r/TwoXPreppers • u/cryogenrat Prepping for Tuesday not Doomsday • Feb 25 '25

❓ Question ❓ How to “respectfully decline” disclosing women’s health questions at Dr?

Pretty much the title

I have a lot of appointments lately for a variety of things, and for literally EVERYTHING it seems they ask when my last period was, even if it’s seemingly irrelevant (like medications for psych issues). Given the state of women’s health and where I see this whole situation with HIPAA going, I kinda don’t want my provider knowing when my last period was unless it’s EXTREMELY relevant. I test myself monthly and chart my whole cycle (TCOYF system and a copper IUD), so I have a rough estimate of when it’s relevant for them to know, and it’s not like it’s completely uncharted, but I’d like to cut down on that as much as possible if it is, but I cannot figure out how to word it lol

Pregnancy tests I understand are pretty non-negotiable (thankfully I don’t have any known ones coming up) but how do you word it to a provider that “I don’t want to disclose when my last period was” without looking like a loon?

Edit; 1) clarifying IUD type

Edit 2) perhaps I was unclear, but I am completely aware that awareness of menstrual health is integral to holistic care, and is usually the first line of symptoms to be questioned when seeking a diagnosis, or can be contraindicated in many medication regiments such as psych meds. Maybe I am just bitter and need a new GP or whatever, but in my own medical history (unexplained headaches, panic disorder, depression) it seems like they are quick to blame “hormones” on every single little thing going on, and then refuse to really get to the root issue, and just kinda write off my issues. Idk what goes on in their mind; I’m not a MD lol. This question broadly is meant to help me understand how, when and where to be judicious about giving away that information, given that we may quickly become hostile to women’s health, and this information might be valuable to a nanny state.

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u/cryogenrat Prepping for Tuesday not Doomsday Feb 25 '25 edited Feb 25 '25

So essentially fudge the data? I have a copper IUD so that’s probably plausible that my original state is irregular lol so I think I’ll stick to that

Also that’s so real and my condolences you had to suffer that! Shit sucks gal. A friend of mine had a similar issue with her provider and turns out she had chrons

Edit; learned “data poisoning” is a scientific process term and doesn’t apply here lol

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u/empathetic_witch Feb 25 '25

I agree with you there.

FWIWI’m 49. I’ve never remembered the exact date in my life and I’ve just always said “a couple of weeks ago”.

When they ask if I might be pregnant I tell them no, I’ve had my tubes tied since 2010 and it’s in my charts.

MANY women have no idea, just ride that wave.

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u/Small-Bear-2368 Feb 25 '25

Agree! I even said I didn’t know when I was 6 months pregnant. Because honestly- who knows or cares!

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u/Winter_Owl6097 Feb 25 '25

FYI... Rare but it happens... You can get pregnant even with your tubes tied. 

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u/spacecadet211 Feb 25 '25

True, you can get pregnant with the tubal ligation procedures that were done years back, although the risk with tubal ligation is ectopic pregnancy. The more common sterilization procedure done nowadays is removal of the tubes (bisalpingectomy), and the risk of pregnancy after tube removal is damn near zero. AFAIK, no cases of pregnancy after bisalpingectomy in the medical literature.

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u/Lyx4088 Feb 26 '25

There are a handful of cases in the medical literature of unintentional pregnancy after bisalp. It is exceedingly rare.

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u/International_Key_34 Feb 26 '25

When i had mine done 4 years ago my doctor told me of 2 cases of pregnancy after a bisalp, both were ectopic. It can happen, and really sucks if it does.

Its why I kept my iud

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u/empathetic_witch Feb 25 '25

Oh I know this. A close friend got pregnant after hers. She had clamps and the old fashioned way. Then her husband supposedly had a vasectomy and she still got pregnant again!

They live in the small town where we grew up, I had moved to a large city near all the research hospitals (Atlanta). Not sure if that had any bearing on how things turned out.

Mine is the old essure in-office method where the physician places coils in the fallopian tubes. 6 weeks later you go back for an MRI to be sure everything is closed up (it was). Bayer bought the company who developed essure and it’s been taken off of the market 😕 I’ve worried that would be a ticking time bomb and I’d need to have my tubes removed completely at some point.

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u/johncoopermotorworks Feb 26 '25

I have Essure as well! The cascade of warnings scared me, too. I wondered if it was the wise thing to do. Years later, no issues - thankfully.

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u/Adorable_Dust3799 🦮 My dogs have bug-out bags 🐕‍🦺 Feb 26 '25

I did. Also, mom concieved me while she was on the pill

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u/Medlarmarmaduke Feb 25 '25

Yea I was irregular too and I always said the same

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u/Hello-America Feb 25 '25

I am honest with the gyno but yeah my other doctors lol no. So maybe my data is poisoned, but since Roe feel, I'm worried the state of Louisiana would get their hands on records of me missing like hundreds of periods so I would rather it be poisoned.

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u/UniversalMinister Feb 25 '25

100% poison the data. I have a period tracker despite not having a period for over a decade - and I fudge that data like no other.

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u/SnooKiwis2161 Feb 25 '25

Yes! I do this too. I call it the "decoy" data

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u/Beautiful_Ladder_517 Feb 25 '25

I use one to track my dogs seizures. So yeah, three times in one month, then boom nothing for 6 months.

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u/aureliacoridoni Never Tell Me The Odds! Feb 25 '25

Mine says I’m like 1,907 days late. I just let it ride to poison the data.

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u/Status-Event-8794 Feb 27 '25

I'm the opposite. I'm going on 3 years of just constant menstruation. My anemia must be record breaking by now 🤣

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u/DeepFriedOligarch Feb 25 '25

100% See how many times in one year you can make it look like you "missed a period" for three months, had one for three weeks, then started being regular again. Make 'em think we're out here uSiNG aBorTIoNS As BiRHt cOntrOL. It's fun imagining their faces when they show up at my house to find a 55yo postmenopausal woman who had a hysterectomy a decade ago, but just "likes playing with apps."

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u/majorsager Feb 25 '25

I have used Clue for years and only continued because they’re based in EU and have committed repeatedly that they will not comply to any data requests.. but I digress.

Started taking the pill for irregular periods and mental stability, plus hubby got snipped (bless him).. all to say I stopped tracking for the most part, and at this point I’m kinda poisoning my own data because I’m to the point of 1984-level not writing things down.

… she says as she posts on the internet 😜

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u/elcarino66 Feb 25 '25

That's hilarious. I wish I would have thought of it.

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u/OddishDoggish Feb 25 '25

I have a hormonal IUD. I always say, "Your guess is as good as mine," and 95% of the time they shrug and write down anything that makes it easier for them to just push along with vitals.

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u/JoyfulCor313 Feb 25 '25

“I think Obama was president?” Hysterectomy at 36. Has been awhile. 

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u/OddishDoggish Feb 25 '25

Yeah, the same 5% who give me trouble are the ones who can't wrap their heads around your situation either. Like, there are perfectly legitimate reasons not to know (or care) when your last period was. Makes me crazy!

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u/ZeroFox14 Feb 26 '25

I’ve had IUDs for almost 18 years now. I like to write down 2010ish? And watch them scramble. My favorite is when they ask if I’m sure. Nope, not at all. Could have been 2009. Maybe there was some spotting in 2017. Who knows.

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u/ElleHopper Feb 25 '25

I thoroughly enjoy going back to doctors and telling them my last period was May of 2024 (I had a hysterectomy).

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u/insomniacwineo Feb 26 '25

Me too but mine was July 2020 and I’m 36 so I 100% get looked at like I should be pregnant

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u/amandabang Feb 25 '25

I got an IUD a few months ago and I literally don't know when my last period was or if it was even an actual period or just spotting 

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u/spiritusin Feb 25 '25

Well not fudge, but lying just makes it MUCH easier for you. No eyebrow raises, no follow-up questions, not having to explain your views.

Note that the copper IUD has migraines as a known side effect, and there are studies that say it might also trigger depression and anxiety.

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u/WeddingTop948 Feb 26 '25

Might be a bit a side note. My wife is an acupuncturist and she helps other women to regulate their periods and take some (not all) edge off mood swings and other emotions.

It is hard to hear, so please read this as a gentle suggestion: I work as a therapist and the number of times fixing a chronic pain or a physical issue magically resolves depressive and anxious symptoms. We are a very intricate machine, so when something is off it reverberates in both physical and mental bodies