Joanne, a 26-year-old nurse at the Cleveland Clinic, felt no sex drive for eight years. Nothing, nada, zilch. She wasn't happy, and neither was her boyfriend.

At first she wasn’t quite sure what was to blame for this sudden change, but her psychiatrist knew instantly. Her antidepressants were the culprit, he told her. Studies show antidepressants cause a decrease in sex drive in about one out of three people who take them.
But she says her doctor didn’t give her any advice about what to do. "My psychiatrist just kind of shrugged her shoulders," Joann says. "It was just like, well, that's a side effect of the drug. That's just the way it is."

Some 118 million prescriptions for antidepressants are written each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and studies show about one in three people who take these drugs experience a decrease in libido. Here are some tips from experts on what to do if it happens to you, whether you’re male or female.

Talk to your doctor about switching antidepressants: It worked for Joanne (that’s not her real name). When her psychiatrist switched her to a new antidepressant, "All of a sudden, my sex drive went through the roof. It was awesome. It was wonderful," she says.

Talk to your doctor about anti-impotence drugs: These have been prescribed to both men and women who suffer from anti-depressant-induced libido problems, although they’re FDA-approved only for men. Joanne took Cialis when, even after her libido returned, she had trouble reaching orgasm.

Testosterone: Testosterone, produced naturally by both men and women, boosts libido. Synthetic testosterone, however, has been approved only for use with men. Doctors can still prescribe it to women, but make sure you find a doctor who’s familiar with prescribing it to female patients, since the dosages are very different for women than for men.

As a medical reporter and the mother of four young daughters, I am often asked whether the benefits of Gardasil, the cervical cancer vaccine, outweigh the potential risks.

This week there’s more information about possible side effects. Two families have filed lawsuits in federal “vaccine court,” saying their daughters were severely harmed by the vaccine. The family of Jesalee Parsons was the first to file suit. In 2007, she got the HPV vaccine when she was 13. Jesalee’s mom was sure it was the right thing to do; her sister died of cervical cancer caused by HPV. However, within a few hours after getting the shot, Jesalee became very sick. She developed acute pancreatitis and spent weeks in the hospital. Part of her pancreas had to be cut off. She has missed months of school and still doesn’t feel good. So did Gardasil cause Parson’s illness? It’s tough to say – maybe it did, but maybe she was on the verge of developing pancreatitis anyway, and the Gardasil had nothing to do with it. The same holds true for the nearly 8,000 reports of problems filed with the Food and Drug Administration. Girls and women have blamed the vaccine for causing ailments from nausea to paralysis — even death. Fifteen deaths were reported to the FDA, and 10 were confirmed, but the CDC says none of the 10 were linked to the vaccine. The vaccine’s manufacturer, Merck & Co. Inc., estimates that 8 million girls and women have received the vaccine in the United States since it was approved in 2006, and that the FDA’s system “collects data on any adverse event following vaccination, be it coincidental or truly caused by a vaccine.”

Gardasil is routinely recommended for girls ages 11 and 12. When it comes time for your daughter, here are some things to consider:
1. Remember that the vaccine schedule is flexible. The CDC says you don’t have to give shots at exactly the ages they recommend. Talk to your pediatrician about what is best for your child.

2. Weigh the pros and the cons. The vaccine has benefits, but like any drug, it also has risks. Read more on CDC’s Web site. Also, keep in mind that you can get HPV only through having sex. The CDC recommends girls get vaccinated at 11 in order to reach them before they become sexually active.

3. Remember that the complaints to the FDA weren’t necessarily caused by Gardasil. Just because someone got sick after getting Gardasil and reported it to the FDA doesn’t mean the Gardasil caused the illness. It could be a coincidence.

For more tips on how to be an Empowered Patient, check out my column at CNN.com/empoweredpatient

On July 1, 1966, Medicare was implemented, extending health coverage to almost all Americans 65 or older. Today, physicians are having their Medicare payments cut by 10.6 percent. The American Medical Association is calling this "the brink of a Medicare meltdown.”

However, even though doctors will get paid 10 percent less starting today, expectations from the Department of Health and Human Services to the American Medical Association and AARP are high that the Senate and House will come up with a compromise that basically reverses the cuts, as lawmakers have done in the past.

Physicians won’t feel the pinch right away because, as Dr. Nancy Nielsen, president of the AMA explains, by law, Medicare holds claims for 14 days. Congress returns from its July Fourth break next week

Even if this cut goes away, the next is always looming because Medicare costs continue to rise, triggering the need to slash expenditures. Because payments are not keeping up with inflation, some doctors are finding it hard to take on new Medicare patients. According to a recent AMA survey, 60 percent of physicians will be forced to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can take on. So it may become very difficult for Medicare patients to find a doctor.
The AARP gave us the following tips if you’re already facing this situation:

1. Medicare provides a registry of all physicians in its system.
You can find the doctors accepting Medicare by clicking here.  You may have to make a few phone calls to see if these doctors are still accepting new Medicare patients.

2. Seek out alternatives
If this list doesn’t get you too far, the AARP suggests turning to the State Health
Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) – which has counselors in every state who
provide free one-on-one help to answer your Medicare questions.
To find a SHIP counselor in your state, click here.

3. AARP also recommends turning to the National Association of Area Agencies
Aging (click here). The group has more than 600 local offices that provide assistance
to the aging population. The n4a suggest those with Medicare questions contact an
Eldercare Locator by calling 1-800-677-1116 or logging on to www.eldercare.gov.
Eldercare operators can connect you with local resources in your community to
help you navigate your Medicare issues.

For more tips on becoming an Empowered Patient, check out my column at www.CNN.com/empoweredpatient

What is it about men that makes them ignore big, obvious signs of health disaster? Men's health experts I talked to said they've seen men blow off things like chest pain and facial paralysis. Women, these doctors say, are more tuned into their bodies, but men sometimes only go to the doctor when they're at death's door.

While these doctors say men ignore a whole host of health problems, here are the big three:

1. Chest pain

You'd think this would be the last thing a man would ignore, since chest pain can be a sign of a heart attack, but our men's health experts say it happens all the time.

"They think, 'Oh, I'm just out of shape, or I'm having a little indigestion, or I'm under pressure,'" says Dr. Joseph Scherger, a clinical professor of family medicine at the University of California, San Diego. "It's quite classic for men to do that."

2. A big belly

"Belly fat is the worst fat you can have," says Dr. Harry Fisch, a professor of clinical urology at Columbia. "A big belly is a sign a man has low testosterone levels. And the lower the testosterone, the greater the risk of diabetes and coronary artery disease."

3. An unenthusiastic penis

Impotence may be purely psychological, but it also could be a sign that a man has cardiovascular disease.

"The penis is the dipstick of the body's health," Fisch says.

If the arteries that supply blood to the penis aren't working right, those supplying blood to the heart and brain might not be working so well either.

Our experts advise men with erectile dysfunction to use their doctors for more than just Viagra dispensers.

"A doctor ought to be working these men up for coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol, which are often linked to erectile dysfunction," Simon says.

For more tips on how to be an Empowered Patient, check out my column at CNN.com/health