This is a practical post based on nearly 10 months of daily experience. In full transparency, I am terrible at remembering to take medication on time. Given that I need to take pills every single day, we've come up with a few very practical ways to ensure that I remember to do so, and on schedule. Here are my three practical tips:
Set an alarm - better yet, set two alarms! I am now at a point where on non-treatment days, I only have to take medication two times a day, 12 hours apart. I have an alarm set for both times on my phone. Sometimes I'm in a meeting or distracted, and miss that alarm. So it helps to have an alarm set on another device for a few minutes later. For example, a morning medication buzzer is set at 6 a.m. and then again at 6:05. This works! You wouldn't believe it, but I'm constantly surprised when I hear that buzz - it's such an effective reminder. If you have to take medicine at more frequent intervals, you can set your alarm more often.
Once you take your medicine, check it off! Keep track of the fact that you took your medicine. It is amazing how easy it is to forget if you took your pills, especially if it becomes part of a daily routine (and even with the help of alarms). Recently, I implemented a very easy solution. For non-treatment days, I have a simple calendar on my refrigerator that just lists a.m. and p.m. (see actual photo above). After I take the medicine, I walk to the fridge and check it off. I keep a pen right next to my checklist at all times. This checklist makes me accountable! You can also keep the list on a bedstand or even on your phone - do what is accessible and works for you.
Consider writing start dates on medicine stickers/labels. I've been in the very uncomfortable situation several times where I wasn't adhering well to tips #1 and #2 above. What's helped? When I start taking a particular medication, I write the date I started taking it right on the label, and note 'a.m.' or 'p.m.' This means that if I absolutely can't remember if I missed a dose, I can count the # of pills left in the bottle and work it out.
For treatment days, and when I was on my initial 42 days of chemo and radiation, I employ an additional strategy. I keep a daily schedule that literally lists the times for all medications, all meals, and all snacks. Some mealtimes (and bedtime) revolve around certain medicines, so it's important to keep a plan and stick to the schedule. I've printed this out and keep it in several places at home for easy reference. Particularly during the initial 42 days, I relied on this schedule literally every day to keep on track. Now I've gone through the drill enough times, but it's still really helpful as a reminder.
If you or a loved one need to take medicine on a regular basis, I hope that these tips help simplify and remove at least a little of the stress from the process.
January 4, 2022
Picture: checklist noting a.m. and p.m. for seven days of the week
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