Note, I am finding these threads on the twitter feeds of ICU nurses who are now dreading the horrors that Roe falling will bring to their hospitals. This, on top of the horrors that they’ve seen and continue to see because of the pandemic. They were already exhausted and hanging by a thread.
The next time they tell you Americans are “happy” with their employer provided health insurance remember that that “happiness” is fueled by willful ignorance of what the alternatives are really like and fear of losing what little crappy health care they currently have.
Honestly, nevermind the low price, if seeing doctors was this logistically easy I’d have way better health. With adhd/anxiety/depression, seeing doctors is usually just too complicated and takes too much energy to deal with.
we’re gonna have to do like in medieval times and be like “okay so this concoction will make your period come quicker. in case you wanna do that.”
In medieval Europe there were guidebooks with “fertility advice” that basically said: “So if you want to have lots of babies, here’s what you DON’T do. Listen carefully, it’s very important that you know NOT to do these things if you want to be pregnant. First of all, definitely DON’T take this dose of this herb prepared just like this…”
heads up that a lot of those remedies will straight up poison you or not induce an abortion but instead cause birth defects, so please don’t try them yourself if you don’t know anything about medicinal herbs
there are people out there who do know about this kind of thing and there are also people who claim to know about this kind of thing but are actually full of shit, so if you live in a state without abortion access and can get pregnant (or have loved ones who can) now is a good time to seek out people who know. I wish I had resources to provide but unfortunately I don’t, but if anyone reading this does, please add them.
Oh my fuck to the NO on the daily pennyroyal tea suggestion in the replies on this post. If it’s at a concentration strong enough to cause an abortion, it is strong enough to damage your liver and kidneys, and there is nothing you can take to stop the liver toxicity once it is in your system. And if you take Tylenol (acetaminophen) or drink alcoholic beverages while regularly dosing yourself with fucking pennyroyal, you are markedly increasing your risk of liver failure and/or uncontrollable GI bleeding which is an awful fucking way to die. Pennyroyal is worse than a goddamn coat hanger. Go for the alternatives that aren’t herbs, I am begging you. Natural =/= safe.
Seconding this. There is a reason we don’t use herbal solutions for fertility care anymore.
“just fucking dying” was also a thing that happened to a hell of a lot of women in ye olde tymes. birth control tea is a literary convention invented by women writing historical and fantasy pieces who wanted their leading ladies to have modern choices about when to have children. and that’s great for them!
but reliable, nonlethal birth control reshapes every society that gets access to it because there’s never been a substance that’s given women so much control, so safely and easily, over their own bodies before. most herbal treatments for abortion poison the shit out of you if you fuck up even a little, or even if they don’t.
don’t think that Weird Magic Herb is going to do for you just what a scientifically tested and approved medicine can. if it could, people would already have been using it everywhere, all the time, and we wouldn’t have developed chemical birth control just for shits and giggles.
yo one of my many hats is I’m a qualified herbalist and as a qualified herbalist I am telling everyone in these gayforsaken notes that pennyroyal is neither a safe nor effective means of terminating a pregnancy, no matter what you’ve heard. Neither is fucking parsley jesus fuck what the shit. As a qualified herbalist my advice concerning herbal abortion is get a fucking medical abortion. I grow and use fucking Atropa belladonna, a plant so potent that as few as two to three berries can be lethal, and I am telling you do not fuck around with this shit. One of the reasons I trained in herbalism in the first place was a special interest in the history and pharmacology of abortifacient herbs and I am telling you there is no safe, reliable way to do a herbal abortion. And aside from anything else there’s no fucking need. You can get mifepristone and misoprostol online, you may not even need a prescription, it’s safe, it’s reliable, it’s easy, it’s affordable, at time of writing it’s still legal in most US states, and you can DIY it. Here’s how:
Cannot believe I’m making this post but PSA! The “salt lick test” is not a medical test for sodium deficiency, it’s what some random fuck on this site calls eating as much salt as they think tastes good. Please stop taking medical advice from this site dear fuck. Sodium is not something our bodies adjust flavor to in response to how much we need it. Hypertension (high sodium, high bp) is much more common than hypotension (low salt, low bp) and can kill you. Low blood pressure, while sometimes uncomfortable, is a much less dangerous state. Do not just eat salt until you’re tired of eating salt. Fuck.
It is worded as though the OP learned this from a doctor, or at least someone that knows something about nutrition. “Why didn’t I learn about (nonexistent thing)????” Search for ‘salt lick test’ online. There’s nothing, because this isn’t a thing. And if you learn about nutrition, and the way sodium works in the body, it’s pretty obviously not a thing.
I don’t want people to feel unintelligent for believing posts like this, though. It’s not everyone’s responsibility to know about hypertension. It’s not your fault if you think this is sound advice. It is the responsibility of OP to not spread medical misinformation. They might honestly think they’re helping people, but this is not the way to do it. All they are doing is further harming people that are worried about their health.
Yes, some people are sodium deficient. My close friend and I have low sodium and low blood pressure and eat as much salt as we want because of that, but surprise I guess? We don’t like licking pure salt. That’s why we’re low. Because we don’t like to eat that much. Our bodies sometimes have very helpful ways of telling us when we need certain nutrients, but sometimes we have to use the brain part of our bodies as well.
The reason this upset me so much is how many people I saw in the notes saying “oh no, I never get tired of eating salt, I must be very salt deficient!” and bc OP acted like this is a standard practice, and bc this website is full of impressionable people that just trust too much, they’ll probably start consuming way too much and sufferhealthrisks. And it feels like a great example of how misinformation is so easy to avoid spreading, but for whatever fucking reason, people keep doing it anyway.
President Trump just decided to stop cost sharing reduction (CSR) payments, money which helped insurance providers lower deductibles and premiums for low-income enrollees. It’s a horrible move for people on the healthcare exchanges: It’s expected to raise premiums, drive insurers out of the market and force people off their insurance.
Congress has already been working on bipartisan negotiations to stabilize the insurance market, including making the CSR payments permanent. Now it’s more important than ever that they pass a bill, quickly, to fund these payments. The Senate has been doing the most work on this, so call your senators and ask them to appropriate CSR payments!
Here’s your script: “Hi, my name is [your name] and I’m a constituent from [your town]. I’m calling because I’m concerned about President Trump’s decision to stop funding cost sharing reduction payments, which will destabilize the health care market and raise premiums. I hope Senator So-and-so will support legislation to appropriate the CSR payments and stabilize the market. Thank you.”
The Children’s Health Insurance Program covers 8.9 million children - and on September 30, it expired. If it isn’t reauthorized, states will start to run out of money as early as this month, potentially forcing them to cancel children’s plans. Call your senators and representative and urge them to reauthorize CHIP!
Here’s your script: Hi, my name is [your name] and I’m a constituent from [your town]. I’m calling to ask Senator/Representative So-and-so to support reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program immediately. It’s really important to reauthorize this program before funding starts to expire. Thank you.”
Senate Republicans have until September 30th to pass a bill repealing the Affordable Care Act, and they’re making a huge push for a horrible new plan.
The Graham-Cassidy health care bill cuts health care spending by making it a block grant, ends Medicaid as we know it and lets each state decide whether or not to protect people with preexisting conditions from discrimination. It’s a really bad bill, and they’re just one vote away from passing it.
We’ve won this fight before and we can win it again, but only if all of us speak out before September 30. Call your senators NOW, especially if they’re Republicans, and urge them to vote against this bill.
Here’s your script: “Hi, my name is [your name] and I’m a constituent from [your town]. I’m calling because I’m deeply concerned about the Graham-Cassidy health care bill and I want the Senator to oppose it. Instead of rushing through a bill to cap Medicaid and take coverage from millions, the Senate should pass bipartisan measures through regular order to stabilize the markets. Thank you.
Currently, businesses have to make their buildings accessible - if they don’t, they’re breaking the law. H.R. 620 shifts the burden to people with disabilities who are denied access. If a person in a wheelchair found a business that denied them access, they’d have to carefully document it, submit a complaint, and then wait SIX MONTHS to see if the building made “substantial progress” towards accommodation before seeking a court order to make the business comply with the ADA. That’s an enormous task to force onto disabled people just trying to live their lives, and it means that fewer businesses will accommodate people with disabilities.
H.R. 620 passed the House Judiciary Committee next week. Now, it’s heading to the floor. Call your Representative and urge them to oppose it!
Here’s your script: “Hi, my name is [your name] and I’m a constituent from [your town]. I’m calling to ask Representative So-and-so to oppose H.R. 620, the ADA reform bill. This bill puts a huge burden on people with disabilities, forcing them to wait months or years just to visit local businesses. People with disabilities deserve equal access without being tied up in red tape. Please vote against H.R. 620. Thank you.”
The Trump administration’s most recent attacks on trans rights aim to promote discrimination against trans people seeking health care and allow homeless shelters to turn away trans individuals.
I had a patient this week who was a transgender man who was beginning the process of starting testosterone therapy, and I got to have a conversation with him about pap smears and cervical cancer screening, so I thought that as your friendly Tumblrhood doctor, I’d share some of that information, as well as general screening guidelines for all individuals who own a cervix.
1)Trans men who still have a cervix and have not undergone hysterectomy should continue to get pap smears. Cervical cancer is still possible due to HPV infection, and according to current research the guidelines for men with cervixes is the same as those for cisgender women with cervixes. This could always change in the future as more research is done, because that’s how science works, but for now these are the recommendations.
2) Transgender medical care is still not broadly taught at most medical schools and residency training locations, so be aware that not all providers will be versed in how to take care of you specifically. Hopefully they’re not douches and will respect you as their patient and do their proper research if they haven’t encountered care for LGBTQ+ individuals before, but… I’ve run into a lot of douches in my training, so please take care of yourselves. If you have transgender friends or know of LGBTQ organizations near you, reach out to them to see if they have recommendations for particular providers that are LGBTQ friendly.
3) Transgender men on testosterone tend to have a higher rate of unsatisfactory pap test results due to cervical changes and atrophy caused by testosterone, and are recommended to have repeat paps for a better sample. Don’t be discouraged - a lot of time this can be mitigated by the provider making a notation for the lab that the patient is on testosterone and whether or not they are amenhorreic (not having menstrual cycles). Hopefully your physician will know to do that, but considering point 2 above, it never hurts to pointedly ask them if they’ll tell the lab that.
4) Insurance bounce-back/non-coverage can sometimes be an issue if your documentation has you labeled as male. If this happens, simply ask your physician to help you appeal this by either reaching out to your insurance to clarify the issue, or having them write a letter addressing it for your appeal. It should be covered once that’s cleared up.
Now, for general pap screening guidelines (keep in mind, these are for the USA, and other countries may/will have different guidelines):
Start at 21 years old (unless you have HIV, in which case speak with your doctor about when you should start, because it may likely need to be earlier).
Ages 21 to 29, pap smears for routine screening are every 3 years if your results return normal.
Ages 30 to 65, pap smears can be every 5 years if they return normal IF it is done as cytology with co-testing for HPV. If HPV is not tested, then it’s still every 3 years.
If you have never had vaginal (penetrative or oral) intercourse, you may not need a pap. There is still a very low risk of cancer development based on things such as smoking, family history, etc., but overall the vast majority of cervical cancer is caused by HPV, which is sexually transmitted. If you’ve never been exposed to HPV through sex, your risk of developing cancer is very low.
You still need pap smears even if you’ve had the HPV vaccine.
If you’ve had a hysterectomy in which your cervix was also removed (which is the standard way of doing it these days, but wasn’t always in the past), and your hysterectomy was not due to cancer (and you’ve never had a significantly abnormal pap), you do not need to continue getting pap smears.
I could say more, but I’ll stop here. Overall, please discuss pap smears with your doctor if you currently have (or have had) a cervix to see if you need to have them and when.
Also, if you have had experiences with pap smears as a transgender individual, please add on with any advice you’ve found! I was never formally taught transgender care in my medical training and had to learn it through my own research, so I’m always curious to see how other providers who may be more experienced than me with it practice.
Unemployment in Columbus is decreasing while poverty continues to rise. This is because more and more jobs do not pay a living wage.
Columbus service workers are coming together to change this. Janitors – who have now been without a contract for three months – are standing up for justice alongside security officers who protect our downtown buildings, and are organizing to bring good jobs to their communities.
Columbus janitors held a prayer vigil downtown yesterday! They joined with local clergy to pray for justice for working families.
Full-time Columbus janitors are on average paid just $18,200 a year - and we know our city can do better. Right now, janitors are in the process of bargaining a new union contract to secure fair wages, full time work, and affordable healthcare. There’s a lot at stake: The concentrated poverty rate in Columbus has nearly doubled since 2000, and this can be attributed in large part to the proliferation of low wage, no-benefit jobs.
Last week, Columbus janitors took to the streets to demand a fair contract. This Monday, they return to the table to negotiate with the cleaning contractors who have demanded a wage freeze for janitors for the next three years, in addition to increases in health care costs and the right to cut janitors’ hours at any time.
Are you an American? Do you have a sec to stand up for the millions of poor people, disabled people, people with pre-existing conditions and freelancers who rely on the ACA to keep them, y’know, not-broke and not-dead? (Hi!)
Do you live in Alaska, Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee or West Virginia?
Congrats: you have a Republican Senator who has publicly expressed some concern about repealing the ACA without a replacement plan! If you haven’t already, this is your reminder to give their offices a call and help them make up their minds!
Alaska – Lisa Murkowski: (202)-224-6665
Arizona – John McCain: (202) 224-2235
Arizona – Jeff Flake: (202) 224-4521
Kentucky – Rand Paul: 202-224-4343
Louisiana – Bill Cassidy: (202) 224-5824
Maine – Susan Collins: (202) 224-2523
Nevada – Dean Heller: 202-224-6244
Ohio – Rob Portman: (202) 224-3353
Pennsylvania – Pat Toomey: (202) 224-4254
Tennessee – Bob Corker: (202) 224-3344
Tennessee – Lamar Alexander: (202) 224-4944
West Virginia – Shelley Moore Capito: 202-224-6472
Sample call script: “My name is [YOUR NAME]. I’m a constituent calling to thank [YOUR SENATOR’S NAME] for having the integrity and foresight to see how disastrous it would be to [YOUR STATE] and to the rest of America if Congress votes to repeal the ACA without first agreeing on a solid replacement plan. Not only would it jeopardize the health and economic security of millions of Americans, it would also place a tremendous financial strain on our hospitals and our entire healthcare system, costing potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs. As you know, in [YOUR STATE], we [SOMETHING PERSONAL ABOUT HEALTH CONCERNS SPECIFIC TO YOUR STATE; YOU MIGHT WANNA DO A 30-SECOND GOOGLE. IF NOTHING ELSE SURFACES, JUST SAY YOUR STATE BELIEVES IN SOME POSITIVE CHARACTER TRAIT THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH KEEPING HEALTHCARE AFFORDABLE FOR AMERICANS, LIKE “LOOKING OUT FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR” OR SOMETHING.] As a voter, this is a vital issue to me, and I will be paying close attention to how [SENATOR’S NAME] votes.”
Call today if you haven’t already, and bug your local friends/family to call, too!
We only need to flip three senators, so it’s not impossible. Do this before this Friday, the 27th.
I’m sorry to ask this of you–I know there’s a lot of these things going around right now–but I depend on the ACA for my healthcare and I’m pretty damn terrified.
There are so many things. So many! But the ACA keeps people alive in a very real way and it is way more popular than Trump, so it’d mean a lot to this healthcare-less funemployed poet if you called your senator.
This weekend I’m facing my fears in my blue state and calling my reps for the like-maybe-fourth-time-ever. I’m with you in spirit, my loves.
Today, Tuesday December 13 at 3:00 pm ET (12:00 pm PT) we’ll be hosting a special #GetCovered Answer Time with Bess Evans, Senior Associate Director of Public Engagement and Senior Policy Advisor at the White House. Have questions about the ACA, health insurance, healthy adulting, or getting covered? Now’s a good time to ask it! http://younginvincible.tumblr.com/ask
1,900the number of Whole Foods employees that are about to lose their health insurance because the Amazon-owned company is broke. Kidding! It’s actually because Whole Foods reneged on a longstanding agreement to allow any employee that works over 20 hours to have healthcare. source
Study after study show a “misuse” rate of less than 1% in patients prescribed opioids for acute pain or chronic pain. And numerous large studies show an even lower overdose rate from opioids used in the medical setting.
In this last of four series on health care options in Ecuador, we will consider the factors you must take into account in order to determine the best option for you. It boils down to…
Ecuador health care 2016 – part 3 – Self insurance Self insurance
The sad reality is that most expats living in Ecuador have no insurance. By default, they are self-insured. For some, this is a conscious decision. In Ecuador, you can actually get by with this approach, though I don’t recommend it. Why would someone chose to have no health insurance in a…
Ecuador Health care 2016 – Part 2 – Private health insurance
This is where you have to be careful, evaluate your needs and read the fine print. Costs vary tremendously. Interestingly, the number of people using private health insurance in Ecuador has plummeted in recent years, a testament to the quality of the government programs. Get quotes from several companies. Read reviews. And ask local…
Ecuador Health care 2016 – Private, Public or None?
When living abroad, nothing is as fundamental as looking out for your health and living according to ones means. In many countries, however, healthcare can be extremely expensive. Fortunately for residents of Ecuador, affordable healthcare options are abundant. Let’s examine both public and private healthcare options. Then we will look at the…
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