15. PUBERTY SUCKS
I had a 15-year-old girl come in with frequent headaches and stomach aches. Exam was completely normal as were all her labs. I told her mom, who was in the exam room, that it could be stress.
These two symptoms with no physiological evidence were typical for individuals who are stressed out. Just a thought. The girl looked at me pleadingly when I said that, but the mom said, “What does she have to be stressed about?!” Blew my mind.
This woman wasn’t that far removed from adolescence herself. But I’m a professional and I told her that whereas just a few years ago her daughter was simply an anonymous child happily playing with her friends, now her body was changing.
She was filled with all sorts of new thoughts and emotions due to her hormones. She was probably getting all sorts of unwanted attention from boys and men.
She’s getting all sorts of mixed messages from the media and who knows what kind of advice from her friends. Coping with so much change and outside influences would lead to lots of stress.
What I didn’t say was she clearly can’t discuss it with you, you clueless idiot. But I censored that.
phil8248