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Is there such a specialty as women's health

lkay
0 Recommendations

As I was awake again for the 3rd time last night andtrying to go back to sleep, I started wondering -

Is there a medical specialty developed around women's health? I'm not talking just an ob/gyn, but a doctor that would look at all of our pieces and parts as women?

There are pediatricians for children, geriatric specialists for the elderly (I don't want to have to wait that long to use one of those specialists), and other specialists.

So can anyone tell me if there is such a medical practice and what credentials would I look for with a doctor's name to find someone who can take care of all of me?

I know if anyone knows this answer it will be one of you wise women!

My best,
Laura

PS - the blues are gone for today. Yeah!!!

Explore topics in this discussion:

Cancer Surgery Acid reflux Pregnancy Ovarian cancer Anxiety Angina Menopause Lupus Heart disease Hysterectomy Hormone therapy Anemia Skin cancer Pain Heart attack Depression

12 replies

mamasmurf

My best recommendation would be Dr. Elizabeth Vliet in Texas. I've never been to her clinic, but I have read many of her books and found them to be very helpful and informative. I credit her for helping better understand PCOS and premature ovaian failure. You can visit her website it's www.herplace.com I wish I could afford to go and see her. I do believe she looks at the whole person very extensiviely.
Tina
p.s. glad the blues are gone today. Praying for a good tomorrow and thereafter.
(((((hugs)))))

BarbaraGale

Hi, and the answer is absolutely. Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC has a whole department. Google and ye shall find...

martzj

Hey Laura,

The short answer is.....NO. Women in the US are treated for heart or uterus, but there is a complete disconnect between the two being treated in tandem at this time until a woman become's pregnant and THEN, if her pregnancy is high risk and she is on bed rest for the duration, her heart may be monitored. But only through the birth. After that, she is back on her own again.

Here is what I got when I googled 'women's cardiac and total health specialist' :

Homeland Health Specialists: Cardiovascular Risk Screening Male sex (gender) – Men have a greater risk of heart attack than women do

http://www.homelandhealthspecialists.com/screenings/cardiovascular-risk-scr een.html

What are the major risk factors that can't be changed?
1. Increasing age – About four out of five people who die of coronary heart disease are 65 or older. At older ages, women who have heart attacks are more likely than men are to die from them within a few weeks.

2. Male sex (gender) – Men have a greater risk of heart attack than women do, and they have attacks earlier in life. Even after menopause, when women's death rate from heart disease increases, it's not as great as men's.

#2 Is completely bogus....yes, males can have heart attacks about 5-10 years earlier than women but the rest of that is way off base. Heart attack fatalities are pretty much equal for both genders, women higher actually now. Women have a much harder time surviving it to begin with (44% vs 27% males die in first year)...and research is indicating that younger women (40s and under) have a much lower quality of life after HA for the rest of life. Don't know precisely why at this time. My money is on the battle between the uterus and heart during fertile years....the uterus demands all the best stuff, then flushes it out. Instead of keeping badly needed blood and minerals to rebuild and regroup, women's hearts are in the unique position of struggling to recoup from monthly blood loss. I nearly ended up in ER several times for blood transfusions due to acute anemia....from super heavy, clotty periods all my life. This went unaddressed for 8 years by my ob/gyn until a hemotology oncologist came on board and pressed for partial hysterectomy at 48 (he was truly aghast that she allowed me to stay at such high risk of heart attack from acute anemia). I will always wonder how much of my stamina could have been rebuilt if the uterus had been removed years earlier. It was too little too late and I had to quit working by year 10. The surgeon who saved my life at 41, told me the next morning 'no, you could never survive a pregnancy and your heart cannot support the 30 percent blood flow increase'.

It is my belief that the organ itself may contribute to increased danger of early death after heart attack, lesser quality of life and women should be given the option for hysterectomy if they are ready to let it go.

kwinner

Hi Laura,
I'm in Portland, and I know there are specialty clinics here that deal specifically with women's health. My advice would be call your insurance provider, ask them if there are women's health clinics covered under your plan. Ask your friends about their doctors. Search on the internet for women's health practitioners near you. My personal opinion is it doesn't necessarily have to be a woman to take care of us, 2 of the best docs I have are men and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but I also think that's a personal choice.
Will be praying you find the right person for you to give you the care and inspire the confidence you need!
Hugs,
K

lkay

I'm not necessarily looking for a woman doctor, but a doctor who can look at the problems and struggles of a woman systemically. But of course, who better to do that than another woman? So it probably would be a woman.

I was just wondering if there was a certification for this field - you know, some certain initials after their name and title that would tell me that this doctor has gone the extra distance in training to know women.

The stats you found on men vs women continue to amaze me. They always catch me off guard because I would like to think that women are looked at with the same professionalism as men are handled.

My cardio, gp, and gi docs are all men. I have no specific complaints about any of them but still feel something is missing. I went looking for a dermatologist to do skin cancer screening and the best I could do was get a woman nurse practioner who is through a male run practice. My dentist is a man. My gyno is female, and I have the best checkups with her because I think she really gets it.

I'll look again in my providers network but did not find anything when I initially looked.

Heart felt thanks to you for trying to help me sort this out.
Laura

smokefreeme

Dr. Karen Vrchota in Winona, Mn. also deals with womens health issues. She actually quit her GP practice because insurance wouldn't cover alot of her recommended treatments. I personally don't advocate anyone getting a hysterectomy to battle anemia. I had a hysterectome (complete) and it was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I had it at 40. I was not menopausal yet, the changes that my body went through were worse than the heart attack. In fact, a week after the hysterectomy I had another heart attack. The hormonal changes caused panic attacks, depression, and all kinds of things I was definately not prepared for. At any rate, that is how I became connected with Dr. Vrchota. She got me some hormone therapy through troches when my male Dr.s said as a heart patient I couldn't have hormone therapy. She gave me her home phone # and said I could call her any time day or night. She was awesome. She tends to lean towards holistic medicine and tries natural remidies before taking out the perscription pad. There are more like her around. She actually took my case to a Dr. in Canada because what was going on didn't make sense. I have since been diagnosed with Lupus and Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder but it took alot of time to get that diagnosis. I have also found that Chiropractors can be of great benefit. They tend to lean toward helping a person cope with what they have and finding ways to help the body heal itself. I guess depending on what your main problem is, I might be inclined to try other avenues. Cardiologists are awesome and definately know their stuff but they don't know much else unfortunately. I have found many of them to be arrogant and self centered. If it doesn't make sense to them then it just isn't so. I think many feel women need to "buck up" and quit being such babies. Also, if the problem isn't heart related they don't care. They just send you home to deal with it. Best of luck to you. Time heals alot. A good Dr. - male or female is worth more than money can buy. If I had a choice, I would stick to a GP. They know something about everything and look under alot more stones. Diane

martzj

Hi all,

I meant to include that I chose a partial hysterectomy at age 48...but I had to negotiate for it. I wanted to keep my ovaries because in my case, I felt the odds were pro ovaries possibly offering me a kinder, gentler passage through the perimenopausal years (which I am entering as I turn 53). Drs also would not have prescribed HRT for me so I thought it best to stick with my still regular ovaries. Ovarian cancer is a lesser possibility than another masssive HA. I still have a scary time with sharpening chest pains and shortness of breath, amped anxiety levels during ovulation (I was ovulating when had HA at 41), and still have pms bloating, crankiness, depression....but maybe it is still a less violent transition than total hysterectomy would have been.

Best to everyone,
martzj

Did have to stay super vigilant though. Gyn/surgeon wanted to remove the ovaries. And when I arrived at 5am to the hospital pre-op wing, the nurse asked me 3 times to 'sign this form' allowing permission to remove ovaries. Nope, not happening. I explained that my dr and I had discussed this and agreed already. She said, "well, I'll have to call the gyn to sign off on it". Whatever. Later the dr told me 'your ovaries looked just beautiful, pristine' which made me laugh.

It took a year beyond the surgery for my blood levels to climb safely out of acute anemia range. Acute anemia is a definite risk factor for female heart attack. Something for all of us to keep an eye on.

CJM3

Hi. There is a womens health specialist and or department at the Cleveland Clinic. The doctor that I saw is Dr. Holly Thacker. She is great and is the head of the department.

Good Luck

LubDub

Hi

If you log on to WomenHeart.org they have a listing of women health clinics. Maybe you will find what you are looking for. I was recently informed that the Cleveland Clinic is a great place to go for female heart patients.

Misty

lkay

thanks to all of you for the suggestions. I am back to reconstructing whatever is going on with my health. I went to the er on Sunday with a constant chest pressure and left arm pain that wouldn't stop - it had been going on for 3-4 hours, but was not severe. I'ld rate it a 4 on a scale of 1-10. Anyway, finally decided not to take a chance and went to the er. They kept me overnight even though my ekg was normal, blood enzymes normal, everything was normal. When I had my MI in January all of my symptoms when I first went in to the ER were also normal so this time they decided to be cautious and make sure there was no repeat of the spasm that caused my MI.

I was on nitro for 24+ hours, had all sorts of blood work done, also had a CAT scan looking for aortic disection. The cardio doc and everyone was great. Just REALLY frustrating that they found nothing.

THEN last night while sleeping, at the same time it happens every night for the past 3 months, I wake up at 4:05 (always between 3-4:30 am) with tremendous chest pressure, pain down both arms. It all stops when I get up out of bed. Yes, I hear you all thinking "angina" but nothing shows up on any of my tests so far.

Today I was already scheduled for an EGD with the GI doc to look at acid reflux. Maybe that's the answer? If it is not GI related, back to the cardio checks.

About the only plus thing I can say about this is my cardio doctor is wonderful - continues to be patient, willing to explore all options, and does it with a smile on his face.

My best to you all,
Laura

dynasu

I only wish I could find that Doctor also. Sometimes they look at you like you have two heads or may no head at all.

lkay

Do you know anyone who works in health care ? They often can direct you to the best docs in your area. That is how we found our cardiologist (8 years ago with my husbands CABG and now he is mine as well).

Ask a nurse or your gp - who would you send your mother or sister or daughter to see? How is the bedside manner as well as their medical skills? Are they receptive to new ideas (such as alternative treatments if the standards aren't working)? They work alongside these other doctors and have a good idea about their style of medicine.

If you don't find the right doc at first, keep looking. Remember, like shoes, one size does not fit all. And even when they are the same size, not all shoes are comfortable. Go try on some docs and keep at it until it is the right fit for you.

My best,
Laura

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