Ted, thank you for your solidarity (if that was your intent?) in sharing your story. As Elanor and Julie so excellently summarize below, though, (and so does the Time article I linked in my own essay), the challenges women face in medicine are on an entirely other level than the occasional man who has an uncommon health issue and encounters a clueless doctor. For women, it's much more widespread, common, and systemic.

I'm glad you were able to solve your vitamin D problems. Unfortunately, my iron problems aren't a thing that can be solved on my own; I likely need prescription treatments, very possibly administered in a hospital setting.... but I am still waiting to find a doctor who believes I'm worthy of the treatment and isn't eager to tell me just to suck it up, or to try to push me into a hormonal "solution" (i.e., taking birth control pills) instead.

It really is a different world for us women. Thank you for reading this and taking the time to open your eyes to what it's like on the other side of the fence. I wish you great health!