LiveLongAgeWell

My next blog will be about health and social networking on the internet, but today I suggest you check out this outrageously funny blog, (supposedly) written by two women in their 80s…it’s wild and raw and if you can imagine something written by the Golden Girls on steroids, this would be it.

These women—assuming it’s not a hoax blog, but I believe somehow two old ladies are writing—are definitely going to drop dead dancing in their 90s…at least dancing on their scooters (see their homepage). The best word I think to describe them—feisty; these are two feisty women, getting older and having a great time at it.

Warning: if you love Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney and/or don’t like to read strong language, probably best to avoid the blog, but otherwise, check it out:

http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com/
I hope I’m not violating any copyright here, but here’s a sample of one of their posts, so you can see what I’m talking about:

Let me tell you a little story about my shit for brains nephew who actually does live in California. He was married ten years and had two children. Sadly, it didn’t work out. Honestly she was horrible, but you never really want to see a marriage end. So we were all a little sad when she left and he fell apart. Eventually he got his shit together, picked up the pieces and met another girl. I don’t like her much, but she makes him happy so what do I care if they want to get married? However, the Catholic church cared a great deal. You see, he was still married in the eyes of the church even though his moron of an ex-wife had been gone 4 years. And the new one is also divorced… and (oh my) a Baptist.

Problem? Not for long. Two annulments later and wallah – they were never married. Never mind the kids. Bastards all of them I guess. Funny but I didn’t know the Catholic church could annul a Baptist marriage, but you live and learn.

I’ve lived a long time and I have learned many things. For instance, I now know that even if the marriage is annulled, you don’t get your wedding gift back. I also learned that the previously married then divorced then never really married and now newly engaged couple can actually have the gall to print on their invitation where they are registered. As if that blender I purchased for the first wedding was annulled as well. But I digress…

Medical Bankruptcy

Health care costs have been one big reason we are in the Great Recession right now, and a majority of personal bankruptcies also have medical bills as a cause…. check out this New York Times blog post:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/medical-bills-cause-most-bankruptcies/

Something seriously needs to be done to fix the medical care system. Usually I love Paul Krugman’s op-ed pieces in the Times, and today’s is about the insurance industry and health care reform:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/opinion/05krugman.html?em

bottom line:

1) Don’t trust the insurance industry.

2) Don’t trust the insurance industry.

Finally, here is the single best article I have read that explains why the U.S. has been going bankrupt medically. (I am sure the same forces are taking shape in many other countries as well.) It’s long, but, in true New Yorker fashion, is a sample of writing perfection and well worth your time:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all

I will leave you with a quote from the article:

the damning question we have to ask is whether the doctor is set up to meet the needs of the patient, first and foremost, or to maximize revenue….

I received a number of calls and emails regarding my recent post on Botox, so here’s a brief update regarding two issues.

First regarding the cost. In the U.S. an average Botox treatment runs about $300 to $400 for “one treatment area” (in Brazil, about R$ 400), so before you agree to being injected, ask the doctor how many “areas” she wants to treat, and what will be the total cost. You might be able to negotiate that a bit, particularly for more than one area. Don’t be shy about asking. Many plastic surgeons are negotiating charges these days.

Expect to pay more in big cities and on the East Coast, but I wouldn’t make my choice based on price, but on the qualifications and experience of the plastic surgeon or dermatologist. And while you may have heard of “Botox parties” (most common in California)…personally, I would run away from any doctor who participated in such an event. Injecting “the most potent toxin known to man” is not a trivial medical procedure; it carries risks and you want it done in a relatively sterile environment, with the doctor paying attention only to you, not to a crowd and with an eye on his marketing presence.

The second Botox issue is that a new type of Botulinum toxin should be FDA approved this year; a decision is expected by mid-April.  Apparently the new form (brand name Reloxin, and already available in Europe as Dysport), has several potential advantages over the current Botox made by the Allergan Corporation.

The cost to your doctor for each vial of Reloxin will be lower than the cost of Botox, so the cost to the patient should be less. And while the new form is also, like Botox, a form of Botulinum toxin A—and very similar to the standard Botox—Reloxin contains less “protein load” so it is thought patients might form less antibodies to this new toxin, and so the beneficial effect might last longer. And the onset of action is said to be somewhat faster, though this is probably no big advantage.

Once Reloxin is released, for me personally, I wouldn’t run out and be one of my doctor’s first patients. Reloxin is said to spread in the tissues more than Botox, and the concentration of Reloxin is different than Botox, and for any new procedure, there is a “learning curve” for your doctor while she or he gets acquainted with the nuances of the new medicine. I’ll give another update when the drug is released. Some cosmetic experts are expecting “price wars”, but for sure, expect to see lots of new ads…

Next post….pills people are taking to boost brain power!

Today’s post was preempted by an “emergency” botox session. More about that in a week.

Monday—Part II on cutting your CT scan radiation risk.

Especially in this economy, there are lots of stories (even one today) about people skipping or cutting back on their prescription medications to save money. There was a  recent article in the New York Times detailing the ways you as a patient can save on your medications. It covered issues such as: buying generic when possible, asking your doctor if each of your medications are truly necessary, and for your long-term pills, getting a better price on a three-month supply than a one-month supply.

I want to highlight one secret that was mentioned only briefly in the Times article. It’s something very underutilized—a study in 2002 estimated that people were only obtaining 2% of the potential cost-savings. Used carefully and with your doctor’s consent, it’s something that can often save you close to 50% on a prescription.

The secret is simple: pill-splitting. You probably know that many prescription pills come in various doses, but do you know that the double-strength form of the pill might cost only a small amount more than the single-strength? So if you can safely spit the pill into two, you will save a small fortune over time for many expensive medications.

First ask your doctor if any of your medications can be safely split. (Some pills cannot be safely split, like very small ones, or when you need an exact daily dose, or capsules and extended- and time-release pills, and of course when the mathematics of pill-splitting doesn’t work for the dose you need.)

If you can safely split, invest in a good splitter. I particularly like the one made by Apex Carex Healthcare Products, which I couldn’t find in any drugstore, but only at my vet’s office. (The ones I typically found in drugstores didn’t seem to have a good enough blade/mechanism, and pills would often shatter rather than split cleanly.)  So buy the best splitter you can—you will recoup the cost of the splitter in a couple days. You can even find custom-made splitters for unusually shaped pills, like the costly Viagra.