My Hysteroscopy: Routine Procedure to Medical Trauma
This is what happens when female pain is dismissed as standard care. I t’s taken me 9 months to be able to write this. And even now, I flinch at the memories. My eyes fill with tears when I revisit my experience. This might not be everyone’s experience, but it was my experience. I have had my pain dismissed or neglected in the past, but never have I been so exposed to the gender pain gap until I walked into that procedure room to have my hysteroscopy, drowning in false pretences, inaccurate information, and medical gaslighting. They told me it would be simple. A “routine procedure,” they said. I read up on it. The material all described it as a simple, quick hysteroscopy. I should expect some mild discomfort, nothing to worry about. I was told I’d be in and out in no time and that I would be able to go straight back to work. That reassurance was meant to soothe me, but now, looking back, I realise how profoundly misleading it was. I wish I’d have read content from real patients a...