Navigating Women's Health: A 10-Year Medical Battle | Part 1/2

About this episode

Dr. Cristie Ritz-King shares her ten-year battle with the medical system regarding women's health issues and the importance of self-advocacy.

Welcome to Wonder in the Weeds. In this episode, I am opening up about a deeply personal, ten-year battle with the medical system. Starting in my late thirties, I dealt with severe pain, heavy bleeding, and extreme swelling. Despite staying highly active with spin classes and yoga teacher training, multiple doctors repeatedly dismissed my concerns. They often blamed my weight and told me to simply eat less and move more.Because of my background in health coaching, I internalized this dismissal and blamed myself. My health continued to decline, leading to such severe anemia that I craved nothing but ice chips and pickles. The breaking point finally arrived when my general practitioner noticed my dangerously low hemoglobin levels, which pushed my care team to take my situation seriously. This crisis ultimately led me to agree to a partial hysterectomy. After the procedure, my surgeon validated everything I had been experiencing: I had a massive fibroid and excessive tissue causing my severe symptoms. Tune in to hear why you must always advocate for yourself when the medical system stops listening. Key Takeaways: The danger of medical dismissal: Doctors ignored my severe symptoms…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Cristie Ritz-King

Topics covered

• women's health
• medical dismissal
• self-advocacy
• hysterectomy
• anemia
• health coaching

Keywords

• medical system
• fibroid
• heavy bleeding
• pain
• health decline
• self-blame
• surgical intervention

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