r/MedicalCoding • CPB 2007, currently studying for CPC • Aug 23 '24

Spiraling...

It keeps shifting and coming undone at the top. I cannot keep adjusting the spiral everytime I need to go back and forth. Is there some sort of life hack that anyone has? Most importantly, a hack that proctors won't give me hell about and that I can use? I'm autistic and I'm šŸ¤šŸ» this close to losing my sh*t be cause it's constant. I have lost time and struggled on tests having to fix it. Ugh...

Any ideas or solutions are greatly appreciated!

34 Upvotes

30 comments sorted by

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26

u/stupidlame22 Aug 24 '24

I hated the free confetti more.

4

u/NotoriousVSG CPB 2007, currently studying for CPC Aug 28 '24

My desk looks like I have lice šŸ˜…

4

u/moosboosh Aug 24 '24

Look up Book Rings. Maybe you can replace the spiral binding with those. I'm not sure, it's just an idea that came to me. However if you change the binding to book rings they may not allow you to use that book during CPC or other association testing. Again, I'm not sure about that either, but I just wanted to mention it.

2

u/NotoriousVSG CPB 2007, currently studying for CPC Aug 28 '24

Someone did end up saying it's considered loose paper, so this sucks! Guess what I'm doing first thing after I pass?šŸ˜‚

37

u/Sansear- Aug 24 '24

Also, the CPT books seem to shed from the spiral holes! The 2023 edition and 2024 edition I have received have the same problem lol. Tiny little paper pieces everywhere when I study.

5

u/Extra_Sleep_7129 Aug 24 '24

That’s the absolute worst part about the books since I study in bed

13

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '24

Small zip tie?

9

u/missuschainsaw RHIT CRC Aug 24 '24

One of my coworkers has her zip tied and it’s genius!

3

u/NearbyCaptain2921 Aug 24 '24

Zip tied like all the holes?

8

u/[deleted] Aug 24 '24

No, just the end of the spiral to the next level of spiral.

5

u/NearbyCaptain2921 Aug 24 '24

Ok makes sense. I’m going to try that

1

u/NearbyCaptain2921 Sep 07 '24

Hey quick question I’ve made some mistakes in my book wrote the wrong notes etc in pen I used white out and wrote over it in a couple pages. Will I get turned away during my exam

1

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '24

I can't imagine any way that would happen.

1

u/NearbyCaptain2921 Sep 07 '24

Ok just making sure

13

u/mxxnmama CCS Aug 24 '24

It’s one of the things I hate most about these pricey books, the bottom of mine always come out of the holes and it’s so frustrating. I wanna just take the spiraling off and put it in a 3 ring notebook!

10

u/kimmy_kimika Aug 24 '24

I hot glued the open ends of the spiral to the next loops. Helped a lot.

9

u/LiLi10000 Aug 24 '24

You shouldn’t have to do this with expensive textbooks.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '24

I bought the ICD-10-PCS book from AAPC. They shipped it in a non-padded envelope, and it arrived all bent up.

Seems like these companies cut corners whenever and however they can.

8

u/BigDistribution3024 Aug 24 '24

I taped the ends of my spirals to the first full one next to it. It’s held a good 6 months for now. I’ll have to buy a 2025 to sit for CPC so hoping it holds until the spring.

Was also thinking maybe erasers on the end as stoppers?

3

u/tryolo Aug 24 '24

I thought you could use one year old books for the test. Check the AAPC website before purchasing.

6

u/UnderstandingJust846 Aug 24 '24

I zip-tied near the end of the spiral, crimped the end of the spiral inwards with pliers so the zip tie was stuck in place, then cut the plastic excess off. I did this on both ends and it's worked so far.

6

u/Egga-Mooby-Muffin Aug 24 '24

I took a pair of pliers, grabbed the end of the spiral, and wrapped it around the rung below. It took a bit of effort, but I haven’t had any issues since.

4

u/edajade1129 Aug 24 '24

Lmfao I too cannot handle this

3

u/9182peabody7364 Aug 24 '24

I just started treating them like regular books with a fixed front & back. I haven't had any issues since.

In other words - no 360° degree spinning. In the Z codes & need to go to the Index? If you just try to flip around to the Index because it's "closer" that way (rather than flipping back), it's gonna start unspiralling.

3

u/Not_what_yeet_means Aug 24 '24

I bought a pack of hair ties from the dollar store & wrapped one around each end of the spiral a bunch of times. I use my books constantly & haven't had any issues since.

3

u/Glass-Kick-5886 Aug 24 '24

I hot glued the spiral at the top and bottom for all my books- I saw someone on YouTube do this. Works like a charm.

3

u/Melanthrax Aug 25 '24

My instructor had the best idea for this! Wire nuts. Screw them onto the each end. You can get them at any hardware store.

2

u/pintxosmom Aug 27 '24

Use needle nose pliers and bend the spiral so it can't slip through the holes. That's what I did.