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Pill reminder

I didn't take my lunchtime pill today. I discovered this when I went to take the evening pills and the lunchtime one was still there in my "organiser"

This is not the first time this has happened and I don't have an answer to it.

What methods do all of you have to remind you to take your pills at the appropriate time. My method does not seem to working at peak efficiency.

I should point out that I have this organiser with little boxes in which tell me which day it is and whether it is morning or evening but there is nothing on it that says I have taken the appropriate action. There must be a more foolproof way.
 
Try putting your mobile next to pill box too!
I always have my stuff by the kettle so when I go to brew up it acts as an instant
reminder to take my meds then with my coffee.
 
noblehead said:
Set your alarm on your mobile to go off each day at lunch-time.

I could bring in the argument that I don't have a mobile but I don't wish to go round that one again for the purposes of this debate.
Anyway, assumptions about my eating at fixed times are also a problem. Is 12 before or after lunch.

I appreciate your contribution but I am asking if anyone has a flexible and foolproof answer to this problem.
 
Squire Fulwood said:
noblehead said:
Set your alarm on your mobile to go off each day at lunch-time.

I could bring in the argument that I don't have a mobile but I don't wish to go round that one again for the purposes of this debate.
Anyway, assumptions about my eating at fixed times are also a problem. Is 12 before or after lunch.

I appreciate your contribution but I am asking if anyone has a flexible and foolproof answer to this problem.



You asked for methods used and that's what you got in reply, feel free to ignore should you choose! :)
 
noblehead said:
Squire Fulwood said:
noblehead said:
Set your alarm on your mobile to go off each day at lunch-time.

I could bring in the argument that I don't have a mobile but I don't wish to go round that one again for the purposes of this debate.
Anyway, assumptions about my eating at fixed times are also a problem. Is 12 before or after lunch.

I appreciate your contribution but I am asking if anyone has a flexible and foolproof answer to this problem.



You asked for methods used and that's what you got in reply, feel free to ignore should you choose! :)

If I don't have a mobile what else can I do but ignore the previous suggestions.
 
If you're near a computer pretty much all day then how about setting up some kind of calendar alert that pops up on your computer?

I don't know if that's something that would help at all?
 
BlindFaith said:
If you're near a computer pretty much all day then how about setting up some kind of calendar alert that pops up on your computer?

I don't know if that's something that would help at all?

It is a better suggestion than the earlier ones but if there is anyone out there who never forgets to take their pills I want to know how they do it..
 
You can get pill boxes with audible timers, for small amounts of pills you can get pocket sized boxes which vibrate or alarm. T
There are also simple timers that you can set to alarm several times a day.
Google pill reminders for a large selection at all sorts of prices.
I don't use one myself but we bought an alarm for my mother . She has to take many pills and not all at meal times. It's important that her Parkinson's drugs are taken at the right time. The alarm was for the carers who were always forgetting: it works.
 
Squire Fulwood said:
It is a better suggestion than the earlier ones but if there is anyone out there who never forgets to take their pills I want to know how they do it..

I hope you don't take this the wrong way; but have you thought about trying memory enhancing exercises?
I have a friend whose mind is like a sieve and she played those games on the Nintendo DS that help your memory and so on...but they helped her remember the little things she always forgot.
 
I tried every pill organiser in existence to no avail. I would take the pills out , then ther would be some sort of interrupion , I would put the pill down , deal with the interrupion and then think I had taken i only finding it several hours later.

The last straw came one day after I had spent about 30 minutes filling one of hose large wooden weekly organisers with all the horse tablets i was prescribed. Just as I finished - I dropped the thng!. Then I binned it!

It ook a few years but now I have a system that works for me. It is flexible but much depends upon how often you take medication. Most diabetes medicine is more flexible than people are given to believe. I met one Diabetes consultant who was all for taking it all first hing in the morning - he meant every available oral med. I don't find this to be ideal for me bu have got them organised - with one exception.

I don't take meds as an activity on its own but incorporate it into my daily control regime which is flexible so far as times are concerned - from necessity - but means that i eat to my meter and incorporate the meds as part of the sysem.

So I test when I get up and will base my breakfast on the reading.and he probable efect of my meds base on experience. Then I test before lunch and base my meal and amount of eercise I need to do on this . If I neede to take another pill then I would do so and include this in my calculation. hen I would do he same with my evening meal. So I am eating to my meter and making the meds part of it. Works for me but takes a little time to get used to. If I missed a pill my readings would soon alert me o i and as i only ake hem twice daily I could probably take it later and decrease carbs and /or increase medication in the interests of damage limitation If something appears to have gone awwry I will test more often and of course, I will test afer meals if I eat something I am unsure of or exercise more or less. Works for me and doesn' rely on rigid mealimes.

The only time i forget to take a pill is just before bed when I should take my statin. Sometimes his is more a case of can't be bothered to take it. or posssibly the result of my being in two minds about taking it at all.

he basic point is to include the pills as an essential part of your bg control. Afer a while it gets to be second nature and any changes in readings will alert you o problems which you can then correct.

There is a percepion that T2s can do nothing about high readings etc but this is not true in my experience. I take just 1mg of a possible hypo inducing med and have o consider highs and lows .
take hat into cosideration.
 
Squire Fulwood said:
I didn't take my lunchtime pill today. I discovered this when I went to take the evening pills and the lunchtime one was still there in my "organiser"

This is not the first time this has happened and I don't have an answer to it.

What methods do all of you have to remind you to take your pills at the appropriate time. My method does not seem to working at peak efficiency.

I should point out that I have this organiser with little boxes in which tell me which day it is and whether it is morning or evening but there is nothing on it that says I have taken the appropriate action. There must be a more foolproof way.


Do you test your BG before meals at all? You could always put the tablets with your test kit to remind you. I take my morning tablets as I do my fasting test first thing and then take my evening tablet when I test my levels before my evening meal.

Angie
 
Lloyds will sort all of your pills out and medic-pac them - Boots will do this too. They do mine and this is a great help as they are ready for me to take with my breakfast and then again in the evening.

I keep my medi-pac with my insulin and test kit and do a test, inject then take meds. With me it's routine and getting into a routine is the key as I rarely miss my meds. Even when we are away in the caravan this routine works. Breakfast and evening meals mean meds to me.
 
angieG said:
Squire Fulwood said:
Do you test your BG before meals at all? You could always put the tablets with your test kit to remind you. I take my morning tablets as I do my fasting test first thing and then take my evening tablet when I test my levels before my evening meal.

Angie

That's exactly what I did today but when I looked at the organiser I could hardly believe that I had forgotten to take my lunchtime pill again. Unbeliever said that he/she gets distracted which is what must have happened to me but there must be a way of not forgetting. I am considering putting a light on which I am only allowed to turn off if I have taken the tablets.

I was just wondering what other people did to over come this problelm.
 
Squire Fulwood said:
angieG said:
Squire Fulwood said:
Do you test your BG before meals at all? You could always put the tablets with your test kit to remind you. I take my morning tablets as I do my fasting test first thing and then take my evening tablet when I test my levels before my evening meal.

Angie

That's exactly what I did today but when I looked at the organiser I could hardly believe that I had forgotten to take my lunchtime pill again. Unbeliever said that he/she gets distracted which is what must have happened to me but there must be a way of not forgetting. I am considering putting a light on which I am only allowed to turn off if I have taken the tablets.

I was just wondering what other people did to over come this problelm.

She actually :lol: Metformin affected my memory qute badly at first . As also my coordination eve speech. Forunately things improved n time. Just mentioning lest you could be the same.
 
I'm at home for most meals, which I find makes life a little easier.

I pop out all my meds for the day, and my supplements, first thing in the morning, into a small bowl which sits between the kettle and the draining board. This is not a huge space, so when at either I can see the bowl. This reminds me to check what I've taken.

First thing, I take Levothyroxine. You are supposed to take this on an empty stomach, so I down that and sit with a cup of coffee for 30mins or so, partly to give my eyes a chance to breathe before I put my (gas permeable) contact lenses in. Then I shower, dress and cook my omelette, taking my Metformin before I put the eggs in the pan. If I forget I take it after breakfast.

I do the same with the second Metformin at lunch-time, and with the third with my evening meal. I take 2 opiod painkillers/anti-inflammatories just before bed.

The supplements I take mainly with breakfast, though I space the 3 magnesium tablets through the day.

If I'm out over lunch-time I take the metformin when I get back in; if that's about tea-time, I take the final Metformin at bed-time, to try to keep them spaced.

If I'm going to be away overnight, I take my morning pills and put the rest in an empty test-strip container, writing the date they are for on the lid with a fine marker. I do the same if I'm going to be away for a few days, one container per day. Fortunately all my pills look quite distinct, so there's little risk of getting confused. If I'm working on site the test-strip container goes in my lunch box so I can't help but see it.

Because Metformin doesn't bother me whenever I take it (ie, with or without food) I can usually get 3 in in a day even if I forget to take one at the right time. The only ones that timing does matter with are the Levothyroxine and the Nortripytlene (opiod), and they are a matter of routine now.

I also take Volsaid slow-release (another anti-inflammatory) if necessary. If I think I'll need them (usually if I'm being unusually active), I put one or two out in the morning with the others. I try to keep those at least 8 hours apart, preferably 12, depending on bed-time.

If I'm taking anything in addition to my normal pills (eg Tramadol occasionally, and/or antibiotics which was once 2 different ones, 1 @ 4 per day, 1 @ 3 per day :shock: ) I leave them in their plastic but cut off the correct number for the day and put them in the bowl too. I do try to be very strict with the intervals between those.

As you can see, my method is certainly not fool-proof and is pretty well dependent on me being home-based, but it works for me. With metformin, there are many suggestions on how to take them - one GP said "space them out" another said "with food". Some GPs recommend taking them all at once, either morning of evening. So it seems there is plenty of flexibility with those - if your system can take it.

This has probably not been much help, but I offer it for what it's worth! :wink:

Viv 8)
 
Re your last point about the metformin Viv, every single pill I have ever been given for diabetes - and I think it covers the spectrum - :lol: has originally come with an instruction to take at a particular time but this was soon changed to -whenever it works best for you. And that is the point. Always remebering of course that most -if ot all except januvia {sitaglipin } need to be taken with or after o r around food.
 
Ps Anyone who takes an even number of metformin per day might wan o consider he I gram dose rather than 2x 500 mg. fewer pills to remember.!
 
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