Home / News / Celebrity News Selma Blair says doctors suggested ‘to get a boyfriend’ before MS diagnosis Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) The actress opened up about the "medical trauma" she still carries. By Diva Anwari December 6, 2023 Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) Rectangle Those who struggle with chronic illness know that the journey between describing symptoms to a doctor and finally receiving a diagnosis is long and hard. Selma Blair, who was first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2018, recently spoke about her personal experience with gender bias before her official diagnosis, ET reports. In an interview with with Meet the Press, the actress opened up about her struggles with intense pain and the subpar treatment she received from medical officials. In one particularly upsetting moment, she recounted a time when doctors advised her to “get a boyfriend.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Entertainment Tonight (@entertainmenttonight) “I just cried,” Blair explained, “I had no capability to process. ‘What am I supposed to do with this information?’ I knew the pain was real. I thought it was. But I did start to convince myself, ‘You’re overly sensitive. There’s nothing wrong with you. Get it together, you lazy, lazy whatever.'” It’s unfathomable that a woman would go to a doctor, explain her pain and be told that a boyfriend is the answer to her problems. In what world does that make sense to anybody, let alone someone who went to school and got a degree in healthcare? The Cruel Intentions actress pointed out that she experienced gender bias from a young age when her symptoms first started. She wasn’t taken seriously by the healthcare industry even as she witnessed how male peers were treated quite oppositely. “It was a gender bias, a lot of it, because there would be a boy in my grade that would go in for the exact same chronic headache and fever, and he is in surgery and a MRI within the week,” she said. “I was never given a MRI even though I always had headaches and fevers and balance [problems]. But they just said, ‘Oh, just dramatic.'” Related: Feeling dismissed by your doctor? Medical gaslighting can be common in women’s health Medical gaslighting like this isn’t uncommon. On average women are diagnosed 2 to 4 years later than men. Medical gaslighting occurs when a patients’ symptoms or concerns aren’t taken seriously, are dismissed or chalked up to being purely psychological. Women feeling uncomfortable in medical spaces isn’t uncommon either. One study shows that nearly 50% of responding women felt hesitant to share concerns with their doctor during prenatal visits. A separate report found that 72% of women millennial women felt ignored by their healthcare providers. Selma Blair also emphasized that she carries “so much medical trauma.” So when she received her diagnosis in 2018, she said she felt relief because she finally had an explanation for her symptoms. Related: Woman shares crazy story of not being believed by doctors in viral TikTok During the interview, Blair also took a moment to send a message to doctors. “I really wish they would listen. Nothing was taken seriously. I want doctors to listen, keep things in mind,” she stressed. As she continues to live her life with MS, she also mentioned that she is “doing better every day.” Blair has been in remission since 2021. The latest Health & Wellness New study shows ADHD cases are on the rise—and now affect 1 in 9 kids Viral & Trending Cemetery baby name inspo may be a new trend, based on this mom’s viral video Pregnancy Scientists calculate the energy it takes to carry a baby—and it’s WAY more than they thought Pregnancy New mom’s PowerPoint of ground rules for meeting her newborn goes viral on TikTok