I was perfectly on time this morning when I woke up (which is rare) and everything was going smoothly until my routine was interrupted due to a phone call from my Mom and I forgot to take my meds before work.
I didn’t realize I did until about an hour into my shift and something felt off. I had doubts as I was getting ready for work but my doc said to never take extra. (Edit: and remembering what it was like going from 40mg to 60mg I definitely didn’t want to accidentally take 2)
I was a bit too scattered (best way to describe it) and even my coworker noticed I was a lot more talkative than usual.
And then it hit me, I didn’t remember taking my meds in the morning and saying the date.
By 4 hours into my shift my stomach felt off, and by the 9th hour I had a headache creeping in.
Unfortunately I got home within 12 hours (more like 10) of when I normally take my meds, so I’ve got to wait.
On the plus side I bought a pill organizer today so it’ll be easier to know if I missed my dose as I will be able to see if I did or not pretty easy.
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The pill organizer helps to know if you take then or not, bit not to dont forget to take them. Which remembers me I need to buy a new strap for my smartwatch ( I had alarms set on it at time I need to take my meds )
For those of you folks who take meds, what methods have you come up with to remember to take them?
I have an app where I register when I take my meds, and which meds.
I make sure to absolutely always tap the app while taking the meds. No taking meds and then going to find the phone, or tapping the app and then take the meds. Always do it simoultaniously.
With that rule in place, I know that I can 100% trust the app in telling me if I have taken them or not.
This works really great for me.
What is the app?
Not there person you’re replying to, but my partner and I have been using Medisafe for a month now, and it’s been perfect for our needs.
On iOS the health app does this, plus it stores your med list in your emergency info (if you allow it, which I do due to blood pressure meds) in case of accidents.
The only thing waiting for me on the kitchen table in the morning is my meds so when I sit down to eat the bottle is right there. I also made a habit of writing down all my meals, including breakfast, in a document and I’ve started writing down the meds right next to the breakfast column.
Do you mind telling why you document your meals?
I started documenting a bunch of things every day to try and find patterns in how things affect my mental well-being. How much I sleep, when I wake up, when I get up, when and what I eat, how many steps I’ve taken that day, if I’ve worked out and how much, etc etc etc.
Man that wouldn’t be very interesting for me since I eat the same breakfast every day and the same lunch most days too
You never know if your breakfast routine might change in the future.
That’s true. It usually alternates in the winter and summer.
That’s a good idea
That’s a great idea. Have you noticed any patterns yet? No pressure to share, of course.
So far only pretty obvious ones such as the correlation between depression and more time in bed/less working out/eating etc. But you never know what use you might have from logging things, for instance I went back to see if gluten affected my mood and energy levels, and even if I didn’t log gluten specifically I could sort of extract that info from my food logs and compare it to my logged perceived energy levels and mood (I found no correlation).
Thanks for sharing!
2-fold.
First, I have a timerCap bottle. The lid has a count up timer, from the last time it was opened. This is excellent for those “did I actually take my meds, or just plan too?” moments.
Second, I’ve an app called MyTherapy. It provides an alert, as well as helping keep track of my renewals, and other health checks (blood pressure etc).
I started with Home Assistant a while ago.
I have a door sensor on the front door and a Button to set a boolean, when I took the meds.
If i go out the door at a certain timespan (getting to Work) I immediately get a loud and annoying notification on my Phone.
Works perfectly, and I can’t live without it.
I also have my alarm turning on a light, which helps wonders for getting up in the morning.
And a alarm, if I left a window open because I’m forgetting about that regularly.
I bought timer lid containers for my pills, ADHD and otherwise (believe you me, you do NOT want to accidentally take a second dose of migraine preventatives!). Now the cap shows exactly how long since I last opened the bottle, and I don’t have to go through the trouble of [not remembering to] refill pill organizers.
If I’m not sure in the morning I can just look at the cap and know for sure!
And then forget if I checked, and check again, etc. as one does.
For any one with an iPhone, put your meds in the medication portion of the health app. You get reminders when it’s time to take them and a loud annoying reminder a half hour later. It also tracks if you’ve taken them so if you are forgetful like me you can just check.
Taking them is generally the first thing I do each morning, and has been for many years, so it kinda just became a habit.
For times when I get distracted and do forget, I wake up early enough (thanks to cat) so that by the time I’m finished eating breakfast while watching TV for an hour, if I still feel unnaturally drowsy, that usually reminds me to take them.
I keep them in the same place and always take them after my first bite of breakfast. If I don’t have breakfast on a given morning I probably miss my meds.
Might be wise to get one of those keyfobs that can hold a dose or two in case of emergencies.
Talk with your doctor about getting a few lower dose pills either alongside your normal dose or as part of you normal dose. Like 10mg og 20mg and 60mg. Then you can take a little boost dose when you come home after a day where you forgot or if you have days where you need a little extra. Heck even take less on good days to if you want.
I have 10 and 20 and actually flex a bit with how much I take. I don’t need much so I’m on relatively low dose. I’m also relatively new on methylphenidate so still learning my dose but for me I found it extremely useful to be able to flex a bit. If I had a bad night of sleep or went to bed too late and I’m tired I found that taking less is better or else I get too emotional and irritaded.
On days where I know I have a lot of work to focus on in the evening I take 20mg extra in the afternoon after lunch. They are the long lasting ones so shouldn’t take them too late my doc said but I’ve taken 10mg at 16 o’clock some days because I forgot to take earlier and been suprise how well it works. For me I still sleep super well and might even have better willpower to actually go to bed at a proper time.
It’s maybe worth discussing with your doc.
Seconding this.
I take 40mg Vyvanse daily, but I also have a 5mg Adderall IR dose that I get 30 pills every 90 days of and take “as needed”.
Apple Health’s reminders have been a godsend, especially the annoying as fuck alert if you don’t log your medication within half an hour of your scheduled time. I never found pill organizers helpful, but I hope this one works for you.
This is what I do. Reminds in the morning, I have it set to when I should be int he kitchen having breakfast etc.
I have mine set to when I feed my cats, so I’m already in my kitchen anyway.
I take meds in the morning (long acting) and afternoon, as well as various vitamins. I got a one week pill organizer with neatly labelled days and I take that day’s container with me everywhere. Even if I think I will be home before the afternoon dose, I still bring it with me. I also have one emergency dose in a tiny holder.
This is the pill organizer I have: https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09ZY2ZB5S/
