The questions you don’t ask your doctor

by Carolyn Thomas   @HeartSisters  

Let’s say you’re a woman recently diagnosed with heart disease who wants to know if it’s “normal” to feel crushing fatigue every time you take a shower.  Or you’re a woman living with rheumatoid disease who needs advice on which shoes are best for people who suffer severe foot pain like yours. Or you’re a woman diagnosed with breast cancer who is trying to make sense of the new emotional extremes you’re struggling with.

Who you gonna call? Continue reading “The questions you don’t ask your doctor”

“Brave men” and “emotional women”: gender bias and pain

by Carolyn Thomas   @HeartSisters

My little granddaughter Everly Rose is mesmerized by her “owies”. Every bruise, scrape, or even the tiniest scratch inflicted while playing with her kitten, Homie, requires a healing kiss and an equally healing Band-Aid, which can then be proudly pointed out to every stranger we pass on the street. One morning, after I’d had a hard fall while out with my walking group, she carefully examined the dark scab and asked me, very seriously, “Did you cry?” I told her that I’d thought about crying at the time, but then I patted myself all over, realized I wasn’t badly hurt, and so I decided not to cry.

She thought about this explanation for a long while, as if it had never occurred to her that not crying was even an option. Is that because Rosie is a little girl – and not a little boy?  A Swedish study helps to answer that question.(1)    .   Continue reading ““Brave men” and “emotional women”: gender bias and pain”

Start a symptom journal, and solve a mystery

by Carolyn Thomas   @HeartSisters  

I regularly hear from Heart Sisters readers who contact me because they’re having distressing symptoms that might be heart-related, and they want me to help solve the diagnostic mystery. (Please don’t do this, by the way. I’m not a physician so cannot comment on your specific symptoms. That’s all I will be able to tell you if you ask me for a medical opinion). But besides my standard “See your doctor!” advice, there’s one thing I do recommend to readers worried about strange new symptoms, and that is simply to start a Symptom Journal

Here’s how it works:          .       Continue reading “Start a symptom journal, and solve a mystery”

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