Medication management

There is all kinds of advice out there on how to safeguard and manage prescriptions. One article I read recently even advised keeping them in a safe. I thought that was a bit of overkill but I am careful.

I have several issues with my medications. One of them is toxicity to others. My cat can't recognize a chipmunk under his nose these days but there is a family joke about the vioxx incident* that he survivied. I wouldn't put it past him to try to ingest something he finds on the floor. I am currently on methotrexate which is actually a chemotherapy drug which comes in little sealed bottles and has all sorts of warnings.

I make jokes about knowing when you are on the good drugs as they have street value. A drug addict would be very happy with the contents of my little stash. When we are going away, I hide it away a bit more than usual. I realize that if someone broke in my medicaitons would be a target - that is why they are not sitting out. Added to the fact that they would completely cover my bedside table, I needed a larger storage area for them.

I am also aware of the addictive potential of several of my medications. I am careful to think about when I take my medications, how often, and how much. I know two tramadols make me very stupid so I avoid that. I make sure I take my daily pills and use one those pill boxes with a daily box to make sure I don't forget or even take them twice (which would be a huge mistake).

Finally, every week when I fill our pill boxes I make sure everything gets filled and we don't run out. The mail order prescriptions are a pain when you run out because I need the emergency short term fill at the local pharmacy while waiting for the replacement to arrive by mail. Never mind the times I have to wait for the damn insurance companies to authorize refilling them.

I think I am just trying to be an adult here - a useful thing to do from time to time.