Women’s health is always an interesting topic in my mind. I don’t want to go down the rabbit hole too much, but basically, not as much research has been done for women’s health as general (men’s) health. In fact, some research in the beginning used to just describe women as “men with pesky hormones” and didn’t bother studying the differences in the two. I always hear stories too about doctors not taking women’s concerns and pain seriously. Did you know that women can experience heart attacks differently than men?
This leads me to my personal story about my experience. Trigger warning – there is a small part of a traumatic pregnancy – but just know it all ended well!
I’ve always had painful, heavy periods. When I would go to the doctor for my annual checkups, I would always comment on it, but they always told me to manage with pain meds and warm compresses, so I did. Know how I eventually found out it wasn’t just period pain? When I had to go into urgent care/ER at 10 weeks pregnant.
I woke up that morning in horrible pain, but decided to push through and go to work. It got bad enough that it actually made me throw up. When that happened, I called my husband to come pick me up and take me to urgent care. It was TERRIFYING. I thought something was wrong with my baby. At urgent care, after a while, the doctor mentioned that I should go to ER, since they didn’t have an ultrasound machine at urgent care. She warned me that she thought it was an ectopic pregnancy, which was heartbreaking to me.
To ER I went. I’m still in horrible pain. No meds, since I was pregnant. No food or water in case I needed surgery for anything. More tests. At this point it’s been about 8 hours in the hospital and no food. I’m tired, scared, and just want to go home. Finally, the doctor comes back and lets us know – I had a huge cyst that twisted and that’s why I was in pain. They would usually perform surgery but can’t because the baby. Cyst should be benign and wouldn’t hurt the baby, but if it twists, I just had to bear it. They didn’t know what causes twisting, but I should be fine.
Well, two days later, I was in so much pain at night, I had to go to the ER at 10 PM. Folks, it hurt so badly, I couldn’t even talk. My husband had to communicate for me. The pain eventually went away..around 2 AM in the morning, after they finally gave me some pain meds. I stayed overnight for observation and my OBGYN came to visit the next day. He basically said we just had to go home. The cyst(s) (cuz I had three of them..) would twist because my uterus was expanding, and there’s nothing to prevent it. If I could make it to twenty weeks, the uterus would be big enough to hold the cyst in place and stop it from twisting. If I had surgery, I could lose my baby. I hope you never have to make that choice – being in so much pain you can’t move or think or talk so you could have a baby you wanted so badly, or having surgery. You know what was the worst part? My doctor going “I don’t understand why nobody figured it out before. They should have.”
In the end, I took it easy for the next few weeks, but I spent those weeks terrified that I would have to have surgery and lose my baby. It was HORRIBLE. My pregnancy was great otherwise, and I was feeling good, except for that underlying anxiety. Looking back, it was probably the start of my PPD/A. You don’t stay anxious for 10 weeks straight and come out of that ok.
Why I share my story is 1. to spread knowledge, and 2. to encourage you to take charge of your own health. I’m not saying that you should listen to Dr. Google over your doctor – but get second or third opinions. Look up stuff on the internet so you know what questions to ask when you do go in. Women’s health is so easily overlooked. Every doctor I saw in my life told me it was just bad period cramps until it was almost too late and (in my mind) almost cost me my baby. That’s the thing with women with endometriosis too – they get blown aside a lot of times. If you ever get to hear Padma Lakshmi speak about her experience – the pain she was in, and how doctors ignored that pain until one doctor finally figured out it was endometriosis – I highly recommend it.
Speak up for yourself. Learn what you can. Ask questions. If you don’t care about your own health, why should anybody else?
Miuzing 