6 Ways To Remember To Take Your Medications & Supplements

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“Did I take these already today, or was that yesterday?” Sound familiar? How about, “Damn it, forgot to take them again!”
It can be surprisingly difficult to remember to take medications and supplements on a regular basis, especially if you take them by the boatload. Life can easily get in the way of our best intentions to look after our health.
Here are 6 ways that might just help you to better organise and remember to take your pills, tablets, liquids, gummies, injectables and capsules.

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1. Phone Reminder Apps or Alarms

I downloaded an app on my phone for my mum’s evening medications after her heart attack. The first two months were a bit rocky with my poor memory, despite a medication check-list I made and keeping the meds neatly arranged in a tub on the kitchen counter. I tried out a reminder app on my phone and it was incredibly useful, not just for her meds but for mine and other things I forget, too. I didn’t want to use the alarm function as I use those for wake-up alarms.

The app I use is called Reminder on the Apple store and it was free. I’ve not noticed any annoying ads and it has been fairly simple to use, which is important because you want to reduce the faffing in order to make medication-taking more convenient. The best bit is that there is a wide range of alarm sounds to choose from, because there’s nothing like a baby giggling to tamp down your frustration at having to pop more pills. If you don’t do apps or smartphones, any kind of alarm you can set for each day will do the job.

Suggested :

• “Reminder” app for iPhone / iPad

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2. Pill Organiser

Putting your medications and/or supplements into a pill organiser can help make the process smoother when it comes to taking them. Faffing with boxes and tubs can be off-putting and it’s instantly less stressful to think you just have to open today’s pill box to get everything you need. It can also help remind and encourage you to take what you need to be taking by putting the organiser where you can see it and won’t be tempted to overlook it. 

There are a few options when it comes to dosette boxes.

If you don’t want to divide them up by day, you could choose a bigger organiser for all medications or supplements and just dish them out as you need them. 

If you want to sort them by day, there are specially designed dosette boxes that have one, two, three or four sections depending on how many times a day you take medications. 

Don’t forget to get an additional one if you need it for taking out and about with you so never have to skip a dose or take one late when you’re not at home.

Suggested :

7 Days 1x Daily –

• Auvon – 7 Day Organiser 1x A Day (Rainbow)

7 Days 2x A Day Pill Box –

• Auvon 7 Day 2x A Day (Black, pink or green) and similar by Fullicon
• Fullicon 7 Day 2x A Daily Larger Capacity (black and rainbow)

7 Days 3x A Day Pill Box –

• Zoolion 7 day 3x A Day (black with rainbow lids)

7 Days 4x A Day Pill Box –

• Auvon 7 day 4x A Day (rainbow with clear and green case)

30 Days 1x A Day Organiser –

• Fullicon 1 Month 1x A Day – (rainbow and black)

Travel Pill Box –

• MURRI&MURRDI Travel Box with 7 Sections
• Betife 7 Day Pull Out Travel Storage

Large Storage –

• Auvon – Large Storage to freely dispense

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3. Tick Lists

You can hand-draw or computer create tick lists for all the bits and bobs you take, fully customising it to fit your needs. A computer-made tick list could be digital-only, using your computer, mobile or tablet to record that you’ve taken your meds. Or you can print it out, and this is my personal preference. I do this for my mum’s heart medications as she takes enough to make her rattle each day and there’s not a chance in hell either of us would know what’s what without the checklist. 

I make ours on the computer (MacBook via Numbers) with a simple table: medications listed down the left columns and days listed across rows. For days where medications are taken morning and evening, I add a dividing line within that cell. It can be a bit of a palavar to get things looking right, but it’s worth it when you can tweak it whenever you need to and print as required. I add a blank section underneath the meds for “notes” where I jot things like weight, blood pressure, symptoms. Doing it this way also means you can jazz it up a bit with fonts, colours and icons so it’s less boringly medical. I batch print a few of these and just hand write the date on the top of the sheet.

Another option for doing it on the computer is via a pre-prepared printable. A Google search should bring up sites that offer pre-made medication charts ready for printing, and others may have options that you can download and edit.

The alternative is to hand-make your tick list. It’s more time-consuming of course, especially if you need to write a lot of meds on there and do a new one each week, but it may be worth the effort if it can help keep things organised and meds/supplements taken on time. 

What I also like about hardcopy paper lists is that you can keep them as records you can look back on. I keep my mum’s in plastic wallets in a ringbinder so we can track medication changes, side-effects, duration, etc. There’s a section underneath the meds for “notes” where I jot things like weight, blood pressure, symptoms. This bit of extra effort has already paid off on a number of occasions. 

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4. Sticky Notes Galore

Depending on how many things you take, you could try sticky notes on the fridge, your bedroom door, the bathroom mirror, anywhere you’re likely to look and take notice. This is perhaps a better option for short-term medications like antibiotics.

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5. Scribble On Your Calendar

If you have a monthly wall calendar, adding a little scribble – a dot, a star, a line – when you’ve taken your meds can help keep on top of medications so you won’t forget if you’ve taken them or not. You can also note on there with a symbol when you need to re-order.

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6. Tie It In To A Habit

If you want to remember to take medications or supplements at the same time each day, try to tie it in with a habit or daily routine. For instance, with a daily coffee break at 11am, medications could be kept in a kitchen cupboard and taken just before your cuppa. I take various gummy supplements around 8pm, which I keep in a bedroom cupboard, and I’ve built in taking them with an evening routine of getting a few things done, tidying up and putting on pyjamas.

Find what works for you and try to stick to it. Using reminder apps, tick lists or sticky notes initially can help you stay on top of what you’re taking while you’re building up your routine and cement the habit.

Is there anything you use to help you remember to take the medications and supplements you need to take?

Caz  ♥

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