Trust Your Gut (Literally): What My Recent Medical Experience Taught Me

I've talked before about listening to your intuition, advocating for yourself, and not waiting until you're at a breaking point to get help. But last week, I got a refresher course in my own advice.

The Situation

Last week, I went in for an IUD placement. I'd had one before, so I thought I knew what to expect. The procedure itself seemed routine, though I noticed more pain on my left side than I remembered from before.

The next day, I couldn't feel the strings - a red flag. When I got an ultrasound with a colleague, we couldn't clearly visualize the IUD (I have a retroverted uterus, which complicates imaging).

Over the next few days, I had unusual sensations in my abdomen. Not severe pain, not alarming symptoms - just things that didn't feel right. My gut (literally) was trying to tell me something.

Eventually, imaging confirmed what my body had been signaling: the IUD had perforated my uterus and was sitting outside of it, near my colon. I needed laparoscopic surgery to remove it.

What I Did Wrong

Looking back, I can see several moments where I should have advocated for myself more strongly:

1. I didn't confirm the credentials of my provider beforehand, even though I specifically wanted someone with extensive experience due to my previous difficult insertion.
2. I delayed getting a formal ultrasound because I didn't want to reschedule patients.
3. I downplayed my symptoms because they weren't severe or acute.
4. I almost considered working through my discomfort before surgery.

As a physician, I fell into the same traps I warn others about.

The Lessons (Relearned)

1. Honor Your Decisions and Advocate for Yourself

When you've decided what care you need, follow through. Don't let the fear of being "pushy" or "that person" stop you from asking for what you want. I had multiple opportunities to speak up and didn't.

We're allowed to be clear about our needs. We're allowed to ask questions. We're allowed to request specific providers.

2. Listen When Your Gut Speaks

Our gut is highly innervated and communicates with our brain through the vagus nerve. When something isn't right, our gut often signals it first.

Those unusual sensations I felt weren't severe, but they were persistent and abnormal. My body was telling me something was wrong, and I should have listened sooner.

This applies beyond just physical symptoms. How often do we ignore our gut feelings about work situations, relationships, or decisions because we can't logically justify them?

3. Be Willing to Get Help Sooner

As physicians, especially women physicians, we're conditioned to delay seeking help. We compare our suffering to our patients' and think, "I'm not as bad off as they are."

We worry about inconveniencing colleagues or letting patients down. We push through discomfort, fatigue, and warning signs.

I'm grateful my husband recognized when enough was enough and insisted we go to the ER. Sometimes we need that external push to do what we already know we should.

The Broader Picture

This experience reminded me how our healthcare system often fails to support physicians. We're asked to do more with less, to sacrifice our well-being for efficiency, to ignore our own needs for the sake of others.

Women physicians particularly face these pressures, often receiving less consistent support than male colleagues.

Until we start treating ourselves better and insisting on the support we need, nothing will change. We need to put pressure back on systems that are pressuring us.

Moving Forward

I share this story not because it's exceptional, but because it's common. So many of us struggle with these same patterns of people-pleasing, perfectionism, and delayed self-care.

We are works in progress, and that's okay. The important thing is to keep learning, to keep growing, and to keep reminding ourselves that we deserve care too.

How are you honoring your gut feelings today? Where might you need to advocate for yourself more strongly? What help might you need that you've been hesitating to seek?

I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments.