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Author Norman, Abby, author.

Title Ask me about my uterus : a quest to make doctors believe in women's pain / Abby Norman.

Publication Info. New York : Nation Books, 2018.
©2018

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Berlin-Peck Memorial Library - Non Fiction  618.1 NORMAN    Check Shelf
 Bristol, Main Library - Non Fiction  618.1 NORMAN    Check Shelf
 Cheshire Public Library - Adult Department Lower Level  BIOGRAPHY NORMAN    Check Shelf
 Farmington, Main Library - Adult Department  618.1 NOR    Check Shelf
 Manchester, Main Library - Non Fiction  618.1 NORMAN    Check Shelf
 New Britain, Main Library - Non Fiction  618.1 NOR    In Transit
 Newington, Lucy Robbins Welles Library - Adult Department  618.14 NORMAN    Check Shelf
 Wethersfield Public Library - Non Fiction  618.1 NORMAN    Check Shelf
 Windsor Locks Public Library - Adult Department  618.1 NOR    Check Shelf
Edition First edition.
Description xii, 272 pages ; 25 cm
Summary "For any woman who has experienced illness, chronic pain, or endometriosis comes an inspiring memoir advocating for recognition of women's health issues. In the fall of 2010, Abby Norman's strong dancer's body dropped forty pounds and gray hairs began to sprout from her temples. She was repeatedly hospitalized in excruciating pain, but the doctors insisted it was a urinary tract infection and sent her home with antibiotics. Unable to get out of bed, much less attend class, Norman dropped out of college and embarked on what would become a years-long journey to discover what was wrong with her. It wasn't until she took matters into her own hands--securing a job in a hospital and educating herself over lunchtime reading in the medical library--that she found an accurate diagnosis of endometriosis. In Ask Me About My Uterus, Norman describes what it was like to have her pain dismissed, to be told it was all in her head, only to be taken seriously when she was accompanied by a boyfriend who confirmed that her sexual performance was, indeed, compromised. Putting her own trials into a broader historical, sociocultural, and political context, Norman shows that women's bodies have long been the battleground of a never-ending war for power, control, medical knowledge, and truth. It's time to refute the belief that being a woman is a preexisting condition"-- Provided by publisher.
"As patients, we're asked to rate our pain on a scale of one to ten. Yet as any woman who has experienced illness, chronic pain, endometriosis, or childbirth can attest, even if you report a level ten, you'll have to fight hard to have your pain taken seriously. In the fall of 2010, Abby Norman went from a healthy, ambitious college sophomore to an emaciated, wandering girl. Her strong dancer's body dropped forty pounds and gray hairs began to sprout from her temples. For weeks she was repeatedly hospitalized in excruciating pain, but the doctors insisted it was a urinary tract infection and sent her home with antibiotics. Unable to get out of bed, much less attend class, Norman dropped out of school and embarked on what would become a years-long journey to discover what was wrong with her. Along the way she would come to recognize--and repeatedly battle--medicine's systemic gender bias, pushing for treatment and a diagnosis as doctors shrugged at her unusual symptoms. It wasn't until she took matters into her own hands--securing a job in the hospital and educating herself over lunchtime reading in the medical library--that she found an accurate self-diagnosis of endometriosis, one that she had to convince an open-minded doctor to confirm. Here, Norman describes what it was like to have her pain dismissed, to be told it was all in her head, only to be taken seriously when she was accompanied by a boyfriend who confirmed that her sexual performance was, indeed, compromised. Through it all, Norman has become a patient activist, speaking out on behalf of female patients everywhere, and sharing her experiences wherever she can. Her story is a powerful and disturbing reminder of how far we have to go before healthcare can live up to its dictum to "do no harm.""-- Provided by publisher.
Follows the author's years-long journey to discover the cause of her constant pain, which was dismissed by doctors, and explores the broader sociocultural and historical context of the recognition of women's health issues.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [267]-272)
Subject Norman, Abby -- Health.
Endometriosis -- Patients -- Biography.
Endometriosis -- Diagnosis.
Women -- Health and hygiene.
Endometriosis.
Patients.
HEALTH & FITNESS -- Women's Health.
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Personal Memoirs.
HEALTH & FITNESS -- Pain Management.
Genre/Form Autobiographies.
Other Form: Online version: Norman, Abby. Ask me about my uterus. First edition. New York : Nation Books, 2018 9781568585826 (DLC) 2017047259
ISBN 9781568585819
1568585810 hardcover
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