bound and spent like 40% of my week in the hospital, every time i got sent home, i'd be back within 2-3 days. My cancer wasn't visible with the scans they were doing but after the appendix one was discovered, i had to do a 'liver study' where it was an MRI that was almost 3 hours long and focused on getting deeper images in my abdomen. Then like 3 hours later I got a call from my oncologist and they had surgery scheduled the next day. It was so validating to have an answer after a year and a half of appendicitis pain and bleeding CONSTANTLY. Like, i bled for 18 months straight. I was told SO MANY times that it was 'period pain' and that i was just drug seeking. It was disgusting. I am now 4 years NED :)

[@TheUhaya]

The amount of times I've been referred to a psychiatrist after explaining my physical symptoms to a doctor is heart-breaking, even now, when I have medical tests results to back me up. If they have never heard about some diagnosis, they just ignore it.

[@lanatherana157]

In high school I was expressing very obvious signs of serious anxiety and my doctor thought it was my diet and my period...turns out I just needed therapy.

[@lisam5744]

The worst thing about misogynistic medicine? That female doctors practice it, too. I have PTSD and I had a female therapist talk to me a couple of times (barely skimming the surface), dismiss what I had gone through as 'not traumatic' and tell me there was nothing wrong with me. OK...new doctor, a proper diagnosis and therapy and I am better. This was years ago, but I will never forgive that first doctor for dismissing me as, basically, being hysterical. Oh and let's not forget the male gyn that told me my PTSD was all in my head. Really? No shit, Sherlock!

[@karinelfwing9095]

I am not a doctor or in the medical filed at all and even I know that what is traumatic experiences and how you deal (or not deal) with them is very individual eg.a that what is traumatic and will cause ptsd in one person will not cause ptsd in another person. Since the classic exemples: two people/soldier go of to a war and have siimlar/identical experiences and one has ptsd and one doesnt when they left the war /the war stopped. I think that even is the start of the term (soldiers and war experincens.) of ptsd Sorry that you have so rubbish therapist there. I am glad to hear that you found a better one.

[@naradoeling9562]

😂(loved the no shit Sherlock !!)

[@lisam5744]

@@karinelfwing9095 Unfortunately when you dismiss someone's trauma, you dismiss their pain. And that's still a common issue in today's medicine.

[@lisam5744]

@@naradoeling9562 LOL!

[@berry9653]

No one should ever have the right(s) to tell you that what you experienced was ‘not traumatic’, that’s disgusting. I’m so sorry you had to hear that nonsense. For a long time, 10 years to be exact, I wasn’t aware that I had experienced multiple types of trauma. I wasn’t in denial or anything, or maybe I was, because I used to believe that my issues weren’t valid and didn’t matter bc there are ppl out there, who have (had) it worse. About 2 years later, I finally realized that my issues matter, too.

[@AliciaNyblade]

I hadn't realized how much I'd internalized the "It's just in your head" thing until I had my own experience with it. In 2019, when I was 31, I started noticing mood swings that correlated with my cycle and were much more intense than the emotional changes I'd experienced thanks to it up until then. I ignored them, chalking them up to other things or, "Well, it's just my cycle," until they became unbearable and I finally told my mom about them. She took me to the doctor and it was explained to me that women's hormone levels during their cycles change as they age. The doctor prescribed birth control pills (which would go on to make me feel better). As I was leaving my appointment, the gravity of having ignored my body sank in and I said, "Thank you for making me feel less alone. I was starting to feel like Jekyll and Hyde and think that I was going crazy, and I know if I'd lived in another time period, I WOULD HAVE been called crazy and locked away somewhere." The doctor laughed, gave me a smile of solidarity, and she said, "Oh, sweetie, you're welcome! Trust me, you're not the first woman to go through this, don't worry." It IS scary how the medical field and patriarchal society teach women to ignore or doubt ourselves. One of my favorite movies that deals with this is "Cat People" (1942). It's about a woman named Irena who believes she's under a curse in which she'll literally turn into a panther if she becomes sexually aroused and tear her partner to pieces. And while we, the audience, know the curse is an actual thing and that Irena's in the right, all the men in her life either dismiss her fear or try to manipulate it to get into her skirt because they think she's speaking metaphorically to say she's wild in bed. It's an amazing film and surprisingly bold for something made in the '40s, when sex and women's health were still very hush-hush things, especially in movies.

[@queenedeloria]

I have EDS and to treat suspected endometriosis, a doctor ran steel wires through my ligaments to "stabilize" my hypermobile uterus and it was the worst thing I've ever experienced. They had to undo the operation three months later and the doctor yelled at me for "not responding to treatment". Doctors are now deeply horrified when I mention this.

[@GildedMoon]

It's almost as bad when you do have genuine concerns about your cycle/hormone levels, etc. I went to the doctor because I was having bleeding between my periods, random cramping, missed periods, sudden weight changes, etc. My family's usual GP wasn't working and an older doctor was taking the clinic while he was away. I calmly and clearly explained my symptoms and concerns but he just looked positively scandalised that I was talking about my period to him and tried to tell me to go away and come back "in a few months" if I was still experiencing problems. Because I insisted the symptoms weren't normal for me and I was concerned about it, he ended up calling in a female nurse to run some tests on me, she was the only one to ask about my medical and family history (which includes a history of ovarian cysts, uterine cancer, and PCOS), etc. and she ended up convincing him to refer me for an ultrasound at a local private women's health clinic. Male healthcare professionals will try to blame literally any symptom we have on our menstrual cycles and hormones, but then dismiss our concerns about those very things. It's infuriating.

[@gwynethStWi13]

Six years ago I had a video EEG because of seizures. When it turned out I had non-epileptic seizures, the neurologist on the floor told me I had "Women's Hysteria" and should "have [my] teeth pulled and stop bothering neurologists". SIX YEARS AGO. I have since been diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder, which, it turns out, is, in my case NOT linked to psychology at all, and recent studies are showing structural changes in fMRIs and a new study shows that it's caused, at least in some cases, by inflammation that is causing changes in our mRNA. Basically this means that my brain misinterprets stimuli (in my case pain, exhaustion, and weather changes primarily) and then *over reacts* to it.

[@NaomiJameston]

Have your teeth pulled????

[@gwynethStWi13]

@@Sarandib22 My regular Neuro did, she was pissed.

[@gwynethStWi13]

@@NaomiJameston I was told later that one of the 'treatments' for hysteria in the 1800's was pulling all of the woman's teeth.

[@katejackson6502]

I hadn't heard about the mRNA! I have this diagnosis as well! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@ulaknap3239]

..."and then my brain OVER REACTS to it" well done, this was the most hysterically twisted way to put it. I snorted pistachios because of you^^

[@maddragon710]

I'm finally seeing a specialist to start my Crohn's diagnosis today! In the US you have to get a referral from a primary care doctor, and despite every other person in my family having it and showing all the comorbidities, I've had to see several doctors before one would refer me. Believe women about their bodies!

[@N0pleaseN0]

Congratulations! I hope it goes well and you finally get the care you deserve 💖

[@mydogeatspuke]

A GP (which is a primary care doctor) has to refer to a specialist in the UK too. 5 out of 7 GPs believe that pain levels are dictated by age, based on my personal experience with doctors from 25 to 70. Medicine is fascinating.

[@mschrisfrank2420]

I think it depends on your insurance’s policy whether you need a referral or not, as I’ve never needed one to see a specialist. But either way, that sucks and I hope you feel better soon.

[@pigpjs]

So glad you are getting help now! My friend's mom almost died from Chron's and doctors not believing her. She is only alive because her husband made a big deal in the ER. She was 5'9" and under 100lbs. That alone should have been enough for a hospital to admit her. But they were going to discharge her until her husband came in outraged. Even then, they only got help because he is white. If he hadn't been white he might have been seen as dangerous considering he was pounding his fists and screaming. Your gender and the color of your skin should never determine the care you receive.

[@mydogeatspuke]

@@pigpjs I'm a white woman who until I was heavily medicated for conditions I don't even have weighed less than 100lb at 178cm, I was just naturally tiny. I've had security called on me for raising my voice so that I can finish my sentence after someone interrupted me and started shouting at me. Colour and gender are irrelevant. I'm all for placing blame where it belongs, which is definitely with the never ending supply of incompetent doctors, but let's not try and start a revolution based on bias and assumptions yeah? Having someone else advocate for you can help, but it doesn't always and they don't always respond any more positively to men.

[@dolgoruky21]

New Change.org petition, change every mention of hysteria in medical textbooks to a biological breakdown of Wisteria.

[@Poppy-]

In the same family of illness as lavender haze? lol

[@isabelhoch3713]

YES

[@MSYNGWIE12]

Is your "icon" a Monty Python, Graham Chapman? If so, LOVED HIM, sorry he left us too young. If not and a family member, all the best any how! Nice to meet you on this terrific site. Hi from Canada. Z.

[@dolgoruky21]

@@MSYNGWIE12 It is Chapman! My other account is Palin, both from the episode about aliens and scotsman. Loved him, too.

[@johannageisel5390]

User: "Google, what is 'hysteria'?" Google: "Did you mean 'Wisteria'?"

[@laurencreates359]

Honestly the amount of times I’ve been told “this is just what happens” and “you’ll grow out of it”and “oh you’re just tall” when I tell the doctor about my problems is ridiculous and patronising. No one should just settle for “this is how it is” because it was obviously causing them problems. Still don’t know what’s wrong with me yay 🥲 Edit - another thing I get told is that I should just exercise more. Like half the problem is I’m too exhausted to do anything never mind extra activity

[@eileene8836]

For months last year I had my doctors telling me my stomach pain was just me being "backed up". It took an emergency trip to the hospital and a day full of scans and doubting doctors to find that I had a perferated stomach ulcer. 10 days in hospital during a pandemic and several months of recovery taught me to speak up and fight for my pain. It's real and we deserve to be believed.

[@Itsgonnabeok1325]

I think what is worse is that I find I am dismissed by more female medical professionals than male. Every time I’ve been dismissed, it turns out to be I actually have a legitimate medical issue.

[@MELLMAO]

It happened to me too! Especially when I was a teenage girl. I believe many older women doctors are jealous and have internalised hate towards young women who are in pain and because they had to bite their tongue in order not to disturb people around them, seeing us young women demand attention that they never got frusterates them and annoys them to no end. They label us as attention seekers and spoiled little bitches. I have trauma from male doctors being dismissive and female doctors being downright nasty towards me

[@thebestwillow]

Nods. I know a woman who was told by a female psychiatrist that she "must be frigid" because she'd never had a sexual relationship. Truth: she didn't want one because she was so traumatized by the sexual abuse she experienced as a child, which was the reason she was seeing the psychiatrist!

[@victoriadiesattheend.8478]

@@thebestwillow dating men also brings dudes who don't ever want to hear you might want to abstain from a sexual relationship, but not a loving one.

[@thisismyname3328]

@@victoriadiesattheend.8478 Ahh, the joys of being asexual. Just because I don't wanna sleep with you doesn't mean I don't want an emotional relationship.

[@victoriadiesattheend.8478]

@@thisismyname3328 absolutely nobody gets that

[@beccarnr830]

When I first started with symptoms like filled lungs and muscle pain, a female Dr. Said it was all in my head and I was having trouble "adjusting to adulthood". I have nsip and fibromyalgia.

[@yoonmikim5663]

Told my gynecologist (woman) I hadn't had sex in 10 years and then she practically yelled, "Why?" and then asked about "no guys" you like... and yeah, after that, I was like... no... I'm not disclosing I'm ace spec. BTW, I hate on Aristotle. This is from the wikipedia page "Aristotle's views on women" "Aristotle believed that men and women naturally differed both physically and mentally. He claimed that women are "more mischievous, less simple, more impulsive ... more compassionate ... more easily moved to tears ... more jealous, more querulous, more apt to scold and to strike ... more prone to despondency and less hopeful ... more void of shame or self-respect, more false of speech, more deceptive, of more retentive memory [and] ... also more wakeful; more shrinking [and] more difficult to rouse to action" than men." Some of the medical notions also came from him: "He wrote that only fair-skinned women, not darker-skinned women, had a sexual discharge and climaxed. He also believed this discharge could be increased by eating of pungent foods. Aristotle thought a woman's sexual discharge was akin to that of an infertile or amputated male's.[5] He concluded that both sexes contributed to the material of generation, but that the female's contribution was in her discharge (as in a male's) rather than within the ovary.[5] Aristotle explains how and why the association between man and woman takes on a hierarchical character by commenting on male rule over 'barbarians', or non-Greeks. "By nature the female has been distinguished from the slave. For nature makes nothing in the manner that the coppersmiths make the Delphic knife - that is, frugally - but, rather, it makes each thing for one purpose. For each thing would do its work most nobly if it had one task rather than many. Among the barbarians the female and the slave have the same status. This is because there are no natural rulers among them but, rather, the association among them is between male and female slave. On account of this, the poets say that 'it is fitting that Greeks rule barbarians', as the barbarian and the slave are by nature the same."[6] While Aristotle reduced women's roles in society, and promoted the idea that women should receive less food and nourishment than males, he also criticised the results: a woman, he thought, was then more compassionate, more opinionated, more apt to scold and to strike. He stated that women are more prone to despondency, more void of shame or self-respect, more false of speech, more deceptive, and of having a better memory.[7]" So yeah... most mysogyny you can find linked to Aristotle's writings, being mindlessly repeated millennia later. Oh and if you look it up, despite these quotes there are still men trying to argue he wasn't a sexist pig on the first page of Google.

[@EmilyBHelms]

I didn’t think of this as a misogynist healthcare thing, until your Ace Spec comment. When I said to a (female) doctor in San Francisco that I hadn’t been sexually active and didn’t plan on being so, she basically implied I couldn’t be trusted to know my own experience and wishes, and that I needed to be prepared for the mixed and perhaps questionable pool of sexual activity that is SF; and she seemed to struggle with how to put this into medical notes. At that time I didn’t know that asexual was “a thing” but I don’t suppose that would have helped - the fact that everybody will want (lots of) sex is the default setting.

[@yoonmikim5663]

@@EmilyBHelms I figure if she couldn't imagine that I could be lesbian or pan, then she's going to have a harder time with ace spec. (BTW, not saying that aces can't be lesbian or pan, more like if she's insistent I must like men... then climbing that last hurdle will be hard.) I learned that women more than men get judged by how much sex they are or aren't having. And for nonbinary, that's a whole other thing entirely... most of the medical forms don't even allow one to check nonbinary or fill in the pronouns people want. (Doesn't make me quit trying to make them put it in every time I fill out a form and making an issue of it).

[@kal-muzel875]

Well.... The more you know This along with the video brings into light many things that are often overlooked or simply not mentioned to students within a school environment We often learn about their "revolutionary" ways and results but never what they got wrong simple presented as geniuses of that time

[@kronically_kristy]

I was told my fibromyalgia was "just stress". When I tried to challenge the doctor, he told me "everyone hurts more when it rains" and asked me why the diagnosis was so important to me. 😒🙄😑

[@fabianshedenhelm2986]

As a trans man I've been told that it's just my cycle, or if I missed my period I may be pregnant. I also happen to be asexual to the point I'm repulsed and getting interested in people is difficult.

[@emby3146]

I’d like to add a note here: Jessica says that hysteria became a myriad of different diagnoses (and that is true), but it also mainly became Freud’s Conversion Disorder. This was mainly diagnosed in women and believed to be the “conversion” of emotional stress into physical symptoms. Now the name has changed into Functional Neurological Disorder (mainly found in women), and it is recognized as a condition which may not originate from mental concerns, but has many symptoms of hysteria, such as: fainting, non-epileptic seizures, weakness of the limbs, brain fog, paralysis, the list goes on. I myself have this, and many people (mainly women, i assume) are incorrectly diagnosed with this due to the Conversion Disorder model still being prevalent. I just thought this might interest anyone who wanted to do further learning!

[@katejackson6502]

I have also been diagnosed with this... although my doctor basically loosely described it and said I had Non-epileptic seizures. I have had to educate her on it. It's been 10 years; I have been in therapy doing the work... which you would think would yield some kind of result health wise. Yet this week I am being fitted for a wheelchair. I just turned 40 and if I give any symptom to my doctor she just turns around and says its stress! Ugh

[@gwynethStWi13]

I have FND as well. They think mine has a physiologic cause, but I still get gaslighted about it being 'all in my head' by some doctors. I have never received any treatment for it, but have fashioned some of my own, and by learning and minimizing my triggers, have reduced my seizures from 10+ per day to about 4 per month. But it took over a decade to get this far.

[@lostboibound4841]

Im a trans man i was diagnosed with this but they acctually called it conversion disorder by a child psychologist but it turned out im blind(@the time i still had quite a bit of vision left compared to now but i was still blind) with tourette syndrome and PTSD from medical, mental, physical, sexual and psychological mistreatment (also went through conversion therapy for BIness and transness whole other story) i only had one seizure, in the bath when i was 9 but it caused brain damage because i went under the hot water (lukily i was no longer breathing at this point) for too long. my family was told if they wanted my symptoms to go away they had to ignore everything related to them so little blind me had to stumble and fall through 10 years of blindness with no help being told i was the devil by religious people for my tics and getting refused an education because i was "just trying to make everyones life harder" (most schools in my area were religious so they excluded me for "moral differences" but told me its was coz i was possesed and didnt want to be saved) This also led to my family hating me and tbh me hating them because they spent 10 years being told i was lying and treating me horrifically (throwing things at me to see if i could see them and moving things in my way to trip me up, pinning me to the floor to stop my tourettes even when it injured me as i only have one fully funtioning lung since i was a baby, telling everyone to not help me if i say i cant see something, not letting me leave my bedroom if i am twitching, not letting me hold onto bannisters and saying "use your eyes to walk down stairs not your hands" obvi i fell down them, not taking me to hospital when my tics had been going on for soo long that my throat n nose was bleeding even when after that i couldnt speak for days. They did this with the approval of the psychologist and my social worker) then all of a sudden they got told by a doctor they where neglecting my medical needs and abusing me causing more damage. They did not accept this and now blame me for "making" them "feel" like child abusers What caused this change in approach by the doctors you ask? I had them take the word transgender off of my medical notes so the doctor just saw male and then me presenting as a male. FIRST APPOINTMENT AFTER THIS THEY DID FULL TESTING they never tested me before just psychoshit-talked they found the damage in my brain and optic nerve immediately then everything else came out through other testing and an lgbtq+ accepting psychiatrist.

[@justintime6998]

@@lostboibound4841 Wow. I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.

[@saraquill]

Meanwhile I’m pleased with my conversion disorder diagnosis as I can turn around and go I WASN’T LYING ABOUT MY ABUSE YOU JACKASSES

[@Darkthestral1]

I was sent to the ER from my doctor for abdominal pain. I couldn't drive and was vomiting from pain. Thankfully after x-rays and ultrasounds we found out it wasn't serious. I'd been given pain meds when i got there so by the time I was discharged I felt pretty good. I was given a prescription for heavy duty pain meds if I had another attack and asked the nurse about it as I was being discharged. She (yes a woman) literally told me she didn't know why they prescribed me pain meds and I didn't look like I needed them... The woman that's being discharged doesn't look like they're dying? How weird, it's almost like I was on morphine had had medical treatment... I flat out told her I had been brought in from intense pain that could come back and I did need them. She looked annoyed. Seriously I was in so much pain they were concerned my appendix had ruptured and you're telling me I don't need pain meds or the issue that can resurface at any time???? We need to remember that women can perpetuate misogyny as much as men. (P.s. I did need the pain meds because i did have flare ups, but even if I didn't it was still the right thing to prescribe them)

[@khaxjc1]

I literally had someone tell me you cant be prejudice against your own sex and someone couldnt be prejudice against both men and women. I just blinked unable to accept that came out of their mouth. They were nonbinary and I honestly have reflected for years wondering how they were informed enough to realize that about themselves and still be so ignorant.

[@InuRena]

Uterus punctured by my IUD. Took several months and four doctors to finally get one who thought "hmmm... maybe it isn't period cramps seeing as how she has never had them before, and she should get an ultrasound!" 🥲 But also, you're hair is on point today Jessica!

[@nellsmith7064]

That happened to a friend, they focused on her mental health conditions (which were severe) and as result didn’t notice until it was too late and she died. 🤬😭

[@karinelfwing9095]

@@nellsmith7064 Sorry for your loss and that for the inequality that caused that she was taken from you and the word to early.

[@zeaw119]

I’m AFAB. I’ve spent the last 10 years being told my rapidly declining health and mobility was...Conversion Disorder, psychosomatic, attention seeking, hormones, anxiety, and depression. I’ve now been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, POTS, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, and it’s suspected that I have Craniocervical Instability and Chiari Malformation. And I am highly privileged. The medical system is so broken and causes so much harm to so many people.

[@deathoffangirls]

My “doctors don’t trust women” story doesn’t have any physical pain involved, but definitely a lot of emotional damage. Context needed for the story: I’m 18, I have multiple mental conditions including (but not limited to) autism, ADHD, and depression. I graduated high school at 16 and immediately went to college. So I’ve understood I was different from everyone my whole life, but I hadn’t started realizing what that could mean until I came to college a few years ago. After that I started researching mental health conditions, as I regularly do. I started looking up symptoms for autism and realized I related to them a lot more than I probably should. But everywhere I was reading was talking about boys with autism, so I assumed “I can’t have that because only boys have autism”. Skip forward to many months of research later, and I finally found girls talking about having autism and struggling with finding people who would believe them. I was absolutely relieved to find out I could have it. It would be an explanation I was looking for for years. Unfortunately, not many people in my life seem to see eye-to-eye with me. I have been told by many members of my family that I can’t be autistic because I’m “normal” and I can talk or I’m not “crazy” enough to have it. Medical professionals seem to think I can’t have it because I don’t fit all the “boy” stereotypes and they don’t seem to know enough about the “girl” traits. It’s extremely frustrating. I know with 100% certainty that I have autism, but I can’t get anyone in my life to believe me.

[@binglemarie42]

*hugs*

[@elizabethstranger3122]

Omg your story is similar to mine when it comes to autism. It took me 8 years to get my autism diagnosis, and I was dismissed time and time again.. the first psychiatrist told me that it was unlikely i was autistic because i was too good at communicating. Also literally i have had my grandpa scoff at me and say that im not autistic its nonsense. And I had had the official diagnosis for 2 years then

[@dancingbutterfly2]

I believe you I am not a medical professional but I still believe you

[@SillyStokey92]

Dealing with eight years of bulls**t from the medical system and being told nothing is wrong with me is why I now have an entirely female team of doctors and specialists and why I am FINALLY on my way, after 3 years, to getting my diagnosis for Hashimoto's and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.

[@kriskossack7231]

Before finally being diagnosed with Endometriosis, I was once told I had a sinus infection. Who knew my womb wander there :p Thank you for sharing this video. It really needs to be talked about more!

[@SalindaNichols]

Thank you for another educational and entertaining video! Not only are women's symptoms not taken seriously even today, but they are often underrepresented in studies of side effects because 'their hormones can affect the results' like yes...shouldn't that be studied??

[@aceatlasska4343]

Exactly the lack of knowledge about about conditions affecting women and female bodied people is appalling too, and yeah, there is that notion that women are just "defective men" with "pesky hormones". Which is maddening because this needs to be studied, and what is being clearly illustrated is the societal view that men are the default human. I can think of other examples of this too, like how dummies that CPR is practised on (when I did it at least) are based on male bodies, and don't have breasts.

[@sofiaivarsson3482]

"the more we're told our pain is nothing, the more women believe that pain is normal" 😭 this is so true in my case. Tank you 💜

[@Angel-mv5gi]

I hate that whenever I go to the doctor they do a pregnancy test (even though I'm a gay virgin), and when that comes back negative, they tell me I'm too fat and call it a day.

[@Catmum1998]

I’ve been dismissed or even laughed at so many times i don’t even bother going to the doctors for anything new anymore. I’ll take the pain over feeling stupid and ignored.

[@khaxjc1]

And spending money, time, and valuable energy to feel stupid and ignored.

[@opheliagladstone2494]

I remember going to the Obgyn to know if i have endom or Pcos and of course i was nervous because if I have it well it will affect my life. The guy was like "oh you should not be stressed why be stressed be happy!" -_-' thanks a lot doctor I think I am allowed to feel a little scared of the outcome.

[@Paintedyams]

And then there’s people who actually do have a large variety of physical and psychological symptoms tied to their menstrual cycle and hormones (PMDD) but there’s no truly effective treatment other than removing the ovaries.... you’d think after about 2000 years of people ‘treating’ ‘hysteria’, they’d have come up with something better...

[@mschrisfrank2420]

Using hormonal birth control to skip periods doesn’t work for PMDD?

[@InvisiblerApple]

@@mschrisfrank2420 it can, but some of us have even stronger reactions to the hormones in them. I was put on birth control pills several times for what turned out to be PMDD, but it just got severely worse (not to mention it kept up until I stopped taking them). I've never been so 'off the rails' as when I took birth control. Apparently it's the progesterone. Although plenty of people in my PMDD support groups do use hormonal birth control for it, and it works for them.

[@amym3745]

YES. 100% this. Also, even if a doctor does think something is the result of stress or hormones...shouldn't that still be treated with seriousness and empathy? Shouldn't there be a follow-up or some kind of treatment? That, for me, shows clearly that this is a tactic used to dismiss patients. Saying something is 'just' [insert gendered assumption here] is callous and basically an excuse not to do any further tests.

[@aceatlasska4343]

@@amym3745 yeah ikr, "don't worry it's only happening cos of your period", well that's great, just because I know the reason I'm supposed to not mind now? It's so ridiculous.

[@BunBun-nq9zl]

I have a seizure disorder called somazation disorder. Basically what it is, is my mental illness in my brain has gone so out of whack that its sending a signal to my body saying "help me!" Its pretty rare (0.02% to 2% of the world has it) and for some it can be blindness or hearing loss, but in the medical world they aren't really blind or deaf it only "feels that way." Its also way more come for woman than in men (only 0.01% of men can get it and usually its because their mother had it (so its also genetic)). Psychiatrist don't have an exact reason why some people develop it but its takes at least a year of treatment for it to go away but it can always come back later in life (yahhhh 😒). So when I found out I had this condition I did some research and found out it was once called Hysteria because doctors thought it was a woman thing and or where making it up. So this video really spoke to me because of my disorder and I really appreciate you, Jessica, for talking about this! 😊

[@katieleitwein1417]

I was told in the ER that I was “to young to have these issues” I was “paying too much attention to my body” it was “probably just stress” “ could it just be your period?” and I live in America and my visit to the ER cost me $8,000, I didn’t take a trip to the ER for fun or because I thought it was a minor issue. I was LITERALLY given medication I was allergic to when I left. No one listens to women in medicine and especially not young women.