Fun Fact: They Don’t

(I am seeing my doctor again after a trans-abdominal ultrasound where I was given something I had assumed was a painkiller, as I was in pain before the exam. I am an abuse survivor, so gynecological exams are hard for me, but it’s worse when I don’t know what’s happening. I’m in my early 20s.)

Me: “Doctor, do you know what the nurse gave me before my ultrasound? It made me feel like I was spinning, and I saw colors and patterns on the ceiling.”

Doctor: “Let me look in my notes. I’m sorry that it made you hallucinate; we were just trying to make sure that, if the ultrasound had to be transvaginal, you would be calm and not remember it very well. Oh, I see. It was [Drug].”

Me: “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind next time a nurse tells me that they’re giving me [Drug].”

Doctor: “Anyway, I thought people your age do that sort of thing to themselves for fun.”

(I’m not a doctor, and maybe that’s the professional thing to do, but it sounds eerily similar to date rape to me. And I’m also not a drug user, but I’m pretty sure they like to know what they’re doing to themselves beforehand.)