Most people with chronic myeloid leukemia take a daily pill or capsule for treatment. But 3 in 4 Americans struggle to take their medications the way they’re supposed to, whether that means taking it with food, taking it at a specific time, taking too little medication, or just forgetting altogether.
It can get especially tricky if you take other pills besides your CML meds and you can’t take your different medications at the same time.
You may need to have some safeguards in place to be sure you remember to take this life-saving medicine every day. These tips can help.
Enlist AI. Ask an electronic assistant such as Siri, Alexa, or Google to remind you to take your medicine every day. If you take meds at different times throughout the day, you can set reminders for each one separately. You can say, “Hey, Siri. Remind me to take my pills every morning at 8 a.m.”
Use apps. Search “medication reminder apps” in the app store on your smartphone or tablet. The features vary from one to the next, but each comes with the aim of helping you remember to take your medicine on time every day. See which one is the best fit for you. A few examples are MediSafe, Round Health, and Mango Health.
Set alarms. Set an alarm on your phone, tablet, or even an old-fashioned alarm clock (if you’re always home when it would go off) at the time you’re supposed to take your medicine every day. If you take meds at multiple times throughout the day, your phone lets you set multiple alarms.
Create a routine. Follow the same routine every day and make your medications a part of it. Or take your meds in combination with another daily activity, such as while your coffee brews or when you eat your breakfast.
Leave pills in plain sight. Medicine doesn't have to live in the medicine cabinet. Keep it in the spot you usually are at the time you take it every day. If you take your medicine right when you wake up, keep it by the bed. If you take it while your coffee brews, keep it by the coffee maker.
Use a pillbox. Pillboxes not only keep your pills in one place, they’re a great way to know if you’ve already taken a dose. Fill them up on Sunday night and you’ll have a visible confirmation of whether you’re taking your pills every day. Pillboxes come in a variety of setups. For example, if you take medicine several times a day, you might want a box with compartments for times of day that you refill every night, or a weeklong box with daily sections for morning, afternoon, and evening.
Flip your bottles. After you take your meds every day, turn the bottle upside down so you know you’ve taken it. Before bed, set the bottles all upright again to remind you to take them the next day.
Carry extra doses. Don’t be caught off guard if you find yourself out of the house when it’s time to take your medicine. If possible, keep a couple of extra doses on you – in your purse, wallet, or desk drawer at work, for example.
Keep doses at caregivers’ homes. If you often stay at the home of a relative or other caregiver, keep a few doses at their place in case you forget to pack yours.
Use sticky notes. Place notes around your house in the place you’re likely to be when it’s time to take your pills. If you take them in the morning, post a note by your bed or on the bathroom mirror.
Track with a calendar. Hang a calendar on the wall or tape it to a countertop or cabinet. Put an “x” over the day after you take your prescription.
Ask a friend for help. Have a friend call, text, or leave a voicemail to ask if you’ve had your medicine today. Mark the text unread and leave it that way, so you see it every day. Or save the voicemail on your phone.
Never miss a refill. If you can, set your meds to auto-refill so you’ll receive a text, call, or email every time they are ready. Whether it happens automatically or you request the refill every month, try to refill as early as possible, so you never get caught without your meds.
Ask your pharmacist for help. Some pharmacists provide reminder tops for prescription bottles. These lids contain an alarm that sounds when it’s time for your medicine. If you take other meds besides your CML drugs, your pharmacist might offer compliance packaging, sometimes at an extra cost, in which they package each day's pills together in a daily packet. You’d get 30 tiny packets for the month rather than separate bottles with a month’s supply of pills in each.
Ask your health care team for help. If nothing seems to help you remember to take your pills as directed, tell your health care team. They may be able to simplify your medication schedule or brainstorm other ways to get you the treatment you need.
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SOURCES:
UpToDate: “Patient education: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in adults (Beyond the Basics).”
Public Health Reports: “Medication Adherence: Helping Patients Take Their Medicines As Directed.”
Michigan Medicine: “8 Easy Ways to Remember to Take Your Medication.”
Stanford Medicine: “Remembering to Take Your Medication.”
Johns Hopkins Medicine: “Ten Tips on How to Remember to Take Your Meds.”
