Valerie's Barriers

I fired my doctors

Was I being punished?

You need to express fears

Fear of addiction

Side effects worried me

A gender bias

Costs are a factor

Believe your pain

A gender bias

I do feel that I have received inadequate attention because of being a woman. Some of the pain is localized in my genital area. My male physicians dealt very poorly with that, one of them going so far as to say I was only imagining the pain because I didn't want to have sex with my husband. My gender was a drawback in my diagnosis. I didn't feel well for several years after my son was born and I kept getting patted on the head and being told, well, you're an older first-time mother. Of course, you're tired. And then again with the pain, it was attributed to relationship problems, depression, and psychological origins ,when, in fact, all along it has been physical. My primary physician at this point is a woman. I think I have also been fortunate because the providers I am working with really do want to provide care. At times they have done it for lower fees than they normally charge.

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