Combat Medication-Related Weight Gain

  For people with chronic pain, medication-related weight gain poses an unfortunate catch-22. Chronic back and joint pain are two reasons doctors often prescribe medications, such as antidepressants, opioids and steroids. These conditions are often caused and perpetuated by excess weight. Taking medication that causes weight gain to relieve pain worsened by weight gain is clearly problematic.

If you've been putting on pounds since you started taking medication for pain, there's a good reason to suspect medication as the cause. Opioids and antidepressants alter the brain's biochemistry, which can lead to slowed metabolism and/or increased appetite. If you were depressed, medication that reduces depression can lead to increased appetite simply because you're feeling better. Steroids affect both metabolism and the way in which your body distributes fat; one of the main areas affected by the change of fat distribution is the abdomen. Excess abdominal fat is linked not only to back pain but other health problems like diabetes as well.

There are a number of steps you can take to combat or eliminate weight gain from medication use. The right option for you will depend on your situation. Consider the following general advice.

1. Ask Yourself: Do I Need Medication?

Prescribing medication for pain has become a default rather than an exception in the medical field. This has sparked reasonable suspicion of over-prescription, particularly of antidepressants. Pain is unpleasant, and none of us want to feel it. However, given the many side effects of medications, including weight gain, it's important that we check our urge to reduce pain with a cost/benefit analysis.

If your pain interferes with your ability to work and participate in regular daily activities, or if it's severe enough to significantly lower your quality of life, then medication is called for, at least in the short-term. If it's not that bad, consider tapering off your medication with the guidance of your doctor and pursuing more natural, proven methods of pain management and recovery, such as massage, acupuncture and exercise. Even if you need the medication, start pursuing other natural methods if you haven't already; this may enable you to reduce or eliminate medications later on.

2. Talk To Your Doctor About Other Medication Options

If there's one thing our medical professionals have access to, it's a diverse array of drugs. If you need medication, inquire into other options that won't cause weight gain.

3. Watch What You Eat, More Than Ever

This is obvious advice, but given the knee-jerk appeal to medications for solutions, we often don't take it seriously enough. Burning more calories than you consume leads to weight loss. Since exercise is difficult for people with chronic pain, diet may be the best place to focus these efforts. One of the best ways to eat healthier and consume fewer calories is to cut out processed and fast foods from your diet. Unless you replace them all with full-fat dairy products, this will automatically lower the amount of saturated fat you consume; sodium and sugar levels will drop as well. All the standard healthy food recommendations apply: whole grains, vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, limited dairy or low-fat dairy.

What do you do with your empty prescription bottles? What about all of the medical information you receive, such as your explanation of benefits? Being careless with your personal medical information can be dangerous, and the theft of this priceless data can be deadly.

Approximately 1.5 million Americans are victims of medical identity theft each year, a crime that costs the nation $41.3 billion annually. Prescription fraud is a growing form of medical identity theft that is not only extremely costly and time-consuming; it can also put your health at risk and even be life-threatening. Unfortunately, medical identity theft isn't commonly known by many Americans, and often isn't detected until it's too late. When we don't take precautions to prevent prescription fraud and other forms of medical identity theft, we put ourselves in jeopardy of becoming another victim.

What is Prescription Fraud?

Prescription fraud occurs when identity thieves use your personal information to fill prescriptions in your name. They use your medical identity to receive medical treatment at hospitals and doctors' offices, obtain medications, and access other healthcare services.

Prescription fraud doesn't just leave you with a huge bill-it can potentially put your health at risk as well. You may find that false information has been added to your personal health record, such as a change in blood type or supposed allergies. Every medical procedure received and prescription filled by the identity thief becomes part of your medical history, which means you may not be able to obtain the life-saving treatment you need in an emergency medical situation.

Detecting and resolving medical identity theft can be difficult as well. You may not discover that you're a victim until a pharmacy refuses to fill a prescription because it conflicts with another medication you appear to be taking. To make matters worse, fixing errors in your record can be very challenging due to medical privacy laws. Ironically, the same laws that were implemented to protect your privacy and health information are now protecting the medical identity thief. This restricted access to medical records prolongs the duration of the theft, costing you countless time, money, and frustration.

How to Prevent Prescription Fraud

One of the easiest ways to avoid this type of medical identity theft is simply to be aware of what you throw in the trash. Prescription medication labels carry such sensitive information as your full name and address, the prescribing physician, the type of medication, prescription number, and the pharmacy's contact information-all of the things a thief needs to perform prescription fraud. Instead of throwing empty prescription bottles in the trash, including the drug information forms, remove the labels and shred them. Other ways to prevent prescription fraud:

• Review every explanation of benefits (EOB). Examine the charges for medical visits or prescriptions you didn't receive, and report any suspicious activity immediately.

• Never simply toss medical information in the trash. Dumpster divers can easily access your personal information if you fail to shred the documents.

• Secure medical records. Keep your medical records in a safe place inside your home or in a safe deposit box, away from the prying eyes of visitors. Believe it or not, friends and relatives who have easy access to your personal information are often the culprits.

• Safeguard prescription bottles. Hide or lock-up your medication rather than leaving it in plain sight or in a medicine cabinet. This will prevent anyone from walking off with your prescription medication and, later, your identity.

• Manage written prescription slips. Don't throw them away or leave them out where they can be stolen. These slips are all an identity thief needs to fill a prescription in your name, leave you without your medication, steal your medical identity, and even put your life in danger.

• Enlist the help of an identity theft protection service such as ID Theft Solutions, which can proactively help prevent medical identity theft and even restore your identity when it's stolen.

Protecting your identity is an ongoing process that takes vigilance. By taking some common sense precautions, you can avoid the exorbitant costs and health risks of medical identity theft.

There are a variety of medical programs you can enroll in, such as certified nurse training, medical assistant programs, or medical office manager courses. However, one of the most popular medical programs is the medical billing training. Numerous people have joined this type of classes and some of them have even managed to open their own home business. Read below to find out all you need to know about medical billing training.

• Before deciding to attend medical billing training, you have to be aware that these types of medical programs take some time to complete, usually several months. The exact length depends on the institution that is offering the training and it can last anything from two months to two years.

• Like all other medical programs, medical billing training courses can be attended in various ways. You can take the course online, enroll in a local college that offers medical programs or purchase training material you can study in the comfort of your home. As long as they provide you with a certificate of completion, all these options are perfectly valid.

• A medical billing course, similarly to other medical programs, is a commitment that requires you to invest both time and money. Because of this, you will have to ensure that the institution that offers you the training is accredited. You can contact your local Business Bureau or ask for a proof of legitimacy from the institution providing the training.

• Prior to deciding on a particular course, make sure you take the time to check the curriculum it offers. There are certain topics any efficient medical billing training course should cover, such as the definition of medical billing, a presentation of office forms and procedures, information on how to charge clients, information pertaining to codes and code usage, and the steps involved in an insurance claim.

• A proficient medical program should introduce participants to the special type of software used in this industry, referred to as medical practice management software. By the end of the training program, students should be able to handle the software at an expert level.

• Considering that the main reason why people choose to join this medical program is to start their own business, a medical billing course should offer participants information about the steps needed to be followed in order to set up such a business www.lotushearthealing.com. Participants should be made aware of the equipment and supplies necessary for this business, the type of services they should provide, as well as efficient marketing strategies that can be implemented.

Medical programs are very common nowadays and for good reasons: they are fairly easy to complete and their offer individuals the chance to start a new and rewarding career. One of these programs, the medical billing training course has taken the spotlight in recent years, mainly because it allows you to work from home and it earns you a decent income. So, if you have been thinking about making a career change, you should definitely take medical billing into consideration.