Shifting habits

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Since I was 20 years old, I have taken whatever meds I’ve needed to take when I put in my contact lenses each morning. The 2 events are firmly coupled in my brain.

I am now halfway through my third week of glasses and I have forgotten to take my BP meds about half the time. This is not good....I know it. Since the contacts are going to be gone forever, I need someway to remember. I also need some way to remember that I took them when I do remember to take them. Doling them out in days of the week containers only addresses the second issue, not the first. Right now, each morning that I do remember, I turn the containers upside down. I reset them right side up when I brush my teeth before bed.

My contacts + meds coupling has worked incredibly well for 40 years.  Now I need to figure out a way to remember.  Any suggestions? 

[TheOtherMe]

Is it time for a daily pill box?

[Artemis Windsong]

Try using a pen and paper to write down when you take your meds. Set the med bottle on the pad. Or nearby. It takes some discipline to begin but that works.

I have several meds to take either morning or night. I had to write it down. Until I had to take meds for bone health, I was on nothing but supplements. The note pad also helped when I went to my new primary physician since I don't recall med names. I had vitals on there in case he asked.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Mar 9, 2021 16:43:00 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Is it time for a daily pill box?

That won’t remind me to take them each morning, just tell me whether or not I took them.

[stillmovingforward]

I have aweekly pill container next to my glasses. Is there something you grab every day that you can put the meds next to? Do you always drink coffee in the morning, or tea? Put the meds container next to the coffee pot or in your coffee cup that lives next to your coffee pot. Always wear your slippers, put them across the toe of your slippers (and put the slippers up where animals won't find the meds). Time for a new habit 😁

[mary2029]

I am assuming you put on your contacts in the bathroom. Since I keep my contacts in the medicine cabinet, I would link it to something I would need when I access the cabinet. Couple it with brushing/flossing your teeth in the morning, moisturizing your face, combing/brushing your hair, or right before/after your shower.

[haapai]

Do you drink coffee?  Plunking those meds right beside the coffee maker might work. 

Do you leave the house at least once a day, perhaps to check the mail?  Planting your keys or shoes underneath the days of the week pillbox might be a useful prompt. 

Do you use a PC or laptop?  Plunking the pillbox on top of the keyboard every evening after brushing your teeth and encountering it every day when you log on might do the trick, although you would have to be diligent about returning it to the bathroom while everything boots up.  You might be able to modify this if you use a phone instead. 

Setting a daily reminder on your phone might work too. 

[haapai]

I think that the world is ready for a days of the week pillbox that also traps your toothbrush, comb, hairbrush, or razor inside it. 

[justme]

I've been trying to figure out that myself. I'm pretty good with my morning meds, but I need to remember to take some vitamins and I kinda suck at it. All the stuff that comes with reminders and shit is expensive probably because it's mostly aimed towards seniors that forget stuff. 

[susana1954]

Can't you set some sort of reminder?  I have Alexa, but I am sure Suri will tell you as well.

[bean29]

I have an app for my i-phone that sends me a reminder to take my meds.  you dismiss the reminder when you have taken the meds.  I still usually leave it for "later" b.c my dogs demand I take them out for a walk "right now", and then forget to take them before I run out the door.

I also have been considering moving my meds to the bathroom, but idk - germs.

The name of the app is "Medisafe"

[wvugurl26]

I have a chart for my vitamins and the new temporary meds from the dermatologist. I have a few other things on there I'm trying to make habits. Morning or bedtime meds I have no problem with. It's the in between ones where I struggle.

Alexa could remind you or I'm sure there are phone apps.

[Ryan]

I have to take nightly eyedrops to keep my pressures down.  If you have it available, I would use either a phone, apple watch, alexa to set the reminder.  I did that for the first year and it works.  Now I only wear glasses at night, so that kind of serves as my reminder.  Sometime after dinner I'll want to put my glasses on, but I won't do it until after I've done my drops.

[buystoys]

I have a weekly pill box for morning, noon, and night meds.  I was keeping it by the coffee pot before we redid the kitchen.  It now sets on a counter I first see when I walk into the kitchen.  I have forgotten to take morning meds a couple of times, but not often.  The night time meds I always take at 7pm.  That's become a good habit.  I miss the noon meds more frequently.  I'm still trying to set up a reminder for myself for that time.

[Lizard Queen]

I'm having a hard time remembering, too, but with much less important meds/vitamins. I found an app to try, and it buzzed my watch while I set up a couple. I think it'll work for me.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

There is going to come a time when my glasses go away too.  

Pathetically, I wore my first pair of shoes exactly 2 weeks after going glasses only.  Also pathetically, I have forgotten to brush my teeth each morning about half time too.  Wearing glasses has screwed up my vision so badly that I rarely go out.  My depth perception is really pretty bad right now due to my shifting prescription.  I guess my eyes are supposed to shift for another 2 weeks (which is why they don’t replace the lens immediately).  

In the long run, this is going to be worth it.  I just have to figure out my new normal.  I can’t imagine trying to do this if most of life wasn’t shut down, so my timing is the least obtrusive it could possibly be.  

[engineerdoe]

I have a reminder in my phone to tell me to take my meds in the morning and to eat breakfast and lunch.  I also set an alarm to give my cat his insulin and an alarm to take my evening pills.  Make the alarm a really annoying tone so you will not ignore it.

[NastyWoman]

Mar 9, 2021 16:41:05 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Since I was 20 years old, I have taken whatever meds I’ve needed to take when I put in my contact lenses each morning. The 2 events are firmly coupled in my brain.

I am now halfway through my third week of glasses and I have forgotten to take my BP meds about half the time. This is not good....I know it. Since the contacts are going to be gone forever, I need someway to remember. I also need some way to remember that I took them when I do remember to take them. Doling them out in days of the week containers only addresses the second issue, not the first. Right now, each morning that I do remember, I turn the containers upside down. I reset them right side up when I brush my teeth before bed.

My contacts + meds coupling has worked incredibly well for 40 years.  Now I need to figure out a way to remember.  Any suggestions? 

I have my meds in one of those old people boxes. The reason being that that box fits over the glass my toothbrush is in. Used to forget to take my meds half the time. No more since I started to do this. Except when the little ones come for a visit (they live overseas so rare occasion) as I can't leave them out with them around

www.amazon.com/Apex-Organizer-Color-Coded-See-Through-Medication/dp/B000EGKTEW/ref=sr_1_10?crid=2U4434PDJ2TS1&dchild=1&keywords=pill+holders+7+day+am+pm&qid=1615335233&sprefix=Pill+holder%2Caps%2C307&sr=8-10

One of these or a single row one if you only need to rake pills once a day

[Opti]

My meds are in my pantry so I take mine with breakfast. I pull them out and put the containers upright. If I am really worried about tracking it, I mark it down on my calendar and check it off. (I turn the bottle over too when I put it away.)

Maybe tack up a piece of paper in the bathroom with a pen nearby and mark off when you take the BP meds? Once you get back in the habit you could remove the paper & pen.

[flamingo]

When I first got my migraine preventative meds, I set an alarm on phone. It literally went off every day for years at 6:30pm. It drove DH nuts because if I worked out after work, 6:30pm was when I was usually in the shower,so he had to deal with the alarm. But I never forgot my pills.

I turned it off finally when the pandemic started bc with working from home, I could take them later (they make me sleepy and if I took them too late it would be hard to get up at 5 am). So now I take them at 7 when Jeopardy starts. But man, at the beginning, the phone alarm really helped me remember and get in the habit. 

[irishpad]

Start taking these

with your bp meds   

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Mar 9, 2021 17:01:55 GMT -5 haapai said:

I think that the world is ready for a days of the week pillbox that also traps your toothbrush, comb, hairbrush, or razor inside it. 

Not under pandemic conditions.  Sadly, there have been days where I’ve forgotten all of these.  

[haapai]

Mar 10, 2021 14:47:14 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Mar 9, 2021 17:01:55 GMT -5 haapai said:

I think that the world is ready for a days of the week pillbox that also traps your toothbrush, comb, hairbrush, or razor inside it. 

Not under pandemic conditions.  Sadly, there have been days where I’ve forgotten all of these.   [img alt="" src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png" class="smile"]

Me too!  But I was too ashamed of that to suggest some sort of pillbox that prevents you from turning on the light ... in the fridge, since a lot of us have been sleeping in late enough that there is no reason to turn on the lights when we wake up. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I know part of my problem is that when I get up in the morning, I use the hall bathroom on the way to the kitchen to start coffee.  Part of this is habit, as this toilet had the riser I used on it.  We took that off several months ago, so I can just as easily use the master bath too now.  So this is another habit that I need to break.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Mar 10, 2021 14:55:21 GMT -5 haapai said:

Mar 10, 2021 14:47:14 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Not under pandemic conditions.  Sadly, there have been days where I’ve forgotten all of these.   [img alt="[img alt="" src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png" class="smile"]" src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png" class="smile"]

Me too!  But I was too ashamed of that to suggest some sort of pillbox that prevents you from turning on the light ... in the fridge, since a lot of us have been sleeping in late enough that there is no reason to turn on the lights when we wake up. 

I think that the only pillbox that would be effective would be one that traps the toilet!

[haapai]

Mar 10, 2021 15:01:14 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Mar 10, 2021 14:55:21 GMT -5 haapai said:

Me too!  But I was too ashamed of that to suggest some sort of pillbox that prevents you from turning on the light ... in the fridge, since a lot of us have been sleeping in late enough that there is no reason to turn on the lights when we wake up. 

I think that the only pillbox that would be effective would be one that traps the toilet!

In normal times, that would be ideal, especially for folks that live alone. 

In pandemic times, it might not work so well.  We need our phones to tell us what day of the week it is. 

[Artemis Windsong]

Mar 9, 2021 16:48:05 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Mar 9, 2021 16:43:00 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Is it time for a daily pill box?

That won’t remind me to take them each morning, just tell me whether or not I took them.

A recurring reminder on your cell phone.  H. uses one for evening med.

[Lizard Queen]

I found an app for my Android phone in the Google play store. It's called My therapy. It had the highest rating I could find right away, and so far, so good.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I have an alarm set on my iPhone to remind me to take my pills. 

[thyme4change]

Set the daily box next to the toilet. Check it every time you express yourself.