The biggest obstacle so far has been trying to take the medication at regular intervals throughout the day. But usually what usually occurs is I either have something come up and I forget or sometimes I don't realize if I've already taken the medication or not. If that is the case I have to go back recount the medication to verify if I have taken it or not. Another challenge is taking the medication everywhere with me. Sometimes it gets to be a hassle especially if the medication is relatively large.
I also wanted to mention, my medication, even though it is supposed to represent amoxicillin, when in actuality it is a big pink mint candy, has a tendency to get crushed or crack sometimes especially since it is in a plastic bag. This could lead to problems with the correct dosage if you can't find the corresponding cracked piece or pieces.
The biggest challenge I've had so far is remembering the doses in the middle of the day. I start every morning at 9am which I can remember, but my doses at 1pm and 5pm I usually forget. My last dose I take at 9pm and that is usually fine as well. Hopefully trying to coincide the middle doses with something I do in the day like with lunch and dinner will help me.
My largest obstacle, not surprisingly, has been missing doses. It is difficult to remember to take something multiple times in the day, no matter your lifestyle or level of activity. One thing that is contributing to my non-compliance is the fact that I do not actually have an infection. I think that if I was sick, the condition itself would serve as a reminder for a while before I began to get well.
Yeah, that seems to be my biggest obstacle also Chris. I even have Skittles so I should really be remembering to take my doses. Two pills also got smashed the very first day so I will eventually be 2 tablets short. My plan was to have the bag of medication in my backpack but that seems to be too destructive. I should just go back to the pharmacy and claim I was shorted. They will now go into my pocket or something which could serve as a constant reminder that I need to take the warfarin. Can't wait for my INR check tommorow!!
I am taking my medication at 3 points throughout the day. Unlike Derek, I am able to remember to take my morning and middle of the day doses, but not the nightly dose. I think it's because I keep the medication in my backpack and am not thinking of it at 10 at night. I also agree with Chris in the fact that because I am not sick, I am not thinking that I actually need to take the medication. I feel like if I really needed the medication (especially Flagyl), then I would be able to remember more easily. I usually take a once a day pill every night at 10pm that I remember to take with a phone alarm that I have set. I could use this to help remember to take that third dose of Flagyl as well. We will see how it goes tonight.
A suggestion to those having issues with the medication breaking apart is to use a clean old prescription bottle. That way you do not have to worry about your tablets being crushed in your backpack. You would probably want to take off the old prescription label so you do not confuse your medication. You can also put the whole plastic bag in the bottle so that you will not lose your prescription label. If you don’t have an old bottle, just ask your pharmacy if you can have one. I’m sure they’re more than willing to give you a prescription bottle.
My biggest problem has also been remembering to take my medication. I since I have take my medication six times a day, it becomes difficult to remember to do so because it is not my usual routine to take medication "around the clock". I have also had problems with my pills being crushed by the weight of my laptop in my bag, so now I have licorice powder in addition to pills!
Julie, I think that is a good idea about getting prescription bottles from your local pharmacy. I believe you could even just use a simple pillbox to prevent crushing of the pills. If I did have one, it would definitely keep my pills safe!
I definitely agree the prescription bottles are a good idea. But my problem is the tablets are really big and would be inconvenient to carry around. I guess I could just take a few in a small bottle so that way I can store them in my pocket. This might be better way to keep track as well, if I only put 3 tablets in a bottle per day, I can keep track exactly how many medications that I've taken.
I kind of losing track at times so I've decided to go with a pill box. It makes thing a lot more convenient to keep track of. Also I know the days when I've missed my medication and if during those days I noticed any unusual side effect. But overall the pill box has been working for me.
I agree that since we are not taking the medication for actual reasons that we are more likely to be less compliant. But if it came to life or death reasons, then when might be more serious about taking the medications.
Another strategy for adherence is to just write it down. You could write notes to remind yourself to take your medication and put them in places that you’re going to be throughout the day. I think reading “Remember to take Rx” on your bathroom mirror, refrigerator, car dashboard, locker, and work desk enough throughout the day would make it into a habit. If you take multiple medications at different times of the day, you could make a checklist of the times you need to take your medication and check it off as you go. Another way to help adherence is strategically placing your medication. For example, if you take your medication in the morning and at night you could place the bottle next to your bed. Seeing your medication will remind you to take it.
My biggest obstacle is actually taking the medication. I remember to take it but just don’t really care to. I’m not sure what candy my medication is but it doesn’t taste that good to me. This could relate to a patient who has problems swallowing big tablets and the tablets cannot be crushed or split. It could compromise adherence if a patient does not like the way they have to take their medication. Over the summer I had to take Bactrim DS twice daily for 14 days for an infection. By the last two days it was physically challenging to swallow the tablets down. The tablets were very large, a bit powdery, and bitter. I was already feeling much better and was just so tired of having to take the medication that I just didn’t want to do it anymore. However, I knew I had to complete the antibiotic therapy to fully treat my infection. I think the best way to help adherence in this type of issue is to educate the patient about how important it is to take their medication and why they have to take it a certain way.
One of the tools I use to get on a routine during school is a large calendar with plenty of room for notes. I write down all of my tests, quizzes, workdays, trips, etc and then I have everything in front of me in case I forget. If I were to fill in one per month, with each days medications written in the block, I think I could balance the stress of multiple medications. This schedule could be left on your desk at work or on your fridge at home and could help you get into a routine of taking your medications. More than likely, your regimen would become second nature after a month or so and you could keep it just as a reference after that.
Just looking at the elderly population, I was trying to think of ways they could remember to take medication daily. One way is that they can take their medication at the same time some of their favorite tv programs come on. For instance, if they take a medication tid, the morning dose could be with The Today Show, afternoon with their favorite soap opera, and at night with the nightly news. This could be an alternative to using a pill box.
Part of being creative about adherence begins with identifying barriers to compliance from the get-go. Too often a patient comes from the MD with a new prescription and we don't even ask what time is convenient for them (within certain parameters of the medication). Sometimes just being open to the patient's preference rather than our own prescribed preference can help to stop problems before they begin.
Additionally, we often assume that if the patient is coming in for a refill, then everything must have gone as planned over the previous month. Maybe that is true, but if we just ask the patient if there were any problems they experienced during their first month of a new therapy, we might find that they don't care for the Flagyl that has no film coating, and they might be more willing to adhere to their dosing schedule if we gave them a generic that tastes better. They might even be happy to pay the cost difference.
Julie, I agree totally with your comment about education about the importance in the hopes of giving the patient a compelling reason to take the medication. I think back to all the Abx therapies my grandmother stopped early in hopes of "saving some pills for future use." She really hadn't experienced an infection that came back with a vengeance. Maybe if she had been properly educated about the risk of reoccurring infections and Abx resistance she would have continued to take the remaining doses. As it were, all the medications expired well before we had any possible reason for self-prescribing anyway.
I like Derek's idea about taking the medication at the same time as a TV show - very clever! I also agree with Julie in that patients deserve the time to be counseled about their medication so they know the importance of what they are taking. It is true that some are less interested in the purpose than others, but I still think it should be attempted, especially with elderly and those who may be less compliant. I know we mentioned in lab last week how some patient refer to their pills as "the blue one" or something about color and size. It would be awesome if we could transform that to "the one for my blood pressure" or something more based on what it is for. Wishful thinking?
Yea Kyle my family did that too haha... saving medication for future use, and the funny thing is, we would have amoxicillin and stuff sitting in our cabinet from like 1995. Looking back, I realize this is not really a good thing!! 1) My mom was shorting herself back in the day when she was supposed to be taking it TID or whatever and 2) Whenever she would be "sick" she would take a few amoxicillins, self-prescribing herself, and not really complete a full regimen for a problem that may not be as serious as she thought. I used to have asthma when I was a kid, and I did the nebulizer machine several times a day, and I hated that... sitting there for like 10-15 minutes per vial just inhaling this medicine cloud.. it was so annoying. That is my sole experience with "adherence" and I only did it because I had to... but I was very adherent, despite the fact that it was a terrible experience.
The biggest obstacle so far has been trying to take the medication at regular intervals throughout the day. But usually what usually occurs is I either have something come up and I forget or sometimes I don't realize if I've already taken the medication or not. If that is the case I have to go back recount the medication to verify if I have taken it or not. Another challenge is taking the medication everywhere with me. Sometimes it gets to be a hassle especially if the medication is relatively large.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to mention, my medication, even though it is supposed to represent amoxicillin, when in actuality it is a big pink mint candy, has a tendency to get crushed or crack sometimes especially since it is in a plastic bag. This could lead to problems with the correct dosage if you can't find the corresponding cracked piece or pieces.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest challenge I've had so far is remembering the doses in the middle of the day. I start every morning at 9am which I can remember, but my doses at 1pm and 5pm I usually forget. My last dose I take at 9pm and that is usually fine as well. Hopefully trying to coincide the middle doses with something I do in the day like with lunch and dinner will help me.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy largest obstacle, not surprisingly, has been missing doses. It is difficult to remember to take something multiple times in the day, no matter your lifestyle or level of activity. One thing that is contributing to my non-compliance is the fact that I do not actually have an infection. I think that if I was sick, the condition itself would serve as a reminder for a while before I began to get well.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that seems to be my biggest obstacle also Chris. I even have Skittles so I should really be remembering to take my doses. Two pills also got smashed the very first day so I will eventually be 2 tablets short. My plan was to have the bag of medication in my backpack but that seems to be too destructive. I should just go back to the pharmacy and claim I was shorted. They will now go into my pocket or something which could serve as a constant reminder that I need to take the warfarin. Can't wait for my INR check tommorow!!
ReplyDeleteI am taking my medication at 3 points throughout the day. Unlike Derek, I am able to remember to take my morning and middle of the day doses, but not the nightly dose. I think it's because I keep the medication in my backpack and am not thinking of it at 10 at night. I also agree with Chris in the fact that because I am not sick, I am not thinking that I actually need to take the medication. I feel like if I really needed the medication (especially Flagyl), then I would be able to remember more easily. I usually take a once a day pill every night at 10pm that I remember to take with a phone alarm that I have set. I could use this to help remember to take that third dose of Flagyl as well. We will see how it goes tonight.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA suggestion to those having issues with the medication breaking apart is to use a clean old prescription bottle. That way you do not have to worry about your tablets being crushed in your backpack. You would probably want to take off the old prescription label so you do not confuse your medication. You can also put the whole plastic bag in the bottle so that you will not lose your prescription label. If you don’t have an old bottle, just ask your pharmacy if you can have one. I’m sure they’re more than willing to give you a prescription bottle.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest problem has also been remembering to take my medication. I since I have take my medication six times a day, it becomes difficult to remember to do so because it is not my usual routine to take medication "around the clock". I have also had problems with my pills being crushed by the weight of my laptop in my bag, so now I have licorice powder in addition to pills!
ReplyDeleteJulie, I think that is a good idea about getting prescription bottles from your local pharmacy. I believe you could even just use a simple pillbox to prevent crushing of the pills. If I did have one, it would definitely keep my pills safe!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree the prescription bottles are a good idea. But my problem is the tablets are really big and would be inconvenient to carry around. I guess I could just take a few in a small bottle so that way I can store them in my pocket. This might be better way to keep track as well, if I only put 3 tablets in a bottle per day, I can keep track exactly how many medications that I've taken.
ReplyDeleteI kind of losing track at times so I've decided to go with a pill box. It makes thing a lot more convenient to keep track of. Also I know the days when I've missed my medication and if during those days I noticed any unusual side effect. But overall the pill box has been working for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree that since we are not taking the medication for actual reasons that we are more likely to be less compliant. But if it came to life or death reasons, then when might be more serious about taking the medications.
ReplyDeleteWhat are other creative strategies to improve medication adherence (besides pillbox or alarms)?
ReplyDeleteAnother strategy for adherence is to just write it down. You could write notes to remind yourself to take your medication and put them in places that you’re going to be throughout the day. I think reading “Remember to take Rx” on your bathroom mirror, refrigerator, car dashboard, locker, and work desk enough throughout the day would make it into a habit. If you take multiple medications at different times of the day, you could make a checklist of the times you need to take your medication and check it off as you go. Another way to help adherence is strategically placing your medication. For example, if you take your medication in the morning and at night you could place the bottle next to your bed. Seeing your medication will remind you to take it.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest obstacle is actually taking the medication. I remember to take it but just don’t really care to. I’m not sure what candy my medication is but it doesn’t taste that good to me. This could relate to a patient who has problems swallowing big tablets and the tablets cannot be crushed or split. It could compromise adherence if a patient does not like the way they have to take their medication. Over the summer I had to take Bactrim DS twice daily for 14 days for an infection. By the last two days it was physically challenging to swallow the tablets down. The tablets were very large, a bit powdery, and bitter. I was already feeling much better and was just so tired of having to take the medication that I just didn’t want to do it anymore. However, I knew I had to complete the antibiotic therapy to fully treat my infection. I think the best way to help adherence in this type of issue is to educate the patient about how important it is to take their medication and why they have to take it a certain way.
ReplyDeleteOne of the tools I use to get on a routine during school is a large calendar with plenty of room for notes. I write down all of my tests, quizzes, workdays, trips, etc and then I have everything in front of me in case I forget. If I were to fill in one per month, with each days medications written in the block, I think I could balance the stress of multiple medications. This schedule could be left on your desk at work or on your fridge at home and could help you get into a routine of taking your medications. More than likely, your regimen would become second nature after a month or so and you could keep it just as a reference after that.
ReplyDeleteJust looking at the elderly population, I was trying to think of ways they could remember to take medication daily. One way is that they can take their medication at the same time some of their favorite tv programs come on. For instance, if they take a medication tid, the morning dose could be with The Today Show, afternoon with their favorite soap opera, and at night with the nightly news. This could be an alternative to using a pill box.
ReplyDeletePart of being creative about adherence begins with identifying barriers to compliance from the get-go. Too often a patient comes from the MD with a new prescription and we don't even ask what time is convenient for them (within certain parameters of the medication). Sometimes just being open to the patient's preference rather than our own prescribed preference can help to stop problems before they begin.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, we often assume that if the patient is coming in for a refill, then everything must have gone as planned over the previous month. Maybe that is true, but if we just ask the patient if there were any problems they experienced during their first month of a new therapy, we might find that they don't care for the Flagyl that has no film coating, and they might be more willing to adhere to their dosing schedule if we gave them a generic that tastes better. They might even be happy to pay the cost difference.
Julie, I agree totally with your comment about education about the importance in the hopes of giving the patient a compelling reason to take the medication. I think back to all the Abx therapies my grandmother stopped early in hopes of "saving some pills for future use." She really hadn't experienced an infection that came back with a vengeance. Maybe if she had been properly educated about the risk of reoccurring infections and Abx resistance she would have continued to take the remaining doses. As it were, all the medications expired well before we had any possible reason for self-prescribing anyway.
ReplyDeleteI like Derek's idea about taking the medication at the same time as a TV show - very clever! I also agree with Julie in that patients deserve the time to be counseled about their medication so they know the importance of what they are taking. It is true that some are less interested in the purpose than others, but I still think it should be attempted, especially with elderly and those who may be less compliant. I know we mentioned in lab last week how some patient refer to their pills as "the blue one" or something about color and size. It would be awesome if we could transform that to "the one for my blood pressure" or something more based on what it is for. Wishful thinking?
ReplyDeleteYea Kyle my family did that too haha... saving medication for future use, and the funny thing is, we would have amoxicillin and stuff sitting in our cabinet from like 1995. Looking back, I realize this is not really a good thing!! 1) My mom was shorting herself back in the day when she was supposed to be taking it TID or whatever and 2) Whenever she would be "sick" she would take a few amoxicillins, self-prescribing herself, and not really complete a full regimen for a problem that may not be as serious as she thought. I used to have asthma when I was a kid, and I did the nebulizer machine several times a day, and I hated that... sitting there for like 10-15 minutes per vial just inhaling this medicine cloud.. it was so annoying. That is my sole experience with "adherence" and I only did it because I had to... but I was very adherent, despite the fact that it was a terrible experience.
ReplyDelete