26-year-old who's never had periods shares her experience, raising concerns about doctors' negligence

Every day, we come across stories that prove that it is hard for women to get themselves taken seriously in the medical system. Esther H Chen, in her study, found how women face more difficulty in getting treatment for their pain in the Emergency Department. Katie Young–who goes by @thekatieyoung on TikTok– added to the ongoing discussion by revealing how doctors pushed aside her issue of not getting a period despite periodic visits till she turned 26. Their go-to move was to prescribe her birth control without any plan in place for her future. Young also feels sad that she did not speak up and ask more questions throughout the whole ordeal.

Young gave an honest caption to the video, "I'm 26 years old and have never gotten my period! Honestly, there were so many years when I thought I was the luckiest girl alive. I watched all my friends struggle in high school with cramps, embarrassing period stories and hormonal mood swings. Now, I would do anything to be in their shoes if that meant I could get pregnant." She began her video by sharing how, in her younger years, not having a period was a blessing because she did not have to deal with the issues that came with it. Nothing was bothering her during spring break in Mexico, when she was wearing white during that time of the month, or when she was involved in sports practice.

Now she regrets all that as she is trying to get pregnant "and not having your period is significantly a problem." After that, she gave a background about the whole situation. Young was always very active in her growing years. She played a bunch of high-intensity sports and also had an eating disorder, which led her to have very little body fat. Once she hit the conventional age of getting her period, she visited the doctor as she was not getting hers, who assured her that it was just because enough estrogen was not forming in her body. She was comforted with, "It's okay. You're still young."

Unfortunately, that one also generalized the situation and "instead of getting more of a workup done or trying to find more answers, they just put me on birth control." All the other doctors she visited gave the same suggestion. Nobody discussed with her about the future. They did not talk to her about the impact having no periods is having on pregnancy. It was a momentary solution, not a cure. They did not invest that much time in her with ultrasound and blood tests. 

She was in the same position as she was in 16 with no answers to why she was not getting her periods. At 26, when she began trying, her fears came true. There is no way for her to get pregnant on birth control and without it, she is not getting her period. She adds that this is "a telltale sign that I'm not ovulating." The woman does feel sad that she did not advocate for herself more and force doctors to give her answers.

Now, she is going into a frustrating cycle of doctor appointments to resolve this problem. She asked others to comment if they went through similar situations. @katie111342 pointed out the carelessness of the doctors and wrote, "I can't believe they never did an ultrasound." @beccaaaa33 could not believe the course of events and commented, "I'm literally in shock and awe that a doctor didn't question at all why you had no period at 22, that's crazy, lol." @0seythia0 expressed her disappointment at the doctor and wrote, "Your doctors were extremely negligent. You should also never have been able to get birth control without a hormone checkup if you've never had a period."