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You May Be The Professional, But I Know My Body Better Than You.
My problems with ‘healthcare professionals’.
As a woman in my fifties, who has suffered severely with gynaecological issues for an entire four decades now, believe me when I say I know my own body. These days I’m even pretty much caught up on understanding my mind and my emotional reactions too. So when I come to a doctor or nurse needing any kind of examination or procedure done in that area of my body I really need them to believe what I tell them.
The last time I went for a cervical(pap) smear was one horrendous example of what happens when my personal knowledge is just disregarded. This particular nurse performed a rather spectacular attempt at gaslighting throughout the whole experience too.
As I climbed up onto the exam table/bed, I did what I normally do and began to explain to her that this was a painful procedure for me, that it always was, it wasn’t her particularly — and that a consultant had told me to ask for a small, thin version of the necessary speculum to be used.
The nurse frowned, said speculums were “all one size” and told me “you’ll be fine, I won’t hurt you”.
Now I was even more on edge (and as you can imagine, tension really doesn’t help).
