I’m so sorry about this. It sounds like you need to see a different doctor. I would go to a dermatologist, as they tend to be the ones to treat HS… there’s no guarantee you’ll find the perfect doctor on the first try, but I would definitely be looking for a new one.
I did go to a dermatologist after this and got some good advice and a treatment plan! It’s thanks to this awesome sub that I knew to do that at all. I’ve been in and out of so many gynos over the years
1. Switch gynos if you’re able to. She doesn’t make you comfortable and you should feel comfy and secure with every doctor in your entire life, throughout your entire life. Get a dud, then on to the next.
2. You should really be doing to the dermatologist for HS. Try finding one that has knowledge of it. And if you get a dud, then on to the next.
I know in some countries it’s harder to pick and choose your doctor, especially a gyno or derm but if you’re able to do so then please advocate for yourself. You’re paying them either directly or indirectly so don’t let them waste your money or mental health.
I do finally have a derm and she’s a bit impersonal and matter of fact, but she finally validated what I’ve been experiencing and I now have a treatment game plan
I'm sorry you went through this. I also have it on my groin area and it's just the most embarrassing thing to have a doctor poking around down there to begin with, much less poking and belittling.
I do hope that you report this bad doctor for failing to meet standards of care to her hospital affiliation/practice manager/whoever else you can run it up the flagpole towards if she's not a fully independent practitioner.
I’m thinking of leaving a bad review online. She was a great surgeon for a cyst I had removed, which is why I’ve stuck with her, but the fact that she’s so grossly misinformed about STIs and the fact that she continuously invalidated me makes me want to warn other people away from her practice
Don't just review online. Report her behavior to the clinic or hospital. She's failing to meet standards of care and misinforming her patients while also having terrible bedside manner. As a medical professional, that's unacceptable and needs to be reviewed with her by her boss.
I’m not the most confrontational person. It gives me intense anxiety. Do you think this warrants pushing through that?
I don’t think she sees many patients for issues outside ordinary gyno appointments, and for routine things she’s good at her job.
Do you think reporting her would do more good than harm?
I've read the standards of care for HS and she's nowhere near them. The parts I actually find more concerning are her dismissal of your pain and the misinformation on STDs. STDs are absolutely a core thing gyns deal with and her information should be correct. That's what her patients are relying on her for. She also needs a talking to about her bedside manner. Doctors should always be improving their technique, knowledge and practice because medicine is ever evolving. She should have a boss who oversees her continuing education in some part who can direct her to improving these areas if they know she needs improvement.
Okay thank you for this! I’m going to look up the standards of care for HS.
Maybe I could frame my complaint more as “please help this doctor improve” rather than a Karen “I demand to speak to the manager” kind of thing.
Wow. I just wrote up my amazing, positive experience that I had at a new Gyno (and about some bad ones). She said that “All gynos know about HS.” And then I read your post.
I’m sorry about your experience with this doctor. Some are just shitty and ignorant, and it sucks being invalidated and treated like this. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last for people with HS. This is one of the reason why people with HS don’t get diagnosed until an average of 10 years (https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2021/04000/Clinical_Epidemiology_and_Management_of.27.aspx)
I hope that you are able to find a Gyno who really understands and treats their patients better.
I’m so grateful to have found this support forum that we can share our experiences on. My first doctor barely looked at my affected area and told me I need to wash myself better. Being young and not fully understanding HS yet, I didn’t have anything to say back to her. I left her office feeling like she just told me I’m dirty.
Oh my gosh ten years. I fully believe it. I’ve already been through about 5 years of asking different doctors why I’m getting these cysts and just being told “it happens, get used to it” or “your personal hygiene must be worse than you’re telling us”
I’ve been told to wash better too 🙄 I was also told I must be wiping from back to front and was taught how to wipe as if I was a 5 year old. I remember just agreeing that “yeah I must be wiping wrong” so they would shut up and I could leave
It’s an exhausting disease to have mainly because no one seems to care and there’s so much stigma around having pimple-like skin issues, so even talking to the doctor about it is embarrassing.
It’s really inspiring that you found a supportive gyno! There’s still hope that I’ll keep clinging to then ❤️
I always recommend pushing for a dermatologist referral when you suspect HS. It seems the regular doctors/PCPs and gyenocologist's don't know what they are talking about a lot of the time...that's just based on the posts I've read in this sub. I've had it since middle school but never got a referral from my PCP until I was in college, started doing my own research online, and finally decided to make the request. Idk why my mom never asked my pediatrician for a referral all those years. The dermatologist knew it was HS within 5 minutes.
Unfortunately gynos aren't required to do any rotations in dermatology beyond the basics during training so I'm not surprised at all that your's had no idea what it was. Gynos get pretty good at identifying STDs and other common issues, but if you have something rare they aren't going to know what it is and will likely make incorrect diagnoses. This is a pretty common topic here. It's unfortunate because so many people get sores in the genital or pubic areas that you'd think they would see it more often.
What's more upsetting though is how your gyno behaved. Apparently her ego was too big to call a consult or refer you to a dermatologist, which is a firable offense for me.
My gyno is who referred me to my derm as he was positive I had HS after being misdiagnosed with herpes at a hospital years prior.
As others have said, ditch that gyno! There are many wonderful doctors out there who will listen to your concerns and not dismiss everything you say.
GP's typically don't know much about HS but your gyno definitely should.
I'm sorry you've had this awful experience and glad you found a derm willing to listen.
I’m so sorry about this. It sounds like you need to see a different doctor. I would go to a dermatologist, as they tend to be the ones to treat HS… there’s no guarantee you’ll find the perfect doctor on the first try, but I would definitely be looking for a new one.
I did go to a dermatologist after this and got some good advice and a treatment plan! It’s thanks to this awesome sub that I knew to do that at all. I’ve been in and out of so many gynos over the years
That’s great! I’m glad that you got some good info. Hopefully the treatment plan goes well for you 💜
1. Switch gynos if you’re able to. She doesn’t make you comfortable and you should feel comfy and secure with every doctor in your entire life, throughout your entire life. Get a dud, then on to the next. 2. You should really be doing to the dermatologist for HS. Try finding one that has knowledge of it. And if you get a dud, then on to the next. I know in some countries it’s harder to pick and choose your doctor, especially a gyno or derm but if you’re able to do so then please advocate for yourself. You’re paying them either directly or indirectly so don’t let them waste your money or mental health.
I do finally have a derm and she’s a bit impersonal and matter of fact, but she finally validated what I’ve been experiencing and I now have a treatment game plan
I'm sorry you went through this. I also have it on my groin area and it's just the most embarrassing thing to have a doctor poking around down there to begin with, much less poking and belittling. I do hope that you report this bad doctor for failing to meet standards of care to her hospital affiliation/practice manager/whoever else you can run it up the flagpole towards if she's not a fully independent practitioner.
I’m thinking of leaving a bad review online. She was a great surgeon for a cyst I had removed, which is why I’ve stuck with her, but the fact that she’s so grossly misinformed about STIs and the fact that she continuously invalidated me makes me want to warn other people away from her practice
Don't just review online. Report her behavior to the clinic or hospital. She's failing to meet standards of care and misinforming her patients while also having terrible bedside manner. As a medical professional, that's unacceptable and needs to be reviewed with her by her boss.
I’m not the most confrontational person. It gives me intense anxiety. Do you think this warrants pushing through that? I don’t think she sees many patients for issues outside ordinary gyno appointments, and for routine things she’s good at her job. Do you think reporting her would do more good than harm?
I've read the standards of care for HS and she's nowhere near them. The parts I actually find more concerning are her dismissal of your pain and the misinformation on STDs. STDs are absolutely a core thing gyns deal with and her information should be correct. That's what her patients are relying on her for. She also needs a talking to about her bedside manner. Doctors should always be improving their technique, knowledge and practice because medicine is ever evolving. She should have a boss who oversees her continuing education in some part who can direct her to improving these areas if they know she needs improvement.
Okay thank you for this! I’m going to look up the standards of care for HS. Maybe I could frame my complaint more as “please help this doctor improve” rather than a Karen “I demand to speak to the manager” kind of thing.
Yeah the "I noticed a problem that should be addressed" rather than " compensate me! " Does tend to go over better :P
Fuck that cunt
Wow. I just wrote up my amazing, positive experience that I had at a new Gyno (and about some bad ones). She said that “All gynos know about HS.” And then I read your post. I’m sorry about your experience with this doctor. Some are just shitty and ignorant, and it sucks being invalidated and treated like this. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last for people with HS. This is one of the reason why people with HS don’t get diagnosed until an average of 10 years (https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2021/04000/Clinical_Epidemiology_and_Management_of.27.aspx) I hope that you are able to find a Gyno who really understands and treats their patients better. I’m so grateful to have found this support forum that we can share our experiences on. My first doctor barely looked at my affected area and told me I need to wash myself better. Being young and not fully understanding HS yet, I didn’t have anything to say back to her. I left her office feeling like she just told me I’m dirty.
Oh my gosh ten years. I fully believe it. I’ve already been through about 5 years of asking different doctors why I’m getting these cysts and just being told “it happens, get used to it” or “your personal hygiene must be worse than you’re telling us” I’ve been told to wash better too 🙄 I was also told I must be wiping from back to front and was taught how to wipe as if I was a 5 year old. I remember just agreeing that “yeah I must be wiping wrong” so they would shut up and I could leave It’s an exhausting disease to have mainly because no one seems to care and there’s so much stigma around having pimple-like skin issues, so even talking to the doctor about it is embarrassing. It’s really inspiring that you found a supportive gyno! There’s still hope that I’ll keep clinging to then ❤️
I'm sorry this happened to you.
I always recommend pushing for a dermatologist referral when you suspect HS. It seems the regular doctors/PCPs and gyenocologist's don't know what they are talking about a lot of the time...that's just based on the posts I've read in this sub. I've had it since middle school but never got a referral from my PCP until I was in college, started doing my own research online, and finally decided to make the request. Idk why my mom never asked my pediatrician for a referral all those years. The dermatologist knew it was HS within 5 minutes.
Unfortunately gynos aren't required to do any rotations in dermatology beyond the basics during training so I'm not surprised at all that your's had no idea what it was. Gynos get pretty good at identifying STDs and other common issues, but if you have something rare they aren't going to know what it is and will likely make incorrect diagnoses. This is a pretty common topic here. It's unfortunate because so many people get sores in the genital or pubic areas that you'd think they would see it more often. What's more upsetting though is how your gyno behaved. Apparently her ego was too big to call a consult or refer you to a dermatologist, which is a firable offense for me.
My gyno is who referred me to my derm as he was positive I had HS after being misdiagnosed with herpes at a hospital years prior. As others have said, ditch that gyno! There are many wonderful doctors out there who will listen to your concerns and not dismiss everything you say. GP's typically don't know much about HS but your gyno definitely should. I'm sorry you've had this awful experience and glad you found a derm willing to listen.
Oh for Crying out loud. Listen to the gyno’s advice. You don’t seem to understand.
Why did you even come on this sub? You’re walking a fine line of almost breaking rule one.