Megan Lopez4
Member
12 messages
joined Jun 2006
Just a little bit of my life story
The things I’ve had to go through lately
And I'm writing this out here
Warm wishes,
I’ve been following this page for quite a while now, and honestly, you guys are amazing—most of the answers we need always seem to turn up right here. But today... today has just been one massive shock after another, followed by a lot of hysterical crying. I am begging YOU, if there is any way at all, please tell me what I should do. No matter how hard I try to get a handle on these health issues, nothing seems to work. It started when I decided to see a private gynecologist. I hadn't been to my regular doctor at the local clinic in ages because I felt like she didn't take me seriously at all; the exams were just awful. Now, I actually have the money to go somewhere else immediately for an ultrasound and everything else I need. I went to a clinic over in the suburbs where the atmosphere was wonderful, but the follow-up on my Pap smear results was a complete disaster. I don't understand—if someone comes to you with a serious issue, like having totally irregular periods that skip months every single year, how can you just shrug it off? I'm 30 years old, and in all this time, no one has ever even sent me to an endocrinologist to check my thyroid or my adrenal glands. They just told me it's "fine" because of modern lifestyle stress and that I'm not the only one. Well, frankly, I don't care if I'm not the only one! To me, this is huge, scary, and overwhelming, even if the doctors deal with much bigger cases every day.
I’m so incredibly disappointed. It’s not even about the money—I'm willing to pay for my health—but it feels like people get treated so poorly when they aren't being professional. I can't even wrap my head around how someone could nickel-and-diming me for a few extra bucks instead of just running the full battery of tests from the start. Why play games? If more testing is needed, just do it! And why does the cost for checking for bacteria, aerobes, and HPV have to be around $500? What is making it so expensive? I apologize, I know nothing about the medical side of things, but my primary doctor never did any of this. It wasn't until my recent ultrasound that I realized I've been carrying these problems for years. I've been struggling with excessive hair growth on my legs for so long, and since I'm blonde, people don't think it looks bad, but for me, it's painful and constant. My bikini area is basically non-existent because the hair on my legs is so thick. I even tried getting help at the big city hospital, using a connection to get in. And let me tell you, I have never been examined so crudely in my entire life—and I thought the doctors back in my small hometown were bad! After that exam, I sat there and cried for two hours straight. I'm still in shock. I walked away with a list of medications for both me and my partner (Erythromycin 4*2/8 for both of us simultaneously, then Medazol 3*400mg for 10 days, plus Geostin, Medazol, and Albothyl vaginal treatments every other night, and Canesten cream locally for both of us, with a follow-up in 2-3 weeks).
I couldn't even get a word in with the specialist because my sister told me to get dressed, and by the time I came back, a different woman was already waiting on the exam table. I was stunned. I didn't get a single explanation; I was just told that we both need treatment and that I have a massive infection. He didn't even wait for me to tell him that three weeks ago, I had taken two boxes of Ciprex 500 in a single week (twice a day) because my neck glands were swollen and I was dealing with those ingrown hairs on my legs. My GP was horrified and just told me to see a gynecologist first and then we'd see, but I've been fighting this hair issue for years! Then, at the clinic in the suburbs, I got the Geostin, and a few days later, the Pap smear results came back bad—they mentioned squamous cells of uncertain significance, quoting "sample poorly fixed or poorly preserved." I feel like they should have just said, "Hey, let's redo this to be safe," instead of immediately prescribing Yasmin and ordering Chlamydia and HPV tests. And of course, they charge me bit by bit, over and over again. It feels like a scam. I would have much rather paid one lump sum to just get everything done at once.
I really thought going private meant experiencing professionalism, but clearly, I was wrong. Now I'm just spiraling with anxiety. What hurts most is that my partner and I have been together for nine years. We are decent people; we aren't out partying or being promiscuous. We know our history. When I read the side effects of these medications, I just want to cry because I don't know what I did wrong or why these doctors treat me like... well, like I'm trash. Is it because I'm not married yet? I've never had these kinds of issues before—never used vaginal suppositories or anything like that—and now it's all hitting me at once. We were slowly building our lives together, thinking maybe we’d have a family one day. My heart is huge; I don't necessarily need to give birth to love a child, and my boyfriend feels the same way. But now, I'm terrified I won't even live to see that stage. I hate taking handfuls of pills because I feel like my immune system is weak—I get sick easily—but people just call me "fragile." Looking at this prescription list makes me physically ill. I feel dirty. It breaks my heart to think about it, especially when I think about how careful I was with sex while everyone else was out living recklessly, fearing STIs, and then this happens... it feels too late to even reflect on it. I am so disappointed, and I feel so sorry for myself, but also for all the people who are truly terminally ill and have to face the kind of shocks I faced today. And another thing—when I entered the exam room at the city hospital, the nurses hadn't even emptied the basin filled with blood and cotton from the women examined before me. The scene was revolting. I just stood there like a deer in headlights, waiting for them to clean it, and then the nurse tells me to sit down! I almost threw up right there. Even though I had a connection and felt like I was in a trap, my boyfriend kept teasing me not to go to such a "torture chamber," but after seeing me like this, he feels just as terrible for sending me there. "Horrible" doesn't even cover it. Are our public hospitals so broke that they can't even maintain basic hygiene? If the equipment is from the Middle Ages, they should start a fundraiser! Let's raise money to buy chairs that actually look like the ones in private clinics so we can all feel like humans together. I’ve realized now that the hair isn't just a skin issue; it’s clearly something deeper with my hormones or glands. I'm looking for a way to figure this out and find a doctor who actually cares enough to walk through this journey with me, rather than just scribbling a prescription and brushing me off. If I take all these meds and start passing blood in my urine because of the side effects, who am I supposed to call? Everyone seems too busy to listen to some "foolish" 30-year-old woman who isn't married yet and is suddenly dealing with all this. I even tried talking to the substitute doctor covering for my regular physician, but since I haven't seen my actual doctor in five years and she's currently on vacation, the sub won't even authorize my meds because the primary doctor didn't mark them as "urgent." Unbelievable. And here I am, dutifully paying my taxes and health insurance to a state that doesn't seem to care about anything. If I put that money into private insurance, I'd probably get better service and less harassment, but I guess I just haven't been lucky enough to have anyone on my side. Please forgive me for these long, heavy ramblings. Thank you for being here. Does anyone have any smart advice on what I should do next? Where do I even go from here?
THANK YOU SO MUCH, REALLY!
