Sample Articles: April-June 2004

Arthritis Self-Help Course Changes Lives For The Better

By Joann Hurley, Arthritis Foundation

Lynnette Deogracias knows what it is like to experience pain. Diagnosed at age 13 with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, Deogracias has learned that living with chronic pain affects every aspect of one’s life. “Chronic pain is not just a physical experience,” said Deogracias. “It affects your relationships, your ability to work, your recreational activities and your attitude toward everything you do.”

Deogracias has been a volunteer for the Arthritis Foundation Greater Southwest Chapter for the past two years. She completed a special training to be certified to lead the Arthritis Self-Help Course for people with arthritis, fibromyalgia, lupus, and any type of autoimmune disease or chronic pain. The Arthritis Self-Help Course is a series of six weekly two-hour workshops held throughout the Valley to help people self-manage their healthcare. Developed at the Stanford Arthritis Center, the Arthritis Self-Help Course is designed to complement traditional medical treatment and has been used successfully throughout the United States.

“ The reason this course is perfect for so many forms of arthritis,” said Deogracias, “ is because the techniques learned in the course address all forms of chronic pain. For many, it is the first time they have been in a room with others who understand their struggles”

Participants have the opportunity to learn the latest breakthroughs in arthritis treatment. Some of the topics covered in the Arthritis Self-Help Course include:
· Pain and Fatigue Management
· Exercise and Nutrition
· Relaxation and Stress Management
· Medications
· Dealing with Depression and Difficult Emotions
· Doctor-Patient Relationships
· And Getting a Good Night’s Sleep.

“ It’s wonderful to see the changes in peoples’ lives over the six-week period. Each week we set goals and it is amazing to see participants accomplish goals they never thought they could achieve.” Degracias said.

But Deogracias feels that she is the real winner in the Self-Help Course. “By facilitating the course, it inspires me to continue with my wellness program. It helps me get through those tough times when I may not feel like exercising or start thinking negatively. I just use the techniques I teach in the class to get over the hump.”

Arthritis Self Help Courses are being scheduled for Fall 2004. To find the one closest to you, or if you would like to train to become a leader, contact Joann Hurley at the Arthritis Foundation Greater Southwest Chapter, (602)-212-9913
or E-mail jhurley@arthritis.org.

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My Aching Joints

“The role of glucosamine and chondroitin”
By Dr. Gladys McGarey, M.D., M.D. (H)

All of us, at one time or another, find ourselves with aching or stiff joints. When this becomes chronic, it can (and frequently does) develop into osteoarthritis. In the past, the therapy for osteoarthritis was mainly climate change to a hotter and dryer climate, hot baths, hot saunas, or liniments and ointments, which heated the joints.

When I was in medical school, medications such as aspirin, were added to the armamentarium. Very little was known about the role of diet and nothing was known about the effect that emotions and our thinking had on the proper functioning of our joints. We now know that all of the above and plenty of exercise, drinking lots of water, vitamin C and manganese (along with laughter) all help to keep our joints healthy.

In the past few years, the role of glucosamine and chondroitin has come to play an important part in the health of our joints. These two products are helpful in keeping the cartilage of our joints healthy and in helping to rebuild that cartilage. Cartilage needs water for lubrication and nourishment, proteoglycans to hold the water, and collagen to keep the proteoglycans in place. The proteoglycans hold many times their weight in water and they hold the collagen threads within the cartilage in place. If the cartilage in a joint is damaged, these water-attracting molecules no longer can hold collagen fibers in place. The cartilage loses its ability to absorb shocks and can crack and even wear through completely. Glucosamine acts as a stimulant to the chondrocytes, the cells that produce the proteoglycans. Glucosamine also helps the chondrocytes produce more collagen and normalizes cartilage metabolism, keeping the breakdown of the cartilage at a minimum because it is so active in the production of these cells. It can actually help rebuild and repair damaged cartilage. This, of course, means that it helps with the pain and improving the joint function. Glucosamine can be found in some of the foods that we eat, but is also readily available in health food stores and drug stores.

Chondroitin, in conjunction with glucosamine, enhances its protective and healing qualities; it helps to attract liquid into the proteoglycan molecules. Chondroitins are found in most animal tissues, especially the cartilaginous part around joints, and Knox’s gelatin is a good source. These two substances, working together, stimulate the production of new cartilage. At the same time, they keep the enzymes, which destroy cartilage, under control. They actually strengthen the cartilaginous matrix and, not only stop the disease process, but rebuild the tissue.
This does not happen over night. It has to be a rebuilding process, and regeneration takes time. Each individual, depending partly on their body weight and structure, can regulate the amount of glucosamine and chondroitin taken.

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How To Protect Yourself From The Potential Costs Of Long Term Care

Rick Steiman, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network

It’s easy to think that just by buying life insurance, you’ve provided for your loved ones once you’re gone. But who pays the bill - which is often staggering - if you’re still very much alive, and unable to take care of yourself?

Today, people are living longer, which dramatically increases the odds of developing a chronic illness that could require on-going care. At 65, today’s retiree can expect to live to age 80 if a man, and 85 ½ if a woman (see footnote 1). In fact, in America, so many of us are now living to age 85 that this population of the oldest-old is expected to double as a proportion of the U.S. population by the year 2030, and double again by 2050 (see footnote 2).

Many of us play the odds, assuming the day will never come when we’re unable to do such basic things as dress ourselves, get in and out of bed, eat a meal or go to the bathroom alone. Perhaps it’s denial, but many of us refuse to even think about how we’d pay the bill, should we need to pay others to take care of us.

But as health care costs escalate, an increasing number of people are protecting themselves by purchasing long-term care insurance, which typically covers some or all of the costs of care associated with a chronic illness such as Alzheimer’s disease or severe arthritis. Without long-term care coverage, how many of us can afford to pay out of our pockets for the care we might need?

For example:

· A daily visit by a home health aide can cost an average of $35,000 a year (see footnote 3)
· The round the clock care provided in a nursing home costs an average of $55,000 a year (see footnote 4)

When making your plans for a secure retirement, it’s important to consider long-term care insurance as a way of protecting your assets so they won’t be exhausted by possible care costs. But there are quite a few factors to consider when choosing a long-term care insurance policy. For this reason, it’s important to work with a financial representative who understands your needs and can design a policy that gives you the best protection you can afford. It’s also important to look at the track record of the company providing the insurance. To ensure that coverage will be there when you need it most, make sure the company is well established, with a solid history of treating its policyholders well, and choose a company that has been given the highest possible ratings by at least three of the third party rating agencies. Premiums will be lower if you buy long-term care insurance while in your 40s or 50s, instead of waiting until after you retire and face the health problems that often accompany aging. But all too often people wait, only to be shocked to learn that they are no longer insurable and that Medicare generally won’t pay for the care they need. Though Medicare does cover skilled care for acute conditions such as heart attacks and broken bones, without long-term care insurance most people will be paying out of their own pockets for the custodial care required for chronic medical conditions. But denial is all too easy. Most people estimate they face less than a 25% risk of ever needing long-term care.
In actuality, the estimated risk of needing either home care, some kind of assisted living or even a nursing home is nearly 50% (see footnote 5). Those odds are too high to ignore.

Rick Steiman is a Financial Representative with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. He is licensed and appointed to sell long-term care insurance for Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Co., Milwaukee, WI, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual.)

For more information on this article or on LTC please call, (602) 522-1194.

Form RS.LTC. (1101) Long-term care insurance products underwritten by Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company.

1 Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1998.
2 “Retirement: Preparing for An Uncertain Future”, Journal of the American Society of CLU & ChFC, November 1998.
3 National Association for Home Care. “Basic Statistics about Home Care”, Updated March 2000.
4 General Accounting Office, September 2000.
5 Glenn Ruffenbach. “Cracks in the Nest Egg: A look at the biggest mistakes…” The Wall Street Journal. October 22, 2001.

This statistic includes people who are not eligible for long-term care coverage and services, which are not covered under a long-term care contract. Important Facts on Long Term Care, 5/99

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What’s Wrong With Home?

By The Age Sage

Have you ever noticed that around this time of year anyone over the age of 50 starts getting travel brochures in the mail? They must be pretty expensive to print because they’re in beautiful color and the photographs all look the kind you wish you could take with your own camera. They always show lots of people who seem to be having a great time on a boat, a train, or on foot in some exotic or exciting location.

The other day I did some cleaning up in my office and found that there were literally dozens of outdated travel books on my shelf. I dutifully went through them and discarded the ones that were outdated. However, it gave me a chance to, once again look at the wonderful opportunities that await me just by calling and making a reservation.

They say that travel is “broadening”. I wonder if that refers to the pounds you put on during a cruise? No, I suppose it’s meant to imply that somehow you will have a broader mind if you travel. You will achieve a new state of enlightenment just by virtue of being in a foreign land. So, if you leave the U.S. as a narrow minded so and so, you will return as Albert Schweitzer. I doubt it.

There is something to be said for home. It’s at home that we learn most of the great lessons of life and it’s being at home and learning to cope with all the challenges and problems that are there that builds strength and character within us. I like to travel, but is there any better feeling than coming home after a long trip? The comfort of familiar surroundings is like no other. The trouble is, we tend to take home for granted, like some beloved, always-there relative. We might plan every detail of our vacation for months before the trip but usually we just let our time at home happen on its own.

Maybe it would be fun this year to plan our time at home. There’s probably a lot to see and do right in your own town, your own neighborhood, your own home. A call or visit to the Visitors Bureau of your town might open your eyes to all kinds of possibilities. Cities don’t stay the same…they change. We don’t always see the changes that are right around us.
So in between planning the big trip of summer, how about planning a great trip to the nicest spot on earth: home.