Ha! This has been on my mind

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Caption: The doctor I went to last week was looking over my history and he said, "Endometriosis?" and I said yes. And he said, "Is that just your speculation or have you actually been diagnosed?" And I was like "I have been cut open three times for it so I hope it isn't just speculation and just looked at me and said, "Females tend to diagnose themselves and without missing a beat I said, "Well, I hope you do your job so I don't have to."


First, I am waiting for the government to review my FAFSA to see if I can go back to school. To save gas and to save my knees and now elbows, I'll be taking the free campus transit to my day classes.  Right now, I'm just in another limbo of waiting. I really ought to see if there's something Voc Rehab can do in the meantime so I can more reliably afford things like clothing.   I am now through seven months of the sixteen month waiting period for an ALJ in Indiana, and I probably will not have the hearing until January or February.

Now, onto why this has been on my mind. The thing is, as someone with anxiety issues, I know my mind has a tendency to lock onto worst-case scenarios. I've gotten better about this over the years, but it's a habit that usually has to be worked around. My logical mind needs to peck away at the fears slowly and discount them.  I've had several wrong guesses myself over the past year or so, and one or two right ones. Usually, there's actual evidence to back up the right ones, such as my mother having fibromyalgia and thyroid issues.  

Now, since the idea was put in my head, I've been trying to disprove the idea of EDS-HT or another joint hypermobility syndrome. This is largely because of some likely misremembered phrase about people who have it are likely to end up in a wheelchair.  Now, after I've read a bit more trying to disprove the idea and coming across how fibromyalgia develops in some people, I'm convinced lax ligaments and overexercise caused it, and  I think I do have EDS-HT, but I don't want to tell a doctor what I think I have because doctors tend not to like patients telling them exactly what is wrong with them.  


But I'm also pretty sure that some doctors are taking my concerns less seriously because I'm female. They wouldn't do this if I were male.  If women get treated this way by doctors, it's no wonder they have to figure out what the problem is on their own. It further explains why it takes longer to diagnose diseases that affect women more than men. Doctors are trained, it seems, to take a female patient's concerns less seriously.  It's no wonder women have to go from doctor to doctor just to find one to take their concerns seriously.   

So, it seems that self-diagnosis has a place.  For me now, it's just a matter of finding out if I'm right or wrong.  The evidence provided by my physical therapist seemed to be pointing to a loose ligaments problem anyway.  Or at least, I'd accept them saying I have fibromyalgia because I have a few hypermobile joints.