One of the essential elements of being healthy or taking care of yourself is medicine management. It’s easy to say that it’s obvious that you must take your meds, but you can forget when, how, and the very fact that you’re supposed to take it. Dropping the ball when it comes to your meds can pose a severe risk to your health, so you must keep things organized.
For people with chronic kidney disease (CKD), it’s vital that their medicine is organized as their treatment often comes with quite the laundry list of medications. They have so much to take, from phosphorous binders to other various prescriptions. There’s no denying how challenging that can be, especially when you’re already trying to cope with CKD.
Medicine management is vital to a person with kidney disease. It’s important to note that diabetes and high blood pressure or hypertension are two primary causes. This means that on top of the medicine it takes to treat kidney disease, other conditions must be addressed, which means more treatment. Insulin injections, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB), and oral medications are a few examples.
That said, here are simple tips for managing your medicine easier:
Know Your Meds
Of course, the very first thing you should do is familiarize yourself with your medications. Learn the name of each prescribed drug. It’s easier to remember what to take and when if you know all the terms of the medicine. You don’t necessarily need to memorize everything. You could abbreviate or give them names that are easier for you to remember.
Knowing your meds also means understanding the purpose of each medication. Each medicine has different functions. Make a note of the time when the medication should be taken and what you can and cannot mix together.
Use Your Devices
A great way to make your life easier is if you create an electronic organizer for your medication management. You can include everything from the names, functions, and the schedule each medication must be taken. This makes it easier for you to access the information when you need it.
You won’t have to worry about memorizing so much information all at once if you have the cheat code right in the palm of your hands.
Keep Track
Track your medicine and write down your progress. You can do this by hand or type it down on a device. Either way, keeping track of the medicine you’re ingesting and how you are reacting to each medication can help your doctors and yourself monitor the treatment closely.
It’s not strictly necessary to include your reactions to the medication, but it can really help to understand your progress and even improve your treatment. Remember to be honest in your progress entries and be sure to share with those you’re comfortable with.
The Bottom Line
Managing CKD can be challenging. The disease itself can take a toll on you, but keeping up with the medications and organizing everything can make it even more difficult. No one wants to have to take so much medicine. But with proper management, the burden of taking the medication shouldn’t be too heavy.
Help yourself by following some of the tips above or exploring other ways to make medicine intake just a little bit easier. Consider using an app. My Medication Log is a cloud-based medication management app for patients and caregivers. We hope to help people in a simple but effective way.