How many of you have heard these types of responses from your doctor at some point or another when you have made an appointment to complain of killer cramps, unexplained weight gain, inability to conceive, or even pain?

"Take some motrin and use a heating pad. I can also give you birth control pills..."

"Try and watch what you eat, and exercise more, I am sure that will take care of the extra weight..."

"You have to try for a year before we can do anything about it...so just keep trying...."

"Are you sure it is pain? Do you feel depressed? Anxious? Maybe you should talk to someone about your emotional problem..."

No! No! No! No!

Study after study has shown that Doctors are more apt to dismiss the concerns of their female patients, or worse, misdiagnose them.

This happened to me. I wasted over a decade trying to figure out why I never got my period and on the rare occasion that I did, I spent the week in bed. It took that long for doctors to finally take me seriously and diagnose me with PCOS and endometriosis - and then, only then, could I get the right treatments in place.

I can't help but wonder how different would my life have been if I got the correct diagnosis at 14 - when I first felt that something was not right - instead of 28?

What about you? Do you feel that doctors take you and your concerns seriously? Do you feel that every time you enter a doctor's office you are facing an uphill battle trying to convince them of what is real? Do you feel that your issues have been correctly diagnosed or swept away?

(I think it is incredibly important - given all the young women on Glow, who actually bear the brunt of not being seriously - that those of us who have been through this, share their stories and how we finally managed to get diagnosed. So, please help share.)

How do you know?

Let's Glow!

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