Yevgeniya’s Story
Yevgeniya (not her real name) is 30 years old. She has pre-menstrual depressive disorder and is trying to get pregnant. She struggles so much with her PMDD that she sometimes fears for her life around ‘that time of the month.’ A nurse practitioner at her gynecologist’s office prescribed her with an antidepressant because she couldn’t figure out what else to do.
My big question is why a NURSE PRACTITIONER at a gynecologist’s office would prescribe an antidepressant to a patient? Why? She had no right to do so. She also prescribed the wrong medication as it was making Yevgeniya feel worse. She had nausea, vomiting and wasn’t sleeping. When I talked with her, she was at her wit’s end and crying uncontrollably.
I urged Yevgeniya to get a second opinion on the medication and to do it soon. Even her husband seems to think that the medication is ‘making things worse.’
Anastasia’s Story
Anastasia is 19. She has struggled with her hormones since she hit puberty. Her PMDD was so bad that she sought out the help of her pediatrician who prescribed her with birth control/Estrogen. The estrogen lead to migraines, one of which lasted a month long and Anastasia had to be put into the hospital to ‘knock it out.’ There, her new neurologist referred her to a reproductive endocrinologist who told her that she needed to ‘exercise more and eat less.’ Anastasia was not very overweight at the time.
The doctor then prescribed her with a progesterone implant that worked for a while. When it stopped, Anastasia began bleeding profusely and the PMDD returned in full force. Then, she was put on Depo Provera by an adult doctor, a gynecologist. Anastasia was 17 at the time. Now, at 19, the depo is not working very well. She has fibromyalgia and a strange gynecological issue that no one can seem to find.
It seems she has endometriosis but without a diagnosis or a doctor who even believes her, I don’t hold out much hope that she will get the treatment she’ll need and she will continue to feel demoralized with each doctor’s visit. She is now working with an acupuncturist to see if Eastern medicine can provide her with the relief she so desperately needs.
Martika’s Story
Martika is 26. Up until recently, everything was fine with her. A thin young woman who is vibrant and pretty, she began having episodes of feeling something ‘pop’ in her reproductive area. She’d go to the hospital scared out of her mind and the doctors would do an ultrasound and say they couldn’t find anything because it had popped already. She’s been to multiple doctors who have all told her to just ‘cope with it.’
Her way of coping with it is to change her entire diet and life. She’s afraid to leave the house and moved back in with her parents. She feels a shell of her former self and it pains me to see what is happening to her. In our work together, I have encouraged her to seek help from an Ayurvedic practitioner to see if there’s anything they can do for her.
There is more that I could say about each of these women and many more that I see in my practice and throughout my life. It seems that many women have these stories and it’s appalling, upsetting and well, it makes me angry. I want to help and I will figure out a way to do so.
If you have a story to share or wish to work with someone kind, compassionate and caring, please reach out to me. I am not a medical professional, but I am a credentialed and trained mental health coach. I can help you feel less alone.
Deanna Goodson 