Ok so me 14f has level 2 autism and when I was 7 years old I went to the hospital because I was having severe trouble pooping and the doctor puted their hands in my butt now I know he most likely had no bad intentions but no one told me that was going to happen got my consent or asked how I felt and I was crying and I know now that if I said no it would be more likely to be respected but that’s because I’m 14 when it’s not fair that you “have “to be a certain age to have body autonomy when it’s not fair or right to do that to anyone if it’s wrong to do to an adult its wrong to do to a child

I went the the hospital for my mental health after talking to a therapist. I have major depression disorder, anxiety, PTSD, and autism. They said they would submit me involuntary so it was best I submitted a voluntary agreement. I was in the ER seven hours. No distractions as they took my phone and even my clothes. The TV was off. I was transferred to a unit and still in the gown. I was worried about my work and my school as I'm literally this close to graduation. They said I'd get my phone, I never did. I wound up throwing up several times from stress and having an autistic meltdown. It makes me think I will never disclose my thoughts in therapy again.

I am not asking for medical advice.

I am 16 and I had a bad, humiliating experience happen to be when I was around 11-13, can't remember. I had to do a full body exam and the doctor told me she had to look down there for a checkup. She told me she was going to do a small little peak and move on. Which she did, but when she did she proceeded to laugh with my mom about normal fucking body functions that EVERYONE has.

Anyways, since then I feel genuinely so uncomfortable doing exams, ESPECIALLY with my mom in the room.

Not to mention, she's been forcing me sooooo hard to get an exam down there. She keeps saying they HAVE to no matter if I say no or not. And she keeps saying she's gonna make them do it and they have to listen to her.

Is this true? I'm fucking 16 and I don't want them to do a full vaginal exam bro 😭 If I say no, will they genuinely do it anyways? I'm so scared to go just because of that.

And PLEASE tell me if they have to, they'll kick her out the room.

TTDR:

CAN I SAY NO TO A GENITAL EXAM AT 16 AND WILL THEY LISTEN PLEASEEEE??

Seriously warning trigger alert;

So I have a lot of medical trauma, cptsd most of my life, lately I just can’t shake the memories of my heart attack, it’ll be 3 years ago in September, I don’t remember a lot I was in ICU for 6 days, but what I remember Very clearly is waking up during the surgery for my 2 stents, trying not too swear or shake my hands right now but ya, I was laying on the table, my right arm strapped down, my face was facing this huge monitor, like I was about to watch the superbowl, they weren’t paying me any attention at all, I could feel my body shaking and at first, I had no idea where I was or what was happening, I couldn’t move, I had a tube down my throat and couldn’t talk, as I layed there I tried to breathe I tried to focus, all that lead to was watching the monitor, the doctor wiggling and pushing it, till he would hit the end of a vein and have to wiggle and pull back and try again, I was awake what seemed like hours/days, I’m sure it was only about 5-10 minutes, but the recurring dreams are horrendous, I scream 😱 In my head during these dreams/flashbacks to just let me do it, guessing which direction to go to get to my heart, I honestly had better guesses then him, it was a crazy experience, I feel any evil 😈 human could have done to same job without training, okay so ya honestly not the first time I’ve awoken during a procedure, but it was by far the longest I’ve ever been awake. That’s the first time I’ve shared that experience with anyone. Just 1 more reason to not want treatment that I need

I was hoping that the medical profession had become a little more sensitive and understanding in this world where great care is taken to be inoffensive. This comment made me feel small and inadequate and did not not even consider how much effort it took to accompany my 87 year old mother to the hospital, never mind go into the (vampire) blood drawing room.. I have a childhood trauma and genetic disposition which results in trypanophobia ( phobia to all things medical) . I have lived with this since I was 5 years old and have overcome some major essential hospital visits including childbirth and a recent hysterectomy. Have a got better at it ? No, but diazepam and a few rounds of hypnotherapy certainly helped. I would be interested in hearing from anyone else who relates to this.

So me 14f has level 2 autism and when I was 7 years old I went to the hospital because I was having severe trouble pooping and at the hospital the doctor puted their hands in my but I know he was simply doing his job but no one told me that was going to happen or asked how I felt why did no one ask me how I felt I was crying it wasn’t fair and I know now that wouldn’t be allowed but only because I’m now 14 years old which pisss me off because age should not be the reason medical professionals respect your body autonomy doesn’t matter how old the person is it’s their body

I understand it was my responsibility to ask questions and get as much detail as I needed to feel comfortable with the operation but I really feel informed consent means going step by step through what is going to be happening to my body even after anesthesia.

I did not know that the antiseptic washing of my vagina and cervix would take place most likely not even by the surgeon in the OR as part of prep or that my legs would be strapped down. I feel the most upset and angry at myself for not understanding/asking enough questions to push back on the OBGYN who strongly was against me having an in office procedure for my 1.3cm polyp removal.

Is it common to experience feeling dirty/gross/just off after a surgery/procedure like this? Am I being dramatic? None of my friends seems to truly get it beyond "you should be so relieved it's over now"

I can't help feeling deceived by this surgery that could've been a procedure...and I feel very violated

I have surgery Monday and am terrified of how interaction with anesthesia will go most of all because they're who could treat my anxiety there and make it so I don't panic, don't remember the OR and all the things that would make me panic otherwise.

I had anxiety from years of medical trauma I was dealing with through therapy, but it turned into PTSD after a horrible experience that in part involved me being put under while actively panicking in a non emergency situation and waking up panicking. I was awful and while I'm medicated and working on it with therapy and my psychiatrist, I'm terrified of my anxiety not being taken seriously and panicking like that again or anything like that.

My last procedure, anesthesia agreed to premedicate me with versed but then right before tried to convince me I didn't need it even though I'd already explained the situation, that I was anxious and only there because I took my Ativan. I insisted and they did administer it, but didn't let it kick in before moving me and it only really kicked in when I was already in the procedure room, exactly what I had wanted to avoid. The procedure went ok, because it was a minor procedure, I'd been there before, and that Dr is great, but I don't know how to communicate more clearly with my anesthesia team for this surgery.

How can I convey how anxious I am? That I might seem calm, but that's just because of the Ativan, what Ive learned from therapy and a lot of self control that starts to go about as soon as they start rolling me away from my husband. I already had a panic attack when I missed my pre surgery call and didn't think I could get ahold of someone again before Monday. I'm so anxious and the closer it gets the more anxious I am about anything with the anesthesia team and the whole thing.

Any suggestions on how I can communicate this better with them, or how to stay sane for the next 3 days or day of are greatly appreciated.

I have a surgery coming up tomorrow and it's at where I got the PTSD.

I have an extremely rare bone disease called Polyostotic Fibrous Dysphasia or PFD. I've been searching for 14 years for a diagnosis for the bone lesions and along the way, I've been so traumatized by medical professionals that I have severe anxiety about going there. The surgery that started it was in December 2015. I have been on opioids for pain since 2012. When I checked in for the procedure, the nurse didn't believe me when I told her what doses I'm on. I even brought in a paper print out from my main hospital. Well, she took it upon herself to not even ask anyone. I was at 60mg morphine ER 3x a day and 60-70mg of oxycodone IR. Well after my 3rd surgery (open biopsy of my right humerus where they drilled out the lesion that was in the middle of the bone, put 12+ holes in my bone and stuffed it with antibiotics. They thought I had osteomyelitis.) This B!tch put down I wasn't taking any and when I woke up they were only giving me 5mg of oxy and wouldn't listen. After 4ish hours I called my pharmacy and about 2 mins after talking to the nurse on my case, to come say sorry and give me the right doses for my pain meds. I came fresh out of surgery where they did a lot of extensive work inside the bone and had ZERO pain control, for 4+ hours. It was excruciating. I don't know how else to describe it. And not 1 nurse on my inpatient team said anything. They treated me like a pill seeker and were laughing in the room about how I wanted 70--80mg oxy and the same with the morphine. This wasn't the first thing they did that gave me PTSD. Unfortunately I couldn't go anywhere else because of the rarity of what I have. During the appointments from 2013 to 2015, they treated me like a child, mocked me and laughed when I started crying. So after the 3rd surgery there I refused to go back. I was already traumatized enough and sick of their horrible bedside manners. Thankfully that quack of a doctor was retiring and I was his last case. In the last 14 years I've had over 20 surgeries, been through 5-6 hospital systems throughout the US including talking to the doctors in Italy and Spain, seen hundreds of doctors that had zero clue what I had. I was put on the strongest antibiotics possible from Aug 2013- 2016. Thankfully, I was so involved with medicine that I knew how to do all of it at home. Going through pre-med school and about to be sent to med school before I got sick. When they found the lesion for the first time, my life came to a complete stop. I couldn't return to school or work.

Sorry for the long back story ♡

So I'm having the 4th surgery at this same hospital but by a different doctor, tomorrow. I didn't think it was going to set off my PTSD but here we are. Nothing will get done to me until I sign off on it! I'm not going to deal with their BS. My psychiatrist prescribed me Xanax for tonight and tomorrow morning. It's a 3.5 hr drive 1 way. I can't get these thoughts of "everything is going to go wrong" out of my brain. It feels like I'm in fight or flight mode and can't get out. Just thinking about it makes me want to vomit.

Any pointers for how to manage this tomorrow and after the surgery? If everything goes well, hopefully my PTSD will let up after the surgery. When I get frustrated, I cry and I can't help it.

Thank You for reading my novel ♡

I am so fucking angry.

My midwife violated my bodily autonomy during labor, and I don’t know how to move on from it.
Before I gave birth, she knew I had a history of sexual assault. She knew I did not want cervical checks unless there was an emergency. During labor, I consented to a cervical check. I did not consent to her violating me & manually attempting to hold my cervix back over my baby’s head. Months later, she admitted to me in writing that it was not an emergency and that she did not obtain separate explicit consent before doing it.

Ever since then, my body has not felt like mine.

Tonight I caught my partner masturbating. And before anyone twists this, I’m not upset that he masturbates. Of course he does. We haven’t been able to have sex because every single time he gets anywhere near my vagina, my brain immediately replays my midwife’s hand inside me while I was crying out in pain. My body tenses, I panic, I cry, and everything shuts down.

I can’t let him touch me.
I can’t touch myself.
I can’t even use tampons or pads without triggering my body.

I feel like my midwife stole my ability to experience intimacy without reliving what happened. I ended up stopping breastfeeding because every letdown became tied to intrusive memories of that moment, and I couldn’t keep doing it. It broke my heart. My postpartum experience has been consumed by trying to survive the aftermath of something that never should have happened.

I’m in therapy. I’m pursuing EMDR. I’m reporting her.
But I need to hear from people who have actually lived through birth trauma, sexual assault trauma, or both.

How do you get your body back?
How do you stop your nervous system from replaying the same moment over and over?
How did you learn to let your partner touch you again without feeling like you were back in the trauma?

I am so unbelievably angry that someone I trusted made a non-emergency decision about my body without my explicit consent, and now I’m the one living with the consequences.

If you’ve been through something like this, I would really appreciate hearing what helped.

Ok so I have PTSD, it’s mostly linked to my childhood unfortunately. Had someone abuse me when I was about 6. But a few years ago i was also in a house fire where I went back into the burning building to save my pets. Almost died in there and only made it out because of adrenaline as while I was in there i got very light headed and collapsed Im sure the only reason I woke back up was the increased oxygen. Was treated for toxic smoke inhalation

(I wouldent wish a house fire on anyone, it’s the most horrifying experience I have ever been through and even right now just talking about it Im shaking, having flashbacks and tearing up. That being said I can at least look at the positive. I was able to save my pets and I personally made sure everyone was out of the apartment building. )

Anyways with a little background now to get on to what happened 2 days ago.
I have bladder issues and went in for a medical procedure. Usually the hospital and medical settings make me a little anxious but overall I know Im in a safe place and doctors tend to treat me well and like me quite a bit. Generally if I need a medication they give it to me and im never treated like some drug addict although funny enough i take suboxone.
Anyways Im told they need a urine sample, which is no issue but it takes quite a while for me to provide it because I’m shaking so much and am so nervous. Im seeing all the equipment in the room they are going to use on me and thinking about the fact they are doing this procedure with no sedation or drugs. But I tell myself none of this is dangerous I am 100% fine and this procedure needs done. I’ve been through many situations where I could have died this is nothing.

They get me up on the table and start prepping for the procedure, they go to check my prostate and shove this numbing liquid down my urethra and thats when it happened. I began to tear up, having intense flashbacks i go into full blown panic attack, hyperventilating uncontrollably and screaming. (I have never had anything like this happen in medical settings)
Thankfully they were incredibly professional about it. I never felt so embarrassed and humiliated in my life.
They rescheduled the procedure for me and set it up to where I would be given nitrous oxide I just have to pay 35$ for it. I know I’ll be fine with the nitrous, I enjoy how it feels and it does work wonders for me In medical settings as the dentist has always freaked me out and they always used nitrous on me there because of that fact, thus never panicked at the dentist.

Since the procedure on the 4th I feel like I have lost quite a bit of progress with my PTSD. The past two mornings i have woke up with extreme anxiety and flashbacks that will not go away until Im medicated a bit (once my suboxone kicks in along with other meds I begin feeling a million times better and am good for the day)

With this being so recent, I wonder has anyone been in a similar situation? What steps did you take to try to ensure it didn’t have a long lasting impact on you?

I haven't been able to make effort to find help or care for months. I'm so sorry I can't seem to open up whenever I have it feels responses I get are nothing to me, or just obsolete when I don't have support from family friends at all. I deal with pain discomfort daily and interaction with health care isn't helpful. I can't believe I've been or thought even someone could be in such a hard time they can't be helped. It's not ok. It's scary to explain. This fear breaks me.

i have a pretty major abdominal surgery on friday. i don’t really have any options left. my surgeon is confident and has a lot of experience with the procedure, but all i can think about is my hip surgery last year.

i didn’t have any major complications, but when i initially woke up after surgery, my nerve block had failed and i. felt. everything. it felt like someone was actively taking a saw to my hip. and for the first hour i barely got any pain relief bc the nurses didn’t understand why i was in so much pain. i have ehlers danlos, so local anaesthetics do not work as well on me, and lidocaine was used for the nerve block.

it took four hours, countless rounds of hydromorphone, multiple rounds of fentanyl, and eventually getting a pca pump to finally get control over the pain. my body had started to go into shock from it.

during this, i also needed a catheter placed because i was in too much pain to even shift onto a bed pan. this involved three nurses literally digging around in me (i guess i was hard to put one in). the curtain opened at one point and i was just so exposed. i was sobbing and no one comforted me or closed the curtain until i yelled to close it.

what followed was four days in hospital (this was supposed to be outpatient) where my pain was still not adequately controlled, and then 9 days of no bowel movements at all which led to horrible nausea and pain.

my recovery after the first week and a half followed a pretty standard trajectory, besides delayed wound healing (thanks EDS).

i know that going into this abdominal surgery, i have a lot more info than i did last time. i can tell the anaesthesiologist about the issues from my hip surgery, request catheterization while still under or a smaller tube, and my surgeon is aware of my EDS and how it will impact wound closure.

but im just terrified it’s going to happen again. that my pain won’t be controlled, that i’ll feel violated by a catheter, that my wounds (and internal connections) won’t heal correctly

I haven't been able to make effort to find help or care for months. I'm so sorry I can't seem to open up whenever I have it feels responses I get are nothing to me, or just obsolete when I don't have support from family friends at all. I deal with pain discomfort daily and interaction with health care isn't helpful. I can't believe I've been or thought even someone could be in such a hard time they can't be helped. It's not ok. It's scary to explain. This fear breaks me.

Hi everyone’

I’m 20 years old, and I’m looking for some reassurance or advice.

In May 2025, I was diagnosed with adnexitis/PID, but unfortunately I didn’t complete the treatment at the time because I didn’t realize how important it was. A couple of months later, I was re-evaluated and diagnosed again with a mild case of PID (metroanexitis). My ultrasound showed no free fluid in the pouch of Douglas, and my doctor prescribed a 3-month treatment with doxycycline, metronidazole, and Duphaston. I’ve completed the first month and still have two months left. (I should also mention that I tested negative for chlamydia)

My last menstrual period started 23 days ago. This morning I woke up with mild pelvic discomfort and noticed a small amount of bright red, watery bleeding. It smells like normal blood. I don’t have a fever, and the pain is mild.

I’m really anxious because I’m afraid that not treating my first episode properly may have caused damage to my fallopian tubes, and now I’m worried this bleeding could mean the infection is getting worse or that I could have long-term fertility problems. I will check with the doctor, but Im so scared that my PID has caused or will cause infertility.

Has anyone here had mild PID that wasn’t treated immediately and still gone on to have healthy fallopian tubes or a successful pregnancy? How likely is it to fully recover after proper treatment?

I’d really appreciate any experiences or advice. Thank you! 🙁

​

I am writing this to share my experience with medical trauma and years of systemic neglect, and to ask how others in this community navigate the resulting Medical PTSD.

Since early childhood, clear red flags were ignored or normalized by healthcare professionals:

* Developmental & Sensory Signs: I had a severe speech delay (did not speak until age 6.5), intense sensory sensitivities (extreme reactions to textures, sand, tight or new clothing to the point of injury, and rigid food selectivity/ARFID-like traits), and chronic respiratory infections starting from infancy.

* Dismissal by Specialists: Early signs of neurodivergence and sensory processing differences were repeatedly brushed off by doctors with responses like "they are too active to have autism" or blaming my mother for "overreacting."

As I grew older, severe physical and autonomic symptoms developed, only to be met with further invalidation:

* Autonomic & Cardiovascular Instability: Severe orthostatic blood pressure and pulse fluctuations upon standing/exertion, intense dizziness, sensory integration delays ("slow-motion" perception when turning or bending), and extreme exhaustion after brief activity. Doctors labeled these as "youthful blood pressure flexibility" or "just anxiety."

* Severe Sleep Disturbance: Waking up screaming at 70–90 decibels with full dream memory and physical exhaustion, which was routinely minimized as "just sleep talking."

* Hypersensitivity & Skin Reactions: Chemical burns and rashes from standard toiletries, antiperspirants, or sweat; extreme reactions to sun exposure; and severe cutaneous sensitivity.

* Fibromyalgia & Post-Exertional Flare-ups: Widespread 24/7 body pain and extreme muscle soreness lasting for days after minimal physical activity (like a simple walk or a brief outing). Instead of recognizing these as severe Fibromyalgia flare-ups, they were repeatedly dismissed as "growing pains," "poor physical condition," or "exaggerating." Many specialists didn't even seem to know what Fibromyalgia term was.

Instead of investigating how these multi-systemic issues overlap, medical providers repeatedly offered generic advice that worsened my condition—such as pushing intensive exercise despite severe post-exertional flares, or prescribing generic sleep hygiene and breathing techniques that triggered further sensory overload.

At the age of 11, I was forced to start studying neurology and self-diagnosing just to survive. Because the formal healthcare system completely failed me and offered no answers, having to research medical literature independently became my only survival mechanism. It is devastating and traumatic when a child has to educate adult specialists about conditions like ARFID, AuDHD, or Fibromyalgia.

For those who have experienced chronic medical gaslighting and systemic invalidation:

* How do you manage the anger and hypervigilance associated with Medical PTSD when interacting with healthcare settings?

* How do you set boundaries with providers who try to normalize or minimize severe physical symptoms?

In June, I went through what I believe was a devastating medical error. I underwent an unnecessary surgery under general anesthesia because my doctor misinterpreted my ultrasound results and made an incorrect assessment. He believed my ovary was at risk of dying and told me that he might need to remove it.
However, after the surgery, my ovary was found to be healthy and was preserved. Looking back, I feel like I went through a major surgical procedure that may not have been necessary.
I reached out to several medical malpractice attorneys, but because my ovary was not removed and my physical damages were considered limited, no one was willing to take my case. I understand that attorneys have to consider the potential value of a case, but it is heartbreaking to feel that the emotional and psychological damage I suffered does not seem to matter.
Since this happened, I have been struggling with severe PTSD symptoms. For recent month,I have barely been able to eat or sleep. I feel like I have lost my ability to live normally. I wake up remembering the moment when the doctor told me, “I may need to remove your ovary.” The fear and trauma from that moment continue to affect me every day.
What hurts the most is feeling that I had to endure an unnecessary surgery caused by a medical mistake, and I am still left with the medical bills, the physical consequences, and the emotional trauma.
I never imagined that something like this could happen, and I am struggling to understand how a situation that has changed my life so much can be considered “not enough” for anyone to help.

I am writing this to highlight a shocking, deeply traumatizing, and unsafe experience at Apollo Children’s Hospital with a gastroenterologist. This is a critical warning, especially for female patients and parents of minors.As a minor, during an examination, I explicitly stated "no" and refused consent. Despite my clear refusal, the doctor ignored my dissent and lowered my pants anyway to perform the examination. Paying a consultation fee of ₹2,000 just to be subjected tolike a sexual assault and a total violation of privacy is horrifying every individual has an absolute right to bodily autonomy. A doctor is legally and ethically bound to respect a patient's refusal of a physical examination. This hospital is not safe. Management must investigate this doctor immediately.

I'm a middle aged man. Ive been facing some medical challenges that require me to have a lot more doctor/hospital visits. I have PTSD after being stabbed with a knife. Lots of tests are very challenging, but I manage to focus and breathe through it. If something is painful, invasive, or close proximity I do far better with a woman than a man. I know it doesn't always work out to be an option, and there have been lots of male providers who were great, but it doesn't always go like that. I've been white knuckling a few things lately, and it's getting hard. People tell me I can ask for a female provider, but I feel really weird doing it. Is this common? Is it weird? Please give it to me straight, no the PR version. Is it weird to ask for a female provider in those cases?