Womens Day, a cyberattack and ashwagandha: The week in Well+Being
Happy International Women’s Day (one day early). This week we’re writing about women’s health, a cyberattack that might be affecting your prescriptions and a popular supplement called ashwagandha. Plus, we’ve got our weekly “joy” snack. But before that …
This week’s must-reads:
- When can psychiatric drugs be stopped? Answers about ‘de-prescribing.’
- Why the IRS doesn’t believe your doctor’s note for tax-free health items
- Elevated lead found in six ground cinnamon spice brands, FDA warns
- Why quitting can be a superpower that helps your mental health
- What are 7 signs of ‘high-functioning’ depression? A viral video explains.
Celebrating women on International Women’s Day
To mark International Women’s Day, we’ve decided to showcase some of our best stories related to women and women’s health. Enjoy!
Bitter rivals. Beloved friends. Survivors. Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova have known each other for 50 years now, outlasting most marriages. Aside from blood kin, Navratilova points out, “I’ve known Chris longer than anybody else in my life, and so it is for her.” Lately, they have never been closer — a fact they refuse to cheapen with sentimentality. “It’s been up and down, the friendship,” Evert says. At the ages of 69 and 67, respectively, Evert and Navratilova have found themselves more intertwined than ever, by an unwelcome factor. You want to meet an opponent who draws you nearer in mutual understanding? Try having cancer at the same time.
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Women may get a bigger longevity boost from exercise than men. Whether it’s vigorous activity or muscle building, women can make big gains in longevity while doing about half the exercise that men do.
Heart health, women and the limits of exercise. Heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of American women — and the risk, says reporter Gretchen Reynolds, extends to women such as her friend Anne, who by all appearances was in great shape.
From heart disease to IUDs: How doctors dismiss women’s pain. Several studies support the claim that gender bias in medicine routinely leads to a denial of pain relief for female patients for a range of health conditions.
For some Black women, the fear of death shadows the joy of birth. In the United States, the deadliest place to give birth among high-income nations, Black women die at two to three times the rate of their White, Asian and Latina peers.
Teen risked her life to save disabled woman. “I think it’s one of the bravest acts I’ve ever seen,” said Jereme Robison, police chief for the Ardmore Police Department in Alabama.
How a cyberattack may affect your prescription access
A cyberattack on a health-care company has created problems for many patients, including me, who are trying to fill drug prescriptions. The hack has forced some consumers to pay cash for expensive drugs, denied their use of pharmaceutical discount coupons or left them unable to get their refills at all.
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The reason behind the chaos is a ransomware attack on a little-known company called Change Healthcare, which is believed to process 50 percent of the medical claims in the United States. But most people won’t know if the hack has affected their medical data until they try to fill a prescription or visit a doctor.
That’s what happened to Nicole H., a 32-year-old in Connecticut, who wasn’t able to fill a prescription of Caplyta that her psychiatrist prescribed for her bipolar depression. She spoke on the condition that her full name not be used to protect her medical privacy.
Nicole said that she couldn’t get the prescription filled until her psychiatrist’s office called the pharmacy. Her pharmacist then told her the medication would cost $1,700 for a four-week supply because their system wasn’t working and her insurance wasn’t going through. “I left without the medication because I don’t have $1,700,” she said.
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Nicole said her doctor gave her sample packs of the pills to tide her over until the issue could be resolved. But now a drug coupon that lowers her costs from $450 a month to just $15 a month isn’t working. “It’s creating stress in an environment where I need to reduce stress,” Nicole said.
Lynn Nye, 90, who lives in Edgewater, Md., tried last week to fill his prescription for verapamil, a blood pressure medication. The pharmacist told him they were not able to get through to his insurance company. To get his pills, he would have to pay $120 instead of his usual $10 co-pay.
“Fortunately, he wasn’t out of pills, so he opted to wait,” said his daughter Laura Nye Falsone. “I went in a few days later to try to get it, and the pharmacist told me the same thing, and that this was happening at pharmacies all over the place. So I didn’t get it then, either.”
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If you can’t get your prescription filled — or you end up with unexpected charges — try to talk to your pharmacist first about how to solve it. Doctors may also be able to give patients sample packs of pills until the hack is resolved, or offer a more affordable substitute prescription if the patient needs to pay out of pocket.
To learn more about the hack and answers to common questions, read the full report.
Should I take ashwagandha for sleep?
Q: I’ve been struggling with sleep. My friends told me about ashwagandha, which seems like a natural solution. Should I try it?
A: Before trying ashwagandha, I’d recommend seeing your health-care provider to understand what’s causing your sleep issues. There are many reasons for insomnia, such as depression and sleep apnea, for which ashwagandha is not the first choice of treatment.
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Ashwagandha has become popular among high-profile celebrities and TikTok scrollers for many reasons — they claim it improves sleep, anxiety, memory and even muscle mass.
Though it may be an unfamiliar term to many (the name is derived from Sanskrit), ashwagandha is far from a new therapy. It’s been used for a variety of ailments for thousands of years in countries such as India, where Ayurvedic medicine — a traditional South Asian healing system — is practiced.
To learn more, read the full report from our Ask a Doctor columnist Trisha Pasricha.
Find your joy snack!
Here are a few things that brought us joy this week.
- Enjoy some of this week’s best photographs from The Washington Post. You’ll find a house covered in tumbleweeds, polar bear cuteness and more.
- Delivery driver takes lunch to animal shelter, ends up adopting a dog
- Can you spot which of these actors are wearing wigs. It’s harder than you might think!
- It’s like shuffleboard on ice. Learn more about how to start curling.
- Serve these sheet pan quesadillas at your Oscars party.
Want to know more about “joy” snacks? Our Brain Matters columnist Richard Sima explains. You can also read this story as a comic.
Please let us know how we are doing. Email me at wellbeing@washpost.com. You can also find us on TikTok.
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