Something that I kept to myself for a very long time is that I struggle with chronic, sometimes debilitating stomach pain. I have had chronic pain in varying intensities for eight years now, and have seen countless doctors and specialists. I have been to the hospital and have had the same five or six tests run on me dozens of times, but I can still only say I have chronic stomach pain. Unfortunately, I share this experience with many people in our health care system—especially women—and I am sharing my medical journey with you to let people know that they are not alone.
My chronic pain started in the sixth grade, where I had debilitating stomach pain for the first time. For about a month, all I could do was sit in a shower because the warm water was the only thing that would even somewhat aid my pain. My parents took me to urgent care, where I was told that it was “just gas” for the first time. They then took me to the emergency room, where I was tested for appendicitis, diabetes, cancer…all the awful stuff. At the end of the month, I was told that it was an ulcer, given some Pepcid, and sent home.
The terrible pain subsided, but the chronic, dull pain remained. I ended up going to my first GI specialist, who was not helpful, at best. He did not provide any form of aid or assistance, and made my mom uncomfortable, so we just left and I did not go back to a doctor until my second flare up sophomore year. Once again, I was tested for the same dangerous things discussed before, as well as my first of five celiac tests—and once again, nothing showed up. The doctor asked me about my period, determined that it was gas or constipation, and, once again sent me away. This time with laxatives.
I have had numerous flares since my sophomore year, but I have stopped going to emergency care for them at this point, because the answer is almost always the same: “Are you sure something is wrong?” I have never had a colonoscopy or endoscopy, two extremely common procedures for gastrointestinal distress, mostly because they have never been offered to me. I have never been offered a procedure to try to find the cause of my chronic pain by anyone I have seen. To put it into perspective, when one of my male friends had stomach pain, he was immediately brought in for testing, had a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease within three days of his first major flare up. He was never asked if his pain was valid or real, he never felt like he was not getting anywhere and he thought his experience was great.
I cannot express to you how tired I am of going through the motions of having my chronic pain invalidated over and over again, and I know I am not alone. Many, many women I have talked to have been medically gaslit and downplayed for their chronic pain. I am unsatisfied with how the United States’ health care system treats chronic pain, and you should be too. Whether you are in chronic pain, know someone who has chronic pain or are not related to chronic pain at all, you should be concerned—because when the health care system fails one of us, it fails all of us— and we all deserve the best support possible. You are not alone, your pain is real and valid and you are worthy of support.