What to Expect From Your STD Clinic Visit

So you haven’t been as careful as you should, and you’re contemplating your first ever visit to an STD clinic to get tested? It’s understandable that you’d be nervous, but it really isn’t as bad as you’d imagine. Here’s what you can expect from your visit, so you’ll know the general procedure.

First steps…

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All Forms of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Increase Breast Cancer Risk

One of the most common questions that I am asked is if there are any safe forms of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for women who are experiencing severe symptoms associated with menopause. Since the release of the preliminary results of the pivotal Women’s Health Initiative study, in 2002, which clearly showed that standard combination HRT (containing the two primary female sex hormones) was associated with a significant increase in the risk of developing breast cancer, a number of alternative “safer” forms of HRT have been proposed. These alternative forms of HRT have included transdermal estrogen patches (which are placed on the skin) and other forms of “bioidentical” HRT hormones.

Advocates of transdermal estrogen patches note that the adverse effects of estrogen-based HRT pills on cholesterol, as well as their association with an increased risk of life-threatening blood clots, may be lower with transdermal patches when compared to oral HRT medications.

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Getting Health Insurance If You’re Pregnant

I guess you already know that it is a lot easier to find health insurance well before you get pregnant. A typical job related group policy should cover maternity very well. If you can obtain group medical coverage from an employer, HIPAA laws may protect your access to the plan even if you are pregnant. If you already have a job, and did not take the insurance, call your HR department to find out what your options are. If you need to find a new job with group benefits, this situation will get a lot more sticky. While employers should not discriminate, trying to get hired while pregnant is not an ideal situation. Of course, a spouse with an employer based group medical plan that covers maternity would work too.

Keep in mind that not everybody qualifies for this HIPAA protection. For one thing, you usually have to be able to prove you had prior coverage within a certain time limit. The laws were intended to protect people, but not to allow people to just run out and get insurance when they needed it. This is not how insurance works. You do not buy car insurance after you have an accident.

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