Blog Post 29: Part 2, Advocating for Yourself in the Medical System
A recent (and fantastic) New York Times article highlights the importance of self-advocacy for Type C women. To recap for those without a subscription, the piece discusses a young woman with extremely painful menstrual periods; the medical system dismissed her pain for years, and she ultimately figured out herself that endometriosis was the likely culprit (and in fact, it was).
Women are particularly vulnerable to being ignored by doctors; there is a long history of women being viewed as hysterical and as hypochondriacs. Two terrific books on this topic are Unwell Women by Elinor Clighorn and The Lady’s Handbook for her Mysterious Illness by Sarah Ramey; both explore personal journeys of navigating the medical system with mysterious conditions and having to fight tooth and nail to be heard and treated. For Type C women, this process is even harder, given our conflict-avoidant nature and our need to be unerringly pleasant. It can be difficult to argue with a respected physician with years of medical experience.
In a former post (part 1 of Advocating for Yourself in the Medical System), we noted the importance of believing you know your body best. In my case (Anna), I knew that something was off. I knew that I was not feeling like myself, and that my friends and colleagues were not struggling to the same degree as I was despite having similar lifestyles as working mothers. I was told repeatedly by doctors that I was “just stressed” or “depressed or anxious”. While dealing with a chronic condition is indeed depressing, I had experienced periods of depression before and I knew this was something more.
(Kore commenting here). Unfortunately Anna's story is so common. I have seen many women over the years in my practice and while working in NYC hospitals as well as many friends struggle with these very issues having a medical problem, not getting the right care, feeling confused, lost and alone, struggling with self-doubt while getting physically worse. Medical “gaslighting” is a real issue, and it’s heartening to see the mainstream press highlighting this issue and raising awareness. We encourage anyone who is dealing with doctors who dismiss or down-play their pain to stay hopeful, believe that how you feel physically matters, and actively set about finding the right medical team that will take you seriously.