In the 60s and 70s I suffered in every way you have described. I was given a D & C in my teens which made the problems I suffered even worse, even more unbearable. How I managed to complete teacher training is beyond me as my cycle was always short and never monthly! Relief came thankfully when I had my first child!
Something is a bit non-standard about my reproductive system and this has been a constant problem, because what little doctors do know, they assume is true for everyone.
From puberty to menopause I was intensely depressed every 30 days for 8-12 hours. It was not PMS, so the doctors had no context for it and dismissed it. I worked out for myself that it was ovulation. I have heard this from other women but never found any studies or explanations of why it happens. Maybe understanding this would help with the BC intolerance statistics cited in this article?
At menopause I started bleeding and didn't stop, and was quietly bleeding to death. We tried estrogen BC, and that hit me exactly like ovulation except it never relented. The depression was more immediately life-threatening than the bleeding, but when I quit the BC, the bleeding returned.
The solution turned out to be a progesterone-releasing Mirena IUD. But before getting one I had to be extensively lectured about the risk to my fertility. Never mind that Mirena doesn't pose the risk to fertility that older IUDs did; never mind I was menopausal. Our fertility is evidently more important than our wellbeing.
The next recourse if the Mirena didn't work was hysterectomy, which is pretty serious surgery and I sure was not looking forward to it. I got very lucky, and I had a good gynecologist. I know a lot of women aren't so lucky.
As a teenager I suffered incredible discomfort and was always made to attend school. Likewise work, could not have considered having time off, and suffered accordingly. It's just not acknowledged adequately, and how you ‘prove it’ - well!
A friend came from an Indian sub continent culture where she was commanded to sleep on the floor beside her bed so as not to contaminate it when she had her period. It was only when she got to Uni she realised it was her bed and she could sleep there if she wanted to.
We (women) really seem to get the fuzzy end of the lollipop in so many things. Drugs are developed and tested on males. Just about everyone to do with female genitalia and reproductive systems is "taboo", laughed about or sniggered over. Male sexual disfunction is treated like a massive problem. But female sexual disfunction, especially after menopause, is ignored and bitter terminology is often applied to the suffering woman.
They are STILL stigmatising and castigating HRT and the general level of understanding about it in GP surgeries is dire. They try to frighten us off the things that make us feel better.
The glass ceiling is still firmly in place. And I for one, am sick of it. We have to make things change. But I don't know how.
I was once disciplined at work for taking about one day a month off sick due to period pains in my thirties. We just put up with that sort of ignorance, and it's high time the issue is taken seriously. Thank you for this campaign.
It's not just in reproductive matters either. More women than men suffer autoimmune conditions, one of which is Hypothyroidism. And not only is I more women than men, it's more middle aged women than men. Medical training in hypothyroidism is dire. Half a day at the last check. To cover over and under active. The treatment is one size fits all with no care about fillers etc. Dosing is based on TSH, which is not what the TSH test was developed for and not how dosing should be done. Nobody routinely tests the free Ts. Doctors are terrified of T3, for no sane reason. If Levothyroxine doesn't help a middle aged woman, too bad. Suffer, but do it quietly please. If it were a more male dominated illness, there would be more research, more knowledge and more treatment options. Instead it's often implied it's all in our heads (because the TSH is in range) and we are sent away with antidepressants. It's shocking. Yet middle aged women are still working full time, looking after teenagers and often caring for elderly relatives. Basically treated no better now than historically. Add hypothyroidism to menopause and it's a perfect storm for a life lost.
In the 60s and 70s I suffered in every way you have described. I was given a D & C in my teens which made the problems I suffered even worse, even more unbearable. How I managed to complete teacher training is beyond me as my cycle was always short and never monthly! Relief came thankfully when I had my first child!
Something is a bit non-standard about my reproductive system and this has been a constant problem, because what little doctors do know, they assume is true for everyone.
From puberty to menopause I was intensely depressed every 30 days for 8-12 hours. It was not PMS, so the doctors had no context for it and dismissed it. I worked out for myself that it was ovulation. I have heard this from other women but never found any studies or explanations of why it happens. Maybe understanding this would help with the BC intolerance statistics cited in this article?
At menopause I started bleeding and didn't stop, and was quietly bleeding to death. We tried estrogen BC, and that hit me exactly like ovulation except it never relented. The depression was more immediately life-threatening than the bleeding, but when I quit the BC, the bleeding returned.
The solution turned out to be a progesterone-releasing Mirena IUD. But before getting one I had to be extensively lectured about the risk to my fertility. Never mind that Mirena doesn't pose the risk to fertility that older IUDs did; never mind I was menopausal. Our fertility is evidently more important than our wellbeing.
The next recourse if the Mirena didn't work was hysterectomy, which is pretty serious surgery and I sure was not looking forward to it. I got very lucky, and I had a good gynecologist. I know a lot of women aren't so lucky.
I am glad they found the cause but agree that the system seems to value fertility above women's wellbeing and it's quite worrying how far that can go
As a teenager I suffered incredible discomfort and was always made to attend school. Likewise work, could not have considered having time off, and suffered accordingly. It's just not acknowledged adequately, and how you ‘prove it’ - well!
A friend came from an Indian sub continent culture where she was commanded to sleep on the floor beside her bed so as not to contaminate it when she had her period. It was only when she got to Uni she realised it was her bed and she could sleep there if she wanted to.
Oh God - UTIs the utter bane of life! Better research SO badly needed!
We (women) really seem to get the fuzzy end of the lollipop in so many things. Drugs are developed and tested on males. Just about everyone to do with female genitalia and reproductive systems is "taboo", laughed about or sniggered over. Male sexual disfunction is treated like a massive problem. But female sexual disfunction, especially after menopause, is ignored and bitter terminology is often applied to the suffering woman.
They are STILL stigmatising and castigating HRT and the general level of understanding about it in GP surgeries is dire. They try to frighten us off the things that make us feel better.
The glass ceiling is still firmly in place. And I for one, am sick of it. We have to make things change. But I don't know how.
yup - all of what you say
If a man had to go through this every month I'm sure things would be different.
Thank you for raising this. Please can you include PMDD in your work.
I was once disciplined at work for taking about one day a month off sick due to period pains in my thirties. We just put up with that sort of ignorance, and it's high time the issue is taken seriously. Thank you for this campaign.
It's not just in reproductive matters either. More women than men suffer autoimmune conditions, one of which is Hypothyroidism. And not only is I more women than men, it's more middle aged women than men. Medical training in hypothyroidism is dire. Half a day at the last check. To cover over and under active. The treatment is one size fits all with no care about fillers etc. Dosing is based on TSH, which is not what the TSH test was developed for and not how dosing should be done. Nobody routinely tests the free Ts. Doctors are terrified of T3, for no sane reason. If Levothyroxine doesn't help a middle aged woman, too bad. Suffer, but do it quietly please. If it were a more male dominated illness, there would be more research, more knowledge and more treatment options. Instead it's often implied it's all in our heads (because the TSH is in range) and we are sent away with antidepressants. It's shocking. Yet middle aged women are still working full time, looking after teenagers and often caring for elderly relatives. Basically treated no better now than historically. Add hypothyroidism to menopause and it's a perfect storm for a life lost.