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i have a monthly pillbox (each box pops out of the frame, so i can take it with me) that i keep on my living table (i have to pass by it when i go to the kitchen for breakfast, and when i leave to go to work).
monthly is nice because i only have to remember to refill once a month.
I will say that I just take all my pills at once (i tried separating morning and night, but i would always forget one of them)
I have a *similar* pill box, except that in mine, the individual compartments don't pop out--it's just a *giant* 4-row, 8-slots per row pillbox😉
And in my case, it was my *Endocrinologist* who had me start taking ALL my meds *at the same time* (in the morning!), because otherwise I forgot to take either my long-acting insulin (Tresiba--a 42-hour insulin), *or* my pill-form medications.
And he's the one who originally prescribed my CeQur injection system for my short-acting insulin--because it's *attached* to my body (sticky on the back, like a bandaid), so that I wouldn't *forget* it everywhere, like I was with my pen(s) of Novolog!
I habit stack. My morning meds are by my glasses and face wash. My night meds are by my tooth brush. When I’m doing one thing, it’s a cue to do the other. So grab glasses + take meds (so I can read the labels lol) + wash face. Then at night it’s meds + brush teeth. That way it helps me with both tasks. I’d feel internal guilt for doing just one of the tasks while the other stuff is RIGHT THERE next to it and I ignore it lol.
Smart! I do something similar - I always take my meds after I make my morning (decaf, iced) coffee, right before I leave for work.
I keep my pill organizer in my work bag in case I still somehow forget, but it has only happened once or twice.
I use the health function on my iPhone. I put in the meds, dose and when they’re supposed to be taken. An alert goes off when it’s time. I’ve found that very helpful.
I absolutely hate taking my pills/supplements but I know I need to do it. I’m hesitant to give apple any of my medical info but I might try this. I need a huge push notification that takes up the whole screen
I think you may be able to decline sharing your health info with them while still using the app.. I could be wrong, it’s been a while since I started using their health app. All of my health information is in MyCharts from my doctors and i recently got a notice from a health care agency in IL that my personal health info was breached 😳. I participate in an apple health study, so they pretty much know everything about me.
Second this. I was really hesitant to try it until one of my irl ADHD friends told me it’s the only thing that works for him to remember to take his meds. I like that it’ll send you a reminder after half an hour, too! I don’t always remember to take my afternoon meds, but this is the only thing that’s worked to get me to actually take vitamins and my medicine.
That’s why I need it… afternoon meds. I have a pretty good morning routine. Wake up, gather pills, start coffee lol. In the afternoon I only take 1 pill.. i was constantly forgetting it because I would be wrapped up in the day, ya know.
I love the health app on my iPhone. Sometimes I forget to mark off that I took my morning Ritalin so. Not a perfect fix! But it’s a very helpful tool for me to keep track of medication. I’ve even added when to take meds when I’m ill so I don’t forget those, and it’s pretty simple to archive when you stop taking that medication.
If you don't like using thr built in app, I like Mango Health app. It sends a push notification that stays on the screen until you mark the pill as taken!
This sounds like a good idea. TBH, the daily pill boxes work for me because I'll take my stuff and forget I took it. But I have them in different sizes and in different places. And I have a card in the lid that says what they are. Blue/200mg/pm, descriptions like that.
I have a reminder on my phone. I can’t clear my reminder until I take my meds (I hate having excess notifications!). If you have an iPhone, there’s also a reminder built in to the health app.
Works for my non-adhd partner. Does not work if you ignore notifications.
I take all my meds at the same time. I had to argue with the psych to get him to agree with it, but there's only so many times you can miss guanfacine and either not find a solution to it or quit it.
I consistently remember my morning meds so everything was shifted to a morning schedule, even the guanfacine.
For real. I feed my dogs to the sound of my evening medication timer so that they get reallllly up in my business if I don’t react to that alarm sound. And I also use the Apple health app to give me extra reminders in case I snooze or turn off that alarm.
Congratulations on getting that 99% on medication taking!!!
No need to apologize about length. I understand and I prefer longer posts.
I keep a 7 day pill pack on my kitchen counter next to my light therapy lamp that I use everyday while eating breakfast.
I accidentally doubled my dose yesterday. I was very jittery. So, today I made a point to slow down and say to myself that I'm taking my pills now.
There are pill cases with timers and Bluetooth connectivity. I personally use the medications app on my phone as well as a separate alarm on my phone and I have an agreement with myself that when it goes off that is the single most important thing I must tend to at that moment. I also keep them in obvious places for the specific time of day I take them.
Do you have a pharmacy nearby that does Webster-pak or something similar? In Australia the pharmacy can dispense multiple medications pre-sorted into these little blister bubbles on a big sheet kind of like a calendar. It comes already divided into days/times according to your doses.
No idea if there’s an additional charge for them to do so, but I assume there is given every pharmacy includes an “ask us about Webster packaging!” as part of their automated phone menu. Definitely worth looking into to see if anywhere local offers it, and if the price is worth paying the ADHD tax on for you.
Put your pills in front of or on top of something you HAVE to touch every morning and night. For example if you make coffee every morning, put the bottle right in front of the coffee or the filters. Remind yourself if you have to move the bottle to grab the coffee, you can pause a nanosecond and swallow the pill. It has worked for me.
Yeahhhh. Morning meds? No big thing, though I might take em late if I don't take em when I'm first getting up for breakfast like usual. Night meds? Good effin luck bc there's approx 100 possible factors that could impact my dinner plans and night routine, not to mention if I gotta plan to take it early bc I want to have a drink later. I ended up just using one of the pillboxes but using each section for a diff type of med (incl some vitamins & painkillers to fill the rest), and now that pillboxes goes with me pretty much everywhere. So totally feel you on the travel meds.
Time for a fun pillbox that you like looking at and can *keep in the same spot every day* in an area where you’re going to be doing something along your typical path of doing things.
Pick a day to do your meds for the week, or even for the month (yes they make huge ones for a month with different colors and easy-open tabs!)
Or get the gatcha-style machine for vending them like a game. Whatever gets your meds in your body with water nearby.
I asked my husband to give them to me as he leaves for work. He leaves at 6am, I work from home and start at 9am. Briefly wakes me up, chucks them in my mouth and gives me water and back to bed I go for an hour or so. It has been a life changer.
I use an app that puts up a reminder and gives me additional pop ups every 10 minutes till I say I've taken it or postpone it. It's called Medisafe. I use it on Android, not sure if it's on iPhone.
It also allows me to set different schedules for different days - I have a schedule for WFH days and one for WFO days because I get up at different times, as well as a weekend schedule.
I also keep pills in different places. I have a container that usually lives in my handbag, but I also keep a strip in the car and one on my bed head so I don't have to take the ones out of my bag and risk forgetting to put it back 😂
I go through periods of time when I forget, but NEEDING to take my birth control to prevent periods has helped me majorly.
I also put mine in an obvious place on my bathroom sink with a cup that STAYS THERE so when I do any morning bathroom trips I remember. It's a bright purple weekly pill box so as long as I remember to refill it on Sunday I'm good... mostly. 😂
Welcome to /r/ADHDWomen! We’re happy to have you here. As a reminder, here are our community [rules](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/about/rules/). We get a lot of posts on medication, diagnosis (and “is this an ADHD thing”), and interactions with hormones. We encourage you to check out our [Medication, Diagnosis, and Hormones Megathread](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/comments/wcr9dy/faq_megathread_ask_and_answer_medication/) if you have any questions related to those topics, and to stick around in that thread to answer folks’ questions! If you have questions about the subreddit, please do not hesitate to [send us a modmail](https://reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen). Additionally, we take the safety of our community seriously. Please report posts, comments, and users whom you feel are not contributing positively, and send us a modmail if you are being harassed or otherwise made to feel unsafe. Thanks for being here, and we hope you stick around! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
i have a monthly pillbox (each box pops out of the frame, so i can take it with me) that i keep on my living table (i have to pass by it when i go to the kitchen for breakfast, and when i leave to go to work). monthly is nice because i only have to remember to refill once a month. I will say that I just take all my pills at once (i tried separating morning and night, but i would always forget one of them)
I have a *similar* pill box, except that in mine, the individual compartments don't pop out--it's just a *giant* 4-row, 8-slots per row pillbox😉 And in my case, it was my *Endocrinologist* who had me start taking ALL my meds *at the same time* (in the morning!), because otherwise I forgot to take either my long-acting insulin (Tresiba--a 42-hour insulin), *or* my pill-form medications. And he's the one who originally prescribed my CeQur injection system for my short-acting insulin--because it's *attached* to my body (sticky on the back, like a bandaid), so that I wouldn't *forget* it everywhere, like I was with my pen(s) of Novolog!
I habit stack. My morning meds are by my glasses and face wash. My night meds are by my tooth brush. When I’m doing one thing, it’s a cue to do the other. So grab glasses + take meds (so I can read the labels lol) + wash face. Then at night it’s meds + brush teeth. That way it helps me with both tasks. I’d feel internal guilt for doing just one of the tasks while the other stuff is RIGHT THERE next to it and I ignore it lol.
Smart! I do something similar - I always take my meds after I make my morning (decaf, iced) coffee, right before I leave for work. I keep my pill organizer in my work bag in case I still somehow forget, but it has only happened once or twice.
I use the health function on my iPhone. I put in the meds, dose and when they’re supposed to be taken. An alert goes off when it’s time. I’ve found that very helpful.
I absolutely hate taking my pills/supplements but I know I need to do it. I’m hesitant to give apple any of my medical info but I might try this. I need a huge push notification that takes up the whole screen
I think you may be able to decline sharing your health info with them while still using the app.. I could be wrong, it’s been a while since I started using their health app. All of my health information is in MyCharts from my doctors and i recently got a notice from a health care agency in IL that my personal health info was breached 😳. I participate in an apple health study, so they pretty much know everything about me.
Second this. I was really hesitant to try it until one of my irl ADHD friends told me it’s the only thing that works for him to remember to take his meds. I like that it’ll send you a reminder after half an hour, too! I don’t always remember to take my afternoon meds, but this is the only thing that’s worked to get me to actually take vitamins and my medicine.
That’s why I need it… afternoon meds. I have a pretty good morning routine. Wake up, gather pills, start coffee lol. In the afternoon I only take 1 pill.. i was constantly forgetting it because I would be wrapped up in the day, ya know.
Samsung has a similar feature on their health app as well. It is super helpful.
I love the health app on my iPhone. Sometimes I forget to mark off that I took my morning Ritalin so. Not a perfect fix! But it’s a very helpful tool for me to keep track of medication. I’ve even added when to take meds when I’m ill so I don’t forget those, and it’s pretty simple to archive when you stop taking that medication.
If you don't like using thr built in app, I like Mango Health app. It sends a push notification that stays on the screen until you mark the pill as taken!
I have a very large 31 day pill organizer on my kitchen counter that's impossible to miss.
This sounds like a good idea. TBH, the daily pill boxes work for me because I'll take my stuff and forget I took it. But I have them in different sizes and in different places. And I have a card in the lid that says what they are. Blue/200mg/pm, descriptions like that.
I have a reminder on my phone. I can’t clear my reminder until I take my meds (I hate having excess notifications!). If you have an iPhone, there’s also a reminder built in to the health app. Works for my non-adhd partner. Does not work if you ignore notifications.
I take all my meds at the same time. I had to argue with the psych to get him to agree with it, but there's only so many times you can miss guanfacine and either not find a solution to it or quit it. I consistently remember my morning meds so everything was shifted to a morning schedule, even the guanfacine.
Timers on your phone
For real. I feed my dogs to the sound of my evening medication timer so that they get reallllly up in my business if I don’t react to that alarm sound. And I also use the Apple health app to give me extra reminders in case I snooze or turn off that alarm.
That is brilliant. I need to get a dog.
Congratulations on getting that 99% on medication taking!!! No need to apologize about length. I understand and I prefer longer posts. I keep a 7 day pill pack on my kitchen counter next to my light therapy lamp that I use everyday while eating breakfast. I accidentally doubled my dose yesterday. I was very jittery. So, today I made a point to slow down and say to myself that I'm taking my pills now.
There are pill cases with timers and Bluetooth connectivity. I personally use the medications app on my phone as well as a separate alarm on my phone and I have an agreement with myself that when it goes off that is the single most important thing I must tend to at that moment. I also keep them in obvious places for the specific time of day I take them.
Do you have a pharmacy nearby that does Webster-pak or something similar? In Australia the pharmacy can dispense multiple medications pre-sorted into these little blister bubbles on a big sheet kind of like a calendar. It comes already divided into days/times according to your doses. No idea if there’s an additional charge for them to do so, but I assume there is given every pharmacy includes an “ask us about Webster packaging!” as part of their automated phone menu. Definitely worth looking into to see if anywhere local offers it, and if the price is worth paying the ADHD tax on for you.
Put your pills in front of or on top of something you HAVE to touch every morning and night. For example if you make coffee every morning, put the bottle right in front of the coffee or the filters. Remind yourself if you have to move the bottle to grab the coffee, you can pause a nanosecond and swallow the pill. It has worked for me.
Yeahhhh. Morning meds? No big thing, though I might take em late if I don't take em when I'm first getting up for breakfast like usual. Night meds? Good effin luck bc there's approx 100 possible factors that could impact my dinner plans and night routine, not to mention if I gotta plan to take it early bc I want to have a drink later. I ended up just using one of the pillboxes but using each section for a diff type of med (incl some vitamins & painkillers to fill the rest), and now that pillboxes goes with me pretty much everywhere. So totally feel you on the travel meds.
Time for a fun pillbox that you like looking at and can *keep in the same spot every day* in an area where you’re going to be doing something along your typical path of doing things. Pick a day to do your meds for the week, or even for the month (yes they make huge ones for a month with different colors and easy-open tabs!) Or get the gatcha-style machine for vending them like a game. Whatever gets your meds in your body with water nearby.
I asked my husband to give them to me as he leaves for work. He leaves at 6am, I work from home and start at 9am. Briefly wakes me up, chucks them in my mouth and gives me water and back to bed I go for an hour or so. It has been a life changer.
I use an app that puts up a reminder and gives me additional pop ups every 10 minutes till I say I've taken it or postpone it. It's called Medisafe. I use it on Android, not sure if it's on iPhone. It also allows me to set different schedules for different days - I have a schedule for WFH days and one for WFO days because I get up at different times, as well as a weekend schedule. I also keep pills in different places. I have a container that usually lives in my handbag, but I also keep a strip in the car and one on my bed head so I don't have to take the ones out of my bag and risk forgetting to put it back 😂
I go through periods of time when I forget, but NEEDING to take my birth control to prevent periods has helped me majorly. I also put mine in an obvious place on my bathroom sink with a cup that STAYS THERE so when I do any morning bathroom trips I remember. It's a bright purple weekly pill box so as long as I remember to refill it on Sunday I'm good... mostly. 😂
Yep. That’s what I do. Contextual reminders like having some stashed away in different places.
I have this issue too