From OncoLog, September 2006, Vol. 51, No. 9

House Call: Managing Your Medications

If you must take several prescription drugs each day, taking the medicine correctly can be a challenge. For instance, some cancer patients take more than 20 medications a day, each with its own special instructions and side effects. Finding the right system to organize those medicines can go a long way toward protecting your health and creating order out of chaos.

Questions to ask your doctor

Organizing starts with getting the correct medical information. You should ask your physician about each drug being prescribed: What is the name and purpose of the drug and why are you taking it? When should you take it and for how long? When should you expect to see a benefit? What kind of side effects does it have, and are there any you should report to the doctor immediately? Write down the answers to the questions so you’ll remember them. Your pharmacist also can provide valuable information about your medications, and many pharmacies provide helpful print outs about your prescriptions for reference later.

Keeping a record of your medications

After that, it’s time to make a record of what you’re taking. Julie Corwin, program coordinator in M. D. Anderson Cancer Center’s Department of Employee Health and Well-being, advises, “It’s a good idea to keep a record of your medications, including the name and strength of the medication, the color of the pill, what you are taking it for, when you began taking it, dosage instructions, and any food or drug interactions.” It’s also important, she said, to keep track of (and discuss with your doctor) any over-the- counter medication or vitamin and herbal supplements you’re taking. Some of these can interact with your prescription medication and possibly even interfere with their effectiveness. This record should also include basic information such as your name, home and work phone numbers, blood type, medical conditions, emergency contact information, your doctor’s name and phone number, and a list of any food or drug allergies.

Ways to organize your medications

There are a variety of systems that can help you remember when to take your medications.

• Pill organizers are one simple solution. These containers, available in different shapes and sizes at drug stores, provide spaces for the pills to be taken on each day of the week and, in some versions, also at different times of the day. Some have child locks, built-in reminder alarms, and automatic pill dispensers. There are also an assortment of alarms and watches that signal you when it’s time to take medication.

• You can create your own organizer by putting each day’s pills in a small cup or two cups if you take some medications in the morning and some later in the day. If you must take an assortment of pills at various times throughout the day, an empty egg carton can be an effective organizer. Number the 12 sections of the carton for 12 hours of the day. Then place the medication you need to take at that time in the proper container. At 3 p.m., for instance, you’d take the pills in section number three.

• Charts and calendars are other options. One method involves writing your drug schedule on a calendar. Then, each time you take that day’s dosage, cross it out on the calendar. Another idea is to use different-colored stickers on the lids of each medicine bottle. Every time you take the medicine, you place a sticker of the same color on the calendar as a visual reminder of which pills you’ve taken. New York State’s Office for the Aging offers several helpful medicine charts that you can print from their Web site at http://agingwell.state.ny.us/pharmacy/articles/media01.htm.

For more information on this topic or for questions about M. D. Anderson’s treatments, programs, or services, call askMDAnderson at (877) MDA-6789.

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