How do you remind yourself to take your medication?

[john-citron]

KISS.

I ensure I take my medications consistently at the same time every day. Keeping to the consistent time schedule ensures that I minimize my off times because it smooths out the space between doses.

In addition to the consistent timing, I also count out the pills per day and put them into a small pill-fob that I keep in my pocket. By counting out my daily dose, I don’t have to go for the pill bottles. In the past, I would grab the pill bottle and have one of those did I or did I not take my meds moments. By counting out exactly what I need to take each day, I know that I’ve taken them all when the fob is empty. One of those daily/weekly pill boxes would work as well for this, but for me the fob works because it means I don’t need to go looking for the box downstairs.

[dizzydeb]

I use a weekly pill organizer and my iPhone. I fill the pill organizer on Saturday night for the coming week and have a reminder set on my phone for morning, midday and evening doses. The only thing I take midday is my carbidopa/levodopa and I am sometimes away from home when it’s time to take it.  I have a small envelope in my wallet with several doses.  That keeps me on  track.

[annie]

I have alarms set on my phone. I have chosen a specific alarm tone to indicate that it’s for medication. My medication alarm is crickets chirping and my crickets chirp six times a day so everyone around me soon gets used to the crickets (I recently spent time with a former colleague who commented “oh it’s cricket time – I have missed your crickets! Can I get you some water?”).

In addition to setting the alarms, I have also named each of them with what meds I take at that time so that if something happens and I need assistance, I can show someone what I need.

Like John I carry a small pill fob (actually a small sample container of some eye cream or something that I have repurposed) with me that I count out my daily tablets into (which won’t help with the alarm labels as I’ve taken the medication out of it’s original labelled packets but no system is perfect and I am happy to take on board any suggestions). I have found that a small container that I can fit easily in my pocket allows me to feel confident that I always have the medication that I need with me.

When I first took the medication and it affected when I ought to be eating in relation to the medication I set a series of alarms that indicated the start or finish of a window of time when I was able to eat. I found this both helpful and annoying but it allowed me to train myself to appropriate times to eat so that the food didn’t affect the medication. I still go back to this occasionally and briefly if I have a substantial medication change.

So when I set all of these alarms originally, I did not like it. I needed them because I’ve never been particularly good at routine.I bought a few watches – colourful, pretty, silly, unusual, fun watches. My criteria was cheap and cheerful- I did not spend over $10 on a watch. Some of them are kids watches; a lot were found and ordered online. It allowed me to change them around regularly and to be more conscious of the time wherever I was (without doing the oh so obvious phone check) and made me feel generally happier about my life being ruled by routine.

One last “rule” that I have set myself is that I am allowed to snooze the alarm but I am not allowed to turn it off until I’ve actually taken my tablets. This ensures that I do not turn it off and get distracted and not take my medication as happened a couple of times before I developed this strategy. It was usually when I was having difficulty with movement and mobility that I would realise that I had switched off the alarm intending to take my medication and then totally forgotten to do so.

Any ideas for improvement of this system are gratefully received- generally it works well for me but I’m sure that it can be refined.

[bert-shure]

I use an app on my phone called Medisafe. It is designed to remind me when to take my meds. It has a ton of features. I use the core features only. I currently have Morgan Freeman reminding me that it is pill time. Darth Vader and a whiny grandmother are available.

Cheers,

Bert

[stp61]

Medisafe app on my iphone. Simple to use and can manage even a complex daily schedule. If you need it, you can share your account with a caregiver to get some backup.

If you keep your phone around you, a dedicated phone med app is the way to go.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/medisafe-medication-management/id573916946

[richb99]

I use a simple medication reminder app called Round.

[desmond-veale]

I have set the reminder times on my smart phone ten minutes before my medication is due.

[krukar]

Mary Beth,
I use a weekly pill container for my daily meds. For my C/L which I take 4 times per day I have Alexa ping at each time required. Blessings, Mike

 

[barry-block]

I too rely on Alexa, however what I’ve learned is that it’s more important to time my Sinemet so as not to interfere with my meals, particular ones with high protein. Taking my meds an hour prior to meals or two hours after has eliminated the off periods I once experienced. This is because the carbidopa does not have to compete with protein in crossing the brain/blood barrier.

[leslie]

I have 6 alarms set on my phone so that no matter where I am I can be reminded.