Managing medication is a very common need, as 90% of older adults are on at least one medication. Ms. Teresa is very fortunate to only have two medications to manage, one blood pressure medication and eye drops for her glaucoma. Her pill management is relatively quite simple, but that is not the case for the majority of people aged 65 and older who are on at least 5 medications at a time.
When she was first prescribed her medications, Ms. Teresa did several things to ensure she could take them safely and according to instruction. She has always had direct access to her doctors and pharmacists and can discuss with them the side effects of new medications, which empowers her to feel comfortable taking them.
Ms. Teresa was warned by her doctors that a lack of motivation could become a barrier to remaining consistent with taking medications, as it is for many patients. Additionally, she decided that learning about the effects her medications would have on her body and meditating on that daily made her feel grateful for her medications and continues to take them consistently.
After understanding what was required of her, Ms. Teresa had to decide what method of daily pill management suited her best, whether it be using a weekly pill organizer or choosing to take the medications from the bottle daily. There is also the option of requesting from the pharmacy that they provide the medications already pre-packaged into daily doses. She decided that a weekly pill organizer would be easiest to remain consistent with as they are labeled with the day of the week so that she can see if she has missed a dose. Keeping a journal of the effects her medications are having on her body has also been very helpful for her when speaking with her doctors.
Finally, Ms. Teresa also allows her daughters to aid her in making sure she is able to keep up with refills for her medications. She welcomes this support as it can be challenging to coordinate refills.