8 Medical Conditions Often Misdiagnosed in Women
No one has ever called medicine an easy
job, and there’s a reason why doctors spend a decade of their life
merely preparing for their career. It’s one of the highest-pressure
jobs, where people’s lives are quite literally in your hands. Often
enough, it comes down to guesswork, as doctors don’t always have the
tools to give a foolproof diagnosis, but missing the mark could
potentially cause irreversible harm to the patient. This is why we
should strive to make their jobs easier, by familiarizing ourselves with
important symptoms and describing what we’re experiencing in the most
accurate manner.
This is particularly true of conditions that are specific to women or
that affect women at higher rates, as well as symptoms that are unique
to women, as doctors are especially prone to misdiagnosis in these
cases, and ruling a stroke or a heart attack out as a mild fever could
very well mean death. If you feel like your doctor is giving you the
wrong diagnosis, voice your concerns. If he or she do not budge, seek a
second opinion.
Here are several conditions and their symptoms that you should
definitely be aware of:
Stroke
Strokes are among the leading causes of
death and disability, and while you may be familiar with some of the
general symptoms which may indicate an impending stroke, such as blurred
eyesight in either or both eyes, numbness in one side of the body,
garbled speech, problems comprehending speech and loss of balance and
coordination, you may not be aware that there are other symptoms that
are unique to women and are often misdiagnosed. Those include nausea,
seizures, shortness of breath, painful and sudden hiccups, fainting and a
general weakness.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a medical condition that
affects 2-8% of the population, with women being affected at twice the
rate as men. Typical symptoms include chronic pain, tiredness, sleep
deprivation and forgetfulness. As many of the symptoms are rather
non-specific and characteristic of other conditions, it is often
misdiagnosed. One telltale sign of fibromyalgia are specific points that
are more sensitive to pain than others. A combination of these tender
points might reflect fibromyalgia affliction: elbows, knees, buttocks,
shoulders, chest, neck and the base of the skull.
Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is a particularly harsh
infection that’s transmitted by ticks and can cause facial paralysis,
severe brain damage and impairment of motor capabilities if left
untreated. The most common and recognizable sign of Lyme is a dark rash
where the tick bit into the skin, surrounded by a secondary “halo” rash,
giving the appearance of a bull’s eye. But the rash doesn’t always look
that way, and as many as 30% of people who contact Lyme disease don’t
have any rash at all. Other symptoms have been likened to flu:
headaches, stiffness, fever and discomfort.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome (or IBS) is a
cause for much discomfort that can easily be confused with other
conditions such as bowel inflammation, H. pylori infection, coeliac and
parasites.
IBS is characterized by bloating, lack of appetite, gas, and irregular
stools (either diarrhea or constipation). Women are three times more
likely to be affected by IBS, and many report that the symptoms are
worsened by menstruation.
Depression
Even as our world is progressing towards
equality, there is still a lot more progress to be made, as misogyny is
still very real and haunts women wherever they go, even in the field of
medicine. Many women who complain to a doctor about experiencing
symptoms of depression are treated as if it’s a “mood swing” that will
fade in time. Depression is a very serious mental condition that can
have various catalysts and can manifest in different ways, such as
listlessness, fatigue, inability to savor things that would regularly
bring you joy, social withdrawal, self-doubt and rumination over your
shortcomings and more.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a well-known condition
that afflicts millions of women worldwide, yet for reasons unknown,
doctors seem very hesitant to diagnose it. Endometriosis occurs when
cells of the same type as the ovarian lining grow outside of the
ovaries, it causes intense pelvic pain in many of the afflicted women.
Around half of the afflicted women become infertile, with endometriosis
being one of the leading causes of infertility. If all of this wasn’t
bad enough, another common symptom is pain during intercourse. Although
there is no cure for endometriosis, early diagnosis could help mitigate
the symptoms, slow its progress and prevent infertility.
Lupus
Lupus is an incurable,
genetically-transmitted disease that shares many of its symptoms with
other auto-immune diseases and conditions that afflict women at higher
rates than men. Women are nine times more likely to contract lupus than
men (though the prognosis tends to be worse for men afflicted). Lupus
used to be considered a terminal disease, but these days, 90% of people
living with lupus are able to live a full life. Because of the effective
treatment, it is incredibly important to diagnose it in time. The most
telltale sign of lupus is a rash over the nose and cheeks in a shape
similar to a butterfly.
Heart Attack
Heart attack is one of the most vicious
killers around, and though the most common and obvious sign of a heart
attack is chest pain, there are many other signs that have nothing to do
with the chest, and women who go through cardiac arrest report
experiencing those at a higher rate than men. These symptoms include:
dizziness, unusual fatigue, sweat, nausea, shortness of breath and pain
or discomfort in the jaw, neck, back, and either of the shoulders or
arms.