Taking your prescribed medications correctly Posted on April 8, 2017 at 12:32 pm.Written by advantage_admin The first step into properly taking your medication is to follow your doctor instructions. Your trusted health care professional will provide you with tips on how to manage your medications, including what to do if you miss a dose and any possible side effects. Doses and Timing Medication doses are calculated based on age and weight. There are multiple risks of ingesting the wrong dose. If it’s less than what has been prescribed, the treatment will not be effective. If it’s more, it can produce adverse effects to your health. For this reason, it is important to carefully follow you doctor’s instructions. Timing is also important in medication administration. If you are combining several treatments, scheduling them properly is critical since your body must process them separately. Keep a medication diary Keeping track of all your medications can be complicated. Create a running list of all your prescriptions, vitamins and supplements and place it somewhere visible. Your list should include the following: Name of the medication Starting date Dose Schedule (AM / PM) Number of pills total Date of next refill Name of doctor Smartphone Apps There’s an app for that! Actually, there are many mobile applications in the market dedicated to medication management. They all share the same basic features: custom reminders, calendar, refill notifications and more. If you have a smartphone or a tablet and you would like to download one of these handy apps, you can start your search with the following terms: medicine organizer, medication diary, medication journal or medication reminder. New medication: What should I do? If your doctor prescribes you new medication, ask questions about why you need it and if there are special instructions or possible side effects. Keep the following topics in mind: Doubts and questions: Does this new medicine interact with any other medication I’m taking? Is it safe? Is it covered under my health insurance? Ask away! Your doctor is there to guide you. Prices: You can ask your physician for bioequivalent alternatives since they are more accessible. Secondary effects: Ask your doctor if the medication could affect any of your daily activities and if there are any adverse side effects.
