#like oh you're only 26 you can't possibly want a hysterectomy

[aceofwands]

it's beyond frustrating

my Mum is a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner and she spent 4 years studying everything from anatomy to pharmacology, as well as hundreds of hours in the student clinic, so that she could safely treat patients with acupuncture and herbal medicine because some of those herbs are toxic at the wrong doses!! (and acupuncture points can also be potentially dangerous, like the ones that can induce labour) so the idea that these forms of medicine are completely safe and side effect free because they're "natural' is just absolute bullshit and any reputable practitioner will absolutely acknowledge that - so the fact that these randos online think they can sell this stuff with zero knowledge and even less sense is genuinely terrifying

I also have endometriosis (I guess you could say it's in remission nowadays) and have been the person trying every wacky thing under the sun that sounded remotely plausible in an attempt to free myself from that hell

I still have a TENS machine around here somewhere that did absolutely nothing to touch the pain, I went gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, cut out entire food groups for months at a time, I saw naturopaths and tried dozens of supplements over the years, I even did vaginal steaming before goop made it cool (it's actually a traditional Korean practice btw, please don't fall into the trap of assuming every traditional form of medicine or other culture's practice is bullshit because some white woman has decided to make it trendy), and I visited the student clinic when my Mum was studying TCM for years - and have them to credit for my endometriosis diagnosis, because after a year of seeing random students, I started seeing one of the students a couple of years further along in her studies than my Mum, who tried everything she could think of to help me - and after 6 months said, okay we should be seeing results by now, and gave me a referral to go and get an ultrasound, which is the first time I had ever even seen the word endometriosis, even though by this point I was in my mid 20s and had been suffering since I was 13

for another few years I tried valiantly to beat it with weekly acupuncture and herbal medicine, including some truly disgusting shit meant to target such a deep seated issue, because I wanted to know that I'd explored every option before resorting to surgery, which I was both afraid of and didn't have the time for, at this time

the surgery is what actually 'cured' the endometriosis, in the end, but even that was something I had to research extensively and fight for myself, as every GP I'd ever seen gave up as soon as I told them I didn't want any hormonal treatment (because once again, I'd tried many in my late teens and always had horrendous side effects including the implant which made me suicidal and the pills that made me vomit non-stop) and most of the surgeons who I talked to cared more about preserving my ability to have children over actually listening to me and what I wanted

desperate people - especially women - who feel fundamentally let down by a medical system that dismisses and ignores their issues at best (and gaslights them and misdiagnoses them at worst!) will naturally be susceptible to people who claim to have answers and solutions - especially when they take a grain of truth (like many women experiencing side effects from hormonal contraception and GPs shrugging in response) and then twist it into some absolute bunk to sell some shit

endometriosis has become common in our awareness now but this is absolutely a new thing, and again, I went for over a decade before I ever heard of it - and believe me I was researching constantly trying to figure out what the fuck was wrong with me, because I knew "it's just bad period pain" couldn't be the explanation, so a lot of the people falling for this stuff don't even necessarily know what's really wrong with them

and it genuinely makes me feel so angry and frustrated, both at these scammers, but also at the fundamentally broken systems that funnel people straight into the arms of scammers - and the online platforms which amplify this vile shit for the sake of their own $$$

I am LUCKY that my Mum's fellow student recognised her own limitations as a practitioner and directed me to get an ultrasound - because the fact that it took me over a decade of increasing pain and suffering before someone actually directed me to the correct diagnostic tool (when every GP I'd ever brought it up with did nothing except offer painkillers or contraceptives to try) is exactly why people end up desperate and willing to try anything

y'all want to see the insane shit the "herbalism" folks on instagram are getting up to