Medical system navigation post!
Medical system navigation post!
(At the moment, this is likely to be America-centric for system questions unless/until we get more international representation.)
Please post queries here if you are looking for advice on what kind of specialist to seek out for medical problems. Keep descriptions of the medical concern in question brief, and limit discussion of personal details.
THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL PHYSICIAN/PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS. THIS IS EXCLUSIVELY FOR HELP NAVIGATING THE MEDICAL SYSTEM.
Example post:
Question: I'm having a lot of trouble with some weird symptoms that my primary care wasn't been able to figure out at my annual physical, and I can't really afford a bunch of visits with them just to figure out which specialist to go to. I've been having really bad menstrual pain, way out of proportion from what it should be, and my periods are really heavy. I'm not planning on having kids and the pain and bleeding are seriously disrupting my life. I've missed work a bunch of times because the pain was too much to handle. Who would I talk to about this?
Response: This is something that an OB/Gyn (female reproductive specialist) would be best able to handle. There are a variety of options for dealing with this kind of issue, but if you're interested in a surgical removal of your uterus given that you're not planning on having kids, going to an OB/Gyn that's known to be supportive of women's reproductive choices is a good idea. Here's a link to a Google doc that women have made of physicians that have helped them get hysterectomies. Surgery is not the only option here, but having this list as a resource might be helpful if that is a treatment that you are interested in pursuing. If you need a referral, or have more questions, you should probably reach out to your primary care. You can usually send a message or call one of their advice nurses without a massive bill if you have more personalized questions.