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For many older adults, seeing more doctors and taking more medications comes with the territory of aging. How well do you manage your prescriptions? It can be hard to keep them organized, especially if you have a lot.
Corralling multitudes of tablets, caplets, and pills of every size and color can challenge the most alert senior. Dividing and storing them is one thing. A whole separate challenge is remembering when to take them. Some of us have trouble remembering to take them all together!
Today we’re here with seven tips on how to keep medications organized and how to remember to take them.
To remember which pill does what, it’s a good idea to create a list for yourself. You can do this in a notebook, or, if you are technologically inclined, on your phone or your computer. Update the list every time you visit a doctor and get a prescription change.
On this list, include the following information for each medication you take: the name, the dosage, the frequency with which you must take it, and what each medication is designed to do.
Keep this list in a central location so that, if necessary, your friends, family, or healthcare providers can access it to determine what medications you should be taking. Share this list with your primary doctors and healthcare practitioners and consider keeping a copy of it in your purse or pocket when you leave the house.
Using a standard book or wall calendar can go a long way in helping you remember to take your medications. Yes, you probably have a calendar on your phone or computer, but that old-school paper calendar might be even more helpful.
Write down all the medications you take regularly on that calendar. Write down the names of the medications, when you should take them, and any other relevant information.
Keep the calendar in a place where you see it every time you walk past–such as on your refrigerator or on the door of your bathroom. You’ll see it multiple times throughout the day, and it will help you remember your prescriptions.
Although simple and inexpensive, pill organizers are essential tools for helping you keep track of medications. Pill organizers are usually divided into seven sections, one for each day of the week. You may also find larger pill organizers that have 31 sections, one for each day of the month.
With an organizer, you can sit down at the beginning of the week or the month and put all the pills you need to take into separate compartments. Then on Monday, look at the compartment for Monday, and you’ll see exactly which medications you must take. On Tuesday, do the same thing, and so on.
There are even pill organizers with alarms that remind you to take your medications. The most advanced models are programmable, so you can set alarms for specific medications that must be taken at specific times, and the device will provide you with a reminder.
If you do not have a pill organizer, using color-coded bottles is another way to manage prescriptions. Use colored markers, tape, or anything similar to label your different bottles.
You could use one color for each day of the week. The bottom line is that using a coding system can help you remember when to take which medications.
If you are comfortable with technology, gadgets, and digital devices, you can try setting reminders on your phone, computer, or other device.
Smartphones are convenient because many of us always carry one with us. Set your phone alarms to play multiple times after one another. You can set the volume as you see fit and use different sounds that will get your attention.
Although we may not all be fans of technology, it can certainly be helpful.
If you live with friends or family, make sure they know what medications you take, when you take them, what the dosages are, and where your prescriptions are kept.
Enlist the help of your housemates or family in sorting and storing medications and in making sure you take them. There is no shame in leaning on others for help in this important area.
A strategy for remembering to take pills on a regular basis is to keep them out in plain view. Putting bottles of pills inside bathroom medicine cabinets makes it easy to forget them. You know the saying: out of sight, out of mind.
It’s easier to remember to take your prescriptions if you see them on a shelf or counter.
Keep medications in the kitchen. That way every time you get a snack or eat a meal, you’ll see the bottles or organizers and remember to take the pills.
An important exception to this tip is when children are in the home. When children are around, medications should be kept secure and out of their reach.
What happens when one of your pills rolls off the table, onto the ground, and under a cabinet?
If your legs and back hurt, if you have balance problems, or if you have poor eyesight, you may not bend down to try and retrieve the pill.
If you happen to lose any medication, immediately write down the name of the medication that got lost and how much disappeared. Then contact the doctor(s) who prescribed that medication. Let them know you lost part or all of the prescription so they can then take care of the deficit right away.
If you lose medication, don’t wait until the next day to call your doctor or pharmacy because you might forget. You don’t want to experience a medication shortage on a day when you need it, especially if that day falls on a weekend or holiday when pharmacies may be closed.
Are you having trouble managing your medications? There are several strategies you can try. We recommend using a pill organizer in combination with an alert and reminder method, such as a calendar on your wall or on your smartphone.
