Your GP has prescribed you a number of different medications for your ailments, conditions and wellbeing, but they have to be taken at different times on different days and you’re beginning to get confused. Sound familiar?
Unfortunately as we age or if we’re suffering from a number of health conditions, we’re likely to be more and more reliant on medication to manage those conditions and it can become incredibly difficult to make sure we’re taking the right tablet at the right time and in the correct way to ensure the most effective use of the drug.
Missing vital medicines can be hugely detrimental to your health and should be avoided at all costs.
So here are our 5 top tips for managing your medication everyday.
Organise your medication
Using something like a 7 day pill box is a really great way to keep track of all of the tablets you need to take in the week. The pill dispenser will come with 7 days worth of small compartment boxes (usually 4 - one each for morning, noon, evening and night). If you take different doses of medication in the morning and night, you can designate a box for each time.
Some medication boxes or pill dispensers will even come with a small chart for you to fill in with all the details of your medication schedule, to keep you on track each week as you refill the box.
Use Alarms
Another good way to keep yourself on track with your daily medication times is to set regular alarms on your phone, your digital alarm watch or a good, old-fashioned alarm clock in the house. You might be able to set the alarm to a silent or vibrate mode so you can be discreet while out and about, while avoiding missing essential medication.
Written Reminders
Stick them on the fridge door, the kettle, in the car or on your shoes! Whatever works for you. If you struggle to remember to take your tablets, you might need lots of visual cues to remind you.
Hang a calendar in a room you regularly spend time in and make sure you write on it when you need to take your pills and mark off when you’ve taken them. For some of us, visual reminders work better than other forms of sparking the memory.
Create Habits
Many of us have busy lives, making it hard for us to remember to take medicine at the required times throughout the day. So, consider taking your medicine at the same time as you might regularly do other scheduled daily tasks. For example, you might take your morning pills at the same time as you check the news on your phone each morning or just after you brush your teeth.
Associating brushing your teeth or taking the dog for its evening walk with having your medication will start to create a habit. Once you’ve solidified that habit and association, you’ll be closer to remembering to take your much needed medication each day.
Go Digital
A digital pill reminder box is a very useful tool if you struggle to remember to take your medicine on time, especially when you’re out and about. It’s small enough to carry around and, as well as having the separate boxes for your daily medication, it has a handy digital alarm clock that you can set to the correct time for your medication.
Need more help with organising your medication? We're always here to help so get in touch today.
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October 2022