Tips for Advocating in Your Family Doctor's Office

Have you ever gone to your GP, shared all the ways you're feeling off, and then had a lackluster response from them? You're not alone.

Our healthcare system in Ontario is fairly decent for emergencies and acute issues.

It's not that great when it comes to complex and chronic issues, especially conditions that span multiple systems of the body. Many menstrual and hormonal conditions fall in this category.

Even in 2024, menstruators face a lot of barriers in the medical system, from the normalization of period problems to discrimination based on myriad factors like age and appearance. Stereotyping is common as well (see my previous blog post on some of the discrimination PCOS and fat patients experience).

Then there are other structural factors and systemic ones as well. Short appointment times and one-concern-per-visit appointment structures + the shortage of family docs and burnout in the medical system also contribute to sub-optimal care are just a few examples.

Overall wellness and preventive medicine aren't particularly emphasized in conventional care – we have a reactive model of care. Obviously, we have some great practitioners out there! However, some need to be nudged a bit more.

Tips for Navigating Healthcare Appointments

Summarize your concern using quantitative and qualitative info like location, onset, intensity (1-10 scale), duration, frequency (x times per week), what helps, what worsens, etc.
Offer context – your docs don't know what they don't know. Repeat yourself and remind your docs of any relevant information. We all forget things! Let them know if you've experienced this before, have a family history, and/or how your concern is affecting your quality of life.
Go prepared. Write down these things ahead of time so you can succinctly summarize everything without forgetting important details.
If they don't offer further investigation or a referral, then ask them what the next steps are and when your status will be re-evaluated. You can also ask for what their assessment is or if they have a differential diagnosis list.
Gather a team of healthcare professionals who can offer second opinions and/or a well-rounded approach to your care.

Moving Forward

There's a lot more to be said here. Chapter 31 of "The Period Literacy Handbook" holds a lot more info on self-advocacy and other considerations as you navigate your health.

The way things are right now, the onus is on us to be proactive about our health and use our voices to advocate for ourselves. Hopefully, things will look different with fewer people falling through the cracks and more menstruators being able to not have their issues normalized.

I'm accepting new patients on a rolling basis if you don't already have an ND on your healthcare team.

Tips for Advocating in Your Family Doctor's Office