If you’ve been taking medications for years, you’re probably no stranger to what it’s like to miss a dose or take the wrong medication by accident. You must have been tempted so many times to skip doses or adjust the dosage without telling your doctor.
You may think to yourself “Oh, it’s not the end of the world”, but failing to properly comply with your medication regimen can impact your health in more ways than one. If you purposely ignore what your doctor tells you, the drug won’t provide the benefits you expect or, worse, even threaten your health.
Medication Adherence
It’s important for you and your family to learn about medication adherence. Arianna Medical Pharmacy, a popular pharmacy in Glendale, California, is all about helping patients take the proper dosage of their medications in the right way and at the right time until the physician tells them to stop. For instance, your doctor may tell you to take one tablet after every meal, three times a day, until further notice. Properly adhering to these instructions would mean taking, no less and no more than, one tablet after breakfast, lunch, and dinner time. Even a slight tweaking of these instructions, like only taking two tablets a day, could affect how the medication works on you and even harm your health.
Some people have trouble complying with their medications or are experiencing adverse effects. These matters have to immediately be discussed with your physician. What your doctor does is provide the tools and information to handle these situations and adjust your dosage accordingly. If side effects are indeed happening, then your physician can help assess whether or not your regimen requires adjustment. The worst you can do conclude on your own or rely on your knowledge to decide the next steps. A healthcare professional or an expert from a medical pharmacy must be consulted first.
Like many people out there, you could be having trouble adhering to your regimen. Well, just follow these popular tips for improving your habits:
- Make it a team effort. Your friends and family members won’t mind helping you out. They can remind you to take your medication regularly.
- Make it easier for yourself to remember. Set an alarm on your phone for when you’re supposed to take your medication, create a checklist, or write notes on your journal.
- Make it a routine. It becomes a lot easier to adhere to medication when you make it a part of your daily life. Develop a schedule, like taking medication after breakfast or before you go to work in the morning so it’ll be unlikely for you to forget.
Have you been taking medications as per your doctor’s orders? How has this improved your life? Please feel free to tell us in the comment section.