Quote:
The use of "Saying, "Nobody gonna touch me there!" is quite immature" and "is simply hiding your head in the sand." are both shaming statements. I didn't feel shame, it just got my hackles up. Besides, it's hardly immature to say I get to decide who touches my genitals, and who doesn't. It is my right to decide such things.
Originally posted by
P'Gell
More than just cervical cancer or ovarian cysts are checked for during a yearly or every other year pelvic exam. Ultrasounds are very expensive and as some internal abnormalities are similar in tissue density to normal tissue, things can be missed.
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More than just cervical cancer or ovarian cysts are checked for during a yearly or every other year pelvic exam. Ultrasounds are very expensive and as some internal abnormalities are similar in tissue density to normal tissue, things can be missed. Ultra sound doesn't catch everything. I know of NO doctor or nurse that would substitute a simply a CSA and an ultra sound for a full physical exam.
One can tell things from many points in palpating organs, skin tone, even the way the patient expresses herself. There's more to it than just catching one or two diseases. It's for total sexual, urinary and lower intestinal health.
There are also issues that effect fertility that can effect total health, and need to be addressed, even if one will never want to reproduce. There is more to the word "fertility" than simply wanting to have babies. Things that cause infertility usually, almost always effect total body health and need to be addressed. I also don't know of any competent doctor that will do a tubal ligation without a full pelvic exam first, as well.
This is from WebMD.
A pelvic exam is a way for doctors to look for signs of illness in certain organs in a woman's body. The word "pelvic" refers to the pelvis. The exam is used to look at a woman's:
Vulva (external genital organs)
Uterus (the womb)
Cervix (opening from the vagina to the uterus)
Fallopian tubes (tubes that carry eggs to the womb)
Ovaries (organs that produce eggs)
Bladder (the sac that holds urine)
Rectum (the chamber that connects the colon to the anus)
When Are Pelvic Exams Done?
Pelvic exams are performed:
During a yearly physical exam.
When a woman is pregnant.
When a doctor is checking for an infection (such as chlamydia, vaginosis, trichomoniasis, candida and others).
When a woman is having pain in her pelvic area or low back.
Nothing replaces good old fashioned hands on exams. I know lactation clients who want me to "diagnose and fix" them with a phone conversation with no face to face visit, it simply can't be done. The same goes for most forms of medicine. Seeing, talking to and examining a patient had been done for millenia, and no high tech test or imaging will replace these tools.
A physical exam is a lot less expensive than an ultrasound, and no doctor is going to order an ultrasound of the pelvic area without first palpating the area and doing a full physical exam. At least not where I practice.
No "shame" was used in my post, if you felt shame.... well, I can't really address that. I do think it's less than wise to try to convince others to ignore their health, however. (Maybe everyone else doesn't know as much about these things as you seem to know?) I am sure you will do whatever you feel is right, as a doctor told you "all your arguments were 100% correct." Did they say that physical exams were totally unnecessary? I can't see a competent doctor saying that. I've worked with more than a dozen of them, and know more. They know the value of good hands on, eye to eye medical care.
You may know your body well, many women do. While basic things you do know about may be fine, there are issues you may know nothing about that could easily be missed. But, it's your body....
It's obvious you aren't going to have a pelvic exam, but as it is not only the Standard of Care, but very useful for most women, most will continue to have them. And doctors, NPs and midwives, either with or without a CSA will continue to perform them. less
One can tell things from many points in palpating organs, skin tone, even the way the patient expresses herself. There's more to it than just catching one or two diseases. It's for total sexual, urinary and lower intestinal health.
There are also issues that effect fertility that can effect total health, and need to be addressed, even if one will never want to reproduce. There is more to the word "fertility" than simply wanting to have babies. Things that cause infertility usually, almost always effect total body health and need to be addressed. I also don't know of any competent doctor that will do a tubal ligation without a full pelvic exam first, as well.
This is from WebMD.
A pelvic exam is a way for doctors to look for signs of illness in certain organs in a woman's body. The word "pelvic" refers to the pelvis. The exam is used to look at a woman's:
Vulva (external genital organs)
Uterus (the womb)
Cervix (opening from the vagina to the uterus)
Fallopian tubes (tubes that carry eggs to the womb)
Ovaries (organs that produce eggs)
Bladder (the sac that holds urine)
Rectum (the chamber that connects the colon to the anus)
When Are Pelvic Exams Done?
Pelvic exams are performed:
During a yearly physical exam.
When a woman is pregnant.
When a doctor is checking for an infection (such as chlamydia, vaginosis, trichomoniasis, candida and others).
When a woman is having pain in her pelvic area or low back.
Nothing replaces good old fashioned hands on exams. I know lactation clients who want me to "diagnose and fix" them with a phone conversation with no face to face visit, it simply can't be done. The same goes for most forms of medicine. Seeing, talking to and examining a patient had been done for millenia, and no high tech test or imaging will replace these tools.
A physical exam is a lot less expensive than an ultrasound, and no doctor is going to order an ultrasound of the pelvic area without first palpating the area and doing a full physical exam. At least not where I practice.
No "shame" was used in my post, if you felt shame.... well, I can't really address that. I do think it's less than wise to try to convince others to ignore their health, however. (Maybe everyone else doesn't know as much about these things as you seem to know?) I am sure you will do whatever you feel is right, as a doctor told you "all your arguments were 100% correct." Did they say that physical exams were totally unnecessary? I can't see a competent doctor saying that. I've worked with more than a dozen of them, and know more. They know the value of good hands on, eye to eye medical care.
You may know your body well, many women do. While basic things you do know about may be fine, there are issues you may know nothing about that could easily be missed. But, it's your body....
It's obvious you aren't going to have a pelvic exam, but as it is not only the Standard of Care, but very useful for most women, most will continue to have them. And doctors, NPs and midwives, either with or without a CSA will continue to perform them. less
Having said hackles up also prevented me from admitting that in some instances you're perhaps correct. My problem with pelvic exams is how many fear tactics are used to force women into having them and the fact that they're required to get birth control (which only serves as a deterrent from using birth control for many.) I also have an intense level of disdain for the practice due to the fact that no "respectable doctor" will sterilize someone my age to begin with, according to such "respectable doctors".
I am personally against pelvic exams and my stance isn't likely to change. The doctor I spoke to admitted in my case, I was accurate in the assumptions that I argued. Also, the doctor I spoke to was also of the opinion that we do too many tests and women really only need pelvic exams after 30 without a family history of issues.
Further, I can admit that they should exist because they have their place, but I also think there should be more information out there regarding alternatives and what, exactly, a pelvic exam checks for, because there are people like me out there who will not have them.
In all respect, I would like to know what a pelvic exam is used to diagnose, still. I'm curious since no one has ever told me anything but infections, cancer, cysts, and STDs.
