Top tips to help remember to take your chronic medication
Adherence is the fancy word for “following doctors’ orders.” What it really means, for most people, is remembering to take your medicine. It may sound simple, but as many as 50% of people do not take their medicine correctly. They forget doses, take medications at the wrong time, ignore instructions, and even deliberately change doses taking more or less than they should.
Here are some tips to help remember to take you chronic medication.
Medicine is treatment
For most health conditions, medications are the only thing that doctors have to help make you better (surgery is the other major tool). That’s it: medications and surgery. The rest of a doctor’s tools and technology are diagnostic. In other words, the tools are things to figure out which medication (or surgery) you need.
If you get your prescription filled and don’t take actions to make sure you take your medications correctly and on time, you are undermining your treatment and potential progress either in curing your ailment or effectively managing it.
For those of us who have difficulty keeping all of our drug therapies in order or who simply find it difficult to maintain our prescribed medication regimen, these tips for remembering your medications and sticking to your treatment plan may provide a solution.
Use a Pill Box
Pill boxes are an organization tool for your pills that can easily be found at most pharmacies. Pill boxes have been around for a long time. They are especially useful if you easily forget if you have taken your meds each day. Pill boxes are also very useful for people who take multiple medications each day and at different times.
You can get simple pillboxes at your drug store or pharmacy. They come in many varieties of different sizes, colours, and shapes to ones that lock or are easy-open. There are even pill boxes available for people who need to take medication 3 times a day or more. The pillbox is also a great way of seeing just how often you forget to take your medicine. You can’t argue with yesterday’s pill that is still sitting in the box.
Get strategic about pill placement
"Out of sight, out of mind" is really true when it comes to medication. Place your medication or pillbox out in the open (but away from pets and children) where you can see it.
This is especially important in the first week or two of taking a new medication. After your medication habit is strong, you can put the medicine away. Just try not to put it away until you’ve had two full weeks of not forgetting a dose.
You may even find that keeping your morning dose with your toothbrush or coffee maker or your evening dose on your nightstand will prompt you to take your medications daily.
Reward yourself for remembering
It’s a lot easier to remember something pleasant than something unpleasant. Use this to your advantage by linking taking your medicine on time with some reward (like a piece of chocolate). You can very quickly develop a habit of enjoying a piece of chocolate (or other pleasant things) at a certain time of day. Your craving for the chocolate may even trigger your memory to take your vitamins!
Add something usual to you medicine routine
Believe it or not, doing something silly just before you take your pills can help you remember your medicine every day. Researchers actually tested this idea by having seniors, in a lab, put their hand on their head before doing repetitive memory tasks. When the seniors did this, they were able to remember the tasks better. The idea with this tip is to do something unusual when you go to take your medicine (tap your head, knock on wood, snap your fingers, etc.). By adding in another sense (touch), you’ll increase your chances of remembering your medications.
Keep a current medicine list
You may be surprised how often someone forgets what medications he is supposed to take or forgets about certain medications entirely. Keep a current medications list, complete with dosage and any special instructions. Refer to the list weekly when you fill up your pillbox to make sure you aren't forgetting anything. You will also find this list helpful when seeking a new medical provider.
Don’t forget your refills
Another common reason people miss doses is that they forget to fill their refills before it's already too late. So try marking your refill dates on your calendar, with a reminder to pick up refills before you are completely out. This is especially important if you use a mail-order pharmacy and you need to allow for medications to be shipped to you. Look into your options with the medications you take regularly.
Check for possible drug interactions
Another common reason people miss doses intentionally is that they believe the medication is making them sick or giving them unwanted side effects. Before you blame the medication, check with your pharmacist to make sure that your medications aren't fighting with each other. Be sure to also consider any natural or herbal supplements you are taking as well.
Always carefully read labels about foods that may interfere with the effects of your medications and remember to follow your doctor's instructions. If a medication is specified as "should be taken with food" or other similar instructions, be sure to adhere to them as they may help you avoid symptoms like upset stomach or more serious side effects.
Learn about your medicines
Learning more about what your medications are used for will reinforce your adherence to your treatment plan. Learning about your medical conditions can be a strong motivator, too. This is especially important for conditions that have few, if any, symptoms to remind you it’s time to take your medicine – like high blood pressure.
Learning about side effects are important so you can recognize them if they occur. Many side effects with drug treatment are temporary, so be sure to ask your doctor about short-lived and more long-term side effects with any medication.
Electronic applications and pill reminders
Apps to helps to remind and track your medication, as these are convenient tools for anyone who carries a smartphone. There are various free Pill Reminder Apps available, that can keep a complete list of all your medications. You can choose to get pill reminders to take your meds at a special time and receive prescription refill reminders right on your mobile device. Some of these apps even keeps a history of when you have (or have not) taken your meds.
Calendar alerts
Maybe you prefer not to use a mobile device or just like the simple method of a calendar. Those are great tools, too. Mark your daily doses on a paper calendar at home, on your computer, next to your bed, in the kitchen or even in your little black book. Just be sure to update it frequently and mark through each dose as you take it, in case you forget from dose to dose.
Getting into a regular routine to help you remember to take your meds is really what’s most important. Find what works best for you.
Tie your medications doses with a daily activity
You can tie your medication doses with a daily routine like breakfast time, after a shower, or when you get ready for bed. Keep your medications in easy-to-see (but secure) spot as a visual clue. Pretty soon taking your meds will be as routine as, well, brushing your teeth (and that might be a good time to take your meds, too).
Be sure you keep your medications in a safe and secure area, away from curious toddlers and pets. Protect your meds from extreme heat or cold, and don’t leave them in a steamy bathroom (where medicine cabinets are usually found, coincidentally). Most medications are stable at room temperature, but under extreme conditions, they can lose their potency, crumble, or even melt.
If your medicine needs to be stored in the refrigerator, consider posting a sticky note reminder on the fridge as a reminder to grab it when it’s time.
If you have especially dangerous medications such as opioid painkillers, be sure to keep them safe and secure, even locked up if need, to prevent theft or accidental ingestion by a child or pet.
Get help for family or friends
Many friends and family take medication and creating a team to help remind each other to take their doses can be helpful. If you live alone, maybe a friend would text you each morning or night, when they also take their meds. If a family member you live with also takes meds, you have a built-in pill reminder right there at your house. Take advantage of it.
Seniors often need help to remember their medications. If you have a loved one that takes several meds, consider helping them create a pill box, printing out pictures of their pills and then writing in large print what each medicine is used for, its name and dose. Place the pictures in a conspicuous, but safe, place so that they can refer to the printouts when needed.
Large print on prescription bottles and for drug information printouts can be very helpful as older patients lose their eyesight.
Ask your doctor to help simplify your medication regimen
If all else fails, there may be ways to simplify your medication regimen to make life easier. If you take a drug two or three times per day, your doctor may be able to find a similar drug that only needs to be taken once a day.
If you need to separate doses because you have to be careful about combining antacids or other supplements with prescription drugs due to drug interactions, your doctor may be able to find medications that do not cause an interaction.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist which medications you can safely take together at the same time to limit multiple daily doses.
Be sure to check to see if you can take your meds at breakfast, dinner, or bedtime - the most common (and often easy) times to take medications. Set up your routine around these times, if possible.
Source:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions