Rant: Gynecologist Appointment Made Me Feel Like an Idiot

Hi- that’s terrible bedside manner and I’m sorry you’re dealing with it! This is a major pet peeve of mine- women’s pain should absolutely be taken more seriously than it often is.

Disclaimer: this is not medical advice and should not be taken as such, but I just recently learned this all as a physician in training so I’d like to share some knowledge:

Your np had a really good take on this-statistically, the most likely thing you’re dealing with is a hemorrhagic cyst, which are common among women of reproductive age and can just be a part of normal menstruation, independent of iud placement or hormonal birth control. They definitely bleed and also can definitely hurt- treatment is basically just to let your body recover unless they are chronic or significantly limiting your ability to function. They essentially have to limit your quality of life enough to justify recommending taking on the risks of surgery for a patient, so most are managed conservatively with things like ibuprofen/heating pads etc. that being said, your pain should be taken care of regardless of the cause, and I’m sorry that you were brushed off.

I’m also glad that you have the ultrasound coming up- your doctor is correct that there are a lot of other conditions that could cause pain felt around your pelvic organs that have nothing to do with the organs themselves (such as appendicitis, occasionally utis) but they definitely merit investigation. Personally, if it were me I would want the ultrasound to verify that the iud was in place, that the cysts were not located in a spot that could cause ovarian torsion, and that the cysts looked like physiological cysts (from ovulation, not from some other source of tissue). This is all stuff that will be evaluated with your ultrasound.

If you have nausea/vomiting and the pain suddenly gets significantly worse and/or you start to feel lightheaded or faint, go straight to an ED- the really scary things we worry about in this situation (which do NOT sound like what you have going on, based on the timing of your pain and bleeding pattern) are things like a ruptured ectopic pregnancy or ovarian torsion- both of which are surgical emergencies. If you were my patient, counseling in this case would have been to 1) validate your concerns and symptoms, 2)order the ultrasound to make sure this is one of the ‘normal’ causes of pain and bleeding that ovulating women can experience, and 3) made sure you knew about the red flag symptoms.

In her defense, doctors are chronically overworked and often taken advantage of by medical systems. Doesn’t mean it’s okay to project that frustration onto you as the patient. You should be proud that you’re taking care of your health, not embarrassed. Your concerns are completely valid- I hope your symptoms are gone soon, and it’s also okay to ask for a referral to someone else if you’re not connecting with your physician.

Good luck!!

/r/TwoXChromosomes Thread