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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nYou have probably heard of the gender pay<\/em> gap, but have you heard of the gender pain<\/em> gap? With the ongoing IUD debate, why is female pain still not taken seriously? <\/strong><\/h3>\nNine years after coming off all hormonal contraception medication, I still suffer the side-effects.<\/strong><\/h4>\nRewind back in 2013: My mental headspace was in chaos. Depressed, unmotivated and very, very lonely at Aberystwyth university. That summer I had been hospitalised in Menorca with stroke-like symptoms, dripped up, scanned and panic-ridden. I\u2019d been diagnosed after a series of tests and scans with hemiplegic migraines triggered by the sheer havoc of hormones from jumping through 5 different pills in 2 years: Microgynon, Noramin, Femodene, Marvelon and Cerazette. <\/p>\n
I was assigned a neurologist and juiced up with steroids to attempt to reduce the migraines. I reacted badly to the steroids with hypersensitivity and feeling like I was being strangled. From this experience I had my first panic attacks, which would turn to panic disorder and agoraphobia. <\/p>\n
At the time, I was inspired to write about my issues with the contraceptive pill for my University newspaper, The Courier. You can read the original article here: The Pill: It\u2019s Just Not Meant For Some Women<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/evegreenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/aber2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nIt was only recently when discussing with a friend about what contraceptive\u2019s I use, did I remind myself of the repercussions of the traumatic ordeal I still, to this day, have to deal with, and<\/em> why I became so passionate about writing about women\u2019s health. <\/p>\nI still have hemiplegic migraines every month like clockwork. I still have panic attacks when my hormones go all over the place. <\/p>\n
However this post isn\u2019t about me. It\u2019s about female pain and why we go unlistened to: why there is a gender pain gap. I still believe not enough has been done, 9 years on, to help women who are suffering.<\/p>\n
I feel like a bad feminist <\/strong><\/h3>\nEquality for men and women. For me, feminism is really that simple. It\u2019s not about making men feel bad or weaker. It\u2019s about giving women equal opportunity, equal freedom, equal lack of obstacles purely based on their genitals. <\/p>\n
Back in 1967 the pill was revolutionary for women \u2013 it gave women the choice about having children, freedom to rightfully explore sexuality, and ultimately gave agency over their bodies. It was a huge step in the right direction for equality for men and women. <\/p>\n
Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m not disputing that for millions of women worldwide, the pill is quite literally, a life-saver \u2013 hence why I feel like a bad feminist. However, for me, the problem lies in the fact that not really that much<\/em> has changed with the pill since 1967 (that\u2019s 54 years!). <\/p>\nI took the same pill (Microgynon) in 2011 that my mother was taking 30 years before<\/em> in the 1980\u2019s, and whilst she got on just fine: I certainly did not. <\/p>\nMy sister, a few years back, was offered to go on contraceptive combined pill, Rigevidon\u00a0as her first experience of the contraceptive pill. Having seen the sheer state I was in years before, she was very reluctant to say the least. Not to mention, Rigevidon\u00a0has been called by hundreds of women to be banned<\/a> after causing blood clots and killing women. <\/p>\nShe told her doctor of my experience, to which she was told there was no other option<\/span><\/em> for her until she\u2019d taken Rigevidon long enough to know she didn\u2019t want to be on it. Sound familiar? <\/p>\nMy sister was only young at the time, around the same age I was when I was convinced into taking different pills over and over. As you can imagined I was scared and enraged in equal measure for her. <\/p>\n
Where did the agency go? Why wasn\u2019t she listened to? Why can\u2019t we choose what we put in our bodies to give us the confidence we need? <\/p>\n
Have we gone backwards? \u2018Cause I\u2019m telling you now if my sister was a young man \u2013 she wouldn\u2019t have been given only one choice to take or leave. <\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/evegreenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/JH-DOCTOR-COMPOSITE-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nHealthcare underpinned by patriarchy: female pain is still not taken seriously<\/strong><\/h3>\nWhen you\u2019re not affected by something, it can be really easy to ignore a problem. <\/p>\n
There is a huge amount of sexism in the health industry, underpinned by the patriarchy<\/a>: from female contraception with side effects being overlooked, to a whole industry of unregulated ingredients<\/a> in women\u2019s menstrual products, to the \u201cpain bias\u201d<\/a> of \u201cbrave men\u201d and \u201cemotional women\u201d, where women\u2019s pain is batted away, when men\u2019s pain is taken seriously. <\/p>\nIn the Victorian era women\u2019s illnesses were said to be the result of \u201chysteria\u201d and women were institutionalised rather than treated. This sort of practice happens today, where we\u2019re told our pain is merely perceived, or \u201call in our head\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hence why it takes an average of 6 years in the UK to diagnose conditions like Endometriosis<\/a>, and why women are 50% more likely to be given incorrect diagnosis<\/a> following a heart attack. The British Heart Foundation funded research<\/a> estimates that more than 8,200 women in England and Wales died over a ten-year period because they did not receive equal treatment to men.\u00a0<\/p>\nWe have a mass-produced market for female hormone contraception to stop pregnancy, but carries a huge array of side effects \u2013 and yet the only male alternative is condoms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There have also been scientists looking into longer-acting birth control hormones in a jab given every other month.\u00a0But they\u00a0stopped enrolling men to their phase-two study<\/a>, looking at the safety and effectiveness of the injection, after some of the volunteers reported side-effects, including mood disorders or depression. These side effects many of us know far too well from taking female contraception.<\/p>\nWhen women show up to A&E with abdominal pain, they wait on average 65 minutes while men only wait 49. Women are also 25% less likely to be prescribed pain relief than men.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
For women of colour the situation is even bleaker. Black African women were least likely to receive pain relief during labour, and are also\u00a05 times more likely to die of childbirth<\/a>\u00a0than white women.<\/p>\n
Rewind back in 2013: My mental headspace was in chaos. Depressed, unmotivated and very, very lonely at Aberystwyth university. That summer I had been hospitalised in Menorca with stroke-like symptoms, dripped up, scanned and panic-ridden. I\u2019d been diagnosed after a series of tests and scans with hemiplegic migraines triggered by the sheer havoc of hormones from jumping through 5 different pills in 2 years: Microgynon, Noramin, Femodene, Marvelon and Cerazette. <\/p>\n
I was assigned a neurologist and juiced up with steroids to attempt to reduce the migraines. I reacted badly to the steroids with hypersensitivity and feeling like I was being strangled. From this experience I had my first panic attacks, which would turn to panic disorder and agoraphobia. <\/p>\n
At the time, I was inspired to write about my issues with the contraceptive pill for my University newspaper, The Courier. You can read the original article here: The Pill: It\u2019s Just Not Meant For Some Women<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was only recently when discussing with a friend about what contraceptive\u2019s I use, did I remind myself of the repercussions of the traumatic ordeal I still, to this day, have to deal with, and<\/em> why I became so passionate about writing about women\u2019s health. <\/p>\n I still have hemiplegic migraines every month like clockwork. I still have panic attacks when my hormones go all over the place. <\/p>\n However this post isn\u2019t about me. It\u2019s about female pain and why we go unlistened to: why there is a gender pain gap. I still believe not enough has been done, 9 years on, to help women who are suffering.<\/p>\n Equality for men and women. For me, feminism is really that simple. It\u2019s not about making men feel bad or weaker. It\u2019s about giving women equal opportunity, equal freedom, equal lack of obstacles purely based on their genitals. <\/p>\n Back in 1967 the pill was revolutionary for women \u2013 it gave women the choice about having children, freedom to rightfully explore sexuality, and ultimately gave agency over their bodies. It was a huge step in the right direction for equality for men and women. <\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m not disputing that for millions of women worldwide, the pill is quite literally, a life-saver \u2013 hence why I feel like a bad feminist. However, for me, the problem lies in the fact that not really that much<\/em> has changed with the pill since 1967 (that\u2019s 54 years!). <\/p>\n I took the same pill (Microgynon) in 2011 that my mother was taking 30 years before<\/em> in the 1980\u2019s, and whilst she got on just fine: I certainly did not. <\/p>\n My sister, a few years back, was offered to go on contraceptive combined pill, Rigevidon\u00a0as her first experience of the contraceptive pill. Having seen the sheer state I was in years before, she was very reluctant to say the least. Not to mention, Rigevidon\u00a0has been called by hundreds of women to be banned<\/a> after causing blood clots and killing women. <\/p>\n She told her doctor of my experience, to which she was told there was no other option<\/span><\/em> for her until she\u2019d taken Rigevidon long enough to know she didn\u2019t want to be on it. Sound familiar? <\/p>\n My sister was only young at the time, around the same age I was when I was convinced into taking different pills over and over. As you can imagined I was scared and enraged in equal measure for her. <\/p>\n Where did the agency go? Why wasn\u2019t she listened to? Why can\u2019t we choose what we put in our bodies to give us the confidence we need? <\/p>\n Have we gone backwards? \u2018Cause I\u2019m telling you now if my sister was a young man \u2013 she wouldn\u2019t have been given only one choice to take or leave. <\/p>\n When you\u2019re not affected by something, it can be really easy to ignore a problem. <\/p>\n There is a huge amount of sexism in the health industry, underpinned by the patriarchy<\/a>: from female contraception with side effects being overlooked, to a whole industry of unregulated ingredients<\/a> in women\u2019s menstrual products, to the \u201cpain bias\u201d<\/a> of \u201cbrave men\u201d and \u201cemotional women\u201d, where women\u2019s pain is batted away, when men\u2019s pain is taken seriously. <\/p>\n In the Victorian era women\u2019s illnesses were said to be the result of \u201chysteria\u201d and women were institutionalised rather than treated. This sort of practice happens today, where we\u2019re told our pain is merely perceived, or \u201call in our head\u201d.<\/p>\n Hence why it takes an average of 6 years in the UK to diagnose conditions like Endometriosis<\/a>, and why women are 50% more likely to be given incorrect diagnosis<\/a> following a heart attack. The British Heart Foundation funded research<\/a> estimates that more than 8,200 women in England and Wales died over a ten-year period because they did not receive equal treatment to men.\u00a0<\/p>\n We have a mass-produced market for female hormone contraception to stop pregnancy, but carries a huge array of side effects \u2013 and yet the only male alternative is condoms.\u00a0<\/p>\n There have also been scientists looking into longer-acting birth control hormones in a jab given every other month.\u00a0But they\u00a0stopped enrolling men to their phase-two study<\/a>, looking at the safety and effectiveness of the injection, after some of the volunteers reported side-effects, including mood disorders or depression. These side effects many of us know far too well from taking female contraception.<\/p>\n When women show up to A&E with abdominal pain, they wait on average 65 minutes while men only wait 49. Women are also 25% less likely to be prescribed pain relief than men.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n For women of colour the situation is even bleaker. Black African women were least likely to receive pain relief during labour, and are also\u00a05 times more likely to die of childbirth<\/a>\u00a0than white women.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nI feel like a bad feminist <\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nHealthcare underpinned by patriarchy: female pain is still not taken seriously<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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