MEDICATION TIPS

Know the name of your medications.Write down a list of your medications, with their dose and frequency. This can be used as a reminder, and can be utilized if you're unable to tell medical personnel in the case of an emergency. This will be particularly useful if you see more than one doctor.

Take your medications until they're gone. This is particularly true for medications such as antibiotics. If you are prescribed two weeks worth of pills, don't stop them in a few days "because you're feeling better". These medications need to be taken for the total duration of time that they're prescribed to completely clear the infection to keep it from coming back.

Keep on taking your medications. Don't just quit if your refills run out. You or the pharmacist should call the doctor's office for a refill. Medications for most medical conditions (other than temporary conditions such as an infection) need to be continued. I have had more than a few people stop their medicines for high blood pressure or high cholesterol when the first set of refills ran out - their blood pressures and cholesterols went right back up!

In general, it is more important to take the pill than to take it at just the right time! Schedules such as "one hour before or two hours after a meal" are simply too complicated for most of us to follow. It is better in most cases to get the medication taken than to miss it all together while trying to do it "perfectly".

Try to take your medicines in conjunction with some other regular daily activity, such as that first cup of coffee, breakfast, dinner, or brushing your teeth before you go to bed. Turn this into a habit that is to your advantage.Know what to do if you forget a dose. This is different for each different medication. Ask your pharmacist or physician.Read the label each time you get your medication to make sure that there have been no accidental changes made by the pharmacist. Look at the pills to make sure they look the same as the old ones. If you have questions about these matters, contact your pharmacist immediately.

Keep a record of any medications you may have had in the past that didn't work, or didn't agree with you. Be absolutely sure to remember any medications that caused serious reactions. Consider obtaining a bracelet that alerts people to these serious reactions (you may also list important medical conditions and medications such as diabetes and insulin).Other ways to help be sure you get your medications taken:¨ Keep a calendar near your pills. Mark down when you’ve taken them.¨ Buy a wristwatch with an alarm. Set it for when you are to take your medications.If you are on more than one medication, try and get them "synchronized" in terms of when they are refilled.Ask your physician if you can have generic medications.Watch the number of pills in your bottle and the number of times you can refill the prescription. Get refills before you run out (your doctor will appreciate it!).If you do need to call your doctor for refills, have their names and doses ready. Also, have the name and phone number of your pharmacy handy