A woman who was accused of faking her debilitating illness has died at 33
www.independent.co.uk
Her condition, caused by gene mutations, was blamed baselessly on psychiatric issues

Aston sought medical help after her symptoms—which included severe migraines, abdominal pain, joint dislocations, easy bruising, iron deficiency, fainting, tachycardia, and multiple injuries—began in 2015, per the New Zealand Herald. She was referred to Auckland Hospital, where a doctor accused her of causing her own illness. Because of his accusations, Aston was placed on psychiatric watch. 

Research suggests women are often much more likely to be misdiagnosed than men. A 2009 study of patients with heart disease symptoms found 31.3 per cent of middle-aged women “received a mental health condition as the most certain diagnosis”, compared to just 15.6 per cent of their male counterparts. Additionally, a 2020 study found that as many as 75.2 per cent of patients with endometriosis—a painful disorder that affects the tissue of the uterus—had been misdiagnosed after they started experiencing endometriosis symptoms. Among those women, nearly 50 per cent were told they had a “mental health problem”.

  • Teendawg80085@lemmy.worldEnglish
    32·
    10 months ago

    I started having severe and debilitating chest pain when I was 19. I would have episodes for 10-45 mins, just in the fetal position and not understanding what the issue was. I have always been a competitive athlete and even now, as a 31 year old I am super active. I understand why they didn’t assume it was my heart, but no one cared to actually look into this for me.

    I was told by numerous doctors that it was my anxiety that was causing the chest pain. I even had the principal at the school where I used to teach (even after telling her I was seeing a cardiologist) assume that the chest pain was due to anxiety. It wasn’t until I was 25 when I was finally diagnosed with printzmetal angina.

    Thankfully it’s not life threatening and I have medication to prevent it (daily) and nitroglycerin if I have an attack. It’s only really severe pain more than anything else, but wow, I was starting to think it was all in my head. What kills me about all of this is that my mother was diagnosed with the same condition only a few years earlier and I would tell doctors that and they still denied that I may have been suffering from the same condition.