Nurse, heal thyself

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Ever since I got into nursing school 6 months ago, I've gained a lot of health care knowledge from my family. They get Dx'ed with something & I read up on it. Now the patient is me & I am asking for advice about how to be an informed consumer.

I saw a doctor about a chronic, but not dangerous hormone problem. The condition is like PCOS, but more minor. I have irregular periods & often do not ovulate. The doctor wants to put me on the pill. I said I did not want to be put on the pill.

Anyway, she looked at me like I was nuts. She told me that a woman my age (33) wants to and should have her hormones regulated. Always the skeptic, I did a medline search on the complications of amenorrhea. All I found was that amenorrhea is associated with a risk of cervical cancer & osteoporosis. There must be more info out there & I may be looking in the wrong place.

Any pointers for me to do the research on a cost-benefit analysis on using birth control pills to treat secondary amenorrhea. I'm not asking you to be a health care provider for me... I have a doctor, but I a want to be a more informed consumer. Thanks. Hopefully, this experience will make me more sensitive to understanding the wishes of patients/clients.

--Caroline

babynursewannab

669 Posts

Caroline --

First off, "hi!"

It is really hard to give you any advice wo knowing more details about your symptoms. Now, for all of you nurses/students out there, I'm not saying medical advice. ;) I'm just talking about where to look.

Also, if you have run into a personality clash with your doc, perhaps you should consider another doc/pa/np. It can be amazing how different each practioner can be from the other.

Good luck and I'm sure the people on this board will be happy to help in any they (we) can.

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