When you have a long medication list, it’s easy to feel intimidated and overwhelmed by the sheer number of medications you have to take. Adding to the burden is observing the side effects you feel and associating them with a specific medication. You’ll need to tell your doctor, who will adjust your dosage and ensure that no harmful drug interactions occur.
However stressful the task of managing your medication may be, it’s completely doable with some organization and a little help from your care team. Here are four tips for managing your medication:
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Use a Medication Tracker
Gone are the days of having to write down your medications manually and referring to them to make sure you’ve taken everything on schedule. There are many apps for taking medicine available, ensuring you stay on track and take your medications as prescribed. With these trackers, you can log and manage your prescriptions, set up reminders, and even monitor chronic diseases. An added perk is that you can share your daily medication log with a pharmacist, helping your healthcare providers take care of you better.
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Be Wary of Common Mistakes
Remembering the common mistakes people make with their medications can help you avoid them. These include finishing the full course of medications even when you start to feel better and continue taking them even if you don’t observe an improvement in your symptoms immediately. Be sure to follow all of your doctor’s instructions, as deviating from them can result in potentially dangerous situations, like drug interactions.
Additionally, if you’re concerned about the cost of your medication and feel tempted to skip a dose, be sure to relay this to your doctor. They can point you in the right direction of local and national resources to help you pay for your medication.
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Stick to Your Prescribed Schedule
Taking your medication on time is the most important part of managing your meds. Your doctor prescribed you these medications because they affect you in specific ways, putting you on the path to recovery as soon as possible. For this reason, you’ll need to take your medication as directed.
Doing this will help you establish a routine where you take your pills at the same time every day, like before breakfast or after dinner. Using a medication tracker can also do wonders for reminding you and ensuring you stick to your schedule. You can also use a weekly pill case to inform you of when you’ve taken medication for a specific day.
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Avoid Drug Interactions
Drug interactions occur when one medication reacts with another one that you’re taking. It can also respond with a food or beverage you consumed, causing unintended side effects or reducing or increasing a medication’s strength. To avoid this, provide your healthcare team with a complete list of all the medicines you take, including over-the-counter drugs, supplements, and any allergies. Be sure to keep all the information about the medication you take, as they often outline possible side effects and drug interactions. Additionally, refill your prescriptions at the same pharmacy, as your pharmacist can keep track of your medication list and inform you of possible drug interactions. Further, ask your pharmacist to use distinct, color-coded labels to prevent you from confusing one medication for the other.
Conclusion
Managing many different medications can be incredibly challenging and confusing. However, by following these four tips, you’ll have no problem sticking to your prescription, allowing you to enjoy a smoother treatment and recovery.
MedManage is an intuitive, cloud-based medication tracker that makes it easier for both patients and caregivers to manage a condition. It streamlines common, tedious tasks like maintaining a daily medication log for tracking multiple medications and makes it easier to follow a prescription. Download the app on the App Store or Play Store today!