Rerality star Vicky Pattison has spoken out about male doctors lacking empathy when she sought help for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).
The 37-year-old spoke about her own experiences as a report by British MPs found women's health concerns have been dismissed due to "medical misogyny", "pervasive stigma" and a lack of education surrounding common conditions.
Pattison has previously revealed she was initially disregarded by medical professionals as having premenstrual syndrome and she only received a diagnosis of PMDD after turning to private care.
The Geordie Shore and I’m A Celebrity star told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: "My experiences when I went to discuss my symptoms were horrendous.
"For years, for five years I was dismissed, I was made to feel ashamed… for the majority of the time it was men. I think they lack an understanding and empathy towards what we’re going through as women, whether that be someone suffering with PMDD, adenomyosis, endometriosis – the list is absolutely endless.
"They are not given the correct, I think, information, education to be able to treat a woman going through what those women are."
She says her condition causes her to suffer from "aches and pains, exhaustion, cramps" as well as mental symptoms such as "crippling anxiety, exhaustion" and "mood swings, your erratic behaviour, feelings of hopelessness, depression, a genuine belief that the world would be a better place without you in it".
Pattison said she is in "a ridiculously privileged position", with financial and family stability, but "there are thousands, if not millions, of people out there, women who aren’t getting the same opportunities I did and this report is a step in the right direction".
Source: Press Association
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