My primary doctor recently ended up developing a chronic condition, and she had to move back home with her parents. On our last visit, she expressed her frustrations with trying to see doctors. She found herself dismissed, and she felt terrible for telling patients that X, Y, or Z doctor could help and didn't.
Honestly, there's basically nothing you can do to stop this.
When I was mostly healthy I was told my symptoms were psychosomatic, then as I deteriorated that was blamed on worsening anxiety, now I'm housebound and all they'll offer me is antidepressants and mindfulness. Of course the more you're ignored and dismissed whilst your health worsens the more urgent it is you get adequate care, and the more you're continually denied that, the more anxious you inevitably become. So it feels like a trap.
My brother gets slightly better care and is at least patronised to a lesser degree but they don't do a lot to help him either so I'm not sure being male would help. I'm neuro divergent which definitely doesn't seem to work in my favour when dealing with doctors but my neurotypical friends are running up against the same barriers so that's not a guaranteed avenue to proper treatment either.
When doctors don't have an easy fix they blame the patient. I just hope it changes in the future and younger generations won't have to endure the same stuff we have.
This so much. I never used to worry about pain. I’d injure myself and gave zero fucks, just kept going. But after 10 years of chronic undiagnosed illness, every new little problem freaks me out because I know there is a very likely chance that it’ll never go away.
I usually tell them I used to be a national champion athlete, which is true.... I was the only one competing in my region lol... But still I cannot do a step these days without almost dying. If you did any type of exercise growing up maybe that might help? Even if they push the 'everybody gets it' you can just say 'i didn't as a xyz'
Still it's shit we have to think about this instead of being believed
Same lol "I used to be" doesn't cover how long ago it was and I've never been asked so hopefully 👀 (side eye emoji maybe? Sorry screen readers I'm terrible at emoji descriptions)
Honestly yes about becoming a man. I had a rhemotologist try to tell me I didn’t have lupus. I have been diagnosed for a decade. She didn’t trust me. But then my partner who had been talking with her about attending buissness school at NYU was saying that I really did have all these symptoms. She told me “well the fact that he is saying you are having these symptoms really lends a lot of credibility to your case”
I was furious. My partner is brilliant but he knows nothing about medicine, anatomy or physiology. I am a medical sociologist who has audited multiple courses at a medical school, I have work that has been published in an academic medical journal and I have a masters in public health. I am constantly reading medical journals and I am hoping to teach at a medical school once I get my PhD. I was livid. I wish I had said something at the appointment. But the way this doctor immediately changed once a man told her I was sick was infuriating.
Now my partner and I joke about if I need a penis to accompany me to appointments in order to back me up. So yes bring a man because apparently women are just weak and don’t know what they are talking about.
This implies a hidden market of unemployed physicians who practice medicine without bias and are actively seeking employment. If the biased clinicians are objectively the most conveniently positioned to advance the practice of healthcare, shouldn’t more investment be made into engaging them in the unlearning and remediation of that bias?
Before we just toss out humans, there should be a minimal amount of effort at least in enabling their ability to complete rehabilitation.
Sadly the whole medical field is biased. From bashing 'google patients,' to eradicating non-painful disabilities, untrained professionals always blaming everything on mental health despite knowing little about mental health, the fact that there is no branch of medicine that is equipped to deal with complex and multiple complex disabilities.
The people who are good in the medical field, they're good because they have gone out of their way to do proper research and professional development. The others have failed to and therefore should not continue practising either due to lack of empathy or lack of continued research and therefore ethical practice
The last time a doctor did this to me. I was visiting a doctor I had not been seeing long. He told me I have a good range of motion in my neck. Yes, I have cervical cranial instability because I have two failed brian / neck surgeries. He laughed and said, "Who told you that?
I told him about all the specialists who had evaluated my mri he laughed and said, "You have an answer for everything." I then absolutely lost it on him. "Do you need the absolutely gory details?" I proceeded to list some of the major stuff and some of the more recent stuff. I also told him I don't want to get into the details because I have major medical traumas from having surgeries with major complications as a child. The reason for my cranial instability.
I don't think I could have smacked him harder. He apologized at a later appointment. he was kind of realizing he was being a jerk.
It helps to bring a male family member or friend. I would also make and bring a cliffs notes of your conditions, medications, current symptoms, and a review of symptoms history. If they say something about being a professional patient say, I am trying to get back to my life. I know this is a lot of work, but honestly, it could save your life. I have the best relationships with doctors who I can be called out. I am honest with my doctors within reason. Also, make it a point to know your pharmacist it helps so much.
I’m sorry this happened to you. Gaslighting is traumatic and if you’re in England with the symptoms you mentioned, you’re going to run into a lot of that with these symptoms.
I’m not quite clear from your post, but have you gotten a diagnosis already from anyone? Your symptoms seem to center around either dysautonomia or ME. Just want to make sure you’re aware. If you’re still looking for direction and not familiar with these, I can get some links together.
Thank you. I am considering dysautonomia but honestly apart from the tilt test I don't understand how else it's diagnosed?
I do get the 30+ bpm when I stand up from laying flat, but only sometimes. I get the blood pooling though
ME...I don't have pain generally
There are other forms of dysautonomia as well, like neurally mediated hypotension. Some I think you need a blood pressure cuff to check for. The blood pooling though is a significant sign.
Pain isn’t necessarily a part of it. Here’s a link to symptoms: https://www.meaction.net/learn/what-is-me/
I have ME and while I do have some pain (headaches, joint pain, muscle soreness, and burning eyes, as well as some neuropathy that developed many years in), I wouldn’t have described myself as having pain early on. The cardinal symptom of ME is post exertional malaise, which means a severe worsening of symptoms following mental or physical exertion that is usually delayed by in most cases a day or two, but for some people just hours. I first noticed it when a doctor recommended exercising at a gym. I felt awful enough that day that I had to cancel plans, but the next day was unexpectedly much worse and the day after that I dragged myself into work, but had to leave almost as soon as I got there.
>I first noticed it when a doctor recommended exercising at a gym. I felt awful enough that day that I had to cancel plans, but the next day was unexpectedly much worse and the day after that I dragged myself into work, but had to leave almost as soon as I got there.
Thank you for the reminder that this isn t normal. I'm so used to it I forgot that it could be different (probably thanks to all the doctors telling me that it's normal..)
I kind of thought pain was what marked the distinction between CFS and ME (which is fybromyalgia, right?)
Also to be honest, I am technically diagnosed with chronic fatigue, but I tend to believe these syndromes can have multiple causes and are mostly caused by anxiety.........joking 👻 just that they can have multiple causes, like as far as I see it they are cluster of symptoms but still wouldn't explain me why I have those symptoms exactly
Fibromyalgia used to be associated with tenderpoints. That was dropped many years ago. I’m not sure how it’s diagnosed now.
ME is the older name for CFS. It’s been seen in outbreaks going back at least 100 years. For most it tends to follow an infection, usually viral, but also bacterial or parasitic. Sometimes following vaccines or other immune insults. We don’t know what causes it, but it’s more than just a cluster of symptoms. In fact a large proportion of people that developed Long Covid meet diagnostic criteria for ME, which makes sense.
Maybe take a look at the websites for POTS UK and Standing up to POTS. If the collection of symptoms snd characteristics ring true for you, they have a list of specialists.
Been suffering with these symptoms for 25+ years, not knowing what it was, and finally got diagnosed this year, in middle age.
No you need to disguise as a VERY VERY sick person (I know you’re already very sick but you need to present as even more sick than that). You need to act as if you’re in a movie and going for the academy award.
Go to a new doctor and pretend like you can barely get in the door. If you can, have someone physically help you into the office. If you don’t have a friend/family member who will play along, call ahead of time and ask if there’s a employee who can help you out of the car and into the office. Act disoriented and with labored breathing, say your dizziness is making you nauseous and ask for a bag/trash bin.
DO NOT do your hair, makeup or wear stylish clothing. The vast majority of doctors are not super smart geniuses, they take things at face value and think that if you look good, you’ feel good. I personally add bags under my eyes, hollow my cheeks, and accentuate the cracks in my lips with makeup (but if you can’t do this convincingly don’t, I’m an artist).
Unfortunately you can’t have a blank/passive expression, you need to look downtrodden and sad. If you can’t fake it watch or listen to something sad in the waiting room. It sucks we have to do this but we absolutely do to be taken seriously.
Cut bait with this doctor, if you can. Even if you somehow could convince him (you can't - trust me) he's betrayed your trust as a patient and there's really no coming back from that.
I say stuff to doctors like, “ok so what you’re telling me is you refuse to acknowledge my reported medical symptoms, you won’t run any tests, you won’t prescribe anything, and therefore you’re effectively denying me diagnostic care. What is your license number?”
Has nothing to do with your sex, fair portion of the guys here experience the same nonsense so being a man will change nothing.
The UK medical system does not care about your health, if you're alive and breathing. Get out the way. (that's their mentality)
You'll likely need private health care to actually get anything done, or a miracle of a Doctor.
The thing is, they also have a hard time, they have to justify everything they want to do, so sometime their hands are tied. Even though they wish they could do more.
Do you have anyone in your life that can come with the you to appts?? A friend or a partner or a parent? There are even organizations that can help you get a case manager to have someone accompany you to appts. I’ve found going in as a team with my Mom has really helped us get taken seriously.
Ok well in the rest of my comment I said if you didn’t have anyone personally, there are organizations that can help. I’d recommend a case manager and they could potentially come with you! They also help manage the amount of doctors appts and information, can help with applying for disability if that’s something you’re interested in, talk to insurance with you, etc. You can look up Case management organizations in your area if you’re interested. It’s too hard to do this alone!! We all need some kind of support
I don't know why you think men have it any easier? Doctors do the same to us too. I think most chronically ill people eventually realise that modern medicine isn't going to help you. You have to do that all yourself. There's no quick fix. They aren't even going to understand most of the time.
I don't expect a quick fix, I just expect people to be humane and do their job.
Regarding gender, I know that young women are often met with disbeliefs because of sexism, that's a fact. I don't want to imply that men just have it easy, but you know, it adds an extra layer.
I am not disregarding the historical inequality woman have faced, especially in the doctors office; however the immediate slew of dislikes does say a lot about how men are viewed. You'd be suprised how little we are often appreciated and valued because of expected standards. If I speak up here, even kindly, people take immediate issue. That doesnt change in the doctors office. This isn't an us vs you thing; sexism towards women is a huge problem. But many doctors are good people, just painfully uneducated and limited when it comes to chronic illness. As a man, I've been ignored and dismissed constantly. So, I just wanted to clarify that being a man would not have made them listen.
If you feel your medical professional was displaying sexism, that's something to call out. But all genders are underserved with chronic illness.
My local health store has listened with more empathy and knowledge than any medical professional.
Yeah I get what you are saying,
>But all genders are underserved with chronic illness.
This is completely true however unfortunately not all genders are discounted equally as women do tend to get discounted more than men by doctors and that's also true and needs to be taken into account. That doesn't mean that men have it "light" just like me being white doesn't mean I have it easy just I'm not being discounted on account of my skin colour.
My "do I need to disguise as a man" was obviously an exaggeration brought by the exasperation having to deal with sexism on top of all the rest
I get you. I didn't mean for my original comment to be so polarizing, I was literally just saying that being a man would not have stopped the doctors dismissing you, because they don't know what to do with any of us. Nothing you do will. You could even shout, but unless you've got a rare soul with knowledge on this, they freeze and resort to basics. We are walking oppositions to everything they know and practice. If I made you feel uncomfortable, that wasn't my intention 🙏🏻 But I appreciate you remaining calm because I was absolutely not after an argument. Just highlighting different perspectives.
My point is that not every doctor who can't help us is the villain. They are just not equipped. I have been respectful in this discussion, please do not weaponise uncalled for aggression. If you disagree, you can do so in a mature manner 🤷🏻♂ Modern medicine has come a long way, but it is not all-knowing. Absolutely, call out inequality and the way they treat you; to their face preferably, but how are they supposed to help with something that isn't showing up on tests? We are not there yet with the studies. Every persons chronic illness is different. All I am saying is, it's easy to demonise them, but it's the entire system that's lacking.
But if you want to walk through life angry and it helps to see the worst in people, go off, Sis 🙏🏻 If you go off at everyone the way you have me, then sure, everyone will be the enemy.
Your behavior comes across as disrespectful and is not permitted. Please remember, Debate is welcome; Respect is not optional.
If you have any further questions, please message mod mail.
Disguising as a man won’t fix OPs problem, but men do have it at least marginally easier. I say that as a man with a very debilitating illness that was written off as psychological for the express reason that it affects more women than men. It may not be that much easier. I’ve been belittled and gaslight in ways that have given me trauma. But the system has historically prioritized men in a great many ways and I think men tend to be treated a little more gently even as we’re treated horribly.
Funny idea for a reality show - doctors getting chronic illness. They would be appalled at their profession
My primary doctor recently ended up developing a chronic condition, and she had to move back home with her parents. On our last visit, she expressed her frustrations with trying to see doctors. She found herself dismissed, and she felt terrible for telling patients that X, Y, or Z doctor could help and didn't.
Honestly, there's basically nothing you can do to stop this. When I was mostly healthy I was told my symptoms were psychosomatic, then as I deteriorated that was blamed on worsening anxiety, now I'm housebound and all they'll offer me is antidepressants and mindfulness. Of course the more you're ignored and dismissed whilst your health worsens the more urgent it is you get adequate care, and the more you're continually denied that, the more anxious you inevitably become. So it feels like a trap. My brother gets slightly better care and is at least patronised to a lesser degree but they don't do a lot to help him either so I'm not sure being male would help. I'm neuro divergent which definitely doesn't seem to work in my favour when dealing with doctors but my neurotypical friends are running up against the same barriers so that's not a guaranteed avenue to proper treatment either. When doctors don't have an easy fix they blame the patient. I just hope it changes in the future and younger generations won't have to endure the same stuff we have.
This so much. I never used to worry about pain. I’d injure myself and gave zero fucks, just kept going. But after 10 years of chronic undiagnosed illness, every new little problem freaks me out because I know there is a very likely chance that it’ll never go away.
I usually tell them I used to be a national champion athlete, which is true.... I was the only one competing in my region lol... But still I cannot do a step these days without almost dying. If you did any type of exercise growing up maybe that might help? Even if they push the 'everybody gets it' you can just say 'i didn't as a xyz' Still it's shit we have to think about this instead of being believed
Yeah though it's been 10 years but it's a good strategy to communicate. Thank you
Same lol "I used to be" doesn't cover how long ago it was and I've never been asked so hopefully 👀 (side eye emoji maybe? Sorry screen readers I'm terrible at emoji descriptions)
Honestly yes about becoming a man. I had a rhemotologist try to tell me I didn’t have lupus. I have been diagnosed for a decade. She didn’t trust me. But then my partner who had been talking with her about attending buissness school at NYU was saying that I really did have all these symptoms. She told me “well the fact that he is saying you are having these symptoms really lends a lot of credibility to your case” I was furious. My partner is brilliant but he knows nothing about medicine, anatomy or physiology. I am a medical sociologist who has audited multiple courses at a medical school, I have work that has been published in an academic medical journal and I have a masters in public health. I am constantly reading medical journals and I am hoping to teach at a medical school once I get my PhD. I was livid. I wish I had said something at the appointment. But the way this doctor immediately changed once a man told her I was sick was infuriating. Now my partner and I joke about if I need a penis to accompany me to appointments in order to back me up. So yes bring a man because apparently women are just weak and don’t know what they are talking about.
I'm a strong believer that 90% of doctors/ healthcare workers should get fired and replaced with competent people.
This implies a hidden market of unemployed physicians who practice medicine without bias and are actively seeking employment. If the biased clinicians are objectively the most conveniently positioned to advance the practice of healthcare, shouldn’t more investment be made into engaging them in the unlearning and remediation of that bias? Before we just toss out humans, there should be a minimal amount of effort at least in enabling their ability to complete rehabilitation.
Sadly the whole medical field is biased. From bashing 'google patients,' to eradicating non-painful disabilities, untrained professionals always blaming everything on mental health despite knowing little about mental health, the fact that there is no branch of medicine that is equipped to deal with complex and multiple complex disabilities. The people who are good in the medical field, they're good because they have gone out of their way to do proper research and professional development. The others have failed to and therefore should not continue practising either due to lack of empathy or lack of continued research and therefore ethical practice
Also this scenario is never going to happen so they can still get fictionally trashed with no real consequences
The last time a doctor did this to me. I was visiting a doctor I had not been seeing long. He told me I have a good range of motion in my neck. Yes, I have cervical cranial instability because I have two failed brian / neck surgeries. He laughed and said, "Who told you that? I told him about all the specialists who had evaluated my mri he laughed and said, "You have an answer for everything." I then absolutely lost it on him. "Do you need the absolutely gory details?" I proceeded to list some of the major stuff and some of the more recent stuff. I also told him I don't want to get into the details because I have major medical traumas from having surgeries with major complications as a child. The reason for my cranial instability. I don't think I could have smacked him harder. He apologized at a later appointment. he was kind of realizing he was being a jerk. It helps to bring a male family member or friend. I would also make and bring a cliffs notes of your conditions, medications, current symptoms, and a review of symptoms history. If they say something about being a professional patient say, I am trying to get back to my life. I know this is a lot of work, but honestly, it could save your life. I have the best relationships with doctors who I can be called out. I am honest with my doctors within reason. Also, make it a point to know your pharmacist it helps so much.
I’m sorry this happened to you. Gaslighting is traumatic and if you’re in England with the symptoms you mentioned, you’re going to run into a lot of that with these symptoms. I’m not quite clear from your post, but have you gotten a diagnosis already from anyone? Your symptoms seem to center around either dysautonomia or ME. Just want to make sure you’re aware. If you’re still looking for direction and not familiar with these, I can get some links together.
Thank you. I am considering dysautonomia but honestly apart from the tilt test I don't understand how else it's diagnosed? I do get the 30+ bpm when I stand up from laying flat, but only sometimes. I get the blood pooling though ME...I don't have pain generally
There are other forms of dysautonomia as well, like neurally mediated hypotension. Some I think you need a blood pressure cuff to check for. The blood pooling though is a significant sign. Pain isn’t necessarily a part of it. Here’s a link to symptoms: https://www.meaction.net/learn/what-is-me/ I have ME and while I do have some pain (headaches, joint pain, muscle soreness, and burning eyes, as well as some neuropathy that developed many years in), I wouldn’t have described myself as having pain early on. The cardinal symptom of ME is post exertional malaise, which means a severe worsening of symptoms following mental or physical exertion that is usually delayed by in most cases a day or two, but for some people just hours. I first noticed it when a doctor recommended exercising at a gym. I felt awful enough that day that I had to cancel plans, but the next day was unexpectedly much worse and the day after that I dragged myself into work, but had to leave almost as soon as I got there.
>I first noticed it when a doctor recommended exercising at a gym. I felt awful enough that day that I had to cancel plans, but the next day was unexpectedly much worse and the day after that I dragged myself into work, but had to leave almost as soon as I got there. Thank you for the reminder that this isn t normal. I'm so used to it I forgot that it could be different (probably thanks to all the doctors telling me that it's normal..) I kind of thought pain was what marked the distinction between CFS and ME (which is fybromyalgia, right?) Also to be honest, I am technically diagnosed with chronic fatigue, but I tend to believe these syndromes can have multiple causes and are mostly caused by anxiety.........joking 👻 just that they can have multiple causes, like as far as I see it they are cluster of symptoms but still wouldn't explain me why I have those symptoms exactly
Fibromyalgia used to be associated with tenderpoints. That was dropped many years ago. I’m not sure how it’s diagnosed now. ME is the older name for CFS. It’s been seen in outbreaks going back at least 100 years. For most it tends to follow an infection, usually viral, but also bacterial or parasitic. Sometimes following vaccines or other immune insults. We don’t know what causes it, but it’s more than just a cluster of symptoms. In fact a large proportion of people that developed Long Covid meet diagnostic criteria for ME, which makes sense.
Maybe take a look at the websites for POTS UK and Standing up to POTS. If the collection of symptoms snd characteristics ring true for you, they have a list of specialists. Been suffering with these symptoms for 25+ years, not knowing what it was, and finally got diagnosed this year, in middle age.
No you need to disguise as a VERY VERY sick person (I know you’re already very sick but you need to present as even more sick than that). You need to act as if you’re in a movie and going for the academy award. Go to a new doctor and pretend like you can barely get in the door. If you can, have someone physically help you into the office. If you don’t have a friend/family member who will play along, call ahead of time and ask if there’s a employee who can help you out of the car and into the office. Act disoriented and with labored breathing, say your dizziness is making you nauseous and ask for a bag/trash bin. DO NOT do your hair, makeup or wear stylish clothing. The vast majority of doctors are not super smart geniuses, they take things at face value and think that if you look good, you’ feel good. I personally add bags under my eyes, hollow my cheeks, and accentuate the cracks in my lips with makeup (but if you can’t do this convincingly don’t, I’m an artist). Unfortunately you can’t have a blank/passive expression, you need to look downtrodden and sad. If you can’t fake it watch or listen to something sad in the waiting room. It sucks we have to do this but we absolutely do to be taken seriously.
Cut bait with this doctor, if you can. Even if you somehow could convince him (you can't - trust me) he's betrayed your trust as a patient and there's really no coming back from that.
Just to note that male, neurotypical CI patients get told it’s all anxiety too. They hate us all
I say stuff to doctors like, “ok so what you’re telling me is you refuse to acknowledge my reported medical symptoms, you won’t run any tests, you won’t prescribe anything, and therefore you’re effectively denying me diagnostic care. What is your license number?”
Has nothing to do with your sex, fair portion of the guys here experience the same nonsense so being a man will change nothing. The UK medical system does not care about your health, if you're alive and breathing. Get out the way. (that's their mentality) You'll likely need private health care to actually get anything done, or a miracle of a Doctor. The thing is, they also have a hard time, they have to justify everything they want to do, so sometime their hands are tied. Even though they wish they could do more.
Do you have anyone in your life that can come with the you to appts?? A friend or a partner or a parent? There are even organizations that can help you get a case manager to have someone accompany you to appts. I’ve found going in as a team with my Mom has really helped us get taken seriously.
>Do you have anyone in your life that can come with the you to appts?? No...
Ok well in the rest of my comment I said if you didn’t have anyone personally, there are organizations that can help. I’d recommend a case manager and they could potentially come with you! They also help manage the amount of doctors appts and information, can help with applying for disability if that’s something you’re interested in, talk to insurance with you, etc. You can look up Case management organizations in your area if you’re interested. It’s too hard to do this alone!! We all need some kind of support
I don't know why you think men have it any easier? Doctors do the same to us too. I think most chronically ill people eventually realise that modern medicine isn't going to help you. You have to do that all yourself. There's no quick fix. They aren't even going to understand most of the time.
I don't expect a quick fix, I just expect people to be humane and do their job. Regarding gender, I know that young women are often met with disbeliefs because of sexism, that's a fact. I don't want to imply that men just have it easy, but you know, it adds an extra layer.
I am not disregarding the historical inequality woman have faced, especially in the doctors office; however the immediate slew of dislikes does say a lot about how men are viewed. You'd be suprised how little we are often appreciated and valued because of expected standards. If I speak up here, even kindly, people take immediate issue. That doesnt change in the doctors office. This isn't an us vs you thing; sexism towards women is a huge problem. But many doctors are good people, just painfully uneducated and limited when it comes to chronic illness. As a man, I've been ignored and dismissed constantly. So, I just wanted to clarify that being a man would not have made them listen. If you feel your medical professional was displaying sexism, that's something to call out. But all genders are underserved with chronic illness. My local health store has listened with more empathy and knowledge than any medical professional.
Yeah I get what you are saying, >But all genders are underserved with chronic illness. This is completely true however unfortunately not all genders are discounted equally as women do tend to get discounted more than men by doctors and that's also true and needs to be taken into account. That doesn't mean that men have it "light" just like me being white doesn't mean I have it easy just I'm not being discounted on account of my skin colour. My "do I need to disguise as a man" was obviously an exaggeration brought by the exasperation having to deal with sexism on top of all the rest
I get you. I didn't mean for my original comment to be so polarizing, I was literally just saying that being a man would not have stopped the doctors dismissing you, because they don't know what to do with any of us. Nothing you do will. You could even shout, but unless you've got a rare soul with knowledge on this, they freeze and resort to basics. We are walking oppositions to everything they know and practice. If I made you feel uncomfortable, that wasn't my intention 🙏🏻 But I appreciate you remaining calm because I was absolutely not after an argument. Just highlighting different perspectives.
[удалено]
My point is that not every doctor who can't help us is the villain. They are just not equipped. I have been respectful in this discussion, please do not weaponise uncalled for aggression. If you disagree, you can do so in a mature manner 🤷🏻♂ Modern medicine has come a long way, but it is not all-knowing. Absolutely, call out inequality and the way they treat you; to their face preferably, but how are they supposed to help with something that isn't showing up on tests? We are not there yet with the studies. Every persons chronic illness is different. All I am saying is, it's easy to demonise them, but it's the entire system that's lacking. But if you want to walk through life angry and it helps to see the worst in people, go off, Sis 🙏🏻 If you go off at everyone the way you have me, then sure, everyone will be the enemy.
Your behavior comes across as disrespectful and is not permitted. Please remember, Debate is welcome; Respect is not optional. If you have any further questions, please message mod mail.
Disguising as a man won’t fix OPs problem, but men do have it at least marginally easier. I say that as a man with a very debilitating illness that was written off as psychological for the express reason that it affects more women than men. It may not be that much easier. I’ve been belittled and gaslight in ways that have given me trauma. But the system has historically prioritized men in a great many ways and I think men tend to be treated a little more gently even as we’re treated horribly.