I have been wondering about something for a long time. It is still formulating in my mind. But I think I can break it down into a few questions.
Why do OBGYN’s and the like have such a difficult time isolating the causes of women’s reproductive illness?
Why are they hesitant to even give standard tests, i.e. laproscopy, pelvic ultrasound to try?
Why, so often, do women feel they are blown off by their doctors?
I wrote an essay on this once and then afterwards started experiencing the same chain of events I had witnessed in other women’s stories. The only thing I could come up with is that females are still perceived as the other as opposed to the universal male. Therfore, they are already viewed as “mysterious” and their bodies even more so.
I have seen some statements on the board so far that seem to indicate other people may have thoughts or commentary. Unfortunately, I apologize greatly, I have not yet learned to link to other threads. But feel free to air your experiences and views in this thread. I really am curious.
For me, it’s not just the OBGYN doctors, or the reproductive health issues - I actually feel better going to the gynocoligist than to a GP. The last few times I have had minor problems that required a doctor’s visit, I felt blown off. I felt I wasn’t examined thoroughly. In one case, the DR seemed more concerned with the insect bite on my wrist than the fact that the area from wrist to halfway up to my elbow was swollen from job-related stress - he told me to take some Advil and tested my blood in case the small red insect bite was something sinister. That is not the only case, but I often feel like I’m wasting my time visiting the doctor.
In the past few years, other than yearly exams and such, I usually never go unless I am in immediate danger of dying (or bleeding to death) because most of the time the stock answer is “take some Advil.” And I don’t think it’s a case of seeing a different doctor - I go to a clinic and usually make an appointment with the first doc that can see me, or the one available at the time I can make it - I don’t request the same doctor every time I visit - so I have seen a large number of different doctors (male & female) and I get the same vibes from all of them.
No offense to any doctors out ther on the SDMB, I know you are busy, but I’m not very happy with the way I am treated - most of the time. Unless it’s a yearly exam, or a simple thing like stitches.
My wife’s sister died about a year ago from ovarian cancer - as my wife did research while her sister was sick, it was clear that ovarian cancer is one of those conditions that if you wait for the symptoms to alert you, it is usually too late. Given her family history, my wife has forced the issue and is getting yearly ultrasounds. Having said that, she has often commented to me that she doesn’t feel that her OB/GYN is as responsive as she would like her to be…
This is something I’ve experienced many times and have even discussed with friends who’ve gone through similar situations. For me the scariest time was when I was pregnant and an AFP (alpha-fetal protein) test I had came back too high. When I started researching AFP I discovered that (at that time 10 yrs. ago) there wasn’t a really clear understanding of what it was or why it was produced–even the fact that the level was high only indicated that there could be some problems (spina bifida being one of them), but everything could be just fine, too. What stunned me the most was the lack of knowledge. My baby boy was just fine, by the way, and will soon be having his 10th birthday.
In recent years I’ve been prone to yeast infections (sorry about the TMI). It got so bad that I was eating yogurt, taking supplements and going commando on a regular basis but with little effect. Again I asked why and the response was, “maybe you’re just prone to them, here’s your diflucan.”
Many of my girlfriends have similar stories and I’ve often wondered why that is. With all the things the female body goes through in a lifetime (periods, yeast infections, pregnancy, childbirth, breast feeding, menopause…) it just seems like it’s a complicated world down there so maybe we just have more plumbing problems than men do. Still, that’s not much comfort when even your OB/GYN tells you “we just don’t know.”
Doctors, much to their chagrin, don’t know everything. What is known about any given ailment may or may not be complete or helpful. Doctors may not know enough about the particular complaint. They may get things wrong and where they do, they should be ready to admit error.
But doctors are usually correct. Patients must also be ready to accept that maybe their doctor is correct in downplaying certain complaints. If your doctor is callous about the complaint, get a new one, doctor that is. Don’t siimply assume that their opinion, phrased badly, is wrong.
My wife is an internist and she prescribes ibuprofen for any and all aches, pains, or swellings related to muscles or connective tissue. This includes her husband and children. Infections are another matter, but for the odd ache, ibuprofen is it.
Doctors, much to their chagrin, don’t know everything. What is known about any given ailment may or may not be complete or helpful. Doctors may not know enough about the particular complaint. They may get things wrong and where they do, they should be ready to admit error.
But doctors are usually correct. Patients must also be ready to accept that maybe their doctor is correct in downplaying certain complaints. If your doctor is callous about the complaint, get a new one, doctor that is. Don’t siimply assume that their opinion, phrased badly, is wrong.
My wife is an internist and she prescribes ibuprofen for any and all aches, pains, or swellings related to muscles or connective tissue. This includes her husband and children. Infections are another matter, but for the odd ache, ibuprofen is it.
I’m of a mindset that a person must take an active role in their health. This includes, but isn’t limited to, researching one’s symptoms, researching one’s (prospective) doctor’s history and clearly communicating one’s expectations to her doctor.
I know some people feel they shouldn’t have to do so much work just to stay healthy. It’s the doctors that attend medical school and get paid the big bucks, right? It’s their job to tell you what’s wrong, right? This, in my opinion, is true to a certain extent.
Obviously most patients aren’t qualified to diagnose their own medical situations. On the other hand, this is your health we’re discussing. Why wouldn’t you research your symptoms thoroughly and then visit the doctor? This, of course, isn’t advisable in emergency situations, but barring those times, it’s just common sense.
People are going to feel blown off by their doctors only if they allow it. I feel that it’s not my problem a doctor has five other patients waiting to see her. While I’m in her office, it’s my time. I’m not leaving until all my questions are answered and I understand all the answers provided. I also take a written list of questions with me so I don’t forget to ask pertinent questions. When I make my appointment, I advise the receptionist I’m going to need ten minutes in addition to my appointment to ask questions.
Doctors aren’t gods. They’re not perfect. They don’t have all the answers. Much like a mechanic, I see doctors because I don’t have the same tools/skill sets they do. I don’t consider them smarter than me, just experts in a different field. I’m not going to be blown off by them if I can help it. <Insert obligatory second opinion suggestion here.>
Several years ago (probably around 10) I was reading an article about the disparity between diagrams male and female anatomy in textbooks.
Argh! For the life of me, I can’t remember where I was reading and can’t provide a cite – it may have been the Globe and Mail (a national newspaper in Canada – I’ll go see if I can find it). Some formal study had found that something like (again, it was a long time ago, do take the following numbers with a big grain of salt) 60% of the photos and diagrams were specifically of male bodies, and the other 40% was split between specifically female and “neutral” (such as fingers and toes that don’t change mcuh between men and women.)
The same article (again, I don’t remember it very well) also published another statistical incongruity. When faced with “plumbing problems” women were much, much more likely to end up having an organ removed (ovaries, uterus etc.) than men and alternatives to radical surgeries weren’t persued as aggressively.
I’ll go hunting for a cite.
But otherwise, like Boscibo, I only go to a doctor if I have a really obvious specific complaint (fever, really unusual swelling, gushing blood etc.). I can’t really say I have any major complaints about any of the doctor’s who have seen me with the exception of when I was a kid (evil ass – I ended up getting really hurt because I’d injured my neck colliding with another kid in gym class, and he’d told my mom is was “just a scheme to get attention”. )
Charmian, I would love to see that cite. I too will look based on the information you provided.
JuanitaTech, I too feel people must take an active roll in their health. Both my husband and I research things thoroughly before going to the doctor. However, I find that because I am 30, not pregnant, and otherwise healthy, that when I go see some OBGYN’s I do feel like I am being blown off.
CMC I did a search at the Globe and Mail website, but the article was so long ago, I think it pre-dates a lot of their web presence. I have an astonishing memory for some things, but a stupid memory for others.
So I remember other articles I read in that paper that day such as one were about censorship in Canada (regarding the “obscenity laws” and I can even quote bits of that article), but I can’t for the life of me guarantee that it was actually the Globe and Mail I was reading.
However, circa 1993 that would have been my newspaper of choice, so that’s still the most likely. If I can find a reference to the article anywhere, I’ll e-mail you. I’m pretty sure it was based on a study, so there has got to be some other reference to it somewhere.
The article did remain in my brain so that when I went shopping for an anatomy book, I took extra care to find one that seemed to have both male and female anatomy represented equally well (or as close as I could find.)
I bought the Anatomy Coloring Book because it tends to diagram the bodies fairly evenly with respect to gender.