PRISON IS NOT MENOPAUSE FRIENDLY: Be Prepared to Self Advocate

By Kwaneta Harris

From PHN Issue 58, Fall 2024

What Are Menopause and Perimenopause?

Menopause = Meno (monthly period) + Pause (stop). Menopause is
the end of having a menstrual cycle. Technically, it is twelve months without
having a menstrual period. Perimenopause leads to menopause. It is when a person with ovaries is in their final reproductive years. Symptoms of menopause can begin during perimenopause and continue for up to a decade. Despite the name, the journey to menopause is not just about our period stopping. Some people don’t have periods due to a hysterectomy or infertility. It’s easier to think of menopause as a time of reduced hormone production.

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HEPATITIS C CAN BE DEFEATED IF VIABLY TREATED

By Raymond White

From PHN Issue 57, Summer 2024

In the year of 2010, while serving time in Fresno County Jail, I took an antibody blood test for hepatitis C (hep C). This was a mandated requirement for new prisoner arrivals. A few weeks after I had taken the test, I was called in for a primary clinician appointment. While I was talking to my health care provider, he stated that I had been exposed to hep C due to the mere fact that I had
shared a syringe needle with a partner a couple years back. Hep C is a viral infection that attacks and causes inflammation to the liver. After I was notified of my hep C diagnosis, I suddenly became mentally overwhelmed. I could not believe that I had contracted hep C. At the time of my diagnosis, there was not a cure, but treatment could decrease further significant damage to the liver. Pegylated forms of treatment could produce a sustained viral response, but this form of treatment caused many complications due to adverse effects. The FDA had not yet found a viable treatment effective for all genotypes.

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Medical Concerns and Advocacy in Prison: My Perspective

By Joshua O’Connor AKA “Apache”

From PHN Issue 43, Summer 2020

One concern I would like to address is the deliberate indifference and lack of remedy regarding addressing medical concerns in prison. For months, I have been trying to get a new mattress, because my current one is flat and falling apart. In fact, the mattress is only about half an inch thick.

A few years ago (prior to my incarceration), I was in a terrible car accident. My friends and I were lucky to be alive after the accident occurred. I did come away from the accident with multiple injuries, though. I sustained a skull fracture, major concussion, broken leg, broken ankle, and a dislocated kneecap. I still suffer pain all over my body to this day.

The current mattress I have has made my pain so much worse, so I contacted multiple staff members, including medical staff and the sergeant, to ask for a new, better mattress. Nothing happened at first. It wasn’t until I sent a grievance that the sergeant had me come to his office to discuss my concern.