Living with chronic pain comes with many challenges, some of which I expected. I knew that my pain would affect my work, my ability to exercise and my social life, but as a young person dealing with chronic pain for the first time, I wasn’t prepared for how being a young woman would affect my experience within healthcare and with medical professionals.
Ever since I first started experiencing chronic pain as a teenager I have had to deal with disbelieving medical professionals, who dismissed me both for my age and my gender. Young adults, women, LGBTQ+ people, people of colour and more all experience medical discrimination on a regular basis, due to a lack of understanding about chronic pain. When I was a teenager it was medical professionals telling me I was “too young” to be in this much pain, and now as I’ve gotten older I find that some of the healthcare professionals I see do not respect my opinion or experience as a young woman.
This discrimination has led to me having access to medications denied, it has delayed tests and even treatments. As a teenager I had major spinal surgery and in the days afterwards I began experiencing severe pain in one leg. I’d done my research about the surgery and potential complications and I expressed that I thought it was nerve pain, but I was dismissed and everyone blamed the pain on my underlying genetic condition. It wasn’t until 6 months later that I finally managed to convince my team to give me a CT scan, revealing that some of the metal that had been placed during surgery was in fact sitting on a nerve. 9 months after my original surgery I found myself back in the operating theatre to correct the issue. During this time I missed so much school due to the pain, that I simply had to drop out. I can’t help but wonder how things could have turned out differently if my thoughts and opinions had been respected when I first raised concerns.
These experiences stay with you, and for a long time afterwards I did not always seek the help that I needed, out of fear of being ignored or dismissed. Over the years though I’ve come across more and more medical professionals who are understanding and respect my opinion and my experiences. I feel more heard, and as a result I can place more trust in people to give me the help I need.
Here at The Leva Clinic we will always listen to your voice and work with you closely to create the best pain management plan for you. I know for me, working alongside the team has further increased my belief that there are people out there who are passionate about improving the lives of people living with chronic pain.
If you would like to get in touch with Shona you can follow her on twitter, instagram or drop her a message via her website.