Globe Syndicate

For release Friday February 27, 2004

The Sandwich Generation . . . Helping Your Aging Parents

by Carol Abaya, M.A.

HOW MANY DRUGS ARE TOO MUCH?

Question: My mother, 77, came for an extended visit after an operation. She is always popping pills, for everything from indigestion to high cholesterol. She says she needs them (six different prescriptions). Are all these pills really necessary?

Answer: Great question. One you need to ask her doctor. I’m not a doctor. Many of my readers know I am not a prescription drug person and prefer alternatives.

Doctors should be asked:

1) What is each medicine for?

2) What is the medicine supposed to accomplish?

3) What are the negative side effects?

4) What may happen if the medicine is stopped?

Personally, I think age should be a major consideration in whether or not to take drugs. The less, the better. Drugs should be discontinued immediately if negative side effects occur.

From the experience of many people, I’ve learned the following:

1) Indigestion can result if the middle part of the spine is out of alignment. Pinched nerves negatively impact the digestive process. A chiropractic adjustment can “cure” without drugs being put into your body.

2) Migraines can result from pinched neck nerves. Again, chiropractic adjustments can help.

3) Doctors say diet can help reduce high cholesterol. But what kind of diet? All too often people eat foods they are “sensitive to” (as opposed to outright allergic). Often these foods are lower in fat and supposedly “good” for you. However, they really may be bad for you. Completely eliminating “sensitive” foods can result in dramatically lowering cholesterol levels. Mine went down 200 points.

4) Unrelieved pain afflicts millions, and too many die in pain. I’m a proponent of magnetic therapy. I have seen people walk without pain for the first time in years by using a magnetic inner sole in their shoes. Also, back pain can be reduced by sitting or sleeping on strips of magnets. It works well for many.

Question: My father, 72, had a fairly severe stroke. He’s at home, but having physical therapy. We just received a bill for $950. We had been told Medicare would pay for the therapy.

Answer: The amount Medicare will pay for outpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy has been in dispute for several years. Last fall, a federal court upheld Medicare’s cap of $1,590. Patients must pay everything above that, effective September 1, 2003.

Question: We want my mother, 78, to get a second opinion before undergoing some serious surgery. Her doctor refuses to give my mother a copy of her medical file even though she has called numerous times and event sent a letter. What should we do?

Answer: The doctor MUST under the federal Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA 1996) give y our mother a copy of her complete file, including tests AND his notes. Have your mother send another letter requesting the information and remind the doctor he must abide by federal law.

Quite frankly, if a doctor refuses to give a patient the information I wonder what he is hiding.

Are you juggling doing errands for your aging parents, your children, yourself and working at the same time? Are you tired, stressed out and upset that your once vibrant parent is now frail and needy?

Do you feel alone? Rest assured you are not alone! The Sandwich Generation is dedicated to the 50 million Americans who may have elder/parent care concerns and/or responsibilities.

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Do you have a question? Send it in. Although letters cannot be answered individually, appropriate letters will be answered in this column whenever possible. Letters may be edited. Send letters to Ms. Carol Abaya, mail direct to her at PO Box 132, Wickatunk, NJ 07765-0132 or contact her through her web site: thesandwichgeneration.com.

Carol Abaya is an international-award-winning journalist and creator of the unique magazine The Sandwich Generation: You & Your Aging Parents.

NOTES TO EDITORS: text = 566 words; other material = 160 words

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