Horrible Sexist Male GP

[cowlicks]

I was 5w5d yesterday (according to LMP, but I'm pretty regular normally). Woke up to a horrible dizzy feeling and a real lack of energy (I'm no stranger to feeling dizzy but I literally felt like I can't get up). Took a sickie and basically stayed in bed (not sleeping most of the time, hard to have long periods of sleep these days) till late afternoon. Then I went to a GP because I needed a medical certificate for missing work.

First off, he didn't let me say anything. I barely told him "I found out I was pregnant around 2 weeks ago", and for the rest of my visit he insisted I am 2 weeks pregnant. Then I told him I was really dizzy and completely lack energy that morning, and he went into a long speech about how women are more suspectible to dizziness because they don't exercise and go on diets. I then told him I'm quite used to being dizzy but this is nothing I have felt before, and he told me over and over again I look completely fine, that if I weren't feeling fine I wouldn't look healthy.

Oh, and he also told me that at 2 weeks pregnant none of what I was feeling could possibly be pregnancy symptoms, because pregnancy symptoms don't show at 2 weeks.

I'm just so angry at that doctor, and felt so invalidated. I have read on many places that a lot of women have symptoms from 5-6w, and apparently dizziness, having a strange taste in my mouth and loss of apetite is quite a normal symptom. Yet this doctor looked at me like I was having a phantom baby!

Have you ever come across invalidating professionals like this?

 

[purelygemini]

Wow I can't believe that, how ridiculous!! That was not okay for him to talk to you like that and it shows how little he obviously knows about pregnancy. You can start having symptoms from the moment of conception, and they definitely start coming in full force at 5 weeks, especially dizziness!! Dizziness has already been a big symptom for me and I'm a week behind you. What a jerk.

 

[Milalacht]

Aw~ that sounds terrible!
Not only that he seems sexist, but also because he seems to not listen to the things the patient says, which is one elemental thing to do when you want to help them, regardless of the gender of the patient.
depending how bad you find it, perhaps you can also inform the medical association that is responsible for him in that area (do you have something like that in your country?).
I'd definitively chose another GP for the next visit. Good that you found out early on.
If you feel insecure with a male one, perhaps you can find a woman in your area.

 

[cowlicks]

I was just so shocked at how the doctor could go on and on without listening to me (yeah, that speech about women dieting and therefore it's normal to feel dizzy... wait, I'm not on a diet!), and he seemed to have very little common sense as well.

I'm glad it's not an ob/gyn I'm seeing (my first scan is in 3 weeks), and I'm definitely not going back to him again!

 

[o0oCharlieo0o]

He sounds like a completely moron! I would personally seriously consider changing your dr hun! I just wouldn't ever be able to trust his diagnosis after hearing that load of idiocy come out of his mouth!

 

[AndiTTC]

It sounds like you need a new GP...

 

[mummof1]

Switch GPs!! That's ridiculous . Sounds like he was being so insensitive and rude.

 

[DobbyForever]

I think it was just a miscommunication to be honest. If you told him two weeks pregnant versus pregnant then I could see where he would think you were having psychosomatic symptoms. At 2 weeks pregnant, your still around ovulation time. Did you at any point switch over to saying 5 to 6 weeks pregnant? Because I experienced symptoms at late 3 weeks for a pregnancy with hcg out the wazoo and definitely very common to have symptoms start 4-6 weeks. I am sorry you felt invalid, but sometimes people say things the wrong way and it sucks. Nurses make me cry all the time at the lab because they try to be friendly but joke about how often I am in for hcg bloods or urine tests. My point is it totally sucks but I think he sees a lot of people who let their heads play tricks on them or come in with Dr. Google, so when you said 2 weeks pregnant he probably immediately wrote you off and was already thinking about the next thing. Just call back and ask for a second opinion and make sure you say 5 weeks pregnant. Or better yet tell your gyn about the dizziness she can help

 

[marigold91]

Well I've never had a sexist doctor, but when I was pregnant with my first five or six years ago, I was 18. I went to a doctor who basically mocked me for being pregnant so young and made me feel like a horrible person for getting pregnant at such a young age and "ruining my life".

Yeah, I left that office and never came back!

Switch doctors asap! It's not worth the trouble!