CarlyK

Alright, story time. This one from my past still gets me fired up. At 16 I was taken to the Dr for what was supposed to be a solution to my horrendous, painful and unpredictable periods. And you know what I got? The pill. No tests, no diagnosis, no advice. The pill, and I took it because…well what else was there. I didn’t know.

Fast forward 20 years and I’m sitting in a health seminar (shedding tears for younger me) learning from (incredible woman) how detrimental that past decision was. And perhaps deep down I knew because I hated the pill and kept going off it.

But here’s the kicker - when I was 21 I hadn’t had a period for over 8 months so again I went to a Dr. This time he told me not to worry just come back if it went longer than a year. So I did. An ultrasound later and I was diagnosed with PCOS - and you guessed it - the pill. For the record PCOS isn’t just cysts. It’s a cluster of symptoms, none of which are fun. A cluster f**k of symptoms you might say. Oh but the ‘advice’ I left with…”you’ll probably need IVF to conceive, but interestingly if you do get pregnant it will be great for your hormones” WTF! If I had a dollar for every crap bit of advice..(spoiler I did get pregnant, but more on that later)

The crazy part? 30 years from that first cry for help I’m saddened at how little has changed in how we treat women’s health. Many of our girls today are still being given the ‘bandaid’ no support approach. Breaks my heart. And I can’t help wondering what my journey could have been like with actual support, and whether I’d even be facing a hysterectomy right now.

We’re still leaving women out to dry with no real answers, little support or education. Sadly the inequality of access to effective help that does exist is simply not good enough. We need a ‘culture of care’ where women’s health is not just dismissed as ‘just’ what women have to go through.

Here’s to the women out there whether currently struggling in silence, or finding their way speaking up and advocating for the health of all. And everyone doing the best they can with what they have available to them.

I wish for better. For us. Our daughters, nieces, granddaughters.

How about you?