September is chronic pain awareness month
and a perfect time to recognize that when it comes to chronic pain, women are
treated differently than men.
Discrimination
There is a centuries old bias against
women. Societal beliefs and recriminations have blamed women for their pain, calling
us “hysterical.” Today—not much has changed. Our pain remains misunderstood,
mistreated, undertreated, and sometimes untreated all together — simply because
we are women. The gender gap between men and women is more like a chasm.
Women’s
Experience with Chronic Pain
A review of over
450 epidemiologic studies clearly demonstrates women are at a significantly
greater risk for developing chronic pain. As females we have a cornucopia of possible
chronic pain generators, some dominate in women and others are specific to our
gender. Disorders and diseases that cause pain range from pelvic pain,
irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, to menstruation, female related surgeries,
child bearing, etc. Hormonal differences and genetics also influence our pain.
We tend to be more sensitive to pain—not the same as tolerance—and the
character of our pain can be different because of the source,
such as childbirth. And, the words
we use to describe our pain also play a role in the way our pain is judged.
There’s no
doubt our pain experience and the way we relate to it is different from our
male counterparts.
“Our health care
provider’s words matter too. We should feel safe when communicating our
concerns and symptoms and never judged for having a medical condition that has
no cure. Our provider should be part of our team, part of our plan, not part of
the problem. When we feel heard, we do better.”
Trust
In my blog, The
Painful Truth: A Book, a Documentary, a Meeting with Lynn Webster, MD (pain
specialist, author, and producer), I wrote about something Dr. Webster said at
a PAINS symposium. It resonated with me and I will likely never forget it. He said
he always asked his patients, “What do you want [from pain care]? The answer was
always the same, “Doc, I just want my life back.” He heard this same response repeatedly.
Dr. Webster witnessed a primal release of emotions from his
patients when he replied…
“I
believe you.”
Trust is important to every chronic pain
patient, particularly those groups who have been identified as being treated with bias. It's not just women who suffer the consequences of
disbelief, judgment, and discrimination. We all need to be heard and for our care provides to believe what we say. If our provider is disinterested, they are not to be trusted. Trust, like communication takes two.
Conclusion
I think our understanding of pain
experiences between men and women has a long way to go, as does our
understanding of chronic pain in general. However, when we look at the
influence gender has on chronic pain, we can say — women experience and report
pain differently.
Women are more likely to be wrongly diagnosed, and possibly
told to take an antidepressant for their unspoken “hysteria”. Some of us are told
to go home and rest until
it passes, or we feel unheard and dismissed like a student sent to
detention for misbehaving.
Despite the IOM report, Relieving
Pain in America telling us there is bias and
discrimination against women, and the National Pain
Strategy telling us stigma and vulnerability exists, particularly in women
exhibiting pain from conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia
— we wait for change.
Additional Reading: Two interviews this
past year with two brave women:
In
healing,,Celeste
"Adversity is
only an obstacle if we fail to see opportunity."
~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~
Celeste Cooper, RN
Author—Patient—Freelance Writer at
Health Central & ProHealth —Advocate
Learn
more about Celeste’s books at her website or find
links here on Celeste's
blog.
Subscribe to posts by using the information in the upper right hand corner or
use the share buttons to share with others.
All
blogs and comments are based on the author's opinions and are not meant to
replace medical advice.
Posts
