Little Miss Inventor - Part 4 Organising Medication

This sounds obvious but being on top of my medication is paramount to a day turning from good to bad or vice versa.

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Even with phone reminders and medication planned it's easy to make mistakes. On a number of occasions we have had hideous days with melt downs and tears and stress and ill health. All because I have forgotten to take something or we've been reluctant to 'over medicate' with my 'optional spares' that can be called in to rescue me as and when needed.

However, we take medication VERY seriously. There probably aren't many who read every part of the sheet inside of a new medication and then file it in my folder but yes you guessed it we do! It means we can easily re-visit these leaflets if changes are made or we want to check something out for side effects or contraindications. So, that's really part 1 in the process - ensuring we know what needs to be taken with food, the time of day it needs to be taken and what I need to be conscious of.

So part 2 - is to organise my daily medication. In order for this to run smoothly I have a set day for this (no surprise there). We used to set a specific time to complete this but this could lead to crucial mistakes and the feeling of 'pressure' on me. So now the slot is longer - if you have enough medication to start you rattling then our suggestion would be to do this! It seems a lot of hassle but if you take medication 6 / 7 times a day like 3 element lady this is definitely not a hassle it's essential and uses up far less energy and stress about having to go through your medication box every time you need to take something.

We tend to make up 7 days at a time but at the same time have spare sets in my medication box and handbags just to be on the safe side. A good tip as it's easy to forget your medication or if you are delayed getting home having your medication with you means you can still stick to your daily plan and not worry about the consequences of not administering that medication at crucial times of the day.

Working this way we know exactly how much medication is left at the end which then helps to ensure you know when you next need to order certain mediations. You will work out your own way of organising this, but essentially we start with morning first with all the medications lifted from the lid of my box in front of us. Then fill morning slots in dosets, carefully replacing the medication to it's correct position on the box lid so it's clear that it's been added. Then we go through the day using our checklist and put what we need in front of us, we pop them in and carefully replace them to their position on the lid so we know they have been added and then move onto the next slot. You may prefer to do one day at a time or one medication at a time. Regardless of how you do it, one hour spent during the week (could me more or less for you) can ensure you are in control and not constantly rushing to find pill boxes all the time.

A simplified version could be one box upstairs with morning tablets and one box downstairs with night pill boxes. Annie-May utilises this system and that's all she needs.

The final part here is to count up your medications so you know what you have left. Sometimes it's obvious and there is no need for this but allow plenty of time when you order your prescriptions. With 3 element lady she often get's her carer to check how many days are left as numbers are not her thing anymore!

Part three is ensuring your daily dose of pills is with you. As mentioned above It is definitely worth having a spare set in your bag and carry a bottle of water with you just in case you are out and forget or your train is delayed or you spend longer at the supermarket than normal. Another helpful hint as touched on above is to make sure that you set reminders on your phone or iPad or whatever you have.

We normally do this so that the reminder is set for 30minutes after the medication needs to be taken. That ensures that we are trying to manage that ourselves but on a sick day or change to routine then it's a harmless beep from your phone just to double check.

So if you don't already have a system then try one of the suggestions above or create your own. If you work out something fantastic then please let me know so I can post it on the website.....

Happy organising.....................