[healthwork] reorganising my medication

[kaberett]

I have for many years now (as previously mentioned in these pages...) used MediMemo dosette boxes. They come as a wee book with pill boxes for individual days, featuring three (re)movable dividers that allow you to change compartment sizes as required depending on how many pills you take when.

I have three sets: the only downside I've found with these is that I break the lids semi-regularly, and so eventually (after much faffing around with superglue) I retired my first set to keep for spares and bought a replacement for everyday use.

A while after starting to date A (I... think?) I decided that actually I wanted two sets in active use, so that I didn't get to late-on-Sunday-night and then have to either sort out a week's worth of meds in a hurry or leave it til the morning and have to do it while sleepy, further delaying e.g. breakfast. This does on the whole work out pretty well for me, with the added benefit that I can choose a time more-or-less at my convenience when my hands are cooperating enough to do fiddly work. (A while after that A's colleagues acquired a 3D printer for general use, so now I get A to print compostable lids for me when I break the original ones.)

However, I have been mildly grumpy for some time now - a year? eighteen months? something? - that I actually take tablets five times a day, not four: half an hour before breakfast, breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime. (Plus a bonus oral med every other day or so at least an hour in all directions from any other oral meds, plus a nasal spray, plus any top-ups...)

Which required me to have (1) executive function and (2) manual dexterity First Thing, Before Food, which is on the whole a Bad Plan, or at the least one that has mixed success.

AND THEN. A FORTNIGHT AGO. I realised! That I could take some of the dividers from my set-for-spares! And give myself five compartments each day! So I don't have to sort the breakfast-meds from the before-breakfast-meds every morning while half-awake!

This is working out great and I'm pretty certain I'm being rather more reliable about dosage and timing, so, chalking that one up as a Victory.

Comments

[momijizukamori]

Nice! My med container lifehack was finding a nicely sized container that was designed to be two weeks of 4x day meds, but because I only do 2x daily (morning and night), it fits four weeks instead and greatly reduces the number of things on my bathroom counter to accidentally knock onto the floor.

Eventually I'm going to get around to designing something to 3D print for trips, though.

[fyreharper]

Yay problem-solving!

[sfred]

Hurray!

[silveradept]

V I C T O R Y !

Good work, kaberett-brain, making things easier for yourself.

[davidgillon]

Yay for executive function!

Though I thought the denouement was going to be you'd had A print up a spare divider ;)

[kaberett]

He doesn't currently have access to the printer! I think one of his colleagues took it home and has been using it to Contribute To Medical Wossname (and he's not been into the office regardless, as one might expect).

[lunabee34]

Excellent hack!