A Little Girl Talk

I have a gripe this week. Actually, I have several. And this is girl stuff, woman stuff, really. So let me just cut loose with it. Why is it that the FDA has not endorsed and insurance companies will not pay for Gardasil injections for women over twenty-six years old? Let's review. Gardasil is a huge breakthrough in women's health. It's a vaccine that prevents the four most common forms of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), the types most likely to cause cervical cancer. But it's only approved for girls and women between the ages of nine and twenty-six. Nine and twenty-six! The reason? The only one any doctor has been able to give me is that by the time you're twenty-seven, you've probably already been exposed.

Well, I replied, doesn't that assume that a woman of twenty six is never going to have a lover she hasn't already had?
No, said the doctor I spoke with. It assumes that she's already been with enough men to ensure she's been exposed by now or is in a stable relationship and never will be at risk.

But that is a mistaken assumption! Suppose a woman has been with only one man? Suppose she married young, has been faithful, has never been exposed to HPV, and suddenly finds herself single again, at thirty, or thirty five or forty or fifty? Why should she risk contracting HPV every time she takes a new lover? Why shouldn't she be able to get the vaccine?

Well, the fact is, she can get it. She's going to have to face a thirty minute debate with her doctor first, and she's going to have to pay out of pocket for it, because insurance won't cover it. But she can get it, and she should. I have a lot of friends who are newly single and (slightly) over twenty-six. And I tell them all to insist on getting that vaccine.

To me, the medical community's assumption that a woman any older has already had every lover she's likely to have, is just ridiculous. But worse, it's discriminatory, and it's putting women's lives at risk. Marketing Gardasil to pre-teens and young adults is a fabulous idea and a great service to them. But giving the general impression that any woman older than twenty-six needn't bother, is bordering on criminal negligence. Why aren't women screaming about this?

That's gripe number one. But as long as I'm on women's health issues, here's another, and this one's for all ages. Did you know that some antibiotics will keep your birth control method from working? Someone close to me was recently put on a powerful antibiotic, Clendomicin, and was shocked to start a period despite that she's on Depo-Provera (the birth control shot.) Upon doing a little research, she learned that Clendomicin can counteract the effects of the birth control shot. She was surprised that neither the doctor who wrote, nor the pharmacist who filled the prescription had mentioned this. She was even more shocked when she scanned the drug's label and the warning sheet that came with it, and found absolutely no mention of this side effect. What responsible doctor treats a twenty-two year old woman and gives her a drug that could have this effect without a word of warning? Where is the FDA where this matter is concerned? This is something that could severely impact a woman's life, for heaven's sake. This is not a tiny matter. As I understand it, there's more than one antibiotic that can have this side effect, so women, be careful.

Women's health issues really do have a long way to go, don't they? For now, I guess all we can do is ask a ton of questions, beginning with "Are there any side effects that aren't on the label?" I strongly recommend talking to nurses. They know a lot, and the easiest way to get a straight answer without putting them too terribly on the spot, is to ask, "What would you tell your daughter or your sister, about this subject?"

To derail a bit from the topic of the moment, my big fitness week kind of petered out, for me at least. A bad bug knocked me flat on my butt for the week and some family issues kept me off balance. But I'm back on track today, so visit me on the fitness list. (See last Thursday's post for details.)

Now, do you have women's health issues you'd like to vent about? What about tips and suggestions for all your sisters out there? Post away. I'd love to hear them.

Best,
Maggie