Do you think that women are not taken as seriously and symptoms dismissed more quickly?

Hello everyone.

I post in both the crohn's disease forum and the Ms one . I was diagnosed with CD 30 years ago...and now have been told I have "probable MS'>

My question is this: Do you feel that women are dismissed more quickly, or not taken as seriously when it comes to neurological symptoms or even "tummy" problems. ?Do you think that women have to complain longer, louder to get results. ? Just a thought.

Are men diagnosed more quickly than women?

Just wondering.

Mary

Isn't it great that men don't get emotional over their illnesses? After all, if we could all be like men, as the professor said in "My Fair Lady," it would solve most of our problems, especially wasting our doctor's doctor's precious time. I have found that I could not control my emotions while I was in the downward spiral of an exacerbation that included severe depression. But, of course, that just makes me a weak old woman in the eyes of "our superiors" including most doctors. They have seldom wanted to know about my feelings and fears. A prescription will cure everything all of that. You just take the medication and can be very ill but you will feel very good about it. But there is one exception. If you mention thoughts of suicide to them you may get their attention. Over a life time I have had several very bad experiences with doctors, one concerning an issue with a certain female, my teenage daughter. For two years, I told him she was having severe headaches. For two years, he told me she was a nerotic female trying to get attention. Toward the end of this time, my daughter told me she was in such pain she was thinking about suicide. We had a dentist appointment that week so I mentioned the problem to him. He promptly sent her to a specialist with a new Xray machine. She was diagosed with TMJ and began treatment immeiately which saved her life. Poor doctor? Poor training in dealing with females? I don't know. I only know that much of the time in my experience, my non-specific medical problems (no bleeding, broken bones, no fever etc.) have been "easily explained"
by my emotional nature and my lack of intelligence-I'm blond- which made me want to scream. (my IQ was officially documented by a registered psychologist in the 1970s as 148.) Of course, it has been explained to me by well meaning people that it could be four points less due to scoring error. To which I reply, Yes, and it could be 4 points more, NU? (Thats Hebrew for Yes?) Don't let their arrogance get you down. Do your home work, speak up, don't let their cool, detached and taciturn demeanor deter you from getting the treatment you are paying for. They are not gods though many think they are. Even my dentist agrees with me on that. :>) I hope I have made you smile at least once!Woman, you deserve the best!!!!

My husband and I were recently in the market for a new primary care provider.  We saw an internal medicine doctor who was very convenient to our home with high hopes that he'd be who we needed.

We were allowed to have a "joint" appointment, and the doctor did great with my husband.  He went over his medications and his complaints, made suggestions on a few things and tweaked his meds a bit.  I was impressed with his knowledge and competency - until he got to me.

I handed him my symptom list and journal which my neurologist has me keep so she can monitor any progression of whatever it is that I have. (I haven't been diagnosed yet.)  He took one look and said that I needed to lighten up and that I was obsessive.  (I'm probably the least obsessive person on the planet!  )  He then went through and dismissed most (but not all) of my symptoms as being caused by anxiety.  (At that time I was taking an antidepressant my neurologist prescribed to help give me a bit of energy and Valium for dizziness.  How the heck could any anxiety symptoms get through those two meds?!)  He also changed my antidepressant without consulting my neurologist. Needless to say, I was very upset at this appointment and we didn't go back to him.

We just found a new doctor yesterday who is wonderful!  He's very down-to-earth, easy to talk to, and has a great sense of humor, as does his whole staff. As he was reviewing my medical history, I told him I had an undiagnosed neurological problem. He laughed and told me that was typical with neurological problems. When I told him I'd been dealing with these symptoms for about a year, he said that even after a year, I was still early into the diagnostic process and that it could take several years before I found out what was going on. He also said my symptoms do sound like MS.

As it turns out, his wife, who's name is Lisa too, has MS and sees the same neurologist (who is an MS specialist) that I do. Since he lives with MS on a daily basis, hopefully this will give him more empathy for my situation, along with a unique understanding of the symptoms I have and the medications I take or need.

For instance, he prescribed Provigil for me. I told him that our other family doctor had prescribed it before, but my insurance company wouldn't pay for it because they said that it wasn't approved for MS-related fatigue. I've done some research on it though, and it IS approved for sleep apnea, which I was just diagnosed with a few weeks ago. So, we're going to try to get it for me to combat this horrible fatigue I have on a daily basis. He was telling me that his wife takes it, and it really helps her without giving her the jitters that other meds of this type can do.

Anyway, to answer your original question, yes, I feel that some doctors, though not all (thank goodness!), are quick to dismiss women's symptoms more quickly.  It's sad that in this day and age that this still happens.  That's why I'm glad my neurologist (an MS specialist) is female.  She's never made me feel that my problems weren't important.

Definately. I have had problems all my life starting with severe mentrual issues before I was even a teen, and then endometriosis, IBD, migraines, severe joint pain - and for the most part its like "well, could be your hormones" or not sure what the diagnosis is. My hubby goes to the doc with any type of issue and he is taken very seriously. I am a volunteer support contact for the Endo Assoc. and I see it all the time, how women are not taken seriously.

For what it's worth, as a dude, I've had my symptoms dismissed twice in the last 6 months. Once by a male gp (pre-diagnosis, I had to ask for the MRI) and once by my neurologist's female nurse recently (post diagnosis). Though quite emotionally volitile lately in regards to my new found syndrome as most of us are, I always try to be clinical and objective when describing my symptoms, and I have lately begun to think that I am not taken seriously because I DO NOT sound all that upset.

Take that for what it's worth, perhaps this is only one guy's experience.