Kidney stones got me realising my own medical misogyny

I'm in my early 30s and for the first time ever, I've been struck down with kidney stones.

It started about a week and a half ago with some pelvic pain and peeing blood. Had a video call with a doctor for some antibiotics for what I thought was a uti. After a few days I was still bleeding so saw two more GPs and started questioning "But I'm not peeing frequently, could this be something else?" "This can happen" they reassured me, "it's probably just a UTI" before increasing and changing my antibiotics.

Then the pain really hit on Friday night. So severe I was sweating and could barely speak. Immediately I thought "I'm either dying or this is kidney stones" but still, with all the strength of a woman who just doesn't want to make a fuss, I took some paracetamol and made it through the night.

When I went to the hospital, the next day, they took it very seriously. They brought me in right away, had a CT scan, blood and urine tests within an hour and they kept offering me stronger pain killers. I insisted I'd be fine.

Despite knowing on some level it was probably kidney stones, I was still a bit surprised when they told me I had a 6mm kidney stone. The sort of size that can get stuck causing infections and can require surgery.

The pain was awful, some of the worst I've experienced in my life. But honestly? It was only a little worse than my worst menstrual cramps, but with no warning or build up. It was on par with the stabbing pain that comes with ovulating but lasting hours instead of minutes. If that's one of the most painful things a person can experience and it's similar to something I experience semi-regularly then yeah, it's worth making a bit of a fuss.