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Testing, Testing 123: Phlebotomy Basics

When my mother underwent chemotherapy, we spent a lot of time visiting the phlebotomy lab for blood testing. I was always impressed by how easily the phlebotomist was able to find and puncture a vein to draw blood on the first try. I knew there had to be a method to it, and was astounded by how effortless and painless they made the process. It led me to research a lot about blood tests, from drawing to the actual screening. I've created this site to share what I've learned in the hopes of teaching others. The more you understand, the more control you can have over your own health care.

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Testing, Testing 123: Phlebotomy Basics

Medical Weight Loss Programs That Can Help You Trim Down

by Francisco Arnold

Losing weight is difficult and takes some effort, but for some people, it is nearly impossible. These people may have medical issues that make it even harder for them. For these people, a medically based weight loss program can help. Talk to your doctor about the options you may have for medical weight loss help. 

Weight Loss Benefits

It is not news to most people that losing weight has benefits that extend into your everyday life. Besides feeling better, medical benefits include reductions in health issues like heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension, just to name a few. These are all serious health concerns, and if you can lower your chances, you could live a longer life.

Losing some weight can help increase your energy and activity levels, allowing you to be more involved in outdoor or physical activities that will, in turn, help you stay in better shape. That initial weight loss is the hardest, but after that, you may feel so much better that you stay active and keep the weight off. 

Medication and Weight Loss

Some medications are helpful in promoting weight loss, and when used with medical supervision, they are a useful tool for people that have a hard time losing weight. You still need to exercise and eat right for the maximum benefit of the medication. Your doctor will monitor your progress and give you direction on how to make a medicine-based weight loss program work safely. 

Surgical Weight Loss Programs

Some people will never be able to lose the weight they want to lose because of medical issues that keep them from working out — or maybe some medical problem makes it hard for them to drop the weight. For these people, there are options like LAP band surgery, a procedure where a surgeon places a band on the top of the stomach to reduce the size and capacity of the stomach. 

While this is not a procedure to undertake without serious consideration, it may be the help you need to get the weight off. If this surgery works properly, you will not want to eat as much because you will feel full sooner. Combine some calorie burning exercise as directed by your doctor, and you may see better results than you imagined. Once you learn to reduce the portions of your meals and develop a habit of daily exercise, it will become easier to continue to lose weight until you hit your goal weight and keep it off over the long term. 

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