Some perspective on Med. establishment

[Guest guest]

Alright, I think we all have been slighted by doctors enough times to

fill a book with bad stories.

However, I have to say that, unfortunatley, it isnt a simple matter of

having more men or male doctors be in pain. Empathy does not happen

automatically with suffering, believe it or not. In the context of this

list, it seems obvious the two go together, but thats after all, why we

are here. To help and support.

A big factor in all this is the fact that medical studies are often done

with men, assuming our bodies to react the same to tehirs to

medications, and to have the same pathology with organs we share in

common. Which, for the most part, is everything except the genitals and

sex organs! So the care of our sex organs goes to gyns, and I think, I

hate to say it, this is a real problem itself. My gyns literally didnt

give a damn about me, and they are reputable and " good " . They never gave

me a legitimate referral. One told me yeast in vitamins was a suspect

in one case of recurrent yeast infections ina nother patient, and

another told me she doesnt " subscribe " to the " diet theory " . Their

perspective was pretty myopic. My main gyn basically told me to " let

mother nature take care of it " . They were all women, by the way.

A specialist I went to see, a man, was unwilling to listen to me . He

saw I had vv and wanted to treat it his way, or no way.

(antidepressants/biofeedback/diet changes) I knew in my gut this was

wrong, But at least he did a million tests, all negative.

My internist, a man, showed more empathy for my situation than anyone

did. He was open to trying antifungals whicg turned things around. He

continued trying different systemic things, and even when he was about

to give up on the drugs he'd tried, when I told him about a suugestion

by another gyn during an informal consultation that I should take three

more weeks of an antifungal, he was willing to try it. Now that that is

done, I have yet to try sex and see if Im better, but I look better, and

feel better so far. Ive talked to him about trying topical steroids or

estrace, and he's open to it all. He is very reputable, and smart, and a

good man. Yet I can sense he is puzzled by what has happened, and he is

uncertain about things that maybe a good gyn might be more sure about. I

mean, he's not looking at vulvas all day, so his perspective is fresh,

if somewhat furtive at times.

OK, so I'm getting to my big point, finally, which is: There seems to be

a real lack of systems thinking. ALot of poking with swabs, and dabbing

ointments, not alot of knowledge in how these things work together. And

there is very little known for sure about some basic organisms like

yeast. So basically every doctor is more like an artist, gathering

impressions and painting a picture. Some doctors have a more appealing

" style " than others. But there is very little consensus about anything.

ANd this I feel is the real source of our problem,more so than maleness.

Maleness just puts a spin on all of it that is really wrong at times.

But the underlying problem is so much more complicated. ANd our bodies

are complicated.

Just my two cents.

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

<clip>

>So basically every doctor is more like an artist, gathering

impressions and painting a picture. Some doctors have a more appealing

" style " than others. But there is very little consensus about anything.

ANd this I feel is the real source of our problem,more so than

maleness.<clip>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I totally agree with you , doctors 'aren't' gods, they're

struggling with things as much as we are, and 'trying' to do their best

with 'pieces' of the puzzle, much is 'trial and error' . They 'don't

have the answers to everything, as much as we wish they did! I think

that's why its so important to take 'charge' of our own health to a

degree.

I think one of the big problems may be egotistical, or a feeling of

condescendence when they speak to us, and the fact they just don't have

the time we have, when seeking help for ONE disease, where they have

many patients and many diseases. Sometimes its just a matter of

logistics. Dee~

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I still feel that the medical establishment needs to listen to women better.

I don't mean to imply that women gyns are any better. It seems that it is so

easy for doctors to say that the pain is in our heads. One male gyn after a

1 minute exam said that I had been abused and told my husband to get out of

his office. My husband is a fantastic guy and I have only been treated so

gently by him. My family is great and I have never been abused.

Collectively women's problems are poorly understood and while that is not the

fault of any individual gyn ( male or female) it is a reflection on the

medical estaablishment and even society in general. They estimate that 15 %

of women have pain with sex due to vestibulitis, endometriosis, and other

causes. That translates to millions of women. You would think that with

technology today the researchers could come up with more effective treatments

than try this for a year and see what happens.

Doctors used to jump to surgery so quickly. So many women have lost their

breasts needlessly to cancer. And while the individual surgeon is not at

fault, the medical community thought that this was the answer. Do you think

they would have advocated removing the penis for problems there? I don't

think so.

Just my opinion,

Sandi