Ep. 02: Natalie's story & a decade of "that's just how it is."

In this episode of Down There Aware, Natalie Jeanson joins Amy to share her devastating 10-year journey of being dismissed by doctors despite meticulous self-documentation and persistent advocacy. Natalie opens up about dismissive allergic reactions to birth control, a traumatic IUD insertion, PCOS diagnosis, and the workplace discrimination that comes with invisible chronic pain. She talks about the healthcare system's refusal to listen even when she showed up with detailed symptom logs, why being told "it's just normal" destroyed her confidence, and how imposter syndrome almost kept her silent. A raw conversation about being forced to educate the system about your own body.Key ComponentsHow medical gaslighting starts in adolescence: Natalie's symptoms from age 13—heavy periods, cyclical pain outside her period, pain during exercise—were normalized and dismissed as "just how it is," setting the stage for years of suffering in silence.Doctors don't listen even when patients do the work for them: Despite meticulously logging every symptom, meal, and activity for months and presenting this evidence to doctors, Natalie was given an IUD instead of answers.How Natalie's workplace experience reveals how employers—and the healthcare system—don't acknowledge what they can't see, forcing her to fight for basic accommodations like wearing comfortable pants instead of following restrictive dress codes.Overcoming imposter syndrome to speak her truth: Natalie grapples with self-doubt despite being articulate and knowledgeable about her own body, showing how invalidation for years creates a silence many women experience even when desperate to be heard."The healthcare system tries to put you in boxes before you get that diagnosis that you need because they need to rule things out. But that process of putting you in boxes for five years just to get a diagnosis means you're suffering for five years with chronic pain."Connect with Natalie on Instagram: @[email protected] 👉 Click here to join the movement at downthereaware.org🩲 Subscribe, like, and share to show us you care!🤘 Podcast produced by Binge-Worthy StudioFor informational and entertainment purposes only — not medical advice. We're here to get loud, not to play doctor.