TIFU by not realizing doctors don't respond to "I feel terrible" they respond to charts/facts/duration

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's at 9 years old. For the next 16 years I described my symptoms the way anyone would "I'm exhausted all the time," "I can't lose weight no matter what I do," "my brain fog is really bad." every appointment I left with nothing. I genuinely thought I was bad at explaining myself. Or that I was exaggerating. Or that this was just what life felt like and everyone else was pushing through it too.

Then I started actually reading how doctors document symptoms in charts. And I realized I had been speaking the wrong language my entire life.

Doctors are trained to respond to:

• Duration
• Pattern
• What you've already ruled out
• One specific ask

When I started framing my symptoms that way "I have had progressive fatigue for 3 years that worsens in the second half of my cycle and doesn't improve with sleep" instead of "I'm really tired" appointments started going differently. I've since started helping other women do the same thing before their appointments especially women with thyroid issues, PCOS, and hormonal conditions that tend to get dismissed.

TL;DR getting my communication up in doctor form changed my life