Is there a gendered, medical pain bias?

I’ve had a weird click in my back since 2017, which sometimes gets painful, and I have no idea why. A friend of mine recently experienced continuous headaches and tiredness, for no known reason. Another friend of mine has excruciating period cramps every month. My mom’s vertigo makes her world spin every few months - and even I have to catch myself from saying it’s ‘all in her head’. What’s common in all of these situations? In every situation, a professional has said it’s ‘probably nothing’ and has suggested a vague lifestyle change.

Oh, and all of us are women.

A study shows that women’s pain is routinely underestimated and not taken seriously. Not only that - it’s also often under-treated and misdiagnosed - with pain medication and treatment taking a backseat. But why?

The experiment found that people often underestimate pain, thanks to beliefs like,

• A woman’s ‘pain threshold’ aka the idea that women are more sensitive to pain.

• A woman’s willingness to report it’ aka the idea that women exaggerate or complain easily.

• A woman’s ability to ‘tolerate pain’ aka the idea that women don’t have much pain endurance)

Obviously, we call BS on these beliefs!

But what’s dangerous is that these beliefs trickle down and lead to disastrous consequences. Doctors say that we ‘pay too much attention to our body’, diagnose endometriosis as a urinary tract infection, ovarian cysts as ‘normal period pain’, or ask us to ‘wait our turn’ in an emergency room while we feel uncontrollable pain. Another thing that’s weirdly common is not being given painkillers on time (or sometimes, at all) after major surgeries - for example, women are half as likely as men to receive painkillers after a coronary bypass surgery.

Like?? Is that supposed to be flattering??

Seriously, this has been an issue of life and death quite often. Serena Williams herself had to persuade doctors that something was wrong when she couldn’t breathe after childbirth - the blood in her lungs was clotting.

But aside from systemically tackling gender bias in medicine - what can we do about this frustrating medical gaslighting, when we’re in pain?

• Push back. It feels icky, because you know they’re the professional and you’re not. But a good medical diagnosis is teamwork! Don’t worry about being a ‘good patient’ - this isn’t school, it’s your health. So if something feels wrong, probe a little more! You can say “I appreciate your expertise, but I think there’s more to this than what we’ve discussed.”
  
  

• You are the expert on YOUR body. If something feels out of the norm for you, then say so, even if they might insist it’s alright. “I know my body, and I know something isn’t right” or “This isn’t normal for me” is what you can say.
  
  

• Ask questions! Ask about side effects when it comes to medication, possible allergens, and clarify any medical jargon that isn’t clear to you!
  

• Feel free to get a second opinion. Don’t worry about ‘offending’ your doctor by getting a second opinion from another professional.

Finally, whether or not you are able to get a clear diagnosis - find a support community that will validate and understand your pain. You are your best advocate, and you never know — you might help someone else advocate for themselves too.

Love, 
Nayanika

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