Rumbidzai Mushambi: When ‘Just Hormones’ Delays Real Diagnosis
Rumbidzai Mushambi, Medical Laboratory Scientist at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Just Relax. Just Hormones. Just No.
Of the many things that annoy me, someone telling me ‘just’ something is somewhere up there.
Just relax.
Just hormones.
Just give it time.
Just take a painkiller.
Just wait and see.
Belittling my needs if you ask me.
To be honest, women hear this all the time. Not just in life. In doctors’ offices. In hospital rooms. In the quiet moments when they finally work up the courage to say ‘something feels wrong.’
What Happens When You Get Dismissed?
You leave feeling silly.
You stop asking.
You convince yourself it is probably nothing.
You wait.
You get worse.
You go back.
You get dismissed again.
Sometimes it really is just nothing.
Sometimes it really is just hormones or back pain or a cold that will pass.
But sometimes it is not.
Sometimes ‘just hormones’ is endometriosis.
Sometimes ‘just back pain’ is a kidney infection.
Sometimes ‘just exhaustion’ is anaemia or thyroid disease or something that has a name and a treatment.
But you will never know if you keep accepting ‘just.’
The problem is not that healthcare professionals are bad people. Most are not.
The problem is that for generations, women’s pain has been normalised.
Period cramps? Normal.
Pain during sex? Probably anxiety.
Heavy bleeding? Just how it is.
So when you show up saying ‘this does not feel normal,’ the system is trained to hear ‘this is probably fine.’
But you know your body better than anyone. And if something feels wrong, you deserve an answer.
Even if the answer turns out to be ‘nothing serious.’
Even then, you deserve to hear that from someone who actually looked.
Be annoying. Seriously. Ask again.
Demand to be paid attention to. Until you are satisfied. Because you deserve to know. ”
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