Medical Gaslighting and Asthma: What Is It?

By Andrea M. Jensen CHES AE-C

3 min read

I was watching the Today Show and stopped in my tracks when a story came on about medical gaslighting. Maria Shriver was reporting on the problem that, when women complain of medical problems, they are often dismissed and told that they are just depressed, anxious, or fat.¹

Medical gaslighting is when doctors misdiagnose, dismiss, or gaslight patients, especially women.

One patient in the segment had been complaining of severe stomach pain and back pain for 4 years. Her specialist would not listen – even after she started vomiting and losing her hair. The specialist told her to learn to live with it.¹

She eventually ended up in the emergency room (ER), where they discovered she had a 25-pound cancerous tumor on her ovary. Yes, 25 pounds. They told her she was about 2 weeks away from death.¹

Experiencing medical gaslighting related to asthma

Her story hit a nerve because I have experienced medical gaslighting throughout my life. My daughter has also experienced it during a doctor's appointment. Our beloved Asthma Doc passed away, and another doctor had taken over his clinic. Asthma Doc has known my daughter since she was born, saw her grow up, and helped her through 6 hospitalizations for asthma. Her asthma has always been hard to control.

New Asthma Doc performed a spirometry test on my daughter and said her lungs looked great. He said she did not have asthma. I told him he was wrong and he should look at her chart and see how many times she was in the hospital for asthma.

He said she is older now, her past medical history does not count – and refused to renew her controller inhaler. I reminded him that I am an experienced Certified Asthma Educator, and I know she still has asthma. He then said that he might be wrong. He grudgingly said if she started having problems in a few days, to let him know and he would “let” her have a controller inhaler. Within days she was coughing and wheezing. She called him, he refilled her prescription, and we switched doctors.

With that experience on my mind, I decided to share the Today Show segment on my social media. I was flooded with comments from other women. They all had experienced medical gaslighting and their stories were heartbreaking – and scary.

Gender disparities

This seems to happen to women because we can be people pleasers who do not want to disappoint our doctor. We may not complain much or challenge our doctor on a misdiagnosis.

Doctors sometimes think we women are being dramatic or exaggerating. And that can cause us to question ourselves.

To make matters worse, most research is done on men. Women are not small men. We have different medical problems and our bodies process (metabolize) medications differently.

Dr. Sarah Kilpatrick was in the segment and is Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She said:¹

"Most of the data that we use today in medicine is based on research on men, male animals or male cells, which is just shocking."

Woah! So, how can we fix this problem? What is being done to help women?

Battle to be believed by doctors

Leaders at top hospitals in the United States are aware of the disparity and want to change how women are treated. They are securing more funding for research on women’s health. They are also training doctors to recognize gender biases. And they are teaching female patients to be better advocates.

You and your doctor should be a team and decide together what is best for you. To prep for your next visit, you can:

Jot down your symptoms in detail. (Doctors have a limited amount of time, so this can help them focus.)
Ask for a thorough physical exam. (Do you need blood work? X-rays? An MRI?)
Get a second, third, or even fourth opinion

If your doctor is not listening, emphasize that these symptoms are not normal for your body. Remind them that they are an expert, but you are the expert on your own body.

The segment also suggests asking your doctor, “If you were in my position, what questions would you ask and what specialist would you see next?”¹

Remember that doctors are also patients at times, so approach them from that angle.

And remember to stand up for yourself. You are worth it!

Who else has experienced medical gaslighting?

How did this make you feel? Did you continue to see that doctor? Share your stories with the community by clicking the button below.

Share your story!

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Asthma.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.

emusing Member
 Yesterday, I was NOT gaslit by my asthma doctor and I am heartened that I was actually heard. I am 68. My reason for seeing her was after being on steroid inhalers for seemingly ever, my skin was breaking down, becoming fragile and easily bruised and most recently torn. She was appalled by this and immediately took me off of the inhaler and put me on a nonsteroid controller. I felt listened to and validated. She did not say: but you are older, post-menopausal, of course, your skin is fragile. Nope, she agreed with me and took action. She is also following up with lab work in a couple months before my next appointment. 
1. Andrea M. Jensen CHES AE-C Contributor
 <inline-mention username="emusing" user-id="3013374"/> What a wonderful experience with your doctor! That must have felt like a breath of fresh air! I'm so glad you found a good doctor. I don't find that women doctors are as likely to gaslight as male doctors (and that's what the research shows.) Stay healthy! Andrea, Author and Certified Asthma Educator 
2. Rebecca C Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="emusing" user-id="3013374"/> Yay! It's exhilarating to hear your healthcare provider didn't dismiss or attribute your symptoms solely to factors like age or menopause but instead took your concerns seriously and took appropriate action. This demonstrates a patient-centered approach to care, where your individual experiences and needs are considered and addressed. Kudos! Rebecca (community moderator)
hilarylynne Member
This is a great post and topic--thank you for sharing. I think a big thing we can keep doing as advocates for asthma awareness is to push for emergency personnel and GPs to be trained on the most up-to-date and complete guidelines for asthma as possible. All too often doctors fall back on obsolete or incomplete knowledge when they are trying to diagnose and treat patients with asthma. Many people with severe asthma can have normal spirometry results, a silent chest (i.e. no wheezing), and normal oxygen sats even during a bad attack. These patients often don't get the care they need because the doctors treating them are adhering to old and narrow guidelines that an asthmatic is someone who is gasping for air with pale sweaty skin and low oxygen. That is a proportion of cases for sure but definitely not all of them and doesn't take into account the most important piece of an asthma action plan which is how the person feels and how their symptoms have changed (as you said). A very important piece of our advocacy to be done and this conversation is a great starting place. Thanks again for sharing!
1. Leon Lebowitz, RRT Moderator & Contributor
 Hi <inline-mention username="hilarylynne" user-id="6606779"/>, and thanks for weighing in here with your perspective on the article asthma a gaslighting. You make a good point comparing older, narrow approaches to the treatment of asthma with today's more current view of therapy. We appreciate your input. All the best, Leon (site moderator <a href='http://asthma.net' target='_blank'>asthma.net</a>)
2. Andrea M. Jensen CHES AE-C Contributor
 <inline-mention username="hilarylynne" user-id="6606779"/> Agreed. The old saying is "If you have seen one person with asthma, you have seen one person with asthma." I have had doctors doubt my symptoms because I wasn't wheezing. I don't wheeze. Never have. So I always have to tell them that I'm not a wheezer, so don't look for that in my work up! My friend is a long time RT and has intubated people who had 02 levels in the mid 90's! Those of us with asthma are notorious compensators. Stay safe! Andrea, Author and Certified Asthma Educator
stradec2002 Member
Twice I have been to the local ED and told I didn't have asthma and it was a panic attack. Fortunately, both times I have received a nebulizer treatment, but one doctor had the gall to call the pulmonary fellow on call that referred me to the nearest ED, to tell him I didn't have asthma. Thank you for sharing.
1. Andrea M. Jensen CHES AE-C Contributor
 <inline-mention username="CindyJ" user-id="8803296"/> It may help to switch from the Advair discus to the Advair HFA (inhaler). When my son was younger, the Advair discus wasn’t controlling my son’s symptoms (who had been hospitalized repeatedly) Asthma Doc said the Advair inhaler has a smaller particle and therefore can get deeper into the lungs. It worked much better for my son. Maybe it’s an option for you? Andrea, Author & Certified Asthma Educator <img src="/content/images/2024/01/29/6d2d46246a86e895d26a4e00f80c88ac_medium.jpeg" alt="Advair discus and inhaler " class="uploaded-image"/>
2. Leon Lebowitz, RRT Moderator & Contributor
 Hi again, <inline-mention username="CindyJ" user-id="8803296"/> - thanks for responding and providing more information - I appreciate it. This can get to be somewhat confusing and/or challenging. I will tell you that, in my experience, asthmatics using both a controller (like Advair), and a rescue medication (like levalbuterol), may have less 'breakouts' than using a rescue medication alone. That, of course, depends on each individual patient's particular level of disease. This would be something to discuss, in earnest, with the primary medical (nurse practitioner), who seems to be responsible for removing the controller. I am skeptical of using the emergency department (ED), as your PCP suggested, since that truly isn't the reason to use an ED. Even urgent care facilities might be more suitable. It just seems inappropriate and ineffective, in this day and age, to rely on emergency/urgent care facilities for nebulizer treatments. This is especially so when this type of treatment can be provided, with a great deal of success, at home. It has to be somewhat frustrating to have to wait for this appointment with Pulmonary, especially since your own PCP marked this as non-emergent. I would think your own PCP would want to get this resolved sooner rather than later and not subject you to the whims of emergency/urgent care during a time of need. What do you think? Leon L (author/moderator <a href='http://asthma.net' target='_blank'>asthma.net</a>)
Rebecca C Moderator & Contributor
<inline-mention username="stradec2002" user-id="4522084"/> - what an awful situation. I am sorry you went through that experience. Are you able to go into more detail? Was your oxygen saturation level normal? It can be terribly frustrating when old and narrow guidelines are used and all factors are not taken into account. I am glad the nebulizer worked for you at this distressing event. Hoping you have better experiences in the future. Wishing you well. Rebecca (community moderator) 
1. stradec2002 Member
 Yes, the O2 sat was fine, I had been using treatment at home with waxing and waning symptoms. I have had times that I have needed a double duoneb and budesonide to get lasting relief. More doctors certainly need to understand a good sat isn't the deciding factor on asthma exacerbation. I have asthma not emphysema! So many times because I am the one transporting myself to the nearest ED per my action plan and my pulmonologist is nearly 100 miles away, I rarely can get to the University of Kansas Hospital, but even their ED has put more weight in a good sat when I go through triage. But I am also either nebulizing on the way or doing 2 puffs every 20 minutes until I am seen. And then have the examining doctor upset that I had to wait to be seen. It is quite unfortunate that asthma is truly not understood.
Rebecca C Moderator & Contributor
Thanks for the explanation and interaction on this post, <inline-mention username="stradec2002" user-id="4522084"/> You make a valid point. While a good saturation level (oxygen level) is important, it is not the sole determining factor for assessing asthma exacerbations. It is crucial for doctors and healthcare providers to consider the individual's symptoms, history, and overall clinical presentation when evaluating and managing asthma. Every person with asthma is unique, and treatment plans should be tailored to their specific needs and circumstances. Improved awareness and education among healthcare professionals about the complexities of asthma can lead to better understanding and more effective management strategies. Wishing you more positive experiences and better interactions with emergency department staff and treating physicians going forward. Warmly - Rebecca (community moderator)
1. stradec2002 Member
 Thank you Rebecca!

Community Poll

Are your spring allergies already impacting your asthma?