WORKING AS A TEAM
you and your doctor
MEDICINE MATTERS: Remember Your Meds
Your medicine can’t help
you if you forget to take it. Here are 6 tips that
will set you up for success ... and better health.
It’s time to jog that medicine-taking memory and get all the bang from your treatment buck. How?
Step 1: Accept that you need help.
Everyone forgets. So, turn to tools to help you remember. (See some ideas below.)
Step 2: Shed the guilt. Life’s many
demands can easily make you forget and miss a dose. Give yourself credit that you remember to brush your
TIP
Sticky
Note
HERE’S WHAT TO DO
Put a reminder note where you’ll be sure to see it every day
at the same time. Try on the coff eemaker, by your toothbrush or on your jewelry box.
teeth in the morning and stop being so hard on yourself when you forget your morning pill. (Better yet, com- bine the two so you remember both. See tip #1.) Step 3: Pick one. Try just one of the tips listed below. If it doesn’t work, try another until you fi nd one that works for you. And remember, taking your medicine is a choice you make every day to reach your best health.
Electronic Note
Schedule a reminder through your phone or computer’s calendar program.
Motivational
Put a photo on the fridge to remind you of your treatment goals. Maybe an image of how you want to feel, where you want to go, the people who love you and want you be healthy, or what you want to do once your treatment starts to work.
Buddy System Use a Tracker
Ask a friend or family member to remind you each day.
Start logging when you take your medicine in a personal calendar or notebook that you carry with you each day.
Pill-Taking Tool
Use a calendar-based pill box with daily or weekly compartments. Have diff erent colored boxes for diff erent times of the day. For example, a blue box for morning pills and a white box for evening pills. Leave your pill boxes in a room in your house where you’ll be sure to see them throughout the day. (If more than one person in the house uses a pill box, put the name of the person on each box using a permanent marker or a label so you don’t accidentally take the wrong pills.)
SUMMER 2010 | HEALTHY ADVICE 15
Take
Morning Med!
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60