Yes. That's a doggie chew toy in the upper right hand corner. There is no escaping them in my house. They're everywhere. In every corner. Under every table. Behind every door.
It's time to fill my dumb stupid medication boxes again. With my dumb stupid medications.
Don't worry - this isn't going to be another of my wah-wah-wah posts. After my last medication vacation, I have learned my lesson, which is that even though my dumb stupid meds are expensive and have side effects and are too numerous for my comfort, they're helping. I feel better when I take them. So if I run out of them while I'm out of town, I WILL move heaven and earth to refill them. I realize how important it is that I take them on time every day - and I will.
So I'm looking at my plastic boxes today and wondering how other people organize their medications. I know without a doubt that if I didn't fill my dumb stupid medication box, I would not be taking my medications as prescribed. On my weirdo brain foggy days, I'd probably grab a bottle here or there and slug down a few pills and call it good. But if I snap open the med box cover every morning and evening to dump out the contents, there's a high likelihood that I'm getting my drugs in an accurate and timely way. Let's not discuss those days that I forget to open the med boxes at all....
But what if I'm in the thick of brain fog or a flare on the day that I need to fill those containers? My methotrexate dose has varied occasionally, and so does my prednisone. Could be problematic. I'm thinking that the day may come when I need to refer to a medication list to ensure accuracy in dispensing my meds.
Here's a form put out by the Womenshealth.gov site. I've posted a thumbnail pic but you can view and print the PDF file here.
I think I'm going to print a copy and fill in the section that lists the medication name, strength, dose, and times per day. I'll slip this list into the shoebox where I keep all those pesky pill bottles.
Hm. This box has been more useful and durable than the shoes that came inside it.
7 comments:
It seems like you are doing a good job of organizing yourself. I finally caved in and started using a medication box just like yours as I was frequently forgetting to take them. The brain fog was really becoming a problem. The prednisone does get tricky with alternating doses but a list has helped.
This will more than likely come in handy for me. Pill dose boxes save my life... sometimes I can't remember if I took something. If I see the square is empty in the box I am ok. Thanks for sharing.
ToOdLeS.
I have one such pill box (I only take meds once a day so it holds 2 weeks worth). I use it from time to time, mostly if I'm busier than usual or need to go out of town for more than a couple days. I found it generally didn't make a big difference.
I take 3 meds every day, 1 as often as I can get it down (larger pills, I sometimes just skip my vitamin D - no lectures, please), and 1 as needed (Flexeril), so it's not too many to wrangle.
Plus, what I've found far more effective than a pill case is my husband - he makes sure I take them every night, so even when I'm in a fog so bad I'm expecting the Baskerville hounds to make an appearance, I get my meds:)
As a nurse AND someone who takes 5 different prescriptions daily and two different eyedrops daily AND some daily supplements and two other PRN prescriptions - I strongly endorse the prefilled pill box system! I'd never keep them all straight, but AM and PM pill boxes, with the AM and PM eyedrops on the same shelf, keeps me on track. The eyedrop that gets a midday dose - well, there is a bottle of eyedrop in my bag, but i probably only get 3 of 7 doses. Eye MD ok with that for now. Doing pillboxes helps me see what I need to reorder, too. Hubby uses same system, and I prefill for the dog as well (prescriptions NSAID and stomach acid med for the NSAID). Having a med list is good if meds change dosing patterns, and if you are having brain fog then someone else in household can fill the box for you, or get out one day's doses, or whatever...so keep doing what works. Think of it as being an 'early adopter' of a system we are all gonna need sooner or later!
Thanks for the planner sheets. I use the medication boxes, but this is one more way to help keep it all straight.
I have the dumb stupid med containers too. My only problem is they need to get slightly bigger. One additional thing I do is I have an alarm on my phone that reminds me to take them each night at 5:15, and each morning at 7:30. Which works great, unless I forget what I was doing on the way to the dumb stupid meds containers. Hang in there!
Have you ever tried mymedschedule? it's amazing! with all the medication i am on, it really keeps me organized, and there is a free app...
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