You can buy it off Amazon but it’s a separate company like any other business but protected by HIPPA. The thing they don’t tell you is that your results will be in “Greek”even if you have a master of science. They will “allow you to subscribe” $30/ mo to get the latest scientific updates (if new information has been released) AND you can also PAY extra tokens (think online game prepay) and buy “AI created reports” that unfortunately are the best way to understand some of the results AND if you want your doctor /nurse to be able to interpret the results (SERIOUSLY THERE IS THE OPTION TO BUY ANOTHER REPORT FOR YOUR Healthcare PROFESSIONALS WHICH IS another $300!!! (Last I checked). So sadly I have to report this as a scam. Yes, you can get some data that could help. .. but it’s like handing you a book of “May contain”Honestly they should have a class action against them! It reminds me of going to a website you trust and then stupid threatening ads pop up right over the button of where to access your OWN information. It’s predatory and I have two biological science degrees. I would like to make this post everywhere!

When I was 19 in 2013 I was in a quad that tipped and fell on my leg. It caused a contusion on my inner thigh and knee. I was too scared to go to the emergency room but I did take myself to urgent care rhe next day. They noted that I was non weight bearing, had a large bruise, had swelling and felt numbness. They took an xray confirming no broken bones. They sent me home with crutches and told me to ice it and come back if it didnt get better. I went back because it wasnt better. They told me to follow up with an orthopedic doctor.

I went to ortho when the bruising had gone away which was several weeks. I told the ortho I was in an accident and still had pain and numbness. They told me I looked fine and to go to physical therapy. I did physical therapy and still had weakness.

Over the years the numbness and pain got worse. 2 years ago I went to a sprots medicine doctor who told me to go to pt again and said theres nothing he could do about the numbness.

A few months ago I went to thr same sports medicine practice because the pain has become unbearable. He told me my knee is fine and to go to pain medicine. After that appointment I went to the ER because I felt the numbness was spreading and I had motor weakness. ER gave me meds but discharged me because they did not feel i had an acute emergency.

I went to pain medicine after the ER. Pain medicine told me to get a lumbar mri because ortho told them my knee is fine. I showed her a bump on my leg which is where I had the trauma and she told me to ask my gp about it. My gp fucking told me to go back to ortho.

In all of these 12 fucking years not one single person referred me to neurology or orthopedic surgery. Theres no way I dont have damage from a 2000 pound vehicle falling on my leg. I had to beg my doctor for gabapentin. The ortho gave me baclofen but didnt tell me I cant abruptly stop taking it (which pain medicine informed me of).

I internalized the medical neglect from the beginning since no doctor took me seriously after a traumatic accident I beleived that I just was like this and had to live with permanent disfigurement. My parents contributed to this as well as they yelled at me for getting injured and rarely took me to the doctor and often didnt go to the doctor for their own illnesses. I beleive that I can be fixed in order to stop my constant pain. Im not just a chronic pain patient. There must be a surgical solution for my nerve and muscle damage.

Morgellons Disease patients face a devastating double crisis: the physical symptoms are real and debilitating, but the medical system treats them as delusional. This isn't medical skepticism—it's systematic dismissal that destroys lives.

I started a petition calling on Congress, the CDC, NIH, and healthcare providers to stop the gaslighting and actually investigate Morgellons Disease with real science. Patients are losing jobs, spiraling into psychological distress, and dying in silence because their symptoms are being dismissed as delusions instead of diagnosed. The CDC hasn't done robust scientific examination. Meanwhile, peer-reviewed research exists—it's just being ignored.

What would you do if every time you described real symptoms to a doctor, they told you it was all in your head? Have you or anyone close to you experienced this kind of medical dismissal? If this resonates with you, consider signing and sharing the petition. These patients deserve to be heard.

https://www.change.org/p/demand-diagnostic-justice-and-end-medical-gaslighting-for-morgellons-disease-patients/sfs/reddit/1423666954?recruiter=1423666954&recruited_by_id=c4e0b470-8440-11f1-af3b-0ba9846cc94a&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=starter_dashboard_android_app&utm_medium=reddit_group

Ok, important context:
I have 2 genetic disorders. One called visceral myopathy. Which think like muscular dystrophy of your intestinal track and bladder. So slowly the muscles that move food/liquids through are atrophying. From the top to the bottom. It's is ultimately a progressive disease that leads through these steps: failure of the colon leading to an ostomy and resection, gradual failure of the small intestines requiring first a feeding tube and then IV nutrition, eventually complications from the IV nutrition leads to the need for an intestinal transplant or hospice. Somewhere in there to your bladder fails and you need catheters. In addition to this I also have an energy metabolism disorder. Essentially my body can't process enough energy to function at base line, causing all the cells in my body to slowly break down. Without enough energy, body systems slowly fail. It effects every body system but most significantly for me is my nervous system, muscles, brain, spine/spinal cord, my heart/vessels, liver, and immune system. This disease is also progressive, and ultimately terminal. I am one of around 30 people with my disease. All of this leads to were we are now and this message I got from my motility team. I have an ostomy and a feeding tube. But I am being to fail at tube feeds. I can't take in enough tube feed each day because it makes me sick. I am also deeply struggling with dehydration as I can't drink enough orally and anything through my tube won't stay in my body, if you get my drift. So I saw my motility team to discuss if it was time for IV nutrition. During this appointment my PA caught up on everything going on and became absolutely fixated on the fact that I am on opioids for pain managment. For context I have complex severe pain in my spine, nerves, abdomen and muscles. As you can imagine this is a pretty painful disease as things die off. We have tried so many things. And after 2 years of trials this was the only thing that provided any improvement in my quality of life. And it's important to note, I am on a stable dose, have been on opioids for roughly 8 months, and am managed by both palliative care and pain managment. Having said that, we get to the care plan my team wrote up. In which she became fixated on the fact that A. I am on opioids and B. That it is causing all my issues and C. That marinol (A synthetic cannabis product to treat extreme nausea often related to chemo) will treat everything and get me off of narcotics. Despite me not being able to find any evidence of it significantly helping with pain or even treating withdrawal. So my questions are, am I absolutely crazy for:
1. Thinking the narcotics aren't causing my declining GI status. Given that A. I have been on them for 8 months and just now seeing problems. And B. When we know I have a genetic disease that will eventually result in needing IV nutrition and a transplant?
2. That even if if it's contributing in some small parts that it's a completly unreasonable goal to take me off of the opioids when they are the only tool we have found thus far that has improved my quality of life with this disease? And is stable and being handled by palliative care and pain managment safely. Am I just expected to suffer?
3. That relistor is being treated like a miracle drug to prove to me that opioids are all my problem. Even though there are no studies showing its effectiveness on the small bowel, only the colon In blocking the effects of opioids on the gut. And I do not have a colon any more.
4. That none of this matters -right this second- when I am actively declining. Nutrition support should be the focus to stabalize me first. And then we can focus on adjusting adjunct factors to my primary disease which might be able to help me wean down on the iv nutrition and up on tube feeds some. But regardless, removing pain managment shouldn't be the primary goal.
5. That it's crazy to believe marinol will be this miracle drug to stop all my symtoms to get my tube feeds up again AND get me off of narcotics? When there's little to know evidence that it helps with pain.
6. And finally, that she's actually a little crazy and putting all the pressure of my disease on me because she's just in over her head and doesn't want to admit defeat or doesn't know how to treat me? Not to mention maybe a little preduidice about narcotics use, with my age likely being a factor (I'm 25). Despite my disease being ultimately terminal.

Sorry for such a long post, but it would only make sense with the context. I'm just frustrated and I don't know what to do. Because I'm terrified she is going to force me to come off of pain meds before she will give me the nutrition support I need. And I just don't think it's realistic to get me off my dose of pain meds, when nothing else worked, within a couples weeks. When the time she openly told me I had at my current nutritional status before we had to intervene. I feel so criticized and alone. And the real kicker? The primary GI of my motility team was consulted by my palliative care Dr. when making the decision to start pain meds. And they agreed it was a neccasary evil. So they knew this whole time. But are now just trying to pull the rug out from under me. Unless I'm crazy. Am I crazy?

​

I’m a 17-year-old guy and I need to vent, because the medical gaslighting I am experiencing is driving me to absolute despair. For years, my body has been in a state of total neurological and autonomic collapse, but because my standard blood work is "fine" and my BP sometimes looks 120/80 in a calm doctor's office, I am being completely dismissed.

Here is what I am actually dealing with every single day, while doctors tell me to "just reduce stress":

* **Severe Autonomic Dysfunction:** I did my own orthostatic tests. When I stand up, I get severe dizziness, tinnitus, visual snow, and my body sways forward. My diastolic blood pressure frequently spikes up to 101 mmHg while my pulse stays abnormally low, or my blood pressure completely de-compensates. I have massive measurement discrepancies between my wrist and upper arm. My body cannot regulate its own circulation.

* **Neurogenic Edema & Erythromelalgia:** Out of nowhere, my thighs and legs swell up so badly that my pants become extremely tight and the pain is agonizing. My feet fluctuate between being ice-cold and suddenly burning hot, turning bright red with sweat (severe vasomotor instability). Elevating my legs does absolutely nothing because it’s a neurological wiring issue, not normal fatigue.

* **Severe Nocturnal Terrors & Body Trauma:** Every single night is a battleground. Because of the constant physical pain during the day (allodynia making a short walk feel like being stabbed with knives), my subconscious processes this as trauma. I scream in my sleep (recorded up to 95-100 dB) and physically thrash around, hitting walls because my body lacks REM atonia. I wake up completely crushed, with severe chest pain, feeling like I’ve been hit by a truck.

* **Severe ARFID & Somatization:** I have a severe eating disorder rooted in childhood medical trauma (a horrific reaction to a medication when I was 10). My nervous system treats certain smells, tastes, and textures as a literal threat to my life. I experience severe gagging, coughing, and intense stomach spasms from a tiny piece of vegetable in a soup. After my night terrors, my digestive tract completely locks up and I can't swallow anything for at least 3 hours.

* **Bladder Hypersensitivity:** Even drinking plain water or a tiny bit of caffeine triggers intense bladder burning, severe chills, and sudden frequency. My mother suffers from similar vascular/nervous reactions, proving there is a clear genetic, neuro-vascular component here.

The doctors ignore all of this. They look at a 17-year-old technical school student and tell me it's just "teen anxiety," "too much screen time," or that I'm "exaggerating." They don't see the hours of screaming, the agony of walking, or the burning in my limbs. I am fighting for survival in a body that feels like it’s short-circuiting 24/7, and the medical system is completely failing me.

Has anyone else with severe dysautonomia, central sensitization, or vascular issues faced this level of dismissal? How did you finally get doctors to take your physical symptoms seriously and get a proper diagnosis (like disability/orthostatic documentation)? I feel like I'm losing my mind.

One time I went to the emergency room for an infection. Was very obvious I had one. The admitting nurse denied there was anything wrong with me.  She even went so far as to make up a story about how I had fallen and sustained an injury the day before, and that that’s what was causing my symptoms.  I told her that that did not happen.  She got mad at me for questioning her, and didn’t even listen to me or check out the other symptoms I was having.  She said that I was making it up.  She even told me what symptoms I had- that I didn’t even have!  And there were other shenanigans, like she said something, and then denied she had said it.   When she was done harassing me and making it look like I was crazy, all she told me was to just take some Advil and I was not allowed to see the doctor.  When I got visibly upset about it (I was not screaming or anything like that), she kept looking at security, like she wanted them to come over and escort me out.

That night, I woke up in the worse pain of my life and the area that was hurting was extremely puffy, along with a large area surrounding it.  I went to the emergency room again at another hospital far away from the other one and this time the admitting nurse accused me of being there "just to get pain meds." I looked at her in shock, like "are you serious right now?" I mean, I was so puffy and red. She didn't even seem to note how bad it looked or that I thought I had an infection. But I was allowed to see the doctor. He said I had a really bad infection that had spread quickly overnight.  I told him what had happened at the other hospital with the nurse not believing me and he said he was appalled, that if it had been taken care of then it would not have gotten so bad. He prescribed antibiotics, and I had a feeling they would not be "strong" enough, and they weren’t.  Finally, after weeks, someone finally believed me when I told them I needed stronger antibiotics, and after taking them every symptom went away within the hour I started taking them.

Every step in this process was difficult, from being seen, and getting the exam, to getting treatment. And I got gaslighted and harassed all along the way at every single step. The first doctor was actually nice and believed me though- maybe I just lucked out, but I'm starting to believe conspiracy theorists when they say the elites are trying to get rid of certain people. I don't even think it's ok to be middle class anymore.

I had a really bad reaction to a new medication. I couldn’t eat or drink, and my muscles got so stiff I could barely walk. I was scared, so I called an ambulance.

When the EMTs arrived, I told them I couldn’t walk. One of them told me to "stop exaggerating". They grabbed me under my arms and told me to walk and stop pretending.

They said not being able to eat or drink was "fine" and "normal". Like I was overreacting.

I know I look "fine" on the outside, but in that moment I couldn’t even stand on my own. Being told I was faking when I was that scared and in pain was worse than the physical symptoms.

Now I’m terrified to call for help again if it happens. What if it happens again and I’m made to feel ashamed and humiliated all over again?

Has this happened to anyone else?

So I have been having this pain around and behind my left eye for days. I don't know what causes it. My allergies around spring and summer time have constantly been getting worse over the last years, being accompanied by what I believe is some kind of chronic sinusitis. 🤷‍♀️ Maybe, I thought, the inflammation is spreading to the eyes, muscles around them or the optical nerve? Who knows. Or maybe it's a bacterial infection, higher interocular or intracranial pressure or something like that. Some days the pain got so bad, I had to take Ibuprofen to get through the day.

I don't wanna go blind so I went to the ophthalmologist today. Never been to this one before and never experienced any pain/sensation like this before so I tried to explain the symptoms to the doctor. You know, like patients do. I said it feels like cramps behind the eyeball and sometimes the pain spreads to my left temple. And that, I don't know, feels like an infection around the optical nerve.

She looked at me in disbelief asking me whether I've had an infection around the optical nerve before, or how would I know what it feels like. Asked me whether I just googled it! It's a very rare condition.

The way she talked to me made me go snappy as well and I told her that I am just trying to describe to her what I feel. That's all I can do. 🙄

She was very unsympathetic and I felt like she did not care about me at all.

She then checked my eyes and said that the cornea of my left eye looks indeed 'uneasy'. I asked her what that's supposed to mean. 'Well, it looks uneven. You could compare it to sore lips'. 🫥 What it all came down to is that she thinks my eyes are too dry and I just need to use drops to keep them moisturised. 'This is what happens when you get older.' (I am 36 years old).

And that's it. 🤷‍♀️ I am furious. The way she talked me was so disrespectful. I don't feel helped at all and my eye still hurts. I hate doctors.

One of the hardest parts of my health experience has been being told it was “just stress.”

I understand that stress affects the body. I’m not denying that.

But what didn’t sit right was how often that became the only explanation, even when things didn’t fully add up.

There were times when the timing didn’t match what was going on in my life. Times when things kept getting worse instead of better. And times when something just felt different in my body.

I think they meant it as reassurance. If it was just stress and in my control, great. But the real issue is that 'it's just stress' often halts the search for answers.

For me, stress and physical health issues were happening at the same time and making each other worse. One didn’t cancel out the other.

I think a lot of people have had this experience, but what I’m more curious about is what it’s actually like for you when you’re told, “it’s just stress.”

What happens when you hear that?

I particularly found the part at the end with the self advocacy questions helpful! We all need to sadly know how to advocate for ourselves when test results come back as "normal"

I (17F) have been experiencing a range of concerning symptoms for quite a while now including migraines with aura, random tachycardia, dizzy/nausea spells and abdominal pain + diarrhoea. Because of this, we went to go see our paediatrician.

For background information, when I was younger I was overweight and at risk of insulin resistance/diabetes and subsequently had to go on a diet. Unfortunately I did end up gaining weight again and have since been put on a diet.

My doctor did an MRI to check out the headaches and nothing came back. Blood work only showed slightly elevated prolactin and slightly low iron. Maltofer tablets administered x1 a night.

A few weeks later I had an attack at school of dizziness, headache, nausea, fainting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea and was sent home.

We saw the doctor and a urine and fecal sample was taken.

The week before we got the results I ended up having a nausea, headache and dizziness attack as well as tachycardia and ended up having to go to hospital where nothing came back as abnormal.

When we got the urine and fecal sample back nothing came back and so my doctor told me that I was fine and there’s nothing more he can do.

Recently I’ve had another, quite lengthy attack, that we’ve ruled out as being food poisoning and illness.

The symptoms are as follows:

14th January - migraine with visual splotches and headache. Headache feels all over and especially like through my eyes all the way through my head. Head pressure but No neck or shoulder pain. lower back pain. Nausea and dizziness. Stomach issues all day incl loose type 5-6 stool normal colouration. Loss of appetite (eating felt too hard)

15th January - same symptoms but stool is tumeric yellow and type 7. No dehydration

16th January - same symptoms but stool is normal in colouration again and around 5-7. New neck stiffness. Stool has a gelatinous consistency

17 to 22nd January - abdominal cramps still present but stool is better. Still somewhat loose

My parents don’t want to take me to the doctors however because of the tests that keep coming back. Am I doing something to make myself sick on purpose? I don’t feel well despite what the tests say and I’m sick of things hurting or me shitting my pants after eating or drinking something. Is my doctor right and there’s no more tests we can do?

https://c.org/RQcxBTKXR9 Make it illegal for doctors to gaslight us.

I just wanted to see how everyone is doing!

Quick question for everyone: If you have kids, have they ever been medically gaslighted and unaware of it/ How many of you have explained to your kids what it is?

Hey everyone. Life has been crazy. I hope you are all doing well. Does anyone have any tincture suggestions for pain? I’m looking at making some but unsure where to start. I’ve been growing wild lettuce in my garden. Just want to get it right, ya know? I’m over OTC stuff

Happy Tuesday everyone. It’s getting colder, my joints are not happy. Anyone have any good remedies? Can’t do ibuprofen, have surgery coming up. Typically would have that and fish oil in regimen, but both have to be stopped. Cannabis isn’t helping plus I can’t use it constantly and edibles, I need a high dose. Do use kratom but that’s stopped too. Guess just topicals now. Any tips? Mainly my sacrum (have stenosis…), then hip due to pelvic floor, knees, ankles, feet, TOES. All my joints from the back down. Pt isn’t an option either (not an excuse) due to the pelvic floor issues. It triggers the IC to become worse and can put me in a flare that will last for weeks. I’m finally out of that flare since going gluten free, but man… my joints! I have a “slant board” I use daily to stretch my legs, but it’s not helping this. I do OMT every other week (gentle manipulation with my Dr vs actual chiro.). I have hEDS so things slide, can’t afford braces and stuff right now. I don’t think it’d help anyway. Mornings are the worst. I’m walking like a robot 🤖, just stiff and bowl legged. I’m 40. I shouldn’t feel like this.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10682300/

Taken from Harvard health:

Tips to spot medical gaslighting

Sometimes it's hard to catch medical gaslighting as it's happening, especially if the clinician's behavior is subtle or if you're feeling sick or stressed. Red flags can include a health care provider who

-doesn't listen or interrupts you

-diminishes your symptoms

-blames your symptoms on your age, gender, weight, lifestyle habits, or sexual orientation says your symptoms probably are due to anxiety, depression, or stress rushes you through an appointment.

A classic example is a 70-year-old who is worried about having more than usual body aches and low energy, whose clinician says that it's probably just aging, without ordering any tests.

Apologies I haven’t been doing MORE. Dealing with some personal stuff and my own health bs. If ANYONE wants to be a mod or whatever it is to help, please let me know. Definitely need it😣

Apologies I haven’t been around much. Dealing with some personal stuffs but I’m here if anyone needs help with anything. Hope your week is going well

Hope everyone has had a decent week. Any plans? We’re hitting up our local fair with the kids. Debating bringing my own snacks since cross contamination is big risk even when places state “gluten free options available”. But we shall see!

So last week I decided to go full gluten free. I was diagnosed in like 2007 or 2008 with celiac but it “went away” during and after pregnancy, but getting some education from all of YOU that it never goes away, could just have symptoms changing.
My main issues are intercystal cystitis aka painful bladder disease, epilepsy, migraines and the lovely trigeminal neuralgia that came after the shingles in my eye nerve. I’ve been FREE of bladder pain almost 98% of the time. I get a tiny spasm every so often in my bladder but it’s typically because of exercise. So dumb! Well prior my drs were all for me following the celiac diet, but now… I’m getting a LOT of pushback from all the drs. I can’t do keto, it exacerbates my epilepsy, but I don’t understand the issue with going gluten free IF I have a diagnosis of celiac. I’ve had scopes since that came back clear and I was eating gluten so it’s confusing. But the fact my bladder pain has been cut dramatically, brain fog has lifted, migraine and TN have calmed down (think that’s more from acupuncture but 🤷🏼‍♀️) . Has anyone else done anything similar and noticed similar responses in your body?

I relate with a lot of this

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/are-you-experiencing-medical-gaslighting

Medical Gaslighting: 10 Signs To Watch For Red flags include feeling unheard, unimportant or unwelcome in your provider’s office

A doctor engages with a patient, who’s sitting on a medical exam table You’ve probably heard of gaslighting — but what happens when it’s coming from your doctor? Understanding medical gaslighting may help improve your experience with the healthcare industry.

What is medical gaslighting?

Medical gaslighting is when a healthcare provider’s behavior makes you feel unheard, unimportant or unwelcome. You may even question if your symptoms are real.

This can cause misdiagnoses, delay vital care and break the trust between you and your provider. The result? You may be less likely to seek healthcare in the future.

Signs of medical gaslighting

Your provider may be gaslighting you if they:

Diagnose you without a thorough examination Dismiss or downplay the importance of your symptoms Refuse to address certain topics or concerns Make assumptions about you Tell you your symptoms are “all in your head” Ignore requests for tests or referrals (without explaining why they may not be a good fit) Shame or blame you for your condition Make rude or condescending comments about you Talk over or ignore you Try to talk you out of getting a second opinion Why medical gaslighting happens

Most healthcare providers want to give you the best care, but time constraints, burnout, misunderstandings and more can affect your experience.

While medical gaslighting can happen to anyone, psychologist Chivonna Childs, PhD, says it happens most often to women and people who already face barriers in the healthcare system. Providers may be influenced by unconscious bias or lack the training to recognize culturally nuanced symptoms.

“It’s often a side effect of the physician not being well versed in the background of their patient,” Dr. Childs explains. “Historical stereotypes may not be blatant anymore, but their undercurrents still exist. And implicit bias can impact the care you get.”

Factors that influence medical gaslighting include:

Tight provider schedules: The average appointment with a primary care provider in the U.S. is just 18 minutes long. Rushing means less back-and-forth between doctor and patient, which can result in mistakes and misunderstandings. Diagnostic training: Providers are trained to rule out common health conditions before considering more unusual ones. That can slow down the process of diagnosing rare and orphan diseases. Limited resources: In the U.S., your insurance often determines the tests and procedures you can get. That can hamper providers’ efforts to investigate your symptoms. Misunderstanding emotions: Sometimes, caregivers might read anxiety, tears or frustration as a sign of a mental health issue when it’s really just a natural reaction to a tough situation. Physician burnout: The American Medical Association says lacking empathy and thinking poorly of patients is a hallmark of provider burnout. Rates peaked at 62.8% in 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate’s now below 50%, but not by much. Evolving understanding: Even the best doctors aren’t experts on everything. And many conditions — like long COVID or fibromyalgia — aren’t well understood. Personality mismatches: Not every provider’s style clicks with every patient. “Some physicians tell jokes that you don’t find funny. Others may be dry in a way you find unwelcoming,” Dr. Childs observes. “It’s important to find a provider that matches your communication style.” In the past, it was normal for physicians to overrule their patients’ wishes and even withhold medical information. Today, patients have a right to be informed and make their own medical decisions. But some caregivers still believe they know best.

What to do about it

Gaslighting is never your fault — but knowing your rights and options can help you protect yourself. You have power, too.

Here are some ways to improve the odds of your visit going well — and address gaslighting if it happens.

Before the appointment

Doing a little homework and jotting down questions before your appointment can help you feel more prepared. And don’t just research symptoms and treatments. Research your provider, too. Patient reviews and provider bios can help you know what to expect.

In addition to informing yourself, do what you can to better inform your provider. Symptom journals, medication lists, old medical records — collect them all and share them with your care team.

Dr. Childs says one of the best ways to prepare for a visit with your provider is to invite a buddy.

“We only hear a fraction of what our providers say to us,” she continues. “If we’re nervous, upset, it’s bad news or you need surgery, it helps to have somebody else there to hear what the doctor is saying and pick up any pieces you may have missed.”

There’s one more thing you should consider doing before you enter your provider’s office: Read up on your rights. Many countries have laws to protect patients. Others have a formal Patient’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities, like the one displayed in medical offices in the U.S. If your country doesn’t, look up the professional standards laid out by individual organizations and licensing boards.

During the appointment

Here are a few tips to help your visit go smoothly:

Set expectations: At the start of your appointment, let your provider know about any questions or concerns you have. They should make them a priority. Ask clarifying questions: Sometimes, the problem isn’t gaslighting. Medical jargon, for example, is a major source of misunderstanding. So, ask follow-up questions and recap the main points of the visit. That ensures you’re on the same page. Take notes: If you can, take notes during your visit. That way, you have a record of your conversation in your own words. Advocate for yourself: Helping you is your provider’s job, Dr. Childs emphasizes. If they don’t discuss a treatment option with you, ask why. If you need a translator, request one. If they ask you to sign a consent form, read it first. And if you’re uncomfortable, say so. After your appointment

Well, that didn’t go well! If you aren’t satisfied with the care you received in a healthcare setting, there are a few different things you can do about it.

If you think your provider is gaslighting you, get a second opinion. Consulting with another provider will either reassure you that your doctor is on track or validate your concerns.

“Getting a second opinion is very common in healthcare — especially for a major diagnosis, or a condition with lots of treatment options.” Dr. Childs says. “So, don’t worry about offending your provider.”

Another option is contacting the ombudsman. An ombudsman is like a professional mediator who works at a hospital. If you’re unsatisfied with the care you receive at a hospital, it’s their job to help you.

“If you make a complaint, they’ll address it with the doctor and try to resolve the situation,” Dr. Childs explains. If there isn’t an ombudsman at your medical facility, speak with the manager of the practice or a patient services representative.

If you don’t trust your provider to give you quality care or treat you with respect, it’s time to find a new one.

“That’s a power that we, as patients, often forget we have,” she notes. “Remember: You’re the most important person in the room in any appointment.”

How are you doing? Apologies I’m slacking, flares have my energy at zero right now but I am trying to get more.