When I was taking my ADs in the morning it was easy to remember as that's the one time of day when I have a regular routing (shower, etc.). But now that I've switched to taking them in the evening to counteract the drowsiness during the day, I'm having an awful time remembering. It seems to work best if I take them around 7 or so--if I take them RIGHT before bed it seems to disrupt my sleep more. But my schedule is so unpredictable in the late afternoon/evening that sometimes I can't remember if I've taken my 7:00 pill or not when it's time for bed so I'm faced with maybe taking a double dose or no dose at all! I don't always fix myself dinner. I do always feed my horses and dogs, but I do that about 4:30 this time of year.

I know some people who DO have a regular schedule still have trouble remembering pills. Has this been an issue with you? What ways have you found to deal with remembering?

if there isnt something you always do at about that time of night, I would get one of those cases with the days of the week so you know for sure wether or not you took them or not. I usually sit down to the computer after dinner and that routine is done, so I trigger my memory with that.

I used to be very non compliant and as I start recovering, i get worse so I am going to try the case and make it part of the routine now so it isnt a problem later.

Brenda

Well i have routine issues. so i had to fit it in there or I would forget. I have a certian way that i go about doing things in the am. My pills sit next to my coffee pot. And I know not to miss the coffe so I dont miss my pills either

maybe a note to self on the bathroom door or somewhere where you will see it and I bet eventually you wouldn't need the note Good luck:)

kstours
I have had the same problems you are facing and found some solutions that work for me. Maybe they can help you too.

I take meds morning, noon and night. Morning and night are easy, they are right were I need to be at these times. But the noon time ones I used to always forget, that is until I came up with the idea to set the alarm on my cell phone. Now I am 95% better about these.

I also have 3 diffreent day minder pill cases for each time of day. This seems to have taken care of the remembering if I took them. If they are still in the case, well then...

This post has been edited by shabur: Jan 20 2007, 03:44 PM

does it effect u alot if u miss a dose?

I put my meds out in front of my bathroom mirror, next to my toothbrush......on the left I keep my meds I have to take in the morning, on the right I keep the one I take at night.
I leave the empty covers there so if I question myself I can go back and check and know that I have taken them.

I have heard of others about setting the alarm too!
I hope you will find a way to remember taking your meds that works for you

SN

I do the same thing, i used to take mine in the morning but to combat the tiredness i switched to whati could at night. Because of the volume of pills i take its hard to remember what and when and how much. A pill minder with the periods of the day marked off works wonders for this. I use one days worth and refill at bedtime for the next day. If all the containers are full, I have taken my last dose of pills. I also keep my meds where i spend most of my time so they are always in view. Hope you get it figured out, i know how it gets when you accidently double dose, or fail to dose properly.
James

Thank you, everyone!!! Great ideas. I actually had a 7-day "day of the week" pill case in the back of the drawer so I got that out and put my pills in it. I put a bright post-it note on my bathroom mirror to remind me so at least I'll see it there before I go to bed. And I like the idea of the cell phone alarm--very cool!

Jumbled--It doesn't affect me horribly if I miss a dose (I'm on Lexapro 20 mg) but sometimes I will feel "off" for a day or two until my body gets its dosage back up again. To my knowledge I haven't double-dosed yet so not sure how that would affect me! ;)

Thanks again everyone--I'm obviously not the only one who's had this problem!

Good luck with your new tricks kstours! I learned a few myself :)

I was just wondering. i havent missed a pill knock on wood

I don't usually miss pills but, one night I took my morning pills at bedtime! Duhhh??
My hubby convinced me to buy on of those plastic containers with lots of compartments for the times of day. It does keep me on track.

sometimes i forget whether i took a pill or not..and i shouldnt be double dosing my mood stabilizer =P calcium ok tho. so far ive been doing well..and ive been fighting buying the plastic pill case =P my pills sit around where i look at them all day. my kitchen table

kstours.. maybe your computer is secretly trying to make you forget your pills as revenge??? yes?? maybe it hides them ;)

I just joined this forum and so far I can't believe how similar these stories are to mine. I have the same problem as the OP (except that my meds keep me awake), I switched to taking one of my meds (Wellbutrin) twice a day and another (Lexapro) once a day (at night). It has been very confusing. Thanks for all of the tips!

ps: I have definitely missed a dose every once in a while and it hasn't affected me much (for these meds), and I think I have taken double doses sometimes and it hasn't really affected me too much, except for possibly being a little wired.

I keep an extra dose in my purse in case I forget to take it in the am. I also have kept meds in the bottle on the nightstand with bottled water to help me remember to take it. If I don't take it, I know it in a couple of hours as I start feeling down.

Jackie

I remembered my pill! I remembered my pill! Thanks, everyone!

Great idea, jackie! You know, I keep my benzos in my purse but I hadn't even thought of keeping some Lexapro on me.

Hey, Cinn. I told my computer it better not hide my pills any more or I'd download more movie themes! ;)

yay kstours!!

I take meds three times a day. For morning I have a post-it over the switch on the coffee maker. For afternoon I use an alarm on my watch. For night I just remember, it is part of the routine. As far as keeping the meds in the bathroom, my doc told me this may cause them to break down and become ineffective. This is especially true for tablets. The steam from the shower gets into the pills.

im with you on tht one...ty for reminding me lol.....

i hope you keep remembering (((hugs))) xoxox
edit lol...i forgot to add what i try to do...doesnt always work..
but i keep a med dairy. where i write which med im taking...wht time im meant to take it....
but i put the med on one line then time on on another....that way if i didnt take it at the time im meant to i can tick med then write wht time i took it at nexted to it. if i took it on time i put a tick nexted to the time.
thats sounds confusing to me...but i like dairies and stuff so i can normally keep up with it.

This post has been edited by louie: Feb 8 2007, 01:59 PM

Louie and sam--great ideas! I was remembering to take my pills thanks to everyone's suggestions, but it kept getting later and later and started disrupting my sleep again, so I finally gave in and started taking my pill at the same time I feed my dogs and give my dog her epilepsy pill. Don't know why I can always remember to give the pets theirs, but hey, it's working! Now I just hope I don't mix our pills up, LOL!

It took me forever, (years ago) to remember my thyroid meds.... (this was before I started taking a boatload of meds for bipolar and ADD), so I started rubberbanding my med bottle to my toothbrush... (that's something I NEVER forget to do! THREE times a day!

Then I graduated to a pill minder with AM/PM slots and daily slots... It's a big, honkin' thing that I keep by my toothbrush, or sometimes rubberbanded to (depending on my braincells), so I don't forget..... that helps me more than anything... my teeth never get neglected... so it always works. If I have meds that get taken MORE than three times daily... fuggeddaboudit! LOL

good luck!

to remember all my many meds i simply take them right before i sleep every night

I take them with breakfast. I once took it several hours later and that night I couldn't get to sleep! Too hyper.

I'm thinking of getting one of those pill-cases... It's not nice when you're not sure if you've taken it already or not!

I do not. Should realy start.

I was on daily dosing for ages and put them next to the coffee machine. Never forgot.

Now I'm on THREE times a day and argh, what a problem. I have had one of those plastic pill thingy's for years, for all 7 days, and each day has AM,noon, PM and eve compartments. That solved the problem of "did I take them or not?"

I never forget the AM - sheer habit from 15 years.

But the blasted WellbutrinSR 150mg has to be taken at least 8 hours after the am dose (to reduce chance of seizures), but preferably not after 3pm or it interferes with sleep. That one I regularly forget and take late. Some mornings I wake early and sometimes later, so that time changes every day. I haven't solved this one yet.

Eve isn't a problem either - SO keen to get to sleep. I keep the pill container next to my bed.

How do others with WB SR 150mg twice a day handle that second dose?

I take meds twice a day, I'm lucky that my hubby remembers when I need to take them. I have to take am ones about 8am and pm ones round 9pm. So far I haven't forgotten!

QUOTE

Now I'm on THREE times a day and argh, what a problem. I have had one of those plastic pill thingy's for years, for all 7 days, and each day has AM,noon, PM and eve compartments. That solved the problem of "did I take them or not?"

Thats what I use too!!!

I refill all the little compartments after I take my last dose on Sunday.

Sometimes I still forget, but its been really helpful

Isabeau

I too have a pill container with morning, midday and evening compartments.

I take 4 all together in the morning when I awake [not all AD s] then 1 in the evening. It's a pain filling it each week trying to remember what goes where!

i have found that taking my pills with me every where i go is the key, at home i have a pill case with morning and night. i have a small pouch i keep at home to refill my pill cases that i take with me everywhere i go, i have two in my smock for work, two in my purse for general purposes, and one in my book bag at school. i take 4 different meds in the daytime as needed, two are regularly, and the other 2 are as needed for anxiety. i am not only on medication for depression and bipolar, but scoliosis and back spasms, as well as migraine headaches. it is difficult to remember the doses in the daytime even with my pill cases.

i had to formulate a plan with my dr to make sure i wasnt taking the benzos with the muscle relaxer because it happend a few times at work, and i looked very much like i was high. red puffy eyes half way closed, it was difficult to work that way as i felt like i was detached from myself, but that was neither here nor there, its just that taking a combo of psych and neurological meds is something that needs to be monitored.
sorry i got off topic a bit.

remembering meds is a struggle for alot of us with mental health issues, it is nice to be able to hear what works for other people. the cell phone thing was an idea i had but with going to work and school...i cant quite do that all the time. anywhooo...thanks for listneing
megan

I believe the trick to remembering to take your meds is first of all to admit to yourself that is is just as important for you to take your meds for your mental health as it would be to take medication for your physical health (as important as it is for a diabetic to take his/her insulin). Make it a first and foremost ,#1 on your list of priorities for the day. In addition...the only way psych medication is fully effective is if it is taken on a regular schedule, therefore, you don't get the full benefit of the med if it's not being taken correctly. Having a pill case is extremely helpful for me, as well. I prefer the 3X a day dispensers because it's easier to tell if you've already taken your morning/afternoon/ or evening pill already and helps with preventing accidental double-dosing.

I use a plastic 7-day pillcase too -- well, one for AM medicine, and one for PM medicine. For Christmas, I asked my mom to make me a fabric cover for my main pillcase so I could keep it in my purse and not have people see it or stare. (Extra difficulty: I don't want it to look like a tampon case!!) But I was serious -- if I'm going to be taking my medicine every day, I might as well make it a fun or positive experience -- something really cheerful will keep me in a good mood whenever I see it.


Anyway, some other tips I've tried have been:

--Wear a 'reminder bracelet' (or ring, watch, whatever) and take it off once you've taken the medicine. The bigger/more jingly, the better it is.
--Put any rings, bracelets, or watches (that you always wear) on your opposite hand, to remind you to take the medicine. It will feel just weird enough that it's a good reminder.
--Link it to another habit (like other people have already mentioned). I take my morning pills with breakfast, because I never ever skip breakfast.
--Have an extra two or three days of medicine in a separate pillcase and keep it handy (in purse or somewhere at home -- any place where you might forget). Sometimes I'm too tired to refill my pillcase (!!!) and with this, I can go a day extra if I need it.

My medicine has a fairly distinct feeling when it all kicks in -- so I try to always notice that when it happens. Some days I catch myself having forgotten my medicine only because I start feeling super-hungry and that reminds me that something's not right.

--Have a small kind of candy or cookie whenever you take the medicine (if you go through a bad patch where you just don't want to take it) as a reward -- there are these gingerbread heart-shaped cookies that work awesome for this, for me -- and I start to look forward to having my big treat of one cookie.

I have a terrible time remembering to take my meds. I just wake up one day realizing that I've been crashing hard and depressed out the yin-yang and then I'm like, "Oh. I haven't been taking my meds!" It sucks! I finally printed out a calendar and hung it inside the medicine cabinet in the downstairs bathroom (where I keep my meds, because there's no bath or shower in that one). When I take my pill, I mark the calendar. Since I just have one pill a day now, it's easier, but I used to have code for the pills, c for citalopram and w for wellbutrin and so on.

This way, at least I can look at the calendar and see how many pills I've missed. I've tried having my partner check the calendar for me periodically, but as he has no reason to get into that medicine cabinet, he forgets more than I do.

The suggestions here are all very helpful. I just thought I'd add my little trick even though it seems not to really work that well for me. lol

Just set an alarm on cell phone thats what i do.

I keep mine in places where I will see them to take them. All my morning meds are next to my laptop on my desk. I eat breakfast and check my emails at the same time so, i see them while checking my emails. My evening meds live on my bedside table so they're the last thing I see before going to sleep. I keep meds that need taking after meals in the kitchen on the breadbin, so I can see them while washing up.

I have to have my pills on the end table next to the couch (where I sit and eat breakfast) and I have to have one of those days of the week pill boxes (with the little slots for each day). Otherwise, I either miss a dose, or forget that I did take one and I take another that day (which isn't good). If I have to take medicine that has to be broken up across the day, then I have to use the big "days of the week + time of day" pill box and wear a watch that chimes the time to take them. I have zero concept of time. ^_^'

How do you get past the imperfection part of yourself, and accept the fact that you have to take meds, and maybe for the rest of your life.

I keep mine in my purse & i have my purse by me all the time

I long ago came to the conclusion that I will be taking meds for the rest of my life. I take meds for numerous medical conditions, not just mental health issues. I will be on most of them for life. And my meds help me stay healthy. All of them. I need my antidepressants to stay healthy, just like I need my insulin to stay healthy. The different meds just work on different parts of me. This is who I am and what I need to do to live my life to the fullest. If I can handle being on insulin for the rest of my life, I can handle being on antidepressants for the rest of my life.

And as for remembering to take my pills, I have 4 dosettes that I fill once a month. I take one day out at a time and put it in my purse, and it stays in my purse until after I have taken my bedtime meds. I feel like an old lady sometimes, but it works for me.

I have to use a pill box with AM and PM on it, or I don't remember to take them. I used to switch them around too, but I found that to be the best way to keep track.