Showing posts with label Women's Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Women's Health. Show all posts

August 17, 2009

My Tailbone May Never Be the Same: Part I


I hope not to need a cushion for sitting for the rest of my life.

The medical literature doesn't mention coccygodynia (tailbone pain) until 1726, either women weren't forthcoming about this common problem or men didn't pay attention until then!

Anywho, from my brief literature perusal I've come to discover that it's not uncommon for women to be told that pain in their tailbone is all in their head. The reasons for this are that nothing can be seen on X-ray or MRI, and/or the pain does not improve with standard treatment.

To aid diagnosis, any imaging study should be performed to include views of the patient sitting down. This would seem like a no-brainer, especially since that's when most people complain of discomfort, but it is not a traditional way of looking at things!

Alas, my baby has decided to teeth early. . . I'll discuss more later.

August 12, 2009

Women: Made to Suffer?

I felt nauseated the other day, told a male relative of mine, and all I got was "oh, too bad."

I then realized that the many months of pregnancy-induced vomiting had given the impression that pukey was my baseline status. This bothered me a bit as I began to ponder all the horrible things that could befall me, and garner little or no attention from others, simply because these are 'women problems.'

There's no one to blame. The notion that each pregnancy ends in a medical emergency (i.e. labor and delivery) makes it seems as though women are accustomed to extremes. Add to this the fact that vaginas are known for discharging blood, mucus, and people and it's no wonder many gynecological symptoms/complaints appear unimpressive.

Did you know this is the reason STDs are caught sooner in men? When a woman spots something unusual on her toilet paper, she's more likely to dismiss it. Men, however, when they see something funky coming out of the penis they get it fixed right away because it's not acceptable.

I would like to reclaim my 'baseline status' today. I, Resident Mommy, am not supposed to double over in abdominal pain, puke my guts out, or stain my pants. -Geez, how did I even get to this point in my life where I need to declare such a thing?