Women and Pain Management

[Recusant]

Just recently, I listened to an interview on the radio with the author of "How Doctors Take Women's Pain Less Seriously". Though he's describing a single (torturous) incident, he does bring some studies into his article, mostly through a review paper: "The Girl Who Cried Pain: A Bias Against Women in the Treatment of Pain" (PDF).

It's a very interesting and troubling topic. The comments section of the article is about what you'd expect--a running battle between feminists and their detractors. Though this phenomenon seems to be a clear-cut example of sexism, it could be that it's just a manifestation of institutional ignorance on the part of the medical profession.

[No one]

Let's be honest, the human being is far from the sharpest tool in the cosmic shed.

[Tank]

Let's be honest, the human being is far from the sharpest tool in the cosmic shed.

That's a bit of a de-rail but what would be sharper?

[Recusant]

Let's be honest, the human being is far from the sharpest tool in the cosmic shed.

Hello and welcome to HAF, No one. 

Honestly, a tool's effectiveness depends on its suitability for the task at hand.

[No one]

Apologies. I meant not to derail. Perhaps I should have been specific. Far too many of us treat women, as if they are second class citizens. We as a species, dissect ourselves into countless insignificant categories. My intention was to point out that a truly intelligent species, would see past all the petty differences, and actually treat each other equally. But after all, I am an idiot, so what do I know?

[Recusant]

Apologies. I meant not to derail. Perhaps I should have been specific. Far too many of us treat women, as if they are second class citizens. We as a species, dissect ourselves into countless insignificant categories. My intention was to point out that a truly intelligent species, would see past all the petty differences, and actually treat each other equally. But after all, I am an idiot, so what do I know?

No problem. Have you read the article? Do you have any thoughts on its contents, or those of the paper also linked in the OP?

[No one]

I did. And while I am not a doctor or by any means an expert on human conditioning, speaking as a man, I will say that the society I am accustomed to, it seems that we are conditioned to believe that we do not show our pain. It is only in somewhat rather recent times that is is ok for a man to admit pain, whether it is temporary or chronic. I suffer from migraines. They come in clusters and last for days. They are debilitating. They often are a precursor for the seizures I also have the joy of experiencing. Now while we all have completely different thresholds for pain, it is more of an individual nature than a gender specific one.   

[Recusant]

You have my sympathy. There are several people in my family that suffer migraines regularly. I'm lucky enough to have only experienced them a few times in my life, though occasionally I get the aura without much of the pain.

While I agree that individual responses to pain will differ, the paper does show that there appear to be differences in how males and females experience pain. As well, there seems to little dispute in the literature over the question of whether there is a difference in the way that medical professionals tend to treat pain in males vs. females.

[Tank]

Apologies. I meant not to derail. Perhaps I should have been specific. Far too many of us treat women, as if they are second class citizens. We as a species, dissect ourselves into countless insignificant categories. My intention was to point out that a truly intelligent species, would see past all the petty differences, and actually treat each other equally. But after all, I am an idiot, so what do I know?

Worry not. De-railing is an art form here 

[Velma]

Just recently, I listened to an interview on the radio with the author of "How Doctors Take Women's Pain Less Seriously". Though he's describing a single (torturous) incident, he does bring some studies into his article, mostly through a review paper: "The Girl Who Cried Pain: A Bias Against Women in the Treatment of Pain" (PDF).

It's a very interesting and troubling topic. The comments section of the article is about what you'd expect--a running battle between feminists and their detractors. Though this phenomenon seems to be a clear-cut example of sexism, it could be that it's just a manifestation of institutional ignorance on the part of the medical profession.

I'm fairly certain that if you research, you will easily find studies showing that across the board, women's health concerns are more likely to be dismissed. Pain is just another part of a bigger issue.

My recent knee injury has highlighted for me the huge difference between treatment of acute pain and the treatment of chronic pain. It is all I can do to get any treatment of my chronic pain so that I can do silly things like keep working. However, after my knee injury, doctors were practically throwing pain medications at me. It rather felt like my acute pain was being taken much more seriously than my chronic pain.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

Women do live significantly longer than us penis-havers.  So maybe that, in part, leads to less concern.  No matter what problems women have, they keep on living.

[Buddy]

Just recently, I listened to an interview on the radio with the author of "How Doctors Take Women's Pain Less Seriously". Though he's describing a single (torturous) incident, he does bring some studies into his article, mostly through a review paper: "The Girl Who Cried Pain: A Bias Against Women in the Treatment of Pain" (PDF).

It's a very interesting and troubling topic. The comments section of the article is about what you'd expect--a running battle between feminists and their detractors. Though this phenomenon seems to be a clear-cut example of sexism, it could be that it's just a manifestation of institutional ignorance on the part of the medical profession.

I'm fairly certain that if you research, you will easily find studies showing that across the board, women's health concerns are more likely to be dismissed. Pain is just another part of a bigger issue.

My recent knee injury has highlighted for me the huge difference between treatment of acute pain and the treatment of chronic pain. It is all I can do to get any treatment of my chronic pain so that I can do silly things like keep working. However, after my knee injury, doctors were practically throwing pain medications at me. It rather felt like my acute pain was being taken much more seriously than my chronic pain.

I've been noticing the same thing as well. My chronic migraines have been coming back recently to where I will have one at least twice a week. I keep telling my doctor about it but she brushes it off as stress from school and that I should just get more sleep.

[Velma]

Just recently, I listened to an interview on the radio with the author of "How Doctors Take Women's Pain Less Seriously". Though he's describing a single (torturous) incident, he does bring some studies into his article, mostly through a review paper: "The Girl Who Cried Pain: A Bias Against Women in the Treatment of Pain" (PDF).

It's a very interesting and troubling topic. The comments section of the article is about what you'd expect--a running battle between feminists and their detractors. Though this phenomenon seems to be a clear-cut example of sexism, it could be that it's just a manifestation of institutional ignorance on the part of the medical profession.

I'm fairly certain that if you research, you will easily find studies showing that across the board, women's health concerns are more likely to be dismissed. Pain is just another part of a bigger issue.

My recent knee injury has highlighted for me the huge difference between treatment of acute pain and the treatment of chronic pain. It is all I can do to get any treatment of my chronic pain so that I can do silly things like keep working. However, after my knee injury, doctors were practically throwing pain medications at me. It rather felt like my acute pain was being taken much more seriously than my chronic pain.

I've been noticing the same thing as well. My chronic migraines have been coming back recently to where I will have one at least twice a week. I keep telling my doctor about it but she brushes it off as stress from school and that I should just get more sleep.

Not uncommon for women to be told their health problems are due to stress, lack of sleep, weight, or any number of things.

That is not good about your migraines. There are so many medications now that can help with those.

[Crow]

I've been noticing the same thing as well. My chronic migraines have been coming back recently to where I will have one at least twice a week. I keep telling my doctor about it but she brushes it off as stress from school and that I should just get more sleep.

Do you know what kind of migraine it is?

If not next time it comes on try pressing the small muscles at the base of your skull where it joins to the kneck (see image). If that eases the pain it is tension migraine and muscular related which can be stress related. I use to go to a physio for mine on the NHS but never really did anything, since I started Headspace I haven't even had a twinge so very welcome unexpected side effect, so it was definitely stress related.

Obviously a doctor is going to be much better but seeing as they aren't doing anything it is definitely worth trying a few different things to find the root cause as I know how bad they can be.

[Buddy]

I can't tell you what kind they are, just that when it gets bad the only thing that helps is taking a Xanax and sleeping, hence why it is such a problem for school.