Your Life Depends On It In More Ways Than One

Eva Mor PhD,

Author of “Making the Golden Years Golden”

Medication Help

Over the last few years, my mother’s best friend has shown signs of dementia, first mild forgetfulness and then some increasingly worrisome signs of “something gone wrong.” She did not have close family to step in, so my mother and I were her support system. Neighbors began calling my mother, complaining that her friend was leaving the television on very loud for days and nights. She was walking out and leaving the door to her apartment open. She was found on occasion leaving her house inappropriately dressed, and she began calling my mother multiple times, repeating the same conversation as if there was a new issue. Being that she had been functioning quite well up until that time, and the change was acute and swift, we felt that action should be taken.

Finding the solution

We started with taking my mom’s friend to her personal physician for a full evaluation, in which her doctor referred her to a neurological evaluation. My mom and I met with the doctors, but were very disappointed. None came up with any physical justification for her signs of dementia. We went back to her personal doctor and were reviewing each of her health issues and the treatment she was receiving for them, when the doctor asked her when and how she was taking the prescribed medication. She could not clearly say, and did not even remember if she had taken her medication for that day. It was clear that she was not taking her medication properly, maybe taking too much at one time or not taking any at another time. For that reason, we put in place a system that provided her with safe and timely medication taking. We purchased a medication dispenser for weekly supply, marked by day and time. Compartments were clearly marked for day of the week, as well as morning, noon, evening, etc. If a dose was not taken, it would buzz to remind the person to take it. In my book Making the Golden Years Golden I have a few suggestions as to different options for medication dispensers.  For more info – www.goldenyearsgolden.com

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We have published some articles on health insurance, and even ranted a bit about health reform in the US. I do not care what your political outlook is right now, but you have to know that the US health system has some big problems that affect patients, doctors, and employers. In fact, every player in this issue has a crisis to deal with right now, and I wish our own government could somehow get past the silly stuff and get some work done.

Who Needs Help Affording Health Care?

We have gotten some very sincere emails from our previous posts. I am not going to pubish them because of privacy issues. You will have to take my word for it. People are having real trouble because they cannot afford prescriptions or other health services. I think this problem is really tough for those of us betwee about 50 and 64. We are too young for Medicare, and too old to easilly qualify for private individual policies. Even if some of us have health isurance, our policies may not be all that good. I have heard of tragic cases of people running out of benefits or having huge copays, deductibles, or limits when they needed expensive medical treatment.

Solutions to Affording Prescriptions, Doctors, Clinics, Hospitals, ETC.

I am going to link to this article on finding health with health care for people who cannot afford prescriptions, doctors, hospitals, and other costs associated with being sick or injured. I think it provides a clear and succint roadmap

What to Do if You Cannot Afford Health Insurance << Click Here

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance (And Other Medical Services)

One of the big resources it mentions is PPARX.org.   Though the name of the organization is the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, it does even more than provide prescription help.

This website, and organization provides a portal to private and public assistance for prescriptions, clinics, financial aids, and patient advocates. You can look up your prescriptions. You can enter a zip code and find nearby low cost (or free) clinics. You can find orgaizations that provide some financial aid for your costs or that will advocate for your treatment.

Are You Healthy Now?

This may really surprise you, but many people do not bother to get health insurance when they are still healthy because they just do not see the need. Or they may buy a policy that is very cheap, but has some limits that really make it a poor choice is a serious illess or injury crops up.  I am hardly an advocate for insurance companies, but you should understand that the best time to buy health insurance is when you are healthy! You are not going to get a private insurer to cover you after you are already sick. Insurance doesn’t work like that! That would be like trying to buy life insurance after you are already dead!

Do You Have A Decent Income, But Still Lack Health Insurance?

A major medical plan with a high deductible, for a healthy person, should not cost more than the price of a couple of family restaurant meals every week. You really need to examine priorities. Besides, for many of us, health insurance premiums are tax deductible. And even if you are still responsible for deductibles and copays, you will be able to avoid financial run.

Besides, people with insurance tend to pay less for services. My own plan does not cover testing under the deductible. But when I do get those tests they are discounted. Last time I got routie blood tests, I paid about $70 for $300 of charges because of the discount. My friend, who lacks insurance, paid the whole amount. Is it fair to offer discouts to people with insurance? It isn’t fair, but it is real.

Be wary of limited benefit plans that cap out limits on the top end. An example might be a policy that pays out some figure, like $2,000 a day, for hospital stays. This is not going to be that helpful for you. You need to absorb the bottom costs, like a deductible or office visits, and have a major medical plan at your back when you really need it.

If You Cannot Afford Health Insurance or Health Costs

If you just cannot afford it, then please take time to look at the article above or the PPARX website so you can have a game plan of what to do get sick. There are organizations out there that provide prescription assistance, low cost clinics, sliding scales for hospital costs, patient advocates, etc. It would be a good idea to be aware of these before you experience a crisis.

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Let me start off by writing that I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I don’t play one on TV either. Please work with your doctor and follow his or her advice first. I am probably just restating some things that your own progressive doctors has already told you. If your own doctor thinks you need cholesterol lowering medication until you get your numbers under control (if ever), you would probably do yourself a favor by heeding that advice.

But I will point out that the Mayo Clinic even posted an article about cholestrol lowering benefits of certain foods. To paraphrase an infomercial, Those Mayo Clinic Docs Make Good Stuff! Look at the Mayo Clinic Top 5 For Lower Numbers!

• Oatmeal and Oat Brown – Lots of Fiber!
• Walnuts, Almonds, etc. – Lots of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids. This helps keep blood vessels healthy and elastic.
• Fish and Omega-3 Oils – Remember our post about Dr. Sears Anti Aging Book? Well, here we go again with advice to eat fish and fish oil.
• Olive Oil – Powerful antioxidants that can lower the bad numbers and leave the good numbers alone.
• Plant Sterols or Stanols – These can help block the absorption of cholesterol. You can find them in some foods that have been fortified, They may be found in some brands of orange juice, margarine, and yogurt drinks. You need at least 2 grams a day to help according to the American Heart Association. You can also find supplements like Cholest-Off which contain plant sterols.

What NOT to Eat for Lower Cholesterol

We are also given the advice to look at our diets.

Trans Fats: Try to eliminate, as much as possible, any trans fats from your diets.  Trans fats are included in a lot of packaged foods, but more and more brands are advertising that they contain little to none. Trans fats have been shown to lower HDL (good) levels and raise LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.

Saturated Fat: Some meat contains high levels of saturated fats. Try to cut back so that saturated fat calories make up less than 10% of your daily diet. If you must go out for a big steak, try to reduce the size and have it with salad and vegies or fruit.

Exercise To Lower Cholesterol

Yes, starting a modest excercise routine will probably help too. So will trimming down if you are overweight. Just sayin….

Does Diet and Exercise Lower Cholesterol?

Here’s the answer. It depends. I have known trim people who swam 4 times a week, and who had high cholesterol levels, especially as they aged. Some people just seem to inherit this condition, and an RX may be the only answer for them. But if these trim and active people have bad numbers, their numbers would probably be much worse if they had an unhealthy lifestyle.

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