Doctors dismissing symptoms seems to be a hot topic these days.
Most of the articles we’ve seen have been about healthcare providers not taking women’s perimenopause symptoms seriously. In contrast, this article shares examples of women who have had symptoms of serious illnesses being dismissed as related to perimenopause.
It seems the takeaway message is: if what your healthcare provider says doesn’t sit right with you, seek other opinions. Trust your gut. You know your body best.
Great quotes from this article:
But some women’s hormones might be all over the place while their periods remain unchanged for years.
Hadine Joffe, M.D., executive director of the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Female-only conditions like menopause have long been ignored by scientists…We need a larger body of research.
Amy Miller, Ph.D., former president and CEO of the nonprofit Society for Women’s Health Research
Doctors may be making accurate diagnoses, but not necessarily thinking fluctuating hormones might be affecting what’s going on.
JoAnn Pinkerton, M.D., a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville and executive director of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS)
“Women need to advocate for themselves when what they’re being told and what they’re experiencing don’t match,” Dr. Pinkerton says. If you suspect that your doctor doesn’t know enough about perimenopause, find one who does.
JoAnn Pinkerton, M.D., a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville and executive director of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS)
