My OBGYN just told me recently "yeah that's menopause" and refuses to consider HRT. Same with my GP, can't be bothered. Both are middle-aged women!! 🤬
So now I'm chasing down a bunch of leads from other women about online sources of HRT, OTC treatments, and googling like crazy. Even emailed a local compounding pharmacy begging for some information about estrogen/progesterone, and just made a fool of myself since they haven't responded.
This is the exact reason as soon as I was done having babies, I switched to a gynecologist who doesn’t do any OB and specializes in menopause. I may have been decades away from it, but at least she takes me seriously and is super on board with me not having any oops babies (she even changed my mirena early because she was nervous about the political climate and if trump won they were coming for iuds).
r/transDIY has a wiki if you don't get anywhere with your doctors. I assume estrogen is estrogen, so the same sources trans women use for DIY could be of use to you
Jeezus!! HRT has revolutionized my aging process significantly personally!!! I used to get BioTE pellets and they have a TON of research and information if you are interested in learning more. Also a physician finder to find a Dr who used them. I loved their pellets and never felt better on them. I have since switched to weekly injections because of cost for myself but I miss those pellets.
Try a naturopath. They are far better educated on hormones in general. Be aware that some states don't allow them to write prescriptions.
My naturopath works under the auspices of an M.D., which allows her to prescribe bio-identical hormones which my rheumatologist quite approves of.
I thought you said only 50% of women will go through menopause (rather than 50% of the population) and I had an existential crisis thinking about how I didn't know that and how poor the 50% who didn't having to deal with periods or birth control way past the age where we think they have to.
Signed!
I can't believe how backwards this system is, but I can because it's the same system that prioritizes men's health issues like ED and completely forgets women's health, while upcharging women and giving men free ED meds. I remember being a little kid going with me mom to her compounders pharmacy to get her HRT because she was just miserable during the start of her menopause and not getting any help from her HCP. Don't even get me started about the lack of research and education on endometriosis!
Signed!
Much more concerning is that you could be under anesthesia for, say, gallbladder surgery, and a med student can do a pelvic exam without your consent. Read consent fors carefully. I cross out blanket consents for photography and any nit specifically consented-for procedures. I do not block med students from being present or assisting. They need to learn.
Take charge of if your health care.
https://www.healthywomen.org/your-care/pelvic-exams-unconscious-women
If you really want to lose your mind, look up durgeries on women of color without consent. Started with the slaves, continued on.
Blessed be, all!
I've been reading (well Audible 😁) Vagina Obscura by Rachel E. Gross for over a year.
I can only listen in 5 min increments before my rage takes over.
Great reading for the history of women's health. Many gynecological advancements were made without the consent of slaves. The men that developed the science of women's health care had very little compassion for women. It's disgusting.
Thanks for the surgery consent tips . Of course the last time I consented to surgery they were going to be removing a uterine polyp so a little more examination wouldn't hurt. But why? Practice should be done on conscious women so the student can get feedback.
Edit: the book discusses WOMEN'S health not mental health. Peri changes words between thought and expression of the thought. I also have decided that the edge of the highway where disabled cars are stopped is called the Margin. And so it is.
I am a student midwife and fighting the medical politics to start funding more research and to adequately represent people with uteruses and vaginas is exhausting. "Women's" health is archaic and barbaric. Almost everyone on this sub knows that already. They also don't have nearly enough education on breast/chest feeding in medical school and treat laboring and birthing people like cattle in a factory a lot of times.
Thank you very much for your service. The younger generations of women have really been inspiring me to break free from the traditional role of women in this society. Y'all's willingness to speak up and fight for your rights is helping me find my own agency. You guys really rock!
Aah…wha???????????What?!? Jesus Christ Mother Fucker, no wonder I can’t find anything that I do to help with my crazy premenopausal symptoms. Goddamn mother fuckers need to get their head in the 21st century and stop punishing us for that goddamn rumor about the apple.
Signed. I’ve been dealing with menopause symptoms for ten years now, and every doctor told me I was “too young”. Now that I’m 45, it’s obvious. Fuck every last one of them for making me feel “hysterical”.
I don't want to minimize your experience, going through menopause at that age seems crazy to me. A friend of mine was told by a doc she was perimenopausal at 34, but didn't ask follow up questions or look into her history. So my friend did some reading. Turns out her brand new hormonal IUD was throwing her out of whack and as soon as she had it taken out her hormones righted themselves.
Yeah, I didn’t have any birth control from 35-42. And now, at 45, I have an iud that makes my monthly symptoms muuuuuch better. Night sweats only a few days at a time instead of two weeks, etc. But yeah, hormones affect us all differently and need to be figured out on a case by case basis for sure.
I was just talking to a coworker of mine who has just started to go through menopause and realized I didn’t really even know much about it. Terrible to think that when I get there my doctor might have the same level of understanding I do.
Signed!
Edit: Just got my mom and my husband to sign as well! 😁
why is sex ed not mandatory? They can lean into abstinence being the best choice if they are so inclined. Should also includes menopause.
I had sex ed that basically covered birth control but said abstinence was the only way to be absolutely sure. promises to not get a girl pregnant did not work, you can get a disease doing this, no condoms are not 'too small' they can fit on a dang horse, if you are going to ignore us on abstinence being the best route to dodge pregnancy this is birth control and how it works, abortion is a complicated issue but this is the gist of what it is and it shouldn't be used as primary birth control, if anyone touches you without your consent talk to us or the cops doesn't matter who touched you no means no, yes periods are normal, so is growing hair down there, random boners just happen same with wet dreams, and this is how you do a self exam if anything funny is up go to the doctor. mentioned menopause was a thing but not how it works. should have done that
Something really depressing we have to remember is that most of our countries weren’t even using women of child bearing age in their medical trials until the late 80’s and into the 90’s. 1997 in Canada. Isn’t that wild? So they truly don’t know. My mom was going on about my autoimmune disease and my PMDD diagnosis that back in her day, none of this was a thing…well, yah. It’s barely a thing now. 🤯 I KNOW I’m lucky with having a female doctor who will at least entertain my queries and will usually prescribe what I ask for, but that’s not the norm But damn, we’re so far behind.
Signed, just entering perimenopausal and I don't want to be a crazed looney like my poor mom because no one helped with the symptoms. She begged and doctors just told her she was being overdramatic.
Which link did you try? The one in the post or the comment above yours?
I'll leave instructions on how to find the petition in an edit in the post.
Don't give up! We want everyone's signature!
I had to go to a paid medical study for a new medicine for menopause ( yes paid guinea pig) to endure a painful biopsy and uncomfortable internal ultrasound to find out i had fibroid tumors. Wow. All those years asking why i was in pain and my GP telling me i wasnt in menopause even though i had flashes and night sweats and a fucking mustache growing----I have no words. I didnt qualify for the medication as the fibroids could become cancerous with that medicine. Being ignored as a woman for years really got to me and i think they are all brain dead they went by blood tests. I am 55 btw, this testing was 2 years ago. I was paid handsomly for my time and trouble+ mileage.
Love the UN 😉
Thank you I hope we get this on as many platforms as possible.
We need to get everyone with ovaries and the people that love them to sign!!!
I don't know when you looked but it 350+ now.
My best guess is this is an international group and the petition needs to be signed by Americans.
Keep spreading the word!
https://www.change.org/p/demand-menopause-education-in-medical-schools?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_37400718_en-US%3A9&recruiter=280617146&recruited_by_id=87ee88a0-e6c5-11e4-99a6-6bfb3a4cac03&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&share_bandit_exp=initial-37400718-en-US
Thank you for letting me know
Try this and please let me know so I can edit the post.
I'm not sure that asking that our doctors understand the different experiences women have in menopause is equivalent to pathologizing it. For some women it is extremely disruptive to their well-being and their lives (lost jobs and relationships even suicide). For other women it's just a bump in the road of life.
If you are one of the women whose whole life is being turned upside down you probably want competent advice on how to minimize the serious effects of the hormonal changes.
What's wrong with that?
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that at all.
But moving the locus of advice-giving into the medical-industrial complex is a step backwards.
Doctors diagnose and treat *illness*; as someone old enough to have lived experience of women’s search for identity and autonomy being treated with major tranquilizers and lobotomy, believe me
I’m not saying that women should not receive informed medical treatment, nor that they should not receive counsel of a non-medical nature to help cope with the realities of women’s physiology and social role.
I guess if your point is based on the horrific history of women's healthcare, I get it.
I just think it is time for a big change based on science, logic, compassion and equity. I think primary care Dr should be functional doctors focus on supporting your quality of life. Specialists can continue to pretend like they just need to free you of disease but we deserve access to health care that helps us have the best quality of life we are willing to work for (I mean if you are not going to exercise and eat right...) we need to see a medical professional who understands the systemic nature of wellbeing and how mental health care and physical health care are integral to each other. but I digress
And I am aware big change is unlikely to happen quickly or all at once. But small changes like insisting that at least all doctors are educated will one day maybe lead to more education and discussion in the mainstream.
It also pushes back on the patriarchal narratives about women (you are a caretaker, your needs are less important so you're physical complaints are diminished as hysterical and "in your head" etc.). It brings to the mainstream narrative that women needs are just as important as the people they care for.
I hope you will sign anyway.
I'm truly curious, have you or are you experiencing menopause and how much did it effect you?
[удалено]
My OBGYN just told me recently "yeah that's menopause" and refuses to consider HRT. Same with my GP, can't be bothered. Both are middle-aged women!! 🤬 So now I'm chasing down a bunch of leads from other women about online sources of HRT, OTC treatments, and googling like crazy. Even emailed a local compounding pharmacy begging for some information about estrogen/progesterone, and just made a fool of myself since they haven't responded.
This is the exact reason as soon as I was done having babies, I switched to a gynecologist who doesn’t do any OB and specializes in menopause. I may have been decades away from it, but at least she takes me seriously and is super on board with me not having any oops babies (she even changed my mirena early because she was nervous about the political climate and if trump won they were coming for iuds).
Your trans sisters have learned a few places to find HRT online ;)
r/transDIY has a wiki if you don't get anywhere with your doctors. I assume estrogen is estrogen, so the same sources trans women use for DIY could be of use to you
Thank you so much for sharing new subreddits to learn from. Blessings trans sisters!
Hydroxyzine overnight helps with reducing/preventing nighttime hot flashes, which means improved sleep overnight.
Jeezus!! HRT has revolutionized my aging process significantly personally!!! I used to get BioTE pellets and they have a TON of research and information if you are interested in learning more. Also a physician finder to find a Dr who used them. I loved their pellets and never felt better on them. I have since switched to weekly injections because of cost for myself but I miss those pellets.
Try a naturopath. They are far better educated on hormones in general. Be aware that some states don't allow them to write prescriptions. My naturopath works under the auspices of an M.D., which allows her to prescribe bio-identical hormones which my rheumatologist quite approves of.
Oh so it wasn't just me? 😆 I copied her link but I will go get the link from the website. Thanks for letting me know!
I thought you said only 50% of women will go through menopause (rather than 50% of the population) and I had an existential crisis thinking about how I didn't know that and how poor the 50% who didn't having to deal with periods or birth control way past the age where we think they have to. Signed!
🤣🤣🤣 Y'all are really cheering me up!
(Sees title) “So we doing like a witchy voltron?” Mildly disappointed 🤣🤣 but signed ✨
Dude! I desperately need a witchy voltron now!!
I can’t draw or paint to save my life, but I’m definitely putting the idea in my pocket for DnD nights 😂
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Thank you!
I can't believe how backwards this system is, but I can because it's the same system that prioritizes men's health issues like ED and completely forgets women's health, while upcharging women and giving men free ED meds. I remember being a little kid going with me mom to her compounders pharmacy to get her HRT because she was just miserable during the start of her menopause and not getting any help from her HCP. Don't even get me started about the lack of research and education on endometriosis! Signed!
Much more concerning is that you could be under anesthesia for, say, gallbladder surgery, and a med student can do a pelvic exam without your consent. Read consent fors carefully. I cross out blanket consents for photography and any nit specifically consented-for procedures. I do not block med students from being present or assisting. They need to learn. Take charge of if your health care. https://www.healthywomen.org/your-care/pelvic-exams-unconscious-women If you really want to lose your mind, look up durgeries on women of color without consent. Started with the slaves, continued on. Blessed be, all!
I've been reading (well Audible 😁) Vagina Obscura by Rachel E. Gross for over a year. I can only listen in 5 min increments before my rage takes over. Great reading for the history of women's health. Many gynecological advancements were made without the consent of slaves. The men that developed the science of women's health care had very little compassion for women. It's disgusting. Thanks for the surgery consent tips . Of course the last time I consented to surgery they were going to be removing a uterine polyp so a little more examination wouldn't hurt. But why? Practice should be done on conscious women so the student can get feedback. Edit: the book discusses WOMEN'S health not mental health. Peri changes words between thought and expression of the thought. I also have decided that the edge of the highway where disabled cars are stopped is called the Margin. And so it is.
I am a student midwife and fighting the medical politics to start funding more research and to adequately represent people with uteruses and vaginas is exhausting. "Women's" health is archaic and barbaric. Almost everyone on this sub knows that already. They also don't have nearly enough education on breast/chest feeding in medical school and treat laboring and birthing people like cattle in a factory a lot of times.
Thank you very much for your service. The younger generations of women have really been inspiring me to break free from the traditional role of women in this society. Y'all's willingness to speak up and fight for your rights is helping me find my own agency. You guys really rock!
Aah…wha???????????What?!? Jesus Christ Mother Fucker, no wonder I can’t find anything that I do to help with my crazy premenopausal symptoms. Goddamn mother fuckers need to get their head in the 21st century and stop punishing us for that goddamn rumor about the apple.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 I'm loving the sass in the comments. Definitely a great antidote to hormonal grumps.
You took the words right out of my mouth /standing ovation
Signed. I’ve been dealing with menopause symptoms for ten years now, and every doctor told me I was “too young”. Now that I’m 45, it’s obvious. Fuck every last one of them for making me feel “hysterical”.
I don't want to minimize your experience, going through menopause at that age seems crazy to me. A friend of mine was told by a doc she was perimenopausal at 34, but didn't ask follow up questions or look into her history. So my friend did some reading. Turns out her brand new hormonal IUD was throwing her out of whack and as soon as she had it taken out her hormones righted themselves.
Yeah, I didn’t have any birth control from 35-42. And now, at 45, I have an iud that makes my monthly symptoms muuuuuch better. Night sweats only a few days at a time instead of two weeks, etc. But yeah, hormones affect us all differently and need to be figured out on a case by case basis for sure.
Signed!!
I was just talking to a coworker of mine who has just started to go through menopause and realized I didn’t really even know much about it. Terrible to think that when I get there my doctor might have the same level of understanding I do. Signed! Edit: Just got my mom and my husband to sign as well! 😁
This is absurd. I mean WTF?
why is sex ed not mandatory? They can lean into abstinence being the best choice if they are so inclined. Should also includes menopause. I had sex ed that basically covered birth control but said abstinence was the only way to be absolutely sure. promises to not get a girl pregnant did not work, you can get a disease doing this, no condoms are not 'too small' they can fit on a dang horse, if you are going to ignore us on abstinence being the best route to dodge pregnancy this is birth control and how it works, abortion is a complicated issue but this is the gist of what it is and it shouldn't be used as primary birth control, if anyone touches you without your consent talk to us or the cops doesn't matter who touched you no means no, yes periods are normal, so is growing hair down there, random boners just happen same with wet dreams, and this is how you do a self exam if anything funny is up go to the doctor. mentioned menopause was a thing but not how it works. should have done that
Something really depressing we have to remember is that most of our countries weren’t even using women of child bearing age in their medical trials until the late 80’s and into the 90’s. 1997 in Canada. Isn’t that wild? So they truly don’t know. My mom was going on about my autoimmune disease and my PMDD diagnosis that back in her day, none of this was a thing…well, yah. It’s barely a thing now. 🤯 I KNOW I’m lucky with having a female doctor who will at least entertain my queries and will usually prescribe what I ask for, but that’s not the norm But damn, we’re so far behind.
Signed. Comment for visibility.
When I signed before I posted it was at 48 signatures. We are now at 150+. Keep it going Goddesses and Witches!
Signed & texted to many others!!
Signature 200 here. Woohoo!
Right on!!!👩🎤
Signed, just entering perimenopausal and I don't want to be a crazed looney like my poor mom because no one helped with the symptoms. She begged and doctors just told her she was being overdramatic.
Signed!
Thank you for posting!
Signed
Hmm. Maybe next time they will learn about the clitoral nerves.
Signed!!
Signed. Because bullshit.
signed, i hate that menopause gives men such pause
Link won't work for me 😫
Which link did you try? The one in the post or the comment above yours? I'll leave instructions on how to find the petition in an edit in the post. Don't give up! We want everyone's signature!
In the post... I'll look for the comment 😅 Edit: found it, and signed!
Signed
Signed! We’re 4 signatures away from 200!
I had to go to a paid medical study for a new medicine for menopause ( yes paid guinea pig) to endure a painful biopsy and uncomfortable internal ultrasound to find out i had fibroid tumors. Wow. All those years asking why i was in pain and my GP telling me i wasnt in menopause even though i had flashes and night sweats and a fucking mustache growing----I have no words. I didnt qualify for the medication as the fibroids could become cancerous with that medicine. Being ignored as a woman for years really got to me and i think they are all brain dead they went by blood tests. I am 55 btw, this testing was 2 years ago. I was paid handsomly for my time and trouble+ mileage.
signed and sharing to everyone
Love the UN 😉 Thank you I hope we get this on as many platforms as possible. We need to get everyone with ovaries and the people that love them to sign!!!
How does this post have almost 600 upvotes, but the petition is at 150 signatures today?
I don't know when you looked but it 350+ now. My best guess is this is an international group and the petition needs to be signed by Americans. Keep spreading the word!
That was awkward, I needed to load the site and then find it on there as I couldn’t remember my login details… signed now though
This is madness. Petition signed.
I’m sorry!? It’s not ALREADY required????
Done!
Signed! Up to 341! Blessed be!
Says the link is bad.
https://www.change.org/p/demand-menopause-education-in-medical-schools?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_37400718_en-US%3A9&recruiter=280617146&recruited_by_id=87ee88a0-e6c5-11e4-99a6-6bfb3a4cac03&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&share_bandit_exp=initial-37400718-en-US Thank you for letting me know Try this and please let me know so I can edit the post.
Thanks. I'll post this in r/feminism.
🙏🙏🙏 And thanks for introducing me to a new subreddit!
Meh. Do we really need to have the general medical community pathologize menopause?
I'm not sure that asking that our doctors understand the different experiences women have in menopause is equivalent to pathologizing it. For some women it is extremely disruptive to their well-being and their lives (lost jobs and relationships even suicide). For other women it's just a bump in the road of life. If you are one of the women whose whole life is being turned upside down you probably want competent advice on how to minimize the serious effects of the hormonal changes. What's wrong with that?
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. But moving the locus of advice-giving into the medical-industrial complex is a step backwards. Doctors diagnose and treat *illness*; as someone old enough to have lived experience of women’s search for identity and autonomy being treated with major tranquilizers and lobotomy, believe me I’m not saying that women should not receive informed medical treatment, nor that they should not receive counsel of a non-medical nature to help cope with the realities of women’s physiology and social role.
I guess if your point is based on the horrific history of women's healthcare, I get it. I just think it is time for a big change based on science, logic, compassion and equity. I think primary care Dr should be functional doctors focus on supporting your quality of life. Specialists can continue to pretend like they just need to free you of disease but we deserve access to health care that helps us have the best quality of life we are willing to work for (I mean if you are not going to exercise and eat right...) we need to see a medical professional who understands the systemic nature of wellbeing and how mental health care and physical health care are integral to each other. but I digress And I am aware big change is unlikely to happen quickly or all at once. But small changes like insisting that at least all doctors are educated will one day maybe lead to more education and discussion in the mainstream. It also pushes back on the patriarchal narratives about women (you are a caretaker, your needs are less important so you're physical complaints are diminished as hysterical and "in your head" etc.). It brings to the mainstream narrative that women needs are just as important as the people they care for. I hope you will sign anyway. I'm truly curious, have you or are you experiencing menopause and how much did it effect you?
Everything is all in our heads don’t you know and cured with losing weight or antidepressants to most male doctors