HELOISE Listing concerns for doctor is no laughing matter

Dear Heloise: Please tell the lady who wrote out her list of concerns for her doctor that her friends might laugh, but her doctor is surely thanking her. I have rheumatoid arthritis, which has generated some other medical problems, and I have a long list of medications and see several doctors regularly.
When I go in, I take a one-page summary of current medications, allergies and my health situation, with any questions for the physician and changes from the last visit highlighted by bold print. I put my name and address at the top and hand it to the nurse who checks me in. It's put on top of my chart, and the physician has time to do a quick read before coming in to see me. Then it's added to my chart.
I can't tell you how many times I've been thanked. Once you put it on the computer, it's easy to copy and update each time you have an appointment. It also gives me a good record of my health concerns. If you have any medication allergies, a record like this is essential to take with you before undergoing surgery or any testing that requires sedation. Mary Lee Garrison, Alexandria, Va.
Good advice for all of us. You are right, Mary Lee -- many doctors and nurses have told me they welcome this input. Heloise
Dear Heloise: Do you have a hint for a way to get a shoelace-type drawstring back into the waistband of pants after one end slides or slips inside?
When I buy drawstring pants, if they don't already have some kind of knot on the ends, I usually affix a bead or button to the string ends immediately, just big enough so they won't slide through. But I missed one this time and had a really hard time getting it back through the waistline. I took a safety pin and dragged it through the material one section at a time, stabbing my fingers a few times. I tried using a thimble, but it was awkward. D., via e-mail
Apply several coats of nail polish to 1 inch at one end of the drawstring, or wrap tape around it to make threading easier. Heloise
P.S. The safety pin should be closed so it won't snag or poke. Simply push it through a little way, then pull the fabric and bring the safety pin attached to the string out the other opening.
Dear Heloise: I use a pastry blender to break up cooked ground beef and also to chop up cooked hard-boiled eggs for salad. The longer you chop, the finer the pieces. Bonnie Bjornstad, Cullman, Ala.
Dear Heloise: Be careful if you use those electric-stove burner covers! I set one of my stove burner covers on fire today when I accidentally turned on the burner instead of the oven. Fortunately, the cover smoldered and turned red but did not melt -- it was hot and smoky, and the paint was a mess to clean up. The burner was not damaged. If I had not been in the kitchen, there really might have been a fire.
Please caution your readers to pay attention to what stove buttons you are pushing, or there might be a fire hazard. Mary Grace, via e-mail
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate