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How do you remember to take your medications?
How do you remember to take your medications?
Taking your Myasthenia gravis medications on time is essential for their full effectiveness. Still, it can be challenging to remember to take the number of medicines and doses that MG commonly necessitates. Contact your medical team about the best options if you miss a dose.
Setting alarms and using a pillbox worked well for me. However, I have dropped my pillbox in a parking lot, which is upsetting to lose so many pills and have to arrange to get more with my doctor. I sometimes feel more “sick” when I constantly have an alarm reminding me, even in public, how much medicine I have to take to function. Does the alarm or pillbox method work well for you?
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13 Replies
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Depends on frequency and memory. I use the pillbox when I’m home but I only take pills once a day now. When I was taking them multiple times I put reminder on phone calendar which also would show up on my watch. I would mark that I took them. I would never recommend taking entire box if I was going to be out for a day or two. I used aluminum pill bottles that could attach to key ring. I would just put a label on them when I needed to take them. If I wasn’t sure if I did i just had to look in the vial. They make different sizes and they are waterproof so they are better protected than a pillbox.
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I have cell phone alarms for Mestinon (12,4,8), mycophenelate (10:15 and 10:15 empty stomach times) set on my phone. I put my 8 a.m. pills in the morning section of my pill organizer and my timed doses for the rest of the day in the evening section. Each morning I put all of the evening section pills into a container like camera film or blood sugar strips come in. I can carry that in my pocket or purse.
I fill four pill organizers (4 weeks) at a time. If we travel and might have a car issue, I take a few days extra or the whole daily pill organizer with me. I keep my pill organizer in a zip lock bag since it’s in the bathroom where the shower can make steam. Mestinon likes to fall apart in humidity.
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I’m also using pill organizer and alarms on my smart watch, when I take the pills I mark with the watch that I have taken and if I still haven’t had time I put the current reminder on snooze for a few more minutes. It really helps me not to forget to take the pills on time.
I think this is the place to ask, do you also feel that your memory has become much weaker, I forget a lot of things, especially the short-term memory, I also feel more confused and the thoughts run non-stop… a kind of attention deficit disorder that I have never experienced before.
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While I’ve had a significant decline in strength and stamina over the past 3 years, my brain is working very well. I’m 82 years old and still writing grants for two rural regional hospitals. You might look for side effects of any medications you are taking. Also, I encourage you to go to a dementia testing provider who might be able to identify what is causing your problem and how to improve your situation.
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In addition to the two meds I take for my MG (prednisone and mycophenolate,) I take several others spread over 6 times/day. I would be in deep trouble were it not for an app called Medisafe. I have all my meds installed, when they’re scheduled, how many pills, dosage, etc. My initial reminder is the sound of a pill box shaking but you may choose from many other sounds. If you forget to take your meds, Medisafe will send subsequent reminders until you respond. The basic version of this app is free. I understand Apple has a pretty good med reminder also. If you haven’t looked already looked into this app, l highly recommend it.
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I have a separate small 7 day clear box for for each med. Fill it once a week with the daily number for each med. (on many) When I can’t remember I look in box. Reminders on phone. Evening I fill one bottle with everything I take at bedtime and second different color with everything I take upon waking and put both on bedstand. And Important – every time you take a pill – look to double check it is the right one!
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I take Mycophenolate three times a day and 10 mg of Prednisone in the morning with the first dose of Mycophenolate. I set the next two doses on the table next to where I sit so they are visible. I never have an issue forgetting to take them.
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If you have an Apple Device (Mac, iPhone or iPad), there is an app on all of the devices called “health” you can keep a list of all your meds (with pill pics), and set all the details, like time, dose, different days, etc) and you can log when you take them, and it will silently alert you if you are more than 1/2 hour late.
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I set a 4 hr timer each time I take Mestinon. I have a pill box keychain so it goes everywhere with me.
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Carry meds in pillbox with reminders on my phone
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I take most of my pills (including MG meds) and supplements in the morning, before my iced coffee and banana. I take Fosamax first thing Sunday mornings and both about an hour before food and after ‘pyri’ (as required). I have Alexa set up to remind me, every six hours, to take pyridostigmine. I also always have Alexa send her/his messages to my fitness watch and phone in case I’m not home (which means I always bring ‘pyri’ with me if I know I won’t be home for a dose). It’s a bit of overkill most days, but occasionally it pays off even if I’m home, because I might be outside or in a noisy situation and won’t hear Alexa’s reminder.
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(Sorry for any duplication. The website wouldn’t let me edit my post. I added some at the end.
I take most of my pills (including MG meds) and supplements in the morning, before my iced coffee and banana. I take Fosamax first thing Sunday mornings and about an hour before food and an hour after ‘pyri’ (which I take at 6 a.m.).
I have Alexa set up to remind me, every six hours, to take pyridostigmine. I also always have Alexa send her/his messages to my fitness watch and phone in case I’m not home (which means I always bring ‘pyri’ with me if I know I won’t be home for a dose). It’s a bit of overkill most days, but occasionally it pays off even if I’m home, because I might be outside or in a noisy situation and won’t hear Alexa’s reminder.
By the way, always keep a small desiccant pack with any mestinon/pyridostigmine you take out of the bottle when you go out. Humidity in the air will fairly quickly start to degrade the pill(s) and they will become increasingly less effective over time. I always store some leftover ones, from my mestinon emptied bottles, in a tightly sealed container (sandwich baggies are good, for example, or a very small jar, etc.) you can even find info on the web about how to re-dry the used ones if you want to be obsessive (in a good way) about it.
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I use Apple’s Health app to set reminders on my iPhone and Apple Watch. Mycophenylate comes in large pills packed in blister packs so my pharmacy can’t package it with my other pills in cellophane packets. I put the day’s mycophenolate dosage on a bathroom shelf so I can see if I actually took it as sometimes I respond to the reminder that I’ve taken the pill, then forget to actually take it!
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