posted September 24, 2008 02:53 PM         

Yesterday I had a spare half hour of time and decided to bite the bullet and make two appointments-: dentist, and smear test.

Of the two evils, I opted for smear test in preference.

In the surgery the receptionist reminded me I had to book it for the middle of my cycle. O.K, that should be about 2 weeks time, I said.

"That's if you have periods" she said.

What the..? What did she mean?

I'm not 40 yet, not by a few years. I don't think I look 10 years older than my age. O.K, I have a few strands of grey hair but I was wearing a hat. Or maybe she meant did I have some problem with my menstrual cycle? I just thought she said it in a weird way. But tactlessness is part of the job requirements for a doctor's receptionist.

After that, I went to book a dental check up. I last went in 1993. I'd rather have someone poke up my snatch with a metal implement and that's no lie. I'm only going as a way of getting my son in the surgery. Is there a terror icon? No, O.K, this is the nearest

posted September 24, 2008 03:24 PM         

As to the comment...
Many women begin perimenopause in their late 30s early 40s. It can mess up periods. So can the pill.
Pregnancy of course does.
Are you very thin? It is not uncommon for thin women and or very very active women to stop having periods.

Personally I'd just ask her what she meant by her comment.

I hate going to the Gyn. I am so anomalous it confuses them. And they all seem to think a heavy person requires a speculum that feels the size of a baseball bat! Those creeps cause me much pain. I hate them.

posted September 24, 2008 04:39 PM         

for the dentist.

By nature I am a bit of a skinny rat, but I have nurtured my way to a pot belly with the aid of lots of yummy cakes from the bakers. I'm not sure I look too thin.

Whatever her thinking, bedside manner can be sadly lacking sometimes. My mother won't go to her doctor because he kept making comments about her weight. There's ways of suggesting a diet, I don't think he knows it.

posted September 24, 2008 06:24 PM         

It never ceases to amaze me how many thought-challenged people there are out there.

I'm off to the endodontist today. I think I will when I see the bill.

posted September 25, 2008 06:29 AM         

having a physical body is fulltime maintenance. If it's not the teeth, it's checking cholesterol, or a breast scan, or a snatch check

posted September 25, 2008 03:47 PM         

Love,

posted September 26, 2008 03:30 PM         

Last night, I applied to my local college, for application in a college program for...
Administrative Assistant -Medical.
Today, I got a notice in the mail that I was due for my pap smear.

posted September 30, 2008 01:22 AM         

There's a new language developing around political-correctness. Maybe she should have said "We usually book women in, in the middle of their cycle. Does that suit you?"

Anyway, I still think it was one of those stupid comments. People everywhere are full of them!!!!

posted September 30, 2008 01:34 AM         

The "if you have periods" comment sounds to me like a reference to something like the contraceptive injection which, over time, makes you stop having periods.

posted September 30, 2008 06:07 PM         

But before getting insulted by what she said, I'd ask her what she meant by her comment. It seems so out of the ordinary, even to someone who stopped menstruating. Some women who have gone through menopause can still feel a kind of cycle every month so she might have meant something else, or the fact that she is there every day and probably sees many women who have stopped menstruating or had hysterectomies or whatever other tortures they put us through, she may have been trying to somehow cover all the bases. I know I've done that and it can be worse during Mercury Retrograde. LOL!!

Geocosmic Valentine

posted October 01, 2008 08:30 PM         

quote:

---

before getting insulted by what she said, I'd ask her what she meant by her comment

---

This is a strategy I've been mulling over for a while....

When someone says something that lacks thought and leaves you feeling flabbergasted, just what do you say back to them??

I'm usually so aghast by what they've said, I clam up!!!

I am just not prepared for stupid comments!!

posted October 04, 2008 05:24 PM         

I was at a coffee shop. A couple people I've worked with were there, so I stopped by their table to say hello.

Girl says, "You know you have a twin here! I came in here the other day and could've sworn it was you. She looks JUST like you."

Oh really. I'm curious and ask she describe my twin. I realize who it is. The coffee shop is only a couple doors down from someplace I often work, so I've been there a lot and am regularly served by my twin. She's my favorite there. But I happen to know that the day before this conversation it was her birthday. Her 50th birthday. My look-alike is over 20 years older than me.