The Bias behind Your Undiagnosed Chronic Pain | Sheetal DeCaria | TED
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- čas přidán 19. 09. 2022
- While doctors take an oath to do no harm, there's a good chance their unconscious biases can seep into how seriously they take your pain. Physician Sheetal DeCaria explains how perception impacts the medical care and treatment of chronic pain -- and calls for health care professionals to check in with how they do their patient checkups.
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This made me cry, thank you Dr. DeCaria. I've spent 32 years sick and the past four years in severe pain. I have had to aggressively advocate for myself, I've had hip surgery, steroid injections, I've seen 12 physical therapists and at least 20 doctors in the last two years alone, and none of them could help, or even bothered to look at me holistically as a whole human. It wasn't until I shared all of my symptoms on social media that women came together and found a diagnosis for me based on their own experiences with chronic pain and illness. It took a village of regular people to help me and it shouldn't have to.
Can I ask what you ended up realizing your diagnosis was?
The doctors here are NOT READY to hear about MY PAIN. I had one specialist thumping the table with his fist saying that he didn't know how to help. The message was ...'just go away and live with it'. Then he charged me $380! I've suffered chronic headaches for over 25 years. The medical establishment does nothing but blame the patients if their treatment regimes don't work. I could weep. I just want a sensible, balanced approach with a soupcon of empathy.
Have you tried Botox?
I've gotten "I'm not really sure why they sent you to me" and not a single touch or eval with "we'll just do an injection," but I've also gotten, "I know you're in pain, and it's real, but I can't find anything that's causing it that I can fix" or "at this point I've done all I can do." Telling me to keep fighting and get it figured out. I can understand if they're frustrated because they don't know how to help us! That's their job and that's what they want to do but they're not equipped to do so! Because pain is different than an obvious broken body part that can be fixed. Then there's those sucky doctors who just want to check the box of "fixed" who have an ego and can't handle you telling them they're wrong and it's not fixed.
Look into TMS mind-body syndrome? Many people have cured themselves of chronic headaches and migraine through this approach.
I'm sorry I'm in the same boat and have been blown off by many doctors. I had one years ago pull me in is office after his nurse practitioner talked to me for 5 minutes and told me that " I was young and healthy, he had patience that were really sick and I should be grateful to go live my life"
I'm crying because after 4 years or progressive, moderate to severe chronic pain and countless medical visits - It can make you feel like there is no point of living, esp when the people who are supposed to help you, don't believe you or take you serious enough. you wonder where to go, what to do. I've never felt more seen than when other undiagnosed disabled people speak up. thank you for speaking about this, and bringing awareness. we need it.
35 years for me. It’s sad that chronic pain treatment is getting worse, not better.
I am so sorry that you have gone through this unfairness of your life, God bless you!
This is so profound... I am grateful to have found this talk for the validation of the atrocities that I have endured through my Lupus journey and the dismissal that I have experienced at the hands of my so called doctors.
Pain is one of the medical issues like disability - you never really appreciate it until you personally own it.
Exhausted & angry, I trust very few doctors now. I have been struggling to cure my own pain & exhaustion for about 7 years. Sometimes unable to dress myself or think clearly, I finally couldn’t stand the cost & effort needed to go in and have my intelligence and integrity abused. The gaslighting of older women is criminal. I have excellent insurance & an active, professional and fitness history. But something about a woman over 50 says lazy, crazy, stupid, & hormonal. I had to fight to get beyond basic bloods & radiology. Slowly, I am rebounding - but so many years, and opportunities, lost.
The Golden Girls made most of these points decades ago with Dorothy's chronic fatigue syndrome arc. It's sad that we still have to fight this battle, and that many doctors still haven't learned the lesson.
After a terrible episode of shingles 🙄I had a compulsive pain on my lower right quadrant, appendicitis diagnoses, surgery and promised the pain would go away, 11 days hospitalized, persistent pain, treatments, test, guess work, went home, 11 years later the pain with less intensity and frequency still with me. I'm 73 and told my family that no matter circumstances not to take me to a doctor, hospital or similar.
I have to say, when I thought that the administrative physician was wrong, they where.
In boot camp they said my rash was result of nerves turned out to be scabies.
When told that I really wasn't allergic to penicillin I most definitely am.
When diagnosed with hearing loss I was prescribed steroids I really needed tubes
I have a gunshot wound from 2008 in my upper left armand trust me the pain is extreme like it's yesterday, left me with metal and screws,,, i can tell when it's gonna rain or snow,,, my arm goes numb, still get swollen,, it's not a good feeling,, the combination of Lyrica and oxycodone, give me a break for a lil, sometimes I literally can't move,, pain is disaster!!!!!
What happened that you got shot?
Wow! This needs to blow up, for those of us in chronic pain. 5 years of worsening and growing pain to the point where I couldn’t even pick up my own daughter, laying in bed depressed from pain and not being able to function properly. Doctors never taking a further step to check it out, doctor telling me I have a history of anxiety on records. I have experienced this to the point where I refuse to go to the doctors because of treatment! I know and am aware of my body and have a high pain resistance but sometimes crippled by this!
I took me years to find a doctor that would give me the pain meds I needed for my chronic pain. One the most important thing I learned to get past doctor bias is knowing how to properly use the 1 thru 10 pain charts. You may feel like you are a ten, but believe me, never, ever, list your pain above 6. Anything above that sets off the "they are just seeking drugs" voice in a doctor's head. Instead, verbally explain what you pain feels like and how it affects your day-to-day life. If you still feel you are not being heard, get a new doctor!
I appreciate that someone finally did a video on chronic pain and a subject that seems to be taboo these days. My statement to this general subject is anger and overwhelming disbelief that we as a nation would allow a bias and a manipulating Government to override our common sense and cause America’s citizens to pigeon whole this ailment. Then it comes down to the subject prescribing of pain medicine. What Government has the right to determine the amount necessary for anyone and everyone’s needs? This is insane and why are we allowing it? Every condition or disease, needs, body chemistry, length of use and history is different. We need to grow some courage and say enough is enough and stop going along with this bias and prescribing contract! Every doctor and establishment who has agreed to this, deserves to loose there practice and license, because their oath they took to practice, just became pointless!
Well expressed!
This caught my attention because I live daily with chronic-pain which took years to receive an actual diagnosis because there was more than the one thing causing the pain (an old spinal-fracture, arthritis, & ME/CFS).
Despite being a white-male, I recognise that women & especially women of colour, are short-changed when receiving specialist-care (ironical as healthcare workers are predominantly women!), and the prejudices that exist desperately need to be addressed! As long as people within the profession continue to judge the value of their patients on gender, race, age, or socioeconomic-standing, then they can't honestly swear that they're doing no harm!
Is there any excuse for a "pain management" specialist, after I describe exactly what I'm experiencing, to immediately answer, with no examination, "That's physically impossible."?
I have dealt with chronic severe pain from tumors and cysts. What have I been told? "You need to get pregnant." Yeah, that'll fix it. 😠
Having lived with fibromyalgia for over ten years now this talk got to me. I'm female fat and over fifty therefore my pain is all imaginary according to certain doctors. I'd love to see some people function at the levels of pain I consider normal. And I'd give a limb for one day of no pain at all.
Fibroymalgia, bursitis, and endometriosis - I'm done with doctors and take kratom daily. I hope you might find some relief in looking it up.
@@deedsterdoo1603Me too with everything you named. I tried. Kratom and it did nothing .
I'm so tired of doctors blowing me off and telling me I need to talk to a therapist
I know.i have fibro arthritis knee replacement spinal fusion.and that isn't all of it.take care
A profound presentation and a discussion that needs to be had often and by all healthcare workers.
As a black woman I know this to be true. I recently suffered with abdominal pain for 14 months! I went to the ER several times and was sent home to take Tylenol. I was miserable. I was told it was due to GI issues and prescribed medication that did not stop my pain. Although, I have no history of abusing pain medication, my request was denied every single time I asked. Finally, after months of research I found a physician that diagnosed me the 1st visit! It's a shame and incredibly idiotic to believe we don't feel pain as others do. 💔
what did you get diagnosed with? i also suffer from abdominal pain for 10 months now and they all dimiss me
@@MrKittyKwon I to wonder what and how she got gastro diagnosed. what is it? I take probiotics, Metamucil, a purple pill for acid, gas-x, cut out milk, cheese,
Please tell us what you were diagnosed with
@@sunflowerzelda45 i got sibo diagnosis last week after year and half of pain.
@@MrKittyKwon what is sibo? stand for len.
I'm a 37yo male in Ontario Canada. Broke my back at 25yo. And the drs refuse to help me with pain meds because I'm in the demographic that will become evil addicted.
Have you tried weed? Hashish works for some people and is legal in Canada
Sad to hear this sir and yeah being Canadian who lived in the US years back and heading back someday, the canadian healthcare system is not quality care. Maybe looking into holistic medicine.
Ever tried a Chiropractor. Not only can they rest bones, but they can prescribe pain meds too. If that doesn't help, maybe try acupuncture. Knew a pregnant woman that was not able to take meds but states that acupuncture was the only thing that got her through the pain and nauseousness.
@@nmkone2207 our system here is designed to help after your deathly ill. Not before you become ill. If this pain was life threatening they would treat it.
@@onlyallegra yah we have really good chiropractors here. It really helps when I can afford it. Otherwise I have a solid routine of stretches I do daily. About 8 advil a day and I manage it.
My doctor blew off my foot pain as diabetes, even though I was only pre-diabetic, and the other foot didn't hurt and the pain wasn't in my toes. My foot doctor agreed with me - it was referred pain. Falling on the ice onto my hip had bruised my piriformis muscle. This also turned out to be the source of my hip pain, bursitis (solved with steroids) and back pain (solved with a steroid shot despite the pain doctor claiming it would return as being due to my way of walking). We have to be advocates for ourselves!
We need more Drs like you. Thank you ❤️
Excellent presentation!
Thank you!🙏
It’s happening too me now I’m fighting I’ve had 🧠 disorder with permanent sides affects I feel most drs DNT care
I had my first meeting with a neurosurgeon yesterday. I traveled two hours for a 5-minute consultation - with said consultant NS aggressively reiterating, "I don't buy it, that it's to do with seizures." I had never mentioned seizures. In fact, out of that 5 minutes I probably had 20 seconds. I left confused (I had done my research and almost every video on youtube which I viewed, at such a first consultation, prepare for it to last about an hour.), annoyed, dismissed, and unheard. This video above has helped me hugely to believe there is hope - and hopefully a different consultant. Thank you milles fois.
I appreciate Dr. Decaria's own personal experience with chronic pain and the challenges she faced in receiving a proper diagnosis and treatment. This serves as a powerful reminder of the ethical principles of fairness and justice in healthcare. I agree that by recognizing and addressing systemic biases and barriers, we can work towards a healthcare system that is inclusive, equitable, and prioritizes the well-being and needs of all patients.
I once went to a doctor and he said, "well you're not diagnosed with anything". I said, "that's kind of why I'm here...."
My heart goes out to all of you suffering. If the doctor you go and see has no empathy please go and see another doctor. You need to be validated for what you ate going through. Thank you for this very informative Ted Talk. 👏
Thank you.
Thank you all very much
thank you all very much
Brilliant. Something needs to be done.
I have been trying to find help for 11 years and 2 back surgeries later I'm so much worse than I was before.. I found out myself,it was si joints all along 😭. Now I'm fighting to find a Dr to actually will do what should have been done in the first place
I don't even know where to begin. People actually believe those things about women and black people!? How stupid can someone be? I'm glad someone realized this. Hopefully we all can start to move forward together. Thanks.
I often wonder: do we in chronic pain all have something in common? Ptsd childhood abuse betrayal a hurtful relationship (spouse boss relative etc)
Health anxiety??? I do. This is besides bieng a Type A perfectionist people pleaser…..
Canadian doctors need to watch this and take all of the information and pointers into consideration. We don't have doctors anymore to go to, unfortunately.
Successful people don't become that way overnight. What most people see at a glance- wealth, a great career, purpose-is the result of hard work and hustle over time. I pray that anyone who reads this will be successful in life..
Speaking of in.vesting, I know I am blessed if not I wouldn't have met someone who is as spectacular as Mrs Leo Abigail
Mrs Leo Abigail is a woman of integrity, with $6000 she makes profit of $44000 she's great,
am so happy with Mrs Leo Abigail
What ss appp 👇⤵️
+1639
In Sheetal Decaria's TED Talk "The Bias Behind Your Undiagnosed Chronic Pain," she highlights how gender bias and medical misogyny can lead to chronic pain being dismissed or misdiagnosed in women. As healthcare professionals, it is crucial to recognize and address these biases to ensure that all patients receive equitable and appropriate care. One ethical principle that is particularly relevant here is the principle of justice, which calls for fair distribution of benefits and burdens in society. When gender biases in healthcare lead to women being unfairly burdened with undiagnosed chronic pain or inappropriate treatments, justice is not being served. By raising awareness of these biases and actively working to overcome them, we can strive to provide more just and equitable healthcare for all patients
Chronic pain is a more obvious ailment in our current societies desire for youth and 'perfection'. There's the people who don't have chronic health issues vs people who do have chronic health/pain issues. There is no such thing as perfection for chronic pain sufferers. We're forgotten about because making our life more liveable isn't the stuff of fairytales and romance movies. We just want to live a functional normal life. I didn't realise all my symptoms made sense when I found out my grandmother had Scleroderma. A diagnosis helps but nothing will change the fact that every day is a struggle.
I always have headaches but doctors couldn't diagnostic the source of pain
I do not doubt the biases detailed in this video. What I will say is ALL patients seeking care at a Pain Management practice are treated by their doctors as drug addicts. Guilty before proven innocent. I have had a non-stop migraine for 27+ years and have tried every treatment available. The only relief I have ever received is from opiate pain medicine. And now they refuse to prescribe it, or only prescribe ridiculously inadequate amounts.
When I told my last pain doctor his medicine was ineffective, I made a joke about him forcing me to the black market. He looked at me with a straight face and said, "Well, many patients are doing just that."
There is no compassion or available care for someone with a decades long, uncureable, undiagnosed, chronic pain condition.
I feel as if my doctors wish that I would hurry up and die. And more and more often, I concur.
Check out Dr.Sarno's and Nicole Sachs work... You life will change if you have chronic pain.
This about telling me its my anxiety... No i have anxiety because I haven't slept being in pain.
Doctors over the years, particularly neurologists, have taught me that if I have pain, there's no medical reason for it, it's not doing serious damage, so I have to live with it, ignore it. I know there is a medical reason for many of my problems, but most doctors don't want to look into the research to find it. They just want to use what is cleared for use by clinicians, which can take DECADES. I have a condition that is causing small cutaneous nerves to die, and they don't go quietly. But nobody is going to diagnose it because there's no treatment for it, no cure. I have an autoimmune disease of some sort, but it's slow progressing and has not presented with enough evidence for my rheumatologist to make a diagnosis with her limited diagnostic criteria. I give her credit, though. She's still willing to dig, which is very rare and also why she's got a HUGE patient docket.
❤️❤️❤️
Your comments for the first 2 minutes are crap. While I was living in the USA I got none of that with my Chronic Pain. Every specialist I went to for treatment for my Chronic Pain never listened to what I had to say. They knew what I was going through better than I did. I was nothing more than a cash cow. It’s hard to take what you say with anything other than a grain of salt.
i'm glad you were taken seriously. I'm sorry you feel like you were milked for your money. But you're a dude. You clearly didn't listen to her as she described the difference between how men are believed by doctors versus how women are not believed.
@@adoxartist1258 I think he's saying even the best treatment for chronic pain is poor. This has been my experience as well. Doctors don't seem willing to listen to nuanced symptoms or think scientifically. They just prescribe a standard treatment regardless of its risks.
@@andyb2339 Ah, yes. I can see that. And it's so true. If I misunderstood I do apologize to OP.
I agree wholeheartedly. I'm in Australia incidentally. We blindly follow all YOUR health system rules and advice.
@@adoxartist1258 clear
You clearly didn’t read my comment. I was referring only to the first 2 minutes of her talk. I wasn’t taken seriously by any specialist. As I didn’t fit into a box, I was treated as an inconvenience to them.
🇰🇷Art is the salt of life.
After getting antidepressants and anxiety meds thrown at me, while taking over 15 years to get diagnosed... I'm done. I depend on kratom. I'll only go see a doctor if urgent. It all leads to bankruptcy in America 😮💨
God bless everyone reading this 🙏🏽!
To me God is my Doctor but is progressive I mean not easy because all is in our brain and our brain is more complex than the universe
My opinion
When the theory lose then come Jireh🌻
Probably cuz "Ted Kaczynski Talks" suppressed Russell Targ's talk....and Robert Becker, MD, Electric medicine.....
I just wish we could treat pain naturally instead of pumping chemicals which cause more damage
"Feeling discriminated" is not having to mandatorily turn into reality when scientificly looked at.
Just as "feeling underpayed" does not express any real payment schemes whatsoever, as a lot of quality surveys did show over the decades, alongside the "Scandinavian Paradox" in choice of professions between genders.
So, inventing some kind of "feeling" (4:37) as an argument instead of rational scientific surveys does not really improve her speech I'm afraid. The "feeling discriminated" part might be a good start to look into differences. It keeps being unscientific and subjective without further thorough analysis, though.
It ain't "the" reality, it is just everybody's own reality.
I refuse being forced to live in another person's reality and be called "biased" or the miso-thingy if I don't scrap my own for theirs.
They don't want to scrap their's for mine either, do they?
Anxiety medication randomly given for unspecific pains instead of pain-medication is a problem of our society's anxious relation with and ideologically rejecting of "addictive" substances alongside substances helping with self reflexion and a deeper understanding of our selves. It is a problem every success-oriented "meritocracy" will experience once it starts to denigrate and lastly kill every other aspect of "society".
Can you make a video explaining how beginners can make huge profit within a short period of time? I mean i was at a seminar and the host spoke about making well over $880,000 within 4months of investing $150,000 i just need to know how
@Jane Foster this is great. i've always been told that investing with an expert has it advantage but i have no idea how to find one. so how do i reach him please?
I wonder how often she recommends fasting and the keto diet.
Our Western diet is so inflammatory, most of your aches and pains come from that.
I went from feeling like a 75-year-old football player to feeling 19 again after keto and intermittent fasting.
Never underestimate how bad your diet is for you
If you're an adult that hasn't eaten candy in a while picture sitting down and eating a half a bucket of Halloween candy and how terrible you would feel.
Believe it or not your diet is doing the exact same thing to you, you just don't realize it cuz you feel it everyday.
Go on a keto diet with mostly meat as meat is the least inflammatory of the foods.
Guarantee you 90% of your chronic pain goes away unless of course your chronic pain is from like an actual blown out knee. I just mean a general malease
Carnivore has been life changing for me. I still have chronic pain, but it's a lot more manageable. I'd add look up some of the physical therapists on CZcams and search for videos on where you're hurting. Even if you've been to a physical therapist before, look them up. A person might just find themselves surprised and very helped on that front, too.
@@ApAcVideoWatcher thank God I can take care of my own body and don't need a therapist.
I have myself been a therapist for 22 years and I specialize in sports injuries and scoliosis
I have a baseball, a softball, and a Chicago softball
With those three sizes I can basically get everything on my own body by laying over a ball
I also bought the max care xpc 8000 massage gun it's got quite a bit of power but yet quiet enough that you can watch TV while you work on someone or yourself obviously
So yes I agree with you between the dieting and fasting, and figuring out how to work on my own body because I can't put my elbow in my own back.
Yes diet can help, but it's not safe to assume that "most" problems come from that. I used to think that way too. Now I live with chronic pain while having been on an anti-inflammatory diet for over a year, and having tried several elimination diets. I do feel better on the right diet, but not enough that kept me from completely changing my career path and quitting all my hobbies because the pain was too much.
@@Bozemanjustin Thank you for mentioning the name of the massager you use, Justin. Something strong, but quiet sounds lovely. I always balked at the balls. I now use a racketball in a sock quite a lot. Laying on a pool noodle has been wondrous for me, too. Shockingly so. I hope you're able to get and keep yourself out of pain, and you continue to help others get out of pain. Until we experience or have first hand knowledge of someone who has, I don't think we're able to grasp what so many small things can compound into over time and so many of are never shown what it is we need to do or may not even know what it is we've done in the first place. Hopefully the more we're exposed to information, the more we'll learn, and the better we'll get. Stay positive! 🦋
lol kind of ironic that her pain came from stress xD
And imbalance, and inflammation from a food intolerance. Do you listen?
Most doctors do not follow their own they could give a s*** less
Are these mis-diagnosis situations also correlated with female doctors providing same? Feels like a woke-crusade to me and I can’t buy into it despite the obvious truth around bias which is sadly inevitable. And by the way, I have had chronic pain for the last 20 years so I can get quite heated on that particular topic. So I am, ironically, inflamed by this talk.
I know my experience is only anecdotal but female doctors have also completely blown me off. Nearly every one has in some way or another. Some other pain patients I associate with specifically avoid female doctors, especially ones who have given birth, because the measurement of their pain became "competitive."
Chronic pain treatment healthcare is severely lacking period. Why are you talking as if men like myself get such better care? More likely to be prescribed painkillers? Is that seriously much more useful? What about all the women and minority doctors that I see? Are they biased too?
On a plus side I have dissociation to rely on, next stop multiple personalities.
Bias works both ways.... 2:33 in what country? By doctors of what racial or ethnic background? oops did we have a little bias in there?
lol she is in fact explaining everyones doctor woes, they want your money...few want to help...welcome to humanity
I unsubscribed to Ted today because of the explicit racist and sexist remarks expressed in this video.
Typical 🤦
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