When you're not believed: chronic UTI, advocacy and medical misogyny

If you've ever been told there's nothing wrong with you and felt worse, not better, this episode is for you.Dr Sula is joined by Dr Catriona Anderson, a GP with a special interest in recurrent and chronic UTI and founder of the Focus Medical Clinic, and Neha Visavadia, a women’s health coach and product consultant in health tech with an MSc in Health Psychology who draws on her own lived experience of long-term health conditions to articulate what so many people struggle to put into words.Together, they unpick why chronic UTI still has no formal medical definition, why that gap leaves patients stuck in a tick-box system, and what it actually takes to be heard, believed and properly treated when your symptoms don't fit neatly into existing guidelines.Here's some of what you'll take away:Why a negative test doesn't mean nothing is wrong. The real limitations of dipstick testing, and why recurrent and chronic UTI are so often missed, minimised or misdiagnosed as a result.The psychological cost of not being believed. How dismissal in healthcare can quietly fuel avoidance, and why that avoidance, while understandable, can make things worse.Medical misogyny, named plainly. Why women's symptoms are so often expected to be endured rather than investigated, and what's changing.How to prepare yourself to be heard. Practical, psychologically grounded ways to walk into an appointment ready to advocate for yourself, without needing to fight for it.This podcast is supported by Convatec Continence Care and their Me+ programme, which supports people using intermittent catheters with both practical guidance and emotional wellbeing resources. Find out more at www.howwereallyfeel.com/in-partnership-with-convatec.Whether you're navigating chronic UTI yourself, supporting someone who is, or working clinically with this patient group, this episode will help you feel less alone, better informed, and clearer on what to ask for next.References and resources discussed in this episode, fact-checked and collated by our show researcher, are available at www.howwereallyfeel.com