Reality TV star Vicky Pattinson has spoken of her experience of ‘medical misogyny’, after male doctors dismissed her ‘crippling’ gynaecological symptoms for five years.
The 37-year-old was diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) in 2023 — a severe and debilitating form of premenstrual syndrome that the former I’m A Celebrity winner described as ‘PMS on steroids’.
Despite struggling with ‘horrendous’ symptoms including ‘crippling anxiety, exhaustion and feelings of hopelessness’ she revealed today she was ‘made to feel ashamed’ my medics.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, she explained the condition left her suffering from a constant cycle of despair for 10 days to two weeks of the month which includes suicidal thoughts.
Problems like these may be familiar to many of the 824,000 women in the UK and 4.2 million in the US who suffer with PMDD.
Women with the condition struggle with intense mood swings, anxiety and boiling rage every month, along with the regular physical symptoms.
The range of emotional and physical symptoms typically flare up in the fortnight before a period.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today she said: ‘It can appear differently in different people. Physical symptoms include aches and pains, exhaustion, cramps, breast pain.
Reality TV star Vicky Pattinson told ITV’s Good Morning Britain male doctors dismissed her ‘crippling’ gynaecological symptoms for five years
‘Your mental symptoms are your mood swings, your erratic behaviour and a genuine belief that the world will be a better place without you.’
Although PMDD is common, a lack of awareness among healthcare professionals means some women wait a decade or more for a diagnosis, according to the International Association for Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD).
Pattison added: ‘My experiences when I went in to discuss my symptoms were horrendous. For five years I was dismissed. I was made to feel ashamed. For the majority of time it was men.
‘I think the lack of understanding and empathy towards what we are going through is shocking.
‘We are not given the correct information and education to be able to treat a woman going through what they are.
‘When I was completely dismissed time and time again I was able to go private.’
Pattinson’s complaints come as a damning report revealed women are enduring painful gynaecological conditions due to ‘medical misogyny’ in the NHS.
A stigma around reproductive health issues and a lack of education about common conditions such endometriosis, heavy periods and adenomyosis, is fueling the crisis, the report stated.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, has numerous symptoms both physical such as pain, nausea and fatigue as well as mental health problems like mood swings, relationship problems and even suicidal thoughts
Victims suffer agonising discomfort that ‘interferes with every aspect of their daily lives’, including their education, careers, relationships and fertility, said MPs on the Commons Women and Equalities Committee, which published the report today.
The report shows a lack of research, treatments and specialists, along with the ‘de-prioritisation’ of gynaecological services, has resulted in these waiting lists growing faster than any other specialty.
Meanwhile, women’s symptoms are often ‘normalised’, meaning it can take years to get a diagnosis and care.
Pattinson told the GMB presenters: ‘There are thousands if not millions of people out there who are not getting the same opportunities I did and this report is a step in the right direction.’
It is estimated neglecting women’s health in the workplace costs the UK economy £20billion a year, with some forced to give up their jobs.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says Britain is in the midst of a ‘gynaecology care crisis’, with more than 750,000 women on the waitlist.
About 72 per cent of people with a PMDD diagnosis report thoughts of suicide at some point in their lives, according to IAPMD.
For comparison, in the general population approximately 10 per cent of people report suicidal thoughts in their lifetime.
However, it’s not just emotional and psychological symptoms many women with the condition also struggle with.
Physical symptoms which can also be debilitating and have a disruptive impact on quality of life.
Having a lack of energy, breast tenderness or swelling, pain in muscles or joints, headaches, feeling bloated, changes in appetite such as overeating or having specific food cravings and sleeping irregularly, are all symptoms of PMDD.
The exact causes of PMDD are not fully understood, but researchers believe it may be caused by being very sensitive to changes in hormone levels.
Treatment for PMDD varies from taking antidepressants and the combined contraceptive pill, to therapy and painkillers or even surgery to remove the uterus, mental health charity MIND says.
