Ontopic Health Thread: post your AIDS, diseases and infekshunz here.

poo GIF
 
I had to see my PCP today for an annual visit to review & renew my Adderall Rx (because I'm supposed to sign a new med contract for it every year) and I got hit with a SURPRISE PAP SMEAR because I'll be due in November but she's currently booked out until May of 2023. in theory I could have tried to get an appt with my OB/GYN closer to November, but now I don't have to worry about it AND I won't end up on any of my own naughty lists for overdue stuff. assuming it all comes back normal, I won't need to do it again for another 5 years :)

I kept thinking about this while I got undressed bc it's so universal and so true lol
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I had to see my PCP today for an annual visit to review & renew my Adderall Rx (because I'm supposed to sign a new med contract for it every year) and I got hit with a SURPRISE PAP SMEAR because I'll be due in November but she's currently booked out until May of 2023. in theory I could have tried to get an appt with my OB/GYN closer to November, but now I don't have to worry about it AND I won't end up on any of my own naughty lists for overdue stuff. assuming it all comes back normal, I won't need to do it again for another 5 years :)

I kept thinking about this while I got undressed bc it's so universal and so true lol
View attachment 15534
I’m due for one of those but need to find a dr first. 😭

I’m glad you said five years cause I thought it was every three and I was way overdue. If it’s every five I’m only half a year late.
 
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I’m due for one of those but need to find a dr first. 😭

I’m glad you said five years cause I thought it was every three and I was way overdue. If it’s every five I’m only half a year late.
it can be pushed out to 5 once you're being tested at the age of 30 and up, but only if you're being tested for HPV (either by itself, or along with the Pap). if you only had regular pap/cervical cytology, it's still 3!
 
it can be pushed out to 5 once you're being tested at the age of 30 and up, but only if you're being tested for HPV (either by itself, or along with the Pap). if you only had regular pap/cervical cytology, it's still 3!
I have no idea. It was when I was having my last baby. Either way I’m due.
 
I have no idea. It was when I was having my last baby. Either way I’m due.
theoretically, whenever you DO manage to get in for it (hopefully soon!) they'll do an HPV co-test with it because that's pretty standard for people 30+, so then you would be good for 5 as long as it came back normal/negative. I plugged the info into my handy dandy ASCCP app, and even using the "rarely screened (> 5 years ago)" option, they still recommend a 5 year interval for normal pap & negative HPV or for negative HPV alone (with no pap done).

that said, it's also still recommended to have an annual well-woman exam (which should include a clinical breast exam and may or may not include a pelvic exam) so once you find & establish with someone, they'll likely still want you to come back more frequently, you just won't have to get your cervix brushed again for a while :lol:
 
Can you get the HPV vaccine later in life of you're still negative? Or is it one of the ones that only works in childhood
 
Can you get the HPV vaccine later in life of you're still negative? Or is it one of the ones that only works in childhood
I spoke with some nurses and basically there's not much point getting it as an adult if you've been sexually active for years already. People are rarely negative after that so technically yes they could, but on reality its not done.
 
I spoke with some nurses and basically there's not much point getting it as an adult if you've been sexually active for years already. People are rarely negative after that so technically yes they could, but on reality its not done.
yep, you CAN get it done (the FDA upped the allowable age to 45 a couple of years ago) but whether they have you do it or not varies by a number of factors, and typically it's not recommended after age 26 outside of certain specific populations.

the older vaccine protected against 4 strains, the newer one protects against 9, but both valencies included/include types 16 & 18 which are the really bad ones that are implicated in the majority of cervical, vaginal, anal, penile, & oropharyngeal cancers. the vaccine won't cure or undo a past infection; it can prevent against the other strains you haven't had, but people who are 26+ at this point and have been sexually active are statistically likely to have already been exposed to the big bads. if someone hasn't been sexually active (or like, minimally) and intends to become sexually active, it could be worth it at that higher age range. and, as the current round of folks who received earlier vaccination age up, those guidelines may be changed (because it's based on the statistics of a given population, and those statistics are very likely to change in the context of access to vaccination and decent enough vaccination rates).
 
I had to see my PCP today for an annual visit to review & renew my Adderall Rx (because I'm supposed to sign a new med contract for it every year) and I got hit with a SURPRISE PAP SMEAR because I'll be due in November but she's currently booked out until May of 2023. in theory I could have tried to get an appt with my OB/GYN closer to November, but now I don't have to worry about it AND I won't end up on any of my own naughty lists for overdue stuff. assuming it all comes back normal, I won't need to do it again for another 5 years :)

I kept thinking about this while I got undressed bc it's so universal and so true lol
View attachment 15534

a surprise pap smear
who doesn’t love those


giphy.gif
 
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a surprise pap smear
who doesn’t love those


giphy.gif

as the fog cleared from my glasses, I saw the little bottle & brush on the counter and I was like "oh, goddamnit"

it's also always a weird thing because I usually prefer to have a little more time to mentally & physically prepare before presenting my kitty & cabootyhole to one of my bosses, but it wasn't in the cards yesterday :lol:
 
theoretically, whenever you DO manage to get in for it (hopefully soon!) they'll do an HPV co-test with it because that's pretty standard for people 30+, so then you would be good for 5 as long as it came back normal/negative. I plugged the info into my handy dandy ASCCP app, and even using the "rarely screened (> 5 years ago)" option, they still recommend a 5 year interval for normal pap & negative HPV or for negative HPV alone (with no pap done).

that said, it's also still recommended to have an annual well-woman exam (which should include a clinical breast exam and may or may not include a pelvic exam) so once you find & establish with someone, they'll likely still want you to come back more frequently, you just won't have to get your cervix brushed again for a while :lol:
What if you've had the same sexual partner since you were 12?
 
What if you've had the same sexual partner since you were 12?
if someone is in the younger age group, they should get the vaccine (i.e. they're 20 and have been in that relationship since 12) because they're statistically less likely to have been already exposed (both because of age and limited sexual history), and because there are no guarantees about what the future holds (breaking up/divorcing, cheating, or even a partner dying)

if they are beyond the key age group and they intend to become sexually active with someone(s) outside of that relationship, because they are less likely to have been exposed to HPV already there is a greater potential benefit to vaccination, so their doctor may still recommend it, but that potential benefit is more limited if the relationship it's continued and monogamy is maintained.

both vaccines and the things they protect against come with a variety of potential complications or side effects, so ultimately whether a vaccine is necessary or recommended or not comes down to a variety of factors like how bad would it be if I got full blown [illness] and what is my potential risk for exposure to [thing being vaccinated against]. some things, like Polio, are so terrible that even with a lower likelihood of exposure, the (minimal) risks of the vaccine are nothing compared to the risks of contracting polio. for something like HPV, the risks are less uniform, so it relies on now shared clinical decision-making that will vary from patient to patient depending on their unique clinical factors and risks.

we handle some other vaccines similarly, where the vaccines exist and are approved for particular age ranges, but are not typically administered for parts of those ranges unless particular aggravating factors are present. like, adults 65+ are supposed to receive at least one pneumococcal vaccine. however, if certain medical conditions or other factors are present, it may also be recommended to receive additional doses, and earlier. there's a medium risk tier, where it's recommended to receive one or two doses between 19-64 and then the regular recommended dose at age 65 (some conditions that put you in this medium-risk category include asthma, smoking, alcoholism, chronic heart, lung, or liver disease, or diabetes mellitus). there's also a higher risk tier where you are recommended to have three or four additional doses before the regular 65+ dose (these conditions include CSF leaks, cochlear implants, chronic renal failure, and sickle cell/hemoglobinopathies, as well as congenital or acquired asplenia or immunodeficiencies). so it's *technically* safe to have as many as 5 pneumococcal vaccines from the age of 19 on, but we don't administer that many of those vaccines to EVERYBODY because the risks of exposure and severe illness for the average person under 65 are less than the risks of vaccination. for those with the listed conditions, the vaccine is less risky than rawdogging the bacteria is.
 
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