The main reason I waited so long was that I just didn’t trust the medical medical profession and didn’t feel like trying any more. Never mind that I gained some incredible insights into navigating the medical system during my previous trials. Never mind that my techniques were working toward the end of my last battle.

The other reason I waited was that we had been saving our tax refund for another purpose. I was determined not to spend it on anything else. Sometimes priorities need to change.

When I almost couldn’t move anymore, I asked a trusted friend about my options and hit the jackpot. A local nurse practitioner tested me for the one issue I never could get a doctor to explore, and she got to the root of the problem.

In just one month, some lingering issues I had learned to live with have almost disappeared. Imagine all the suffering I had experienced because I was carrying a grudge and I was trying to save money. I feel like wearing a “Kick Me” sign.

The next time you need medical care, don’t let anything stop you. You can’t do much in life without your health.

© 2008 – 2010, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

One of his doctors ordered an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan that didn’t identify his problem. Medicaid sent my friend a bill for $5000. Further testing detected a hernia, for which he underwent surgery yesterday. I’m sure there will be a deductible to add to the MRI bill and the debt from another surgery last year. And he’s expected to pay this with his disability check.

What is the reason for all this expense? One problem is that doctors have such little practical knowledge of how the human body works. I had to explain my concerns in explicit detail to the last round of doctors I visited. Some dismissed my concerns and ran expensive tests that came back negative. Some agreed with me and made the proper notations in my charts.

Both groups charged me for my services. Neither had any solutions. My health has improved with protocols I developed through reading and consulting with alternative practitioners.

Honest doctors will tell you they spend more time learning how to administer drugs and run expensive machines than learning about the body. The pharmaceutical industry is responsible for most of the medical and continuing medical education in this country. Expensive drugs and fancy machines are of no use if you don’t know what you may be looking for.

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) has developed a PharmFree Scorecard that grades medical schools A through F according to the presence and strength of policies that restrict the access of pharmaceutical companies to their medical school campuses and academic medical centers. In 2007, 5 schools received an A, 8 received a B, 23 received a C+, 13 received a C, 8 received a C-, 19 received a D, and 40 received an F.

AMSA also has developed the following voluntary pledge and encourages members to sign up on its website:

I am committed to the practice of medicine in the best interests of patients and to the pursuit of and education that is based on the best available evidence, rather than on advertising or promotion.

I, therefore, pledge to accept no money, gifts, or hospitality from the pharmaceutical industry; to seek unbiased sources of information and not rely on information disseminated by drug companies; and to avoid conflicts of interest in my medical education and practice.

Check the list to find aPharmFree academic medical center near you.

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Jacqueline L. Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy. The book is available through Lulu.com and will be available early next year through Amazon.com and other online book retailers.

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© 2008 – 2010, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

My first book, Secrets of Getting a Diagnosis Unmasked (now titled Unmasking a Diagnosis), is my attempt to help others avoid many of the mistakes I made when seeking answers for my own chronic illness. I spent too much money and did too much unguided research followed by two decades of trial and error.The good news is I may have come to the end of my search. On Tuesday I shared the excitement of finding a new practitioner near my area who understands the complex nature of chronic illness. Then I realized I don’t need him.

I’ve done so much research and seen so many professionals that I’ve discovered my own comprehensive treatment protocol. After contacting a local professional, and receiving a few more suggestions, I feel like a new person.

The moral of this story is, “Never give up.” Whether or not you buy my book, contact a practioner of functional medicine, who can save you time and money in developing a comprehensive protocol to meet your needs. My next book will address these new discoveries.

© 2008 – 2012, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

The evidence is clear. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), people with chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease account for more than 75% of the nation’s $1.4 trillion in medical care costs each year. That figure could jump 42 percent by 2023, according to an Oct. 2007 report by the Milken Institute, a think tank in Santa Monica, Calif.

As the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), and practitioners in emerging and ancient disciplines report positive results in fighting these illnesses, the path to reducing health care costs seems clear. Equal access to disease prevention services and effective natural treatments could reduce costs for all.

You wonder aloud if we can afford to increase entitlements. The government is so inefficient, you protest. Let’s discuss why these concerns are unfounded.

Medicare and Medicaid are headed for disaster. The cost of treating advanced chronic illness in the aging baby-boom generation is a major cause. But many chronic ailments can be prevented through lifestyle changes. As early as 1949, The Commision on Chronic Illness warned of the costs of delaying treatment until the advanced stages.

Public health campaigns are sounding the alarm, but the majority of Americans still look to their physicians for specific advice. According to IFM, the majority of mainstream medicine is based on acute care and not on correcting the underlying causes of disease.

By training physicians to detect these causes, and paying lifestyle educators such as nutritionists and exercise physiologists to teach patients how to reverse these causes through instruction tailored to their needs and learning styles, we should see a rapid decrease in lifestyle-related diseases and, thus, realize a dramatic savings in health care costs for individuals, businesses, and the government. The Milken Institute estimates that just by lowering the rates of obesity, which leads to diabetes, heart disease, and other ailments, we could see productivity gains of $254 billion and avoid $60 billion in treatment expenditures per year.

But what about government inefficiency? Inefficiency in health care is not limited to government programs. An Institute of Medicine report in 1999 titled “To Err is Human” estimated that avoidable errors in hospitals throughout the country were killing 44,000 to 98,000 Americans a year. They were injuring thousands more.

According to a Feb. 7, 2005 report by the Newshour on PBS, the Veterans Administration (VA) ran one of the most efficient health care systems in the country before its recent problems with handling the influx of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The VA has taken the lead in reducing common medical mistakes by developing checklists for routine procedures, requiring reports on medical mistakes, investigating their causes, developing strategies to prevent repetition of those mistakes, and computerizing health records and prescriptions.

The cost of all these changes except the electronic records system totaled ten cents for every $100 spent on medical care. Just think of the huge savings from reductions in both malpractice insurance premiums and lengthy stays caused by mistakes.

By providing equal access to disease prevention and proven natural treatments, and reducing preventable medical mistakes in the health care system, the government should be able to afford the cost of health care for all U.S. citizens.

© 2008 – 2012, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

There are several books on this subject. One is titled Disability Workbook for Social Security Applicants. Others include How to Get SSI & Social Security Disability: An Insider’s Step by Step Guide and Nolo’s Guide to Social Security Disability. Though I have not reviewed these books, each has received very good reviews from satisfied readers. For more information or to purchase these books, click the product links below.

© 2007 – 2010, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.