The Pain They Couldn’t See: How Medical Gaslighting Nearly Broke Me

For years, I was trapped in an exhausting cycle of psychiatric appointments and medication trials, believing that feeling unwell daily, was my new normal.

Despite worsening symptoms — fainting, dizziness, tachycardia, fatigue, food sensitivities, exercise intolerance, brain fog and more — doctors were only able to offer ineffective treatments claiming my symptoms were all related to anxiety and depression. I had a psychiatrist tell me that "I just didn't want to get better", leaving me feeling isolated and with a new type of trauma, the fear of looking for help again from a medical professional. 

As I became bed bound and relationships crumbled, I saw how often women were dismissed by healthcare professionals, we are often told to try yoga or turmeric or just lose weight, and these would help our symptoms. Being a brown LGBT woman added more challenges

... doctors made irrelevant inquiries during appointments about my relationships or implied my sexual identity was the root cause of my health issues.

After years of frustration, I found the Rare Disease SA community that led me to compassionate specialists who listened and offered more effective care. I received the diagnoses — Dysautonomia and Myasthenia Gravis. Living with rare diseases challenges you daily but the medications and different treatment options received after the diagnosis helped me achieve more functionality than before.

My journey not only highlights the need for better research, patient advocacy, and affordable treatments regarding rare diseases but also more efforts to combat discrimination, train culturally competent providers, and promote respectful, inclusive healthcare for LGBT patients.