Women Are Retarded

In my brief moment of faith-in-human-goodness, I posted a question on Yahoo Answers. Hoping to receive some sort of positive support to my ongoing search for birth control without being man-handled (ie, traditional pelvic exam), I checked back a few hours later. As you can see from the following oh-so-educated responses, people were eager to respond. And not nicely, either. Therefore, I have a new thesis: Women are not, as we previously believed, nurturing, as a rule. They are, to a notable degree, self-sure without cause, belligerent to other women, and outright annoying. And lest there be any further attack, I lump myself in with the rest of them from time to time. Let this be my (and our) motivation to break the vicious, Women-Are-Retarded cycle.

Go to the Yahoo Answers page here! It's formatted better. Answers are open until Thursday.

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My Question
Are there doctors that offer birth control pills without a pelvic exam? I'm married & have never had a pelvic exam. I got a BC prescription from Planned Parenthood through their HOPE program, but that's only for a year. I'm coming up on the end of the prescription, and I desperately do not want a traditional exam. I feel like it would be an invasion of my privacy, and since I've only had sex with my husband (and he with me) and have no family risk factors, I see no reason for this to be a requirement.
Does anyone know of a doctor that will offer birth control without a pelvic exam? I'm belonephobic (afraid of needles), but I would rather have a blood test to check for health issues than violate my personal beliefs.
I live in north Texas, but if there's a doctor somewhere else that offers other options to women, there are probably others. Please help!

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Blondie 2442's Response
im 18 and my doctor just gave them to me without one

My Response
Thanks for the response. Knowing this let's me know that several of the below responses were ill-researched. What doofuses.


Coop <3's Response
A pap smear has nothing to do with how many people you've had sex with. It has to do with checking for irregular cells on your cervix, which are not only caused by STDs. So, guess what, you get to suck it up, and be a responsible ADULT and get yourself to a gynecologist like you should have a LONG time ago. A blood test cannot check for irregular cells on your cervix, so you've just got to go do it. If you want to be a sexually active adult, regardless of whether you're married or not, you need to be responsible for your sexual and reproductive health, or, IMO, you are not in any way ready to be sexually active, sorry. Your discomfort won't mean crap if you get cervical cancer someday, and you realize that it could have been prevented by a simple pelvic exam.

Source(s): I'm a married woman who is a STRONG advocate of women taking control of their own health, regardless of how "uncomfortable" a pelvic exam is. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-... http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-...

My Response
A pap smear has 90% to do with how many people you've had sex with!!! The #1 cause of cervical cancer is HPV, and the #1 cause of harmful HPV is through sexual contact!

I would like to challenge some of your premises, because you see so sure of yourself:
- "You get to suck it up, and be a responsible adult" - You don't get to tell me what I get to do. You get to run as fast as you can & stop commenting on my questions.
- "get your self to a gynecologist like you should have done a long time ago" - I'm 21! Back off.
- "A blood test cannot check for irregular cells on your cervix" - No, but it can check for an elevated white count, which is present if you have cancer!
- "So you've just got to go do it" - You sure think a lot of your instructions, dontcha?
- "Your discomfort won't mean crap if you get cervical cancer someday" - Sure it will. I've made a conscious choice, dumbass.
- "it could have been prevented by a simple pelvic exam" - No it can't. Cervical cancer can't even be detected fully until it's somewhat advanced. Since when did going to the doctor guarantee someone wouldn't die?

You say you're a strong advocate for women taking control of their own health. I guess what you meant to say is that you're a strong advocate of forcing your opinion about other women's health upon them, and having them let you take control of their health. It's a simple mistake, anyone could have made it.


GreenScreen451's Response
No doctor can force you to have a pelvic exam. I think most would give you the prescription without if you are adamant that you do not want the exam. It might be a good idea though, just to check that everything is alright. It's really not that bad.

My Response
You're right. This is something I wish people would consider before insisting that I am under some sort of health care dictatorship. I appreciate your advice. I will keep this in mind because you are not being a poop.


Hannah's Response
Ask a doctor or someone from a clinic whether you'll need it.! =] Where I am I didnt need one. I needed to be weighed every 6 months and asked a few questions.x

My Response
Awesome! This is very helpful.


WhitneyB's Response
Doctors are required to perform pelvic exams before administering birth control. Even if you have no family risk factors and have only had one partner, problems can still occur. I understand your wanting to protect your privacy, but many of the issues doctors look for in a pelvic exam cannot be detected with a blood test. I prefer to see a female OB/GYN. It's never comfortable for me (I too feel an invasion of privacy with the exam), but at least she is efficient and gentle. If you are truly adamant about not undergoing this exam and do not wish to conceive at this time, your best bet is to use condoms.

My Response
Well, at least you were pleasant, so I can't fault you with anything but being stupid. If I wanted to know if doctors are required to do the test, I would have put that in my question. They're not, which means that you spent too much time submitting to the system and finding someone who "is efficient and gentle" (whatever that means) instead of researching & finding a way to change the social norm. My best bet is not to use condoms. If my point is I don't want foreign crap inside of me, that includes the latex to which I am allergic.


WhoKnows?????????'s Response
first of all the doctor does the pelvic exam for your health. It doesn't have to do with the sexual parteners you have. the problem is that some people may suffer from certain conditions without knowing like endometriosis, or ovarian cysts, and when you take the birth control pills these will make them a lot worse. so the doctor does the pelvic exam for your safety. i did it, there are no needles invovled nothing, he will insert a plastic to see the inside of vagina etc. to see that there are no scarring. So if I were you i would do it, especially if you are going to take the birth control pills for a long time.

Source(s): studying to become a doctor

My Response
Wow, you're studying to become a doctor? Yesterday I was studying to become an astronaut. If you'd like me to give you some advice on launching yourself into outer space (it's "for your health") let me know. I'm just saying, I think there's a reason they give you the short coat. And yes, genius, it does have to do with how many sexual partners you've had. And I know there are no needles. And if you want to be a doctor, you still have to know how to comprehend what you read & spell correctly. If a doctor wants to amputate your leg, I'm sure he would say that's for your safety, too. You still have options. So while I appreciate the paragraph you've quoted from you're MCAT study guide, I'd appreciate it more if you would can it until you can present some irrefutable facts.


AW's Response
Suck it up. You are a big girl. Cancer and other health issues can develop at ANY time in your life even if you have NO risk factors. I just found out a friend of a friend who is 45 years old was given 2 months to live TOPS due to cancer. He had no previous problems, he had absolutely no family history of any kinds of cancers. Exams are also to prevent future problems not just know what you have done. You have a severe phobia about this. What is going to happen when you have children? Are you going to refuse to go to the doctor because you feel that a doctor looking there is an invasion of your privacy? That is disgusting, quite frankly, that you would risk the lives of possible future children along with your own.

My Response
You're just being a jerk. How do you know I'm a big girl? I'm actually a little girl who would like her mommy to punch you. I bet your friend would not have gotten cancer & would still be alive in 3 months if he had gone to his gynecologist every year before he took his birth control pills. Right? Cite relevant anecdotes only, please. If you need a support group to deal with your friend's death, don't take it out on my question. Given that you have the authority to diagnose my "severe phobia about this" (by the way, the appropriate preposition is "of") you should be able to deal with your grief without taking stage 2 out on me. Actually, except for a torn hymen a doctor can't tell what you've done. Since you seem so interested in what goes into & comes out of my vagina, my husband & I have decided to have our children at a birthing center or at home. Midwives & doctors at birthing centers allow a more natural process without the social requirements and restrictions to which you seem so attached. I prefer not to risk the lives of my "potential future children" by stabbing them with amniocentesis needles and exposing them to the HPV vaccine. Doctors say those are good, too.


ChellB's Response
All I can say it is so important to get pap/pelvic exam done. I knew a woman that waited till she was 30 to get a pap done and found out she has stage 4 cervical cancer. she is no longer living. I don't know any doc that would not do an exam first.

My Response
I appreciate your opinion. It is important to consider the potential complications of a decision such as this. After thinking about all of the harm, I've made up my mind that I would prefer to take the chance on cancer. I'm also sorry for your loss of a friend. I'm sure she didn't get to make the same conscious decision as I have.


DX's Response
Yes. While many doctors do require the pelvic exam, some will now prescribe BCP without it. Go to another Planned Parenthood, or call the one you're visiting now and explain the situation. Most PPs will give you the pills to protect yourself. If not, talk to your family doctor.

You should know that cervical cancer can affect anyone, regardless of family risk factors and can be a very nasty customer. If you're fully aware of this possibility and still don't want the full exam, try to get yourself the HPV vaccine, at least. If you're forced to take the exam to get the pills, you can also ask them to only do the Pap and test for HPV and leave out the rest.

I currently take BCP but I do not go for pelvic exams. I am NOT sexually active, have no plans to be, and I take the pill for endometriosis. I get my weight and blood pressure checked every six months to ensure everything's in order. I did get an exam two years ago--under sedation because I am an abuse survivor and it was such a traumatic experience--and was found to be fine and HPV negative, so I'm not considered to be at risk.

Source(s): current experience with BCP

My Response
I think this is the most helpful response. It came about 5 hours ago, and I would have slept a lot better had I read it last night. I won't get the HPV vaccine because I won't get any vaccine. They make you sick before they make you better. I will try another PP and hope for good results.

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How sad, that we have become so blind as to accept a medical practice simply because it has become customary.