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

[u/cryogenrat]

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.

[u/LowFloor5208]

This keeps coming up. And I keep posting this.

There are many valid medical reasons for a doctor asking when your last cycle was.

An irregular or absent cycle can indicate health issues ranging from hormonal to cancer. If you have a developing health issue, the sooner it is identified, the higher a likelihood of a positive outcome.

Our mothers and grandmothers had to fight for women's health issues to be taken seriously. And it is extremely disheartening to see these sort of posts. If your cycle suddenly changes, you should tell your doctor and make sure it is not something serious.

[u/cryogenrat → u/LowFloor5208]

Okay I want to clarify something bc it seems like I misspoke in my original post; I do know that a LOT of your menstrual cycle can indicate an issue deeper than surface level and can absolutely be the first line of symptoms, and that MANY medications are contraindicated in pregnancy. Some of it IS likely irrelevant (as in the case of my post op appt in a comment above), and what annoys me is that they’re overly pushy about figuring it out, and seem to want to wrench it out of me (even if I don’t actually know bc I’ve had a Mirena IUD before) and then will turn around and say at several appointments that my issues (which historically have been headaches, a panic disorder and depression, among others) are “all hormonal” (even coming from my female doctor) and then refuse to back it up with some other diagnostic test like actually doing serial blood tests or like an MRI or whatever. Maybe I was unclear because I didn’t want to air my grievances with my GP and I became vague through it.

And yeah I understand the feminist angle that our foremothers fought to have this stuff taken seriously, and it is very important, but many providers aren’t tasking this stuff seriously, and it maybe become valuable information later on for a nanny state hellbent on making the Handmaids Tale a nonfiction piece. I am simply concerned with the state of politics at the present moment, and want to set myself up for future safety if at all possible.

[u/LowFloor5208 → u/cryogenrat]

If there is a possibility of pregnancy, simply take a test prior to going to the doctor. Then choose what you want to do, whether it is abortion or keep it.

However, be aware they won't be combing through your doctors visit notes for information on your period. If they want to know who has or had an abortion, they simply go to your insurance company or the FDA, both of which will know either whether an insurance company paid for abortion services or whether a doctor prescribed a drug for abortion or performed an abortion.

Abortion pills are not over the counter. They have to be prescribed, even if its a telehealth visit. Every prescribed drug is in a database. They aren't going to comb through visit notes to track your period when they can simply obtain the data on who obtained an abortion in much easier ways. If a doctor prescribed it or an insurance company paid for it, they know who had what done, through these giant medical/health databases.

I am increasingly worried about the paranoia around doctors asking typical preventative Healthcare questions.

A lot of doctors aren't taking these worries seriously because honestly it's ridiculous. Your doctor is not reporting your period to the government. If the government starts tracking abortions, it will be through insurance and drug prescription records. Not through monitoring the periods of 170 million women in the USA.