I'm sitting here dreading the task of filling my pill boxes.
I started storing my pill bottles in a basket approx 8x8 and have outgrown that and moved into a larger basket ! I have an AM box and a PM box. All of the pills are from the same pharmacy so the bottles all look the same; all brown with white caps, I've taken to writing at least the initials on the cap with a marker, but it seems most start with a P ... Plavix, Provigil, Plaquenil etc. I have 5 pills that are white and round and I have to be so careful with those...... Why do they all have to be white ??
Some pills are in bubble packs and take a little bit of work to get them out of the packaging; but these are samples and I'm so grateful for samples but I have to keep a separate list for samples, so I can call the doctors and make my plea on time..
Some pills need to be broken in half and sometimes all I have is dust by the end of the month.
Some I get via mail, they come in huge bottles that ruin the assembly of my basket.
Some, like the coumadin change daily so I have to keep a special card in the basket to keep track of those before depositing them into the boxes...
The prescriptions run out at different times, so I'm constantly lining up the empties so I can call the pharmacy for refills. God Bless Medicare, they will not allow it... I've tried to manuever the fill times to coincide, but somewhere along the line the fill dates change.
Some meds I get a lot of refills, others run out of refills while I'm not looking... and I'm asked by the doctor office to "Please try to call before you run out"... >:(
Then there is the dead drawer, where all of the discontiued pills go to expire... I keep them there just in case a doctor changes his mind and says "Why don't you restart that again...
Now don't get me wrong, I'm totally grateful for the medications and how they are helping me with symptoms, progression and prevention... but...
Oh.. almost forgot the insulin, syringes and test strips, have to calibrate the meter and run controls on the strips...
Does anyone else hate pill box refill times ?
Hi seaBreeze :)
I totally sympathise with you. I have a 7 day pill box with 4 compartments per day, which I fill up once a week. I don't take as many medications as you but it's still a chore. There's an implement you can get to help with bubble packs. I'm thinking of getting one. I think I saw it in Boots the Chemist.
I'm lucky. The pharmacist at my doctor's practice 'harmonized' my prescriptions so I only need to refill once a month and I phone the receptionist and just tell her if there's anything I don't need. I get 'scripts' for the rest, which I collect and take to the pharmacy.
I wish more pills were different colours too but of course colours can be bad for people. I also wish some were smaller than they are!.
Take care - Scottie :)
Hi SeaBreeze!
All I can say is I CAN RELATE to almost everything you said...its kind of funny...Ive had many of the same experiences that you describe!
I graduated from a small basket to 2 baskets and I set up my morning and daytime meds every Sunday night (getting ready to do it now...lol) so I can take them to work easier. I then take the evening ones later on at night...so I don't pack those up in the daily cases! I probably should..because then I wouldn't get things goofed up when I'm not at work!
So hang in there and we can think of each other on Sunday nights...both filling our pill boxes for the week! :D
Yep, I hate the Sunday refill the pill box routine. Just as I am ready to head off to bed I remember that I need to fill those little boxes with their respective pills. Then I realize I have to get yet another prescription refilled that week. I also have a just-in-case box full of medications that I used to take and am afraid to throw away because I know as soon as they go into the trash can, I will probably be asked to give them another try. Of course, most of them I stopped taking right after I had the prescription filled, especially if it was a 3-month prescription.
I have prescription insurance, for which I am extremely grateful. However, I am finding that the co-pays are adding up and I have started making some adjustments on some medications to extend the length of time between refills (I am very careful about which medications).
We have a mail order option on our plan, but the doctor needs to write two prescriptions, which is not as easy as the insurance company makes it sound. I asked the insurance company why they cannot join the modern era and let the doctor submit the prescription online (it is possible and I know of doctors who are able to "write" prescriptions in this manner). I am usually given my least favorite customer service response--"We are sorry, but we cannot do that. Of course you understand that we are interested in your health and well-being...." >:( Personally, I think "I am sorry" should be removed from every customer service script.
Carol
Seabreeze,
You must be a mind reader. :D I just came in my sewing/computer room to get my basket of pills to refill my dispenser. I have one of those that fits under the upper kitchen cabinet, holds morning, noon and evening doses. Bedtime dose is in a 7 day holder on the counter beneath the dispenser.
I love my dispenser but when I drop a pill in the wrong slot it's a bugger picking it out with tweezers. :( Also both my heart pill and my pain pill are white and the same size. I have to get the magnifing glass out to read the markings when I get them mixed up.
I bought a fine point magic marker and write the whole name of my med on the lid. Also the mgs.
Between the pills and the supplements it takes me about 45 minutes to fill them all. So I definitely sympathize with you. ;D
Hang in there,
Pooh
I use an empty shoebox to hold my pill bottles and have a 7 day/4 compartment pill holder. It is a pain, everything said in the above posts.
I tell people that the only way I know another week has passed is because it's time to refill my pill holder.
Lucy
I use to pack up a month supply of my meds in little snack baggies, but sort of drifted a way from doing that when I had pills I started to take pills more than once a day. Now I just get them ready for the day, putting the ones I need to take 2-3 times a day in a little cup. I never realized how many I took until I had to count them.
Sorry you need to take so many meds, I hope they are making you feel better.
Collie
All together now ONE-----TWO-------THREE--------Fill those darn boxes!!!!
You are all so right. It is the Sunday night chore. Of course, I fudge occasionally and think I will do it tomorrow. Then I have to make sure if I took my Prednisone 10 mgm yesterday or today so I can mentally plan for tomorrow. Yeah, like I will remember this!!!!!
I use the basket method and have one that is probably 9 by 15 inches. I also keep my OTC meds in there also. I have a lot less than I used to but still a big pain. I do the one box of for the AM dose and the other box for the mid day and then another box for the after supper. Then I have a bigger bowl in which I keep my inhalers, chapstick, eye drops and a bottle of my mestinon(for myasthenia) and several other prns. This bowl goes with me to the couch, the kitchen or the bedroom when I go to bed for the night. I always have things handy.
I know what you mean about ordering all the meds. I also do it for my hubby. He isn't as organized as I am and if I ever changed his method it would really screw him up.. He keeps his 4 blood pressure meds and 3 inhalers in the bedroom. Above the sink are 3 bottles plus his tylenol and benedryl. In another cupboard he keeps 2-3 bottles. Don't ask me how this happens---I think things just evolved as he got more.
I go absolutely nuts trying to keep up with our meds. I have 3 inhalers, Restasis and my normal saline and albuterol for my nebulizer that needs to be ordered also. I also have to make sure that I have plenty of distilled water on hand for irrigating my nose and filling the humidifier on my CPAP. Then I have to buy vinegar by the gallon as I have to clean my big humidifier once a week, clean my CPAP tubing once a week and soak by nebulizer equipment after every use.
No wonder we don't get anything done! It is just awful the time it takes to be sick. Then we have to find time to cook and wash clothes and give a darn how we look. We are high maintence people.
When I was working as a R.N. the years rolled on by and the time it took to set up and pass meds plus document and order meds became a full time job. Just imagine ordering meds for 96 people. Groan------- Smile folks. Tomorrow is Monday and we can just put out feet up. Irish ;D
I hated taking my pills every day, having to open all the seperate bottles breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime so I went with a 30 day pill center. Each day has it's own rectangular box with four labeled sections for each time of day. I think it took me around two hours the end of last month to fill it up. Just have to make sure I have enough pills for 31 days. Had three prescriptions refilled today. So News Years Eve I will be refilling again. Have one pill that needs cut in half, my mom does this for me. January will be a bit complicated as I'm having surgery so I can't take any pills in the morning that day and a week before hand I have to quit taking the fish oil as it can cause bleeding. I also have the humdifier maintenance and now the tranquileyes but I wouldn't part with either.
Hello
I agree with everyone I hate to fill up my pill box. I always do it on Tuesday morning because My Grandson is at daycare. I wish I had the 30 day pill box but its so expensive. I try to get a 3 month refill cuz its cheaper. but its also a pain because it seem like they never have enought to fill the whole order and i have to go back and pick up more. At Least my husband does not have meds he has to take. Thank goodness for that. I have to take meds four times a day. I have to make sure I don't drop anything because of my grandson lives with us and my kitten. But to be posative, these meds help. We have to count our blessing. but its a pain My GrandMother lived to be 95 and didn't take any meds. Well everyone have a Wonderful New Years.
Maybe one day they will come up with a better way!!!!!.
Theresa
Hiya :)
I can empathise with you all. I've recently started 4 new meds and am thinking of writing myself a list of what to take when, as I'm getting so confuddled!
It seems to me that you have to be bright eyed and bushey tailed to have these damned illnesses - but if we were, we wouldn't need the meds ;D
Kathyx
Hello,
I feel the same about the pill box night. I went from taking a muti-vitamin everyday to taking about 16 pills a day since September. I hate filling the box, but if I don't I won't remember if I took them. Even with the pill box, I can't remember taking them. Sometimes I take them out to take them and sit them down on the counter and find them later. My DH has decided to start witnessing the taking so that when I can't remember he can tell me ;D
Maybe we should start having a pill box party.
Sue Ann
I hope those of you on Vit D remembered to put it in your pill boxes..
Just call me D-nut ;D
I hear you loud and clear! I was taking 8 meds at one point and had a hard time remembering to take them prior to leaving the house for work. I bought a 7 day pill box, but the bleepin' lids kept popping open and making a mess in my purse. I FINALLY found a nice one that has a sleeve of sorts that slips over the pill box so the tops don't pop open. Unfortunately, with the addition of new meds and supplements, I don't think this will work any longer and am on the hunt for something more convenient. My MIL, who takes a lot of supplements, uses little bags (smaller than Ziploc snack baggies) and writes the day and AM or PM on the outside. My luck, I'd forget to put the baggies in my briefcase or something along those lines. I hate. The brain fog associated with SjS!
I've actually taken to printing out a daily schedule of my meds because I don't fit in a pill box!
I have all my meds lined up in a plastic shoe box with the names written on top in marker. Every week, I print out a weeks worth of daily schedules and check off each pill as I take it. It's crazy!!!
And those co-pays are killing us, too. My husband has asked if there's anything I can stop taking - but the doctor says no. Instead, she added 4 new ones (temporary) today. We're going to the 3-month mail order in the New Year and fortunately, my doctor can just send them off by computer while we talk in the office. Now I have to find out if the rest of the doctors can do the same. (sigh!)
Happy New Year,
Tracy
Hi Tracy
I don't print my list out, but have written a list and put it on the side of the fridge, just to remind me. When I get back to work, I'm going to photocopy the list and keep that with a copy of my prescription in my work bag, just in case I have any emergency appointments, admissions. Luckily, I had a copy of my prescription with me when I was admitted in the autumn. I was feeling really unwell, and wouldn't have remembered half of what I was taking without the prescription.
Could be a new years resolution for all of us to carry this information around with us.
Kathyx