More Than Half of Women Report Feeling Gaslit by Their Doctor Regarding PCOS and IBS: New Study

to raise awareness and support for people affected by PCOS. In an effort to do just that, Mira Care and Tiny Health teamed up to conduct a study on how PCOS and gut health are related. To do so, they surveyed 366 women with PCOS and asked them about their symptoms, when they experience gut problems the most and what their doctors have said. Keep scrolling for more information about the women who experienced medical gaslighting, difficulty in advocating for health care and more about the health conditions.

The relationship between PCOS and gut health  

The Mira Care and Tiny Health study concluded that 94 percent of PCOS patients deal with problems with their gut health, and 69 percent of that group often deals with medium and strong symptoms. This is all caused by a distinct  microbiome in the gut that causes a bacterial imbalance, with the study plainly showing that IBS is more common than people may realize.  

Symptoms of PCOS and gut health can include bloating, diarrhea, constipation, heartburn and extensive gas. According to the study, 72.1 percent reported bloating, 45.6 percent reported having diarrhea, 44 percent said they had excessive gas, 38.3 percent dealt with constipation, 35.2 percent had abdominal cramping and 31.1 percent had acid reflux or heartburn more than once a week.  

Out of that whole group, though, only 42 percent of those women reported taking medication to help deal with their gut health. However, it remains unclear what exactly they took. 

When are women with PCOS more likely to have gut health problems?  

Women with PCOS who participated in the study revealed that they dealt most with symptoms  during their luteal phase — which occurs after ovulation and before the start of their cycle — and on their period.  

Reports Mira Care and Tiny Health: 13.1 percent deal with gut health problems during their period, 0.8 percent had it happen during the follicular phase (when the egg prepares to release), gut health during ovulation affected 2.5 percent of women, 22.1 percent were affected during their luteal phase, and 9.8 percent reported having symptoms during their premenstrual days — which happen just a few days before a woman’s cycle.  

This is the case for every participant, though, as 25.7 percent of women reported not having a clear symptom pattern, and 13.7 percent said they dealt with gut problems over the course of their entire cycle.  

 How doctors reacted to women with PCOS and gut health problems  

Another gut issue that is often found within PCOS patients is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), with 35.4 percent of participants saying that they had either already been diagnosed with IBS or regularly dealt with symptoms.  

 Out of that group, 80 percent said that their IBS was rather strong and painful.  

Many of these women did report going to their doctor to try and seek solace, but over 50 percent of them were either misdiagnosed or gaslit into thinking it wasn’t IBS, and 41.5 percent said that their complaints of pain went ignored by their primary care physicians or medical professionals.  

 For the ones that were correctly diagnosed with IBS, 44.4 percent of them recalled that their doctor's only recommended treatment was to make a lifestyle change, and 31.1 percent of women said that the treatments they were prescribed were not at all effective. It should be additionally noted that women and people of color, in particular, are disproportionately impacted by medical gaslighting and PCOS conditions in the United States. 

Living with PCOS, abdominal pain and unpredictable gut health  

To end the study, Mira Care and Tiny Health asked women how living with PCOS affected them in their day-to-day life. Sixty percent said it made them feel less attractive, 50 percent of them reported not living the way their body looked and 33 percent said they were afraid to talk to their friends and family about it, indicating that there is a direct line between PCOS and mental health.  

They also reported that 57 percent of participants reported decreased productivity as a result of PCOS, and 40 percent of women have had to take days off work to deal with their symptoms.

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