Medication Compliance Is a Hard Pill to Swallow

A friend of mine recently went to a new psychiatrist, who took her off the one (ineffective) medication she was taking and prescribed several new ones. I asked her the other day how things were going.

“I can already see what the problem is going to be with this stuff,” she said. “Remembering to actually take them.”

I can relate. Every weekend, I get out Bob’s 7-day pill minder we keep at home. I also get out the pill minder he takes to school. (They would prefer I send them marked bottles, but I don’t trust them to administer the correct pills at the correct times. Color me a control freak.) I break out the four bottles of pills and start dividing them up . . . one in the morning . . . one at school . . . another at school later . . . two at bedtime. When I’ve finished loading the pill boxes, I put the bottles away, hand off the school box to my husband for delivery to the nurse, and set the home box on the bathroom counter.

Every morning, and every evening before he goes to bed, Bob is to take whatever is in the assigned pill slot. Almost every morning, and every evening before he goes to bed, he forgets.

Keeping Up With Medication Compliance Becomes a Family Problem

This drove my husband insane. I leave for work before the boys are even out of bed, so it’s been up to him to prepare them for school and make sure they get there. He couldn’t understand why Bob couldn’t remember this one, simple task, performed in the same place at the same time every day.

So I clued him in.

Most of us who take any psychotropic medication do so because, in part, of something that (among other things like anosognosia) impedes our ability to focus. If we don’t take our pills, we can’t focus. If we can’t focus, we don’t take our pills. Do you see where this is going?

I forget to take my own pills. I have a pill box I fill (unless I forget) on the weekend and keep in my bag. Mine is not as clearly marked as Bob’s and I have found myself wondering if I took them already. I have also missed a day because one thing led to another and I never got around to saying, “Hey, take your pills.” I realize this is mostly my fault for not establishing a routine like Bob’s—but even if I had one, it would be hard for me to remember to follow it.

Medication Compliance Tips

There are ways to make medication compliance easier.

• A clearly labeled and appropriately-sized pill box is one thing.
• Setting reminders in an electronic calendar or cell phone is also effective.
• Some people keep a notebook with their medications and jot down each dose taken.

Of course, children should always be supervised with medication. Lately, I’ve been getting Bob up and making sure he takes his medication before I leave. Maybe I should have my husband do the same for me…