I Want Diabetes Treatment Options Presented Like Contraceptive Options!

Before the close of Women’s History Month, I’m sharing something that has been on my mind for quite some time.

My history with Women’s Health has its fair share of ups and downs, from my first Pap Smear at 20 years old to the one I had last month.

From a woman Gynecologist in Florida who misdiagnosed me with PCOS (after asking about the few chin hairs she saw) and prescribed a medication that caused serve hemorrhaging, to a male Gynecologist in Pennsylvania who did further testing a year later and thoroughly explained my hormone levels were within normal range while reassuring me that obesity, a little facial hair, and irregular cycles were not enough to give that type of diagnosis.

From a male Obstetrician in North Carolina who aggressively told me that I needed to be on birth control because I could have a deformed child as a woman with diabetes (the same week the State of NC awarded a 10 million dollar settlement to a number of Black women who were racially profiled and forcefully sterilized by a State program), to an outstanding woman Obstetrician who saved my life by honoring my request to have Type 1 diabetes antibody testing when no Endocrinologist would run the tests in spite of me asking at every visit for a year and seeking a second opinion. I am forever grateful to the amazing doctors in Women’s Health.

While my experiences with various Women’s Health HCPs have ranged from terrible to terrific, two things that have remained the same over the years: clear visual charts listing my options for contraceptives and a stigma-free atmosphere during and after my selection process. Over the years there have been new developments, like the female condom, that required expanding the chart, but the basic principles remain the same.

Principle 1: Show me all the options, including not using any contraceptives

Principle 2: Explain the effectiveness for each in preventing pregnancy

Principle 3: Give me the opportunity to choose what I feel is best for my body and permission to change my mind

It’s so simple. It’s so clear. It’s so “patient-friendly.”

When my friends and I talk about our choices, most of us have tried at least two forms of birth control because we discovered that we were too busy or forgetful to take a pill daily, so we chose an implant, or we were fed up with medications and used condoms, or we were madly in love and open to the higher possibility of pregnancy that comes along with the rhythm method. We’ve all felt free to choose what’s best for our bodies at a given time and free of judgement from others.

Sadly, this is not a freedom I feel in my diabetes treatment options.

I’m not shown visually appealing charts of all my diabetes treatment options. And even for this blog post, I could only find this unappealing chart without images.