Happy Monday!

Yes, I know I am late posting today.....I was up and out of the house early. I went with my friend Chris from the YMCA to a program called "Senior Scam Jam" put on by the NC State Attorney General Office, the Better Business Bureau, and several other organizations. There were close to 400 people in attendance, many senior citizens, some who work with seniors, talking about ways for older adults to take care of themselves and not be scammed financially.

We got a lot of little freebies and giveaways, and one that was in the bag was a health diary. It helps to keep track of medications, doctors appointments, tests, etc. to help someone compare their notes with their Medicare and health insurance statements. Mistakes in Medicare reimbursements are common, and they make a mistake it can affect the reimbursement for the secondary insurance, Medicare Part D, etc.

Most of my blog readers are not yet eligible for Medicare, so why am I telling you this? A couple reasons---------you might have parents or grandparents receiving Medicare, and it's important to keep them informed of ways for them to make their lives a little easier. So many people just toss their Medicare statements without looking at them, and that can be a very costly mistake.

My other reason, however, is to remind everyone of the importance of having your medical information available at ALL TIMES in case of an emergency. For years I have carried with me a sheet of paper with my name, address, phone number, emergency contacts, surgical history (which for me is substantial, I had 15 surgeries after the car accident), my doctors' names and phone numbers, and -------------this is critical----------an updated list of all of my medications, supplements, HORMONES, and their dosages.

I cannot overemphasize that this piece of paper could save your life. If you are in a car accident you need it at the hospital. If you go to a new doctor, they will absolutely adore you if you present this kind of a document to them, all nicely typed out and easy to read. I guarantee you in a very stressful situation, you might not be able to remember all of your meds right off the top of your head, and I still can't list all of my supplements without looking at the paper. Hormones----I suspect a lot of women who are taking bioidentical hormones have not bothered to tell their other doctors that they are taking hormones, but this information could be crucial in an emergency. Drug interactions are a huge problem in health care today, and having a list of everything you take can really cut down on mistakes.

Put getting this list together at the top of your to-do list for this week! I need to update mine as I have a couple new supplements to add to the list. Don't put this off........My mom passed in 1998, and the morning I took her into the hospital for the final time, I had some jackass doctor in the Emergency Room (Mom's primary care physician was on the way) who pulled me aside and asked me what meds she was on. I told him that I had given a copy of the list to the admitting nurse, and he snapped at me "Do I look like I have time to look at some stupid list, just tell me what she's on!" First of all, I was so upset I could barely remember my own name, secondly, Mom had been ill for quite some time and was on at least 8 medications. There was a huge chance if I tried to recite them I would have made or or more possibly critical errors. I pulled another copy of the list out of my purse and thre it at him----------he's lucky I didn't tell him to shove it up his butt when he was done reading it. I have a copy of my own list, as does each o f my doctors.

Off to rest my back for a while, the program was held in a church sanctuary, the pews were padded, but it was a long time to sit (I got up several times and went to the back of the sanctuary to stretch my low back). Take care, everyone!