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Times When I felt my Doctor Wasn't Listening to me.
Maybe you have experienced an incident where you went to the doctor, and despite telling them exactly what was going on. They come to their own conclusion immediately and don't take your concerns seriously.
Multiple times in my life I have experienced this when going to the doctor. I don't understand why doctors are so quick to disregard your concerns. I get it, often people come in concerned about something that they shouldn't be. But just because that happens, doesn't mean you should treat every patient the same way.
I'm the type of person who typical deals with pain for months before I will even consider going to the doctor.
Yet when I go to the doctor, it's "If they pain persists for over a month, come back".
Instead of just checking to make sure everything is okay, they just assume and push off your concerns.
Now not all doctors do this.
But multiple times I have felt like my concerns weren't taken seriously, when they should have been.
First
This summer I had a UTI and I had it taken care of. Took antibiotics and I was good. I even got checked for STDs just to make sure, because back then I was dating a sketchy guy. . The school year started and I started having symptoms again. Pain during urination, constant need to urinate. . . but this time no blood.
So I went to the clinic on campus to get checked out, and guess what, no UTI.
So now I was really concerned.
If it wasn't a UTI, then what was it?
So doctor comes in and starts to ask me questions about my sex life and shit like they do.
But this is where I start feeling belittled.
"Are you sexually active?"
-"Yes"
"How long have you been with your partner?"
-"About a month."
Then she gets this look on her face. Like she knows what's up but doesn't want call it.
"Do you use condoms?"
-"Well. . . not currently. We tried using latex condoms but they irritate me. And we just tried non-latex the other day and I had a bad reaction to it. I couldn't breathe, my skin was splotchy, I felt faint. I thought maybe it was the spermicide in the condom and somehow came into contact with my very sensitive skin. "
(Side note: I am on birth control)
Then she continued to give me a lecture on wearing condoms and basically insinuated that I probably had an STD.
I knew I didn't have one. I had gotten tested a month ago. And I was the only sexual partner my boyfriend has ever had. It didn't make sense. I trust my boyfriend. He is honest and doesn't lie to me about dumb shit like that. He has only ever had one other girlfriend. She insinuated that I didn't know my boyfriend and that he needed to get checked.
Now it really bothered me that she would so suddenly throw me into a box with the rest of the reckless college students out there. I get it. I'm at prime age to get an STD accidentally. But I haven't, and she shouldn't assume it.
Would she assume a 50 year old woman had an STD? Probably not, because it's us young reckless students having sex with anything and everything, right?
So what does this woman do next?
She does a swab test on my cervix.
Then, in front of me, looks at a sample under a microscope and says she doesn't see anything concerning and is gonna send a sample down to lab to make sure. The amount of times I have been to the clinic and the gynecologist, and never have they looked at it in front of me.
So then. . .
she starts looking up symptoms on the internet trying to find a different cause because I kept telling her I didn't think I had an STD and then her microscope adventure didn't confirm any of her theories.
She said it may just be a weird side effect of the spermicide that is still lingering.
A few days later I get my test results.
Negative. No STD.
No STD. No UTI. THEN WHAT WAS IT? At this point it had been like 2-3 weeks with the pain and constant peeing. And I couldn't handle it anymore and I scheduled an appointment with a urologist.
I started looking into what may be wrong.
Interstitial cystitis (IC)
It was the only thing that made sense.
People who suffer from IC often also suffer from other conditions.
One of which is Atopic Dermatitis, which I deal with every freaking day of my life.
And IBS(Irritable Bowel Syndrome) is another that I may also suffer from.
I won't go into details about my day-to-day intestinal pain and abnormal defecation. Just know, that it's moderate and I have dealt with it for a little over a year now.
So I saw the doctor, and he basically did the whole blowing me off thing.
He said he got a lot of Flight Major students coming in and it's typically just "stress" that causes the symptoms.
BITCH. I AM NOT STRESSED BUT NOW I AM BECAUSE OF YOUR BULLSHIT.
Who is he to tell me I am just stressed?
Who is he to tell me that school stress is causing me to have painful and constant pisses. And honestly I wasn't that stressed about school. I was the same amount of stressed about school that I have been my entire life. This time with a little less anxiety than normal.
And he basically did the whole, "if symptoms persist for over a month, make another appointment".
Like really?
The did persist for like a month by the time I got in to see him. And now I have to live with the pain another month?
I was angry, and did the only thing that made sense. I tried everything I could to ease the pain.
I went on an IC diet.
No bananas, no extremely acidic foods, no coffee, no spicy foods, etc.
All the things I loved and ate a lot of, I cut down on, even pop. And lord knows I am addicted to fountain pops.
And then, my symptoms got better. Eventually I felt fine.
Sometimes when doctors won't help, you have to help yourself.
Sometimes when they won't listen, others will. You have to take your life into your own hands.
Maybe I don't have IC. I will never know. But I will continue to manage my diet in a way that helps relieve pains.
I have't had a banana since the beginning of the school year. I went through a stage where I ate a lot of them, like 2-3 a day, and was concerned that it may be the main source of my pain.
I know my body better than anyone. Always will.
It really sucks that sometimes doctors don't listen.
. . .And sometimes even condemn you for the way you chose to live your life. A doctor should be the person you feel most comfortable telling personal stuff to. No woman or man should be left to feel belittled or like their concerns aren't real, especially by a doctor.
I don't care if you think I am overreacting, CHECK ANYWAYS.
Because if you don't, who knows what might be left untreated?
Another example: I had a pelvic exam done after being concerned about having an ovarian cyst. My doctor said she didn't feel anything. And after still pushing my concerns, she did a vaginal ultrasound of which revealed a large ovarian cyst. That later had to be surgically removed.
My concerns are real now, huh?
Yours,
Truthtalks
