Adult Preventative Health Updates
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Kara Wada, MD: Welcome back everyone. I am so excited to welcome our new listeners and our returning listeners to the Becoming Immune Confident Podcast. My name is Dr. Kara Wada. I'm a board certified pediatric and adult allergy immunology lifestyle medicine physician and Sjogren's autoimmune patient, and I am so excited and honored to welcome a special guest today, Suzanne Soliman, who is an award-winning PharmD, the doctorate in pharmacy. She's a professor and author and an appointed member of the New Jersey Board of Health. She has authored over 100 peer reviewed publications and is a speaker and medical contributor on various pharmacy topics. She is host of Coffee with Suzy part of MJH Studios, and Suzy has been featured on the cover of 201Health Magazine and has appeared on ABC7NY. She's been quoted in New York Magazine, Crain's Chicago Business Magazine, TimeOut Chicago, and the Daily Voice, and she's been a guest on numerous podcasts. So pleased she's here today. Suzanne is the founder of the largest organization and pharmacists in the world and founder of the Women Pharmacist Day, and we are really excited today to talk a lot about the role of vaccines as adults which is so important.
Anytime patients ask me what can I do to boost my immune system? The first and foremost thing we talk about is getting those vaccines. So we're gonna talk all about that. Thank you so much for taking time outta your busy schedule, Suzy, to join us and to talk with us today.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here and to talk about this topic because I think it is so important.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah. So maybe you can begin just by sharing, how did you end up where you are now doing what you're doing?
Background and Journey of Suzanne Soliman, PharmD
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Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Sure. So I am a pharmacist by training and I worked in various areas within pharmacy, but ultimately back in 2017, I founded the Pharmacist Moms Group, which really just offered support to pharmacists and moms in the community. There wasn't a group prior that really focused on women in pharmacy, even though two thirds of pharmacy graduates right now are women. So it was something really near and dear to me. I founded the group back in 2017 and pretty much doing a lot of that full-time right now and taking care of a lot of issues that women face in pharmacy.
Kara Wada, MD: I would imagine that there is significant overlap in some of those issues that y'all are dealing with compared as mama docs on the medical doctorates side of things too.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Exactly. Probably very similar.
Kara Wada, MD: So much potential for burnout and just burning the candle on all the sides. That can be so tricky.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yeah, definitely. It's funny 'cause we go from talking professionally to just talking about what's the best bathing suit that everyone recommends, and then all of a sudden it becomes the bathing suit for all the pharmacist moms. Yeah.
Kara Wada, MD: We've had similar trends go with with some hot items on Amazon.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yes, exactly.
Kara Wada, MD: Super funny. But also I think, just in a lot of ways reminds us that we're all human and has the struggles that any of us would have and I know one of the things that I've struggled with so much is putting my own health first and foremost. Or not even first or foremost, but actually just keeping it like anywhere on the agenda. And preventative health is one of those things that so easily sometimes can get lost in the mix.
Vaccines and Adult Preventative Health Updates
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Kara Wada, MD: So I would love to learn and talk more about some updates as it comes to recommendations for our health or preventative health, especially in the way of vaccines in the last few years.
I would love if you could share with us what those are. Being outside of primary care now for, oh goodness, I don't even wanna talk. I'm coming up on my tenure research. So I have my neuro areas that I focus on with vaccines with my immune deficiency evaluations.
But there's a lot more to it now and that a lot more that's available for us to protect ourselves.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Definitely. I think you touched on a really important topic just for women in general, and there's a lot of studies to show that the lack of preventative care that we do especially during motherhood or as women just neglecting our routine checkups or any type of preventative care that can lead to undetected health issues. So I think it's really important that we prioritize these regular appointments, including vaccinations for ourselves, not just for our children. So one of the biggest things that recently came out is that we need to really educate patients and moms and including ourselves- healthcare providers, about the Hepatitis B and the benefits of adult vaccination, to really let people know and become more aware with the CDC recommendation that adults between 19 to 59 need to get vaccinated against hepatitis B. And I think it brings into question a lot to a lot of people because I think that if you're born after 1991 it was standard of cure.
But if you're born prior to 1991, it really wasn't. And all of a sudden it's where are my records and how do I know if I was vaccinated or not? And I think that's something else we don't do that great with as women, we're great with keeping track of our children like the records. All of a sudden it's " How did I, what happened with that test and where can I get that information?". And I think that's really important. So I really would like to encourage everyone to look into hepbcatchup.com and they can learn more information about just getting vaccinated and updating themselves for adults.
Kara Wada, MD: And this is something like you mentioned, I know with each of my three kiddos, they get that first hepatitis B shot before they typically even leave the hospital. And then they're on that track. But as an elder millennial, like that wasn't something that was offered to us when we were growing up.
Cause if it wasn't part of the deal, maybe we can talk a little bit about what is hepatitis B and why is it important that we prevent it.
Understanding Hepatitis B
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Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yeah, definitely. I think it's important to know with hepatitis B, the most important thing to note is that it is completely prevented if you vaccinate.
So I think that's the key really, is that there's a lot of diseases if you do vaccinate against it, that it is important that you could prevent it. And that's the information that I'm really focused on getting the message out on.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah, and I'll just kinda add a little a little backstory context for anyone who maybe is newer to listening to the podcast. I had my own little brush with liver injury. And this would've been fall of 2019. I ended up with an acute hepatitis. So hepatitis on its own means inflammation of the liver, and that can be caused by all sorts of different things. The one thing that they checked for first and foremost was, did I have evidence that I had protection against hepatitis B?
And then they also looked for any signs or symptoms or other lab markers that would be suggested of viral hepatitis, which thankfully none of those were the issue. It ended up being an effect from a supplement I was taking which we can talk about that another day. But when you hear the words like Hepatitis A, B, or C, those are all viral causes of liver inflammation.
And we have vaccines, really good safe vaccines for hepatitis B as we're talking about today, but also hepatitis A and if you can prevent any of these potential causes of significant liver injury and really long-term scarring of the liver.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yeah, it's critical. I think the other big thing, and I appreciate you sharing your story too, is that, I think people should be aware that it's actually a hundred times more infectious than HIV.
So it's a very highly infectious virus that, and most people are unaware of their infections, so it can unknowingly spread to other people in that there are many people living with chronic Hep B and one in four of those people will die from liver failure or cancer so it is something serious and to take seriously.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah. And this is a vaccine that has been around for quite some time and has been essentially mandatory for healthcare professionals for many years. So we have good safety record and data behind it. I think that's one of the things certainly that's come up in conversation and especially in the last few years.
As we look through, this is one that we really do and I will in the office, it's not uncommon for me to see patients come in maybe with concerns about a bad reaction or adverse reaction to the flu vaccine or even Covid vaccine, or some of these have been asked the question, am I allergic to this? I can't remember ever seeing anyone come in having had issues with the hepatitis B vaccine.
HEPLISAV-B & Vaccine Recommendation for adults born prior to 1991 to catch up on Hepatitis B vaccination
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Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yeah, exactly.
It's been around and years ago I actually did the three vaccine 'cause I took this when I was in college. I was born before 1991, so I missed it being born in the eighties. So for me, I had to take it later, but now what's great is this HEPLISAV-B vaccine is around and you actually can get two doses just within one month, and then you're covered. So it really is convenient for anyone on a busy schedule. You don't have to schedule the one one month and then the next month and then a few months later.
What's great about the HEPLISAV-B vaccine is that you get it all done within a month, and then you're all set to go. And I love that you're talking about the other vaccines because I do think there has been, at least even from the pharmacy perspective, a lot of hesitation and a lot of concern about vaccines in general.
And I think that right now there's around six vaccines, I believe that the CDC recommend for adults, which are the tetanus, the Tdap, shingles, pneumonia, flu, covid, and now hepatitis B. And I think because of the last few years, that's clouded. But we do know, hepatitis B has been, people have been getting vaccinated for many years. And it's important to just catch up anyone who did not receive that vaccine, prior to being born to 91.
Kara Wada, MD: Absolutely. If you listed off those other ones, there have been these big pushes. Like for instance especially if we were talking about being women in these mom groups, tetanus or Tdap is given now during pregnancy. Most often during that third trimester to help baby have some we call passive immunity so the mama can pass on antibodies through the placenta to the baby to help protect them from whooping cough before they get their vaccines. So that one, as mamas we tend to have as built-in to our, the care we're getting, there have been big pushes and awareness with the flu vaccine in Covid certainly last few years, but Hepatitis B has been this one that has really kinda forgotten about.
So this is, I think, great conversation to have to remind us and just bring about this awareness that this is something that is totally preventable. You really don't wanna get it and it's easy.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
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Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yeah, definitely easy. They can visit the pharmacy to get the vaccine or they're even on the website, hepbcatchup.com. They can actually find a pharmacy near them or where to get vaccinated against hepatitis B. But I definitely think this one is one that I would just encourage everyone. It's a kind of a no-brainer. We know that this has been done for years and that we want to encourage everyone to do this. Again, I think we neglect our own self-care as parents, so it's just really common for us to prioritize our kids' health and everyone else. You take care of your parents, you take care of your children, and we're in that age group where we need to again, focus on prioritizing ourselves and maintaining our own health when it's important and rather than just waiting.
Kara Wada, MD: And there's the saying that I recall my parents saying time and time again, and I repeated ad nauseam, but "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". And I would say in this case, it's like that little bit of prevention is like a very small amount of effort and input for a huge payoff.
When you think about the potentials I just remember some of the sickest patients I encountered as a resident in the ICU were those patients with liver failure and certainly, Hepatitis B played in a couple of those cases as well.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Definitely, I actually have a vision of my rotation, same thing in the ICU when I was a student and just the blood and just this vision. I can't actually, and it's been many years and it's still in my brain from seeing someone dying from hepatitis.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah. And I have to say that was one of the scariest things.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yeah. So that is very scary and especially coming that it came from a supplement. So it's important to take care of our liver and to know what's happening and what's going on. So I can only imagine if that happened to you that just seems.
Assurance of insurance coverage for the Hepatitis B vaccine
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Kara Wada, MD: Yeah, just extra conscientious. So if someone is going to the the catchup HepB website, which we will have linked in our show notes and they're looking to find the pharmacy, they maybe they make an appointment or it says that they're able to walk in. Is this something that typically is going to be covered by insurance?
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Definitely, it should be covered by their insurance. So that would be the easy part.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah. I think that's something that always comes up, right? That they're one of my pet peeves. Despite being totally immersed in this industry and healthcare system, is the lack of transparency sometimes in cost.
It's just frustrating. So it's really nice to know that with this new recommendation with it essentially being recommended, that then opens up that health insurance will cover it, which is awesome.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yeah, which is so important for a lot of people. It obviously vary based on your insurance provider and based on where you live, but overall, there is coverage. Preventative care is so important and I think there's a big push for it, even among insurance companies now to ensure that patients are going out and getting the appropriate preventative care because it is so important for preventing, all these diseases.
Kara Wada, MD: This is a little bit adjacent, and we don't have studies. I don't think they were specifically done in the Hepatitis B vaccine, but we know that good sleep and nutrition and those sorts of things can improve your response to vaccines too. So we're thinking about all these things to boost our immune system, to our balance, to make the most of what we have available to us. That another vote for filling our own cups.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: We get a lot of those questions though, even, as pharmacists too. We get those questions, how can I improve my response to the vaccine because I wanna get the vaccine, but then I don't want in two years to go measure and I have nothing there.
So I think it really is important for patients to look at that really just maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As you're talking about sleeping and all of that is critical eating, eating your balanced diet that we all strive to attain will definitely help with your body's response. And I think even stress management, all of that really helps your immune system. So I think all, they all go hand in hand.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah. We're all one human being.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yeah. Amazing how that's the case. So I think it's at any age, we need to do this and definitely during those years the 19 to 59 is when we're just all over. So I think it's different rest, sleep, as you mentioned is critical too for our immune system.
Kara Wada, MD: It's not easy to prioritize yourself, but what I've increasingly realized is that not only am I a better mom, but I'm also modeling that behavior for my kids too, and hopefully then they'll be able to understand the need that they need to take care of themselves as well.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Definitely. I think that's so important and I've had to learn that the hard way. I think initially, we have all this guilt and feeling bad and even with taking care of parents or my grandmother who's actually still alive and just feeling those burdens as well. 'Cause you're taking care of everyone and it can be really stressful. But I think prioritizing our own wellbeing, as you just said is super important for not just us, but also, when I see my kids looking up to me, I wanna model the behavior that I don't want them to just constantly be on the go and taking care of themselves and I think a lot of us rely nowadays with even just the internet on, I see a lot of patients relying on self-diagnosis or self-medication and just relying on these internet searches that that can actually lead to inaccurate or improper treatment.
So I think it's really important to not rely only on just your Google search, but really go out there and talk to someone. I don't know if you see a lot of that as well.
Kara Wada, MD: Yes. But then also the counter too in a system that so often now is prioritizing speed and efficiency over like that human to human connection, that sometimes it's hard for folks to feel like they've been heard.
And what they have going on is actually being believed and listened to seriously. So that's the other half of it too, I think for some folks they've tried at certain moments, they've come to this point of " Hey, I'm gonna actually take care of myself and make that appointment".
Then have this 10 minute visit that just.
Importance of Self-Advocacy and Relationships in Healthcare
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Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: That's why I think it is important you have to be your own advocate and you are the one who knows your body best.
So I think that's critical. And I think just coupling that with follow up care too.
Kara Wada, MD: And finding those members of your healthcare team that really are there to help and so often that really Has been a neighborhood pharmacist too.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yeah. Having that relationship with your pharmacist, with your team, I think that's important too. Sometimes even just hopping around doesn't help yourself either because all of a sudden you're reexplaining the whole entire situation and you're finding a new doctor, you're finding a new pharmacist, and it's nice to have those relationships.
Kara Wada, MD: If only we could get you and myself, like some people to sit down and build this from scratch.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yes. That would be great. That would be very great.
Kara Wada, MD: You come in, you get all of your preventative screening and your tests, and you can get a cup of coffee or tea and have it be affordable.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: And all together. New business model. We can discuss that later.
Recap of the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and prioritizing self-care
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Kara Wada, MD: I know. Great. So I think, from what we've talked about, the take home message is really take care of ourselves, understand that this is a new recommendation. An important part of our preventative healthcare is really making sure we are up to date on our vaccines.
In particular, this new to our age group, but not new overall hepatitis B vaccine, and that we can pretty easily obtain it by going to, can you repeat the website?
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: hepbcatchup.com. So definitely encourage everyone to visit that.
Potential Side Effects of Vaccines
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Kara Wada, MD: And I guess one other question I would imagine our listeners may ask of potential side effects. What are the most common that you've seen or heard about?
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: I think the typical vaccine redness, soreness, the injection site pain is probably the biggest one, maybe fatigue, but those are pretty minor.
Kara Wada, MD: Pretty minimal. Yeah and for our allergy shot patients, we'll just say, "Hey, it's a little itchy, can put a little over-the-counter hydrocortisone on there. Or a little ice pack". Usually does the trick to help.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Yes.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah. Thank you so much, pharmacist Suzy. We are so excited to connect and to learn about all of this and encourage folks to take care of themselves.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Definitely. Thanks again for having me.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah, thank you. Appreciate it.
Suzanne Soliman, PharmD, BCMAS: Take care.
Kara Wada, MD: Hey, everyone. I am going to ask you once again to go into Apple podcasts and submit a review of the podcast for me.
But first I'm going to share a review from Dr Lex RX.
"Dr Wada's unique perspective is amazing considering she's both an auto-immune patient and physician. Her experience, expertise and insight make this podcast so valuable. Keep them coming."
One other from Amanda Katherine.
"Wow. So informative. Thank you for bringing more attention to autoimmune diseases. Each podcast is so informative and well thought out. Very impressed with all that you do."
Thank you so much, Dr Lex Rx and Amanda Katherine. I really appreciate the feedback and the review.
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