Your recovery journey from drug addiction, trauma, mental health issues, or depression begins with simple steps, such as taking your medicine. It helps recondition the chemical composition of your body systems, guaranteeing recovery and success of the treatment. After your doctor carries out an exam that allows them to diagnose your illness, you can be given several medications to help you recover. If you’ve been battling drug addiction, you can be tempted to misuse your drugs and quickly fall back into old habits.
Managing your medication correctly can reduce the risk of getting into life-threatening situations due to an overdose or underdose. Below are tips on how you can manage your medication:
Adhere To Your Doctor’s Prescription
Before your doctor gives you any medication, they first observe your symptoms. They also look at what could’ve been the cause of the problem. It could include your eating habits, the severity of symptoms, emotions, and medical background. It’s on such a basis that a doctor gives you the prescription.
So, you shouldn’t overlook the doctor’s recommendation and do it as you please. It’d help if you followed the prescription to the letter. Your doctor is better positioned to explain any side effects you may develop from taking your medication. Some side effects may include dizziness, nausea, and feeling light-headed. Most patients see this as an opportune time for painkillers or other over-the-counter drugs. Such medication may not be safe nor sterile compared to drugs from compounding outsourcing facilities, as Fagron Sterile states the difference.
Instead of taking over-the-counter medications to control them, you’d better talk to your health provider. On the same thought, you shouldn’t stop taking your medication without your doctor’s consent. Even if you feel better, ensure you complete your dose.
Dispose of Medicine Stopped By Your Doctor
During the treatment, your medical provider can advise you to stop taking some medication, for instance, in the case of severe side effects. On the other hand, medicine too can expire. To avoid the temptation of taking such medication, you should dispose of them once you’re instructed to stop taking them.
Remember, one of the triggers of abusing drugs is the environment. Thus, the urge to take drugs might kick in if the medicines are within reach. You can also accidentally take the wrong medication, harming your health. Thus, eliminating them from your reach would be best.
Organize Your Medicine
Another excellent strategy that helps you manage your medication is by organizing. It’s a helpful strategy, especially if you’re taking multiple drugs. Here are some ways that can help you organize your medication:
- Using pill organizers: Basic pill organizers, such as pill boxes, are divided into compartments. The compartments contain enough space for every day of the week. You can take the one with multiple cases, depending on how often you’re supposed to take your pills. While filling your pill box, ensure you fill it correctly so that you don’t put two tablets in the same compartment.
- Making a checklist: It’s also a tactical approach since the list contains the name of the medicine, the dose, the time you should take it, and a simple description. However, it’d help if you updated it regularly and ticked against every dosage you take.
- An automatic pill dispenser: It comes in handy when you have a complex medication schedule. Since it can hold several pills, it’s among the best strategies for multiple medications. On the other hand, you can wirelessly connect a sophisticated pill dispenser to your pharmacist such that it alerts them if you skip your dosage. It can also remind you when to take your pills. Additionally, it locks itself once you take the medication until your next dose.
It’s best to consider the most suitable approach to organizing your medication.
Refill Your Medication At Good Time
Taking your medication as prescribed results in a healthier lifestyle and is significant to your treatment plan. Therefore, refilling your prescription before it runs out is critical. It helps you avoid missing your dosage.
While at it, you’d like to stick to one pharmacy for your refills, especially with several medications. It becomes hectic to keep track of all your refills if you have to move from one corner of the town to another. You can also ask for an auto-refill service where the pharmacy may even remind you when it’s time for a refill. Alternatively, check your prescription bottles for refill dates.
Set Reminders
You can set alarms and reminders on your phone to alert you when it’s time to take your medication. This way, you’ll not skip a dosage. Besides, you can use cutting-edge mobile apps to help you manage your medication. Such apps can also connect to your health provider and alert them when you take your dose. Alternatively, you can use other techniques, like wearing a smart wristwatch. Such artificial intelligence (AI) powered devices help you remember when it’s time to take your medication.
Ask For Help If You Miss Your Dosage
If you forget to take your medication, you should ask for help from your doctor. The doctor might tell you to take it immediately if it’s not yet time for the next dosage. However, you shouldn’t take a double dose if it’s time for the next dosage.
Conclusion
Managing your medication is significant for your recovery and treatment plan. Thus, completing your dosage and adhering to your doctor’s prescription is essential. Ensure you take your medicines at the right time to avoid skipping doses. Most importantly, don’t take other medication outside your prescriptions. In case of any side effects, talk to your doctor.
Medical Disclaimer: All the content available on the website is just for informational purposes. It’s not a substitute for any Professional advice. Don’t take it personally. As a medical student, I’m just trying to use my information through my content, and please keep in mind it’s not written by a professional doctor. Use the data just for educational purposes.
Having completed my Bachelor’s degree in medicine and currently pursuing a house job at a well reputed hospital in California, I decided to utilize my spare time in sharing knowledge with others through my blog. Apart from my time spent in the medical field, I love to read fiction novels and go on long drives.