Keeping up with the prescriptions, vitamin treatments, and over-the-counter medicines has always been a daunting task. However, many methods are true and try to remember your daily meds to remind you of your dose without fail. We will discuss some of these, but before going further, let us know about the impact of missing a single dose.
Do know there can be circumstances if you miss one or more doses. Adherence to daily medication is very important.
While taking medications regularly, the body reaches its steady state, which entails the amount of drug going inside your body for absorption and the same amount of medicine going out (excretion and metabolism).
However, most of the medications do have a half-life, and it refers to the time taken by your body for eliminating 50% of the drug levels from your body. Usually, it is about five half-lives for every drug to reach its steady state or to be eliminated from the body.
Many people do not take it seriously and consider it a normal thing to miss a dose of medication, but it doesn’t hold. Because some medicines do have longer half-lives while others may have shorter ones, for example, if the medication is said to have a half-life of 12 hours, the steady-state for blood levels can dangerously decline if you missed one or two medicines.
The blood pressure of the patient can rise and also have ill effects on his heart health. This is one of the reasons why it is important to consume your on-time medication prescribed by the doctor.
Let’s know about various ways that can help you in reminding for medications:
Know your medicines:
Learning about your medications is very important as it will reinforce your ability to take the medicines one time and correctly. In addition, knowing about your medical conditions proves to be a strong motivator, and your symptoms must let you know it’s time to take your own medicine.
Knowing about the side effects is important as you can relate or recognize when they occur. Many issues related to the medicines are temporary, and for the same, you need to speak to your doctor about the long-term and short-term effects of the medication
Pill Reminder Apps
Mobile or desktop apps help the patients remember and track their medication usage and are convenient tools for anyone who knows technology. Mobile apps like My Meadvisor allows you to keep your entire list of medications in a single place. In addition, you can choose to keep your pill reminders for your medicines at a special time and receive prescriptions for reminders on your mobile device.
You can add personal notes for easy access to information about your doses. It is one of the best methods to remind yourself about the pills and know your doses right.
Link all your medications with your regular activities:
The drug doses can be tied to your daily routine, such as breakfast time, lunch hours, or going to bed.
You can keep your drugs at easy to see spots. Ensure that your medications remain in a safe place away from your pets and toddlers.
Once you include your medications with your daily routine, you will remember them as you remember brushing your teeth every morning.
Never leave your medications in extreme cold or heat, but never leave them in your steamy bathroom. Most of the medications are stable at room temperature, and under extreme conditions, they can lose their efficiency, crumble, and at times even melt.
You can also make a note for reminders on your refrigerator if you are storing your medicines there. If you are prescribed high doses of medications, ensure to keep them secure and safe and at times locked to prevent any ingestion by your pet, teen or child.
Calendar Alerts:
Suppose you prefer not to use a mobile device or use the simplest method of a traditional calendar. They are great tools. You can mark your regular doses on the paper calendar or even use your computer or a diary. Just ensure that you update it regularly and mark every dose you are taking and mention if you fail to consult your doctor about it immediately.
