The double standard between my attempts to get pain meds for myself versus for my spouse is disgusting. After my shoulder surgeries they gave me more Percocets than I would ever need. When I had kidney stones I had to do some mild arguing but was able to be on opioids for a full month. Hell, they even admitted me to the hospital for a couple days just so they could keep me medicated until surgery.

My spouse is in such severe pain from an unknown source that they frequently can’t walk, and has been for a month and a half. Every doctor thinks that it’s endometriosis, but not one of them will dispense pain meds. We’ve been to the ER twice; until the second trip the OBGYN wouldn’t even treat it as a high enough priority to let us move their appointment sooner than an additional month out.

I could absolutely *throttle* someone at this point. Doctors have always treated my (much less severe) pain as an emergency, but will do absolutely jack shit as a non-male person of color cries in the fetal position for weeks. It’s horseshit.