How to Actually Remember to Take Medication when Traveling

I’m a creature of habit and when my habits are broken, I’m not always the best at coping.

When I’m taking medicine, I keep myself in a habit so I actually remember to take the pills.

It’s actually really, really difficult for me.  So once I get into a groove, it’s a relief.

The problem is, once I start a trip, I pull myself out of that groove.  I start missing doses when traveling and once I get back, I have to rebuild the habit I used to have.

My doctor starting putting me on medicine that can have pretty big effects if I miss some of my doses.  So the stakes of forgetting to take the medicine just got higher.

I was looking around for solutions–like systems that remind you when you haven’t taken your medicine.  But I found when there are alerts on my computer, I’m not always in the same place the medicine is in.  So it makes me feel guilty but doesn’t actually result in me taking the medicine.

Furthermore, I forget to tell the alert system when I do take the medicine.  So everything turns into a giant blur of alerts without meaning.

Occasionally, I’ve taken my medicine twice.  Oops.

Then I found PillPack online.  They measure out your different medications and deliver them to you in packs you take at different times of the day.

pill pack2

Pill Pack Review

What I love about this is you can clearly see whether or not you’ve taken your medicine yet.  And you are in a place to immediate act upon that reminder.

pill pack

I sent them the name of my pharmacy and what time I take all my medications and they took care of the rest.

Here’s a look at the process:

Pill Pack doesn’t really cost more than traditional in-person pharmacies.  There’s no shipping fee nor a packaging fee.

They handle all the insurance stuff and coordinate with your old pharmacy.  They also will send you your pill packs early if you’ll be traveling for an extended period of time.

The best part?  I have yet to forget to take medicine while using this.  I’ve taken the medicine a few hours late, but that’s very different from totally missing medicines for days on end.

My only complaint is that they do not carry a supplement I’m supposed to take two times a day.  I’m sending in a request to see if it’s something they could start including.

But guess how many times I took that supplement in the last few weeks?  Zero.  Pill Pack is definitely keeping me accountable for my other medication.

I didn’t refer a Pill Pack review before starting this service, so I really jumped in with blind faith–but was glad I did.

Note: I have absolutely no relationship with Pill Pack aside from being a current customer.

About Jeanne Marie Hoffman

Former bartender, still a geek. One equal part each cookies, liberty, football, music, travel, libations. Stir vigorously. +Jeanne Marie Hoffman Jeanne on Twitter

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One comment

  1. You might consider using MediSafe (http://www.medisafe.com/). A simple solution to remind you when to take your medication with the added advantage of letting other check on you if you forgot to take the medication.

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