I've been failed

[IveBeenFailed]

I got diagnosed with PCOS at age 15 and was referred to see a gynecologist but didn't get an appointment until a year later. Its safe to say that the doctor I was referred to did not help one bit. Her name was Dr Kamrun Hossain. All she talked about was how "girls with PCOS are smarter because they have so much testosterone." I didn't go there to hear a bunch of misogynistic rubbish. She told me nothing about what my diagnosis meant, how it would affect my fertility, a recommended diet, exercise or anything else I needed to know. Then she told me that I wouldn't be allowed to book anymore consultations with her until I'm interested in having a family. I was left to find out everything about my condition on my own whilst being untreated and suffering because of it. I received no medication and because I wasn't 'allowed' to make an appointment, I couldn't ask to be prescribed anything to help with the pain and to allow me to finish puberty (I couldn't go through puberty because my testosterone level was too high and that's why I wanted to be prescribed androgen blockers). As soon as I turned 18, I payed for private health care and I haven't looked back since. I've received all of the care and medication I've ever needed; I finished puberty at age 19 which greatly helped with my symptoms, I was given an amazing diet and exercise plan which has kept my weight ideal. The NHS completely failed me and is still failing many others. I know that there are a lot of stress put on NHS workers especially in recent years, but people are dying because of medical negligence and its only becoming bigger of an issue overtime. I really hope other young girls just like I was will receive the treatment they really need because being ignored and untreated is honestly the worst experience you can ever have.

[Queenbean]

hi who did you go to privately ?

[Catstroke]

It’s a not a pressures in recent years thing, I was diagnosed 20 years ago after a bit of a fight and have only ever been told to come back when I want a family and now won’t help my fertility because I’ve put weight on that I’ve struggled to lose because of the condition. They are so incredibly blasé about it, and the worse things get, the more medical treatment we need. If you are a gynaecologist then there’s no excuse to not care for PCOS patients properly.

I have other health conditions that I have been struggling with for decades (musculoskeletal) and problems with dislocations since I was 11 (I’m now 36). I have actual bone deformities but I don’t know why and I’m having to push really hard to see someone for a diagnosis. My kneecap was dislocating for 9 years before I had any sort of advanced imaging done on and we found one of the deformities causing it and it was fixed. The only people to blame for it taking that long was clinicians who didn’t care.

I suppose my point is, the NHS isn’t some creature with a mind of its own that no one can control. The NHS runs the way the people inside it decide to run it.