When it comes to healthcare, it’s often tough for people assigned female at birth to get diagnosed and treated efficiently.
Research has found that female-specific conditions such as endometriosis, adenomyosis and fibroids often take 10 years or more for accurate identification and diagnosis.
Additionally, women are 50% more likely to be misdiagnosed following a heart attack and 30% are more likely to be misdiagnosed or have their condition overlooked entirely, after a stroke.
According to NYU, this is because, “the way women are treated within Western medical systems, namely their frequent misdiagnosis, can be attributed to the explicit gender bias within medicine. This is complicated and made more powerful by the deeply ingrained, harmful beliefs about women and their bodies that have existed for centuries.”
Patriarchy being a nightmare, as ever, then.
Mother of three needed life-saving surgery following misdiagnosis
HuffPost UK spoke to Denise Damijo, an integrative medicine expert who found herself needing life-saving surgery following years of misdiagnosis.
Damijo went to her OB-GYN because she didn’t want to be intimate following the birth of her third child. She was told that her issues were all in her own head and as a result, she blamed herself for how she was feeling which took a toll on both her marriage and her mental health.
Over time, her situation worsened over eight years until she started coughing up blood. This was when doctors realised that her right pulmonary artery was blocked by an embolism and she was rushed for life-saving surgery.
Now Damijo is passionate about teaching women how to make sure their voice is heard by those treating them.
The 40-year-old from Texas said: “If I had known the questions to ask, how to follow up and that I could fire my doctor and find someone else, things would have been very different. I’m not alone – Serena Williams had a pulmonary embolism and at first, they ignored her too. If it can happen to Serena, it can happen to anyone.”
How to advocate for yourself to medical professionals
Damijo provided us with tips on how to advocate for yourself and feel confident in what you’re saying to healthcare professionals:
Don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself
There is too much trust that is put into the hands of another human being that is NOT you. Yes, they may specialise in a particular health practice, and they may have the years and education in their field, but it’s time for you to be the expert of YOU. If you are conscious and able to be a willing participant in your health decision-making process, then the first person that you should trust your health journey to, is you. And remember that each health professional and practitioner is human and has their own struggles, self-limiting beliefs, and limitations.
Educate yourself appropriately
How your health journey looks is up to YOU! You can decide, and educate yourself on your body, how your body responds, and the different healing modalities, medicines, and potential experiences that you will have. Your health and healing journey should be a collaborative and co-created effort that you have to be willing to participate in.
Be willing and able to adapt and evolve
There is a saying that nothing is new underneath the sun. Many things have been done before for centuries. They are ancestral and ancient beliefs, practices, and medicines that should be respected and have been proven to work. In this era, there is a call for brave innovation, collaboration, and respect for one another. As women, it is essential that while you are sitting at the table, you know when it is time to adapt and evolve.
Don’t play the eeny-meeny-miny-moe-game when picking a health professional or practitioner
Before choosing or having any kind of appointment or meeting with a health professional or practitioner, listen to the wisdom and direction of your own body and being. Make sure to do your own research, and create a checklist and relevant questions to ask while you are at the appointment or in the meeting. Understand that some people may have the mentality of not operating at their best in their field more than your willingness in your own health journey. You may not have all the tools or understanding of what to ask or what points to bring up that may help them to help you. This is the time to be your own best advocate and show them that your health and experience are essential to you and that you need your voice to be heard by them.
Don’t feel or be pressured into making a decision that doesn’t feel right to you
There are times when you can be interacting with a pushy health professional or practitioner. Although some things may need to be taken care of in a timelier matter, be encouraged to give yourself the adequate time necessary to think clearly, process, and investigate the best option for you.
Finally, don’t be afraid to fire, replace, or move in a different direction than the health professional or practitioner that you initially chose
Just because you chose someone, have got accustomed to them, or even have a great long-standing relationship with them, if they are not listening to you or are limited in the things that you desire to have done, move on and find someone who will. Your desired experience is essential, and you deserve to be able to collaborate with someone that will be willing and able to co-create that experience with you.
YOUR VOICE MATTERS, so let it be heard!