The problem isn't just doctors not knowing what symptoms connect to what diagnosis. It's also doctors not BELIEVING patients when they describe symptoms that aren't obviously visible. #NEISvoid
My doctor friend expressed confusion to me recently about the delay in my endometriosis diagnosis. "I just don't understand" she said. "Every doctor is taught that severe pain goes with endo. They should have made the connection right away".
But the issue wasn't doctors missing the connection between endo and pain. It was that they didn't make the connection between endo and MY pain- or more specifically, believe that the pain I was describing was actually as serious as I was saying.
I was told that I was being dramatic, that all women have period pain, that I wasn't experiencing anything bad enough to investigate. When I finally went private (which isn't accessible to all!), my surgeon found severe endometriosis. Turns out I had been right about my pain.
The same with ADHD. Even though my doctor's knowledge of ADHD symptoms is outdated, he does believe that issues with focus and memory can be signs of ADHD. He just didn't believe I was having issues with those things. "But you did so well at your Masters, that doesn't line up".
People generally know their bodies and brains, and they know when something isn't right. It's a disservice to patients to dismiss their experience because the visible outworking doesn't align with how things are "supposed" to look.
I don't really think doctors have the expertise that they think they do when it comes to determining a patient's validity. Lots of symptoms are "invisible"- but consider that they actually are completely identifiable if all doctors fully listened to what patients have to say.
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