Pill boxes

[Dennis S]

I wonder if anyone here has a solution to this problem?

A great majority of people find that a little pill box or tray that stores medication in dated compartments is a great help in confirming that you took today's medicine. That has been true for me. But after my life changed to include very young grand-children in the house on a daily basis, I can't be comfortable with anything that stores a weeks worth of Warfarin in a container that is definitely not "child proof". Now i just open the "child-proof" bottle and fish out a dosage correct for the day. So far I haven't had to guess, but it only seems a matter of time when I am gazing at the bottle wondering if I forgot the daily dose or already took it.

Suggestions?

 

[Bina]

Dennis, I would make the children a priority (just as you do) and keep 7 days of Coumadin in a bottle with a
child-proof cap. You could load up a few bottles at a time and have weekly pills for the whole month.
Great thread !!

 

[Lionheart]

Hi Dennis,

1-You could keep a monthly calendar on the fridge and place an "X" on each day after taking your meds.
or
2- I leave my pill box out in the open where I can see it. It has seven compartments each labeled with the days of the week. When I take meds I leave the flap for that day "open" after taking my meds as a visual reminder of what I've done. You could do the same even though your meds would not be stored inside the pill box. The container could remain out in the open and would still serve as a visual reminder to take your meds and the open or closed flap would let you see whether you had taken your med for the day.
If you take meds in the morning and at night use two boxes one marked "AM" the other "PM".

Those are my two quick ideas.
Best,
John

 

[Dennis S]

Dear Lionheart: I especially love option 2. An elegant and 100% safe solution to the problem.

 

[Julian]

Hehe... well my solution would be to put it out of reach or in a hidden place out of reach and nuff said but if you want to get fancy here is a link to Dr. Drew's RX lock box http://www.amazon.com/Locker-Brand-Inc-Medication-Safe/dp/B003H2HJXE which from what I read hasn't received great reviews, but there are a lot of "like" products on the market that have received great reviews. Hope this helps

 

[Julian]

If you want to get fancier here is this http://www.epill.com/compumed.html

 

[Julian]

I also bought this $100 dollar safe that can be opened by coded credit card, key, or code. You can keep anything in it including a pill organizer. I still think putting the pill box in the garage on the top shelf behind some boxes would keep the kids out of it and you protected from a stoke at the same time. : )

 

[Protimenow]

I'm not sure about how well 'option 2' would work. If the kids found this great toy, they'd probably have fun closing the little lids, and then opening them - ad infinitum. Once they get a hold of the pill box, although they won't have access to any pills (because the box is empty), you'll probably have no way of checking whether you took your meds or not.

(I vote for keeping the dispenser out of reach or locking it into something that they can't open. Alternatively, a calendar or other list located near where you keep your meds, then marking the list when you've taken your meds should work. If I had a calendar on the refrigerator, I may forget that I took my meds when I walked from the bathroom where I keep them to the refrigerator)

 

[yotphix]

I can tell you what works for me. I have kept a daily diary since I started taking warfarin. It's in a bag, with my pills in child proof bottles, on my pillow. I take the warfarin each night before I go to bed, then write in the diary what I took, what I ate that day, and what exercise (if any) I got. My INR is recorded too on those days when I test. The last thing I do is leave the bag at the table where I eat my breakfast. I am a very forgetful person and yet this has worked flawlessly for me for 2.5 years. The only time I have trouble is when I am travelling, and in different beds on successive nights. Even then, I can always check my book to see what I have done. The other obvious advantage is that I can see whether there are any changes in my routine which precipitate swings in INR, though just the act of keeping the diary helps me to stay consistent since I can see each evening whether I'm diverging from my routines re: greens and exercise.

 

[Lynlw]

Dennis, this site has some of the normal weekly pill organizers that can be locked or not, http://www.forgettingthepill.com/products/large-twice-a-day-pill-organizer-with-adult-lock they have a few different ones depending on how many times of day you need the meds.

Unfortunatly the only time Justin needed heart meds he was a baby/toddler (and of course needed liquid so i couldnt us a weekly pill thing) so I was concerned since it was "his" meds he might be helpfull and take it himself, what i did was keep it in the childproof bottle in the top of the cabinet, and made a monthly chart that we had to put and X when someone gave it to him am/pm, that would work really well since several people had to give him meds depending who was with him, so he never got too much or not enough, since everyone checked the chart

 

[Lily]

I was on so much stuff immediately post-OHS that I had to write out a schedule with times for When to take What...

And I checked things off throughout each day so I could keep track of it all. Perhaps that might be practical for your needs, a checklist or daily Post-it note next to your childproof bottles?

Oh, as I read through the other comments, I see this is a similar suggestion to some others.

This isn't quite related, but I was visiting one friend who had emergency angina nitro pills taped to a mirror in their washroom. I found that an interesting solution to their specific need.

 

[normofthenorth]

An OK system I worked out when I was taking Metoprolol 2x/d (no kids involved):

I kept the pills in my pocket, always with me. I took a narrow strip of card stock and wrote "AM" on one top edge, and "PM" on another. The card was attached to the pill bottle with a rubber band or two. Every time I took the pills, I flipped the card over. To avoid ambiguity, you could make the labels "TOOK AM" and "TOOK PM". . .

 

[chaconne]

I have 3 young children, One of which is 20 months old and likely to mess with my meds if they're out on display. I use the 7-day pill boxes but put them in a drawer that is hard to pull open because it automatically draws itself in. I took the handle off which makes it near impossible for my toddler to get to the meds (it was hard for me to open the week after surgery as well).

I keep the pill containers up high. If you don't have a locked drawer you can put them in, putting them up high seems to be the best option. Also make sure to train kids 2-3 or older that the pills are a definite no-no and that they are yucky poison. My two older girls, ages 4 and 7 keep a lookout for their younger brother and know when to inform us of any of his illegal activity. I also keep my bedroom and bathroom door closed and off limits to my little boy.

 

[Greg a]

Dennis, this site has some of the normal weekly pill organizers that can be locked or not, http://www.forgettingthepill.com/products/large-twice-a-day-pill-organizer-with-adult-lock they have a few different ones depending on how many times of day you need the meds.

I THINK THIS IS THE ONE I USE it has a slide operated by a spring loaded button on the left side that MUST be pressed at the same time as trying to open/close the lid ....while not hidden away i keep them high enough that children cant get at them .....I look after two of my grandchildren daily

 

[ElectLive]

Forgive me for moving slightly off-topic here, but to fully dot the i's and cross the t's, I'd suggest that any pill box users out there verify that the medicines being transferred don't have any special packaging/storage requirements. Some medicines are packaged with desiccants, either loose or in the cap, and without that, humidity can cause problems. It's fairly rare, sure, but as one prime example, everyone's favorite (or not) new AFib drug, Pradaxa, comes in capsules that when removed from their original packaging can chemically decompose with humidity, which breaks down the active ingredient, which renders the medicine less effective. Interesting way to increase stroke risk, huh? The FDA actually had to issue a special safety announcement to alert patients and doctors about it. Anyway, most everything works just fine in pill boxes, but some medicines do not, so be careful out there...

 

[Freddie]

I use a daily pill box marked "Morning, Noon, Afternoon, Evening". I only use of two of the four snap open/close lids which I fill every morning and leave the lid open after I take that medication. I keep this little pill box on the kitchen counter where I can see it. Keep in mind that it's small enough to throw in your pocket if your going out for an extended amount of time.

As for children,.... I don't want to sound rude or uncaring, but I don't believe Grandpa's kids are the kind that would be climbing onto the kitchen cupboards, so having any kind of pill box in a far back corner of the cupboard should be safe and still be within your eye sight or on top of the fridge as long it doesn't get too warm up there.

Dennis, you know the kids best and your a smart man. You will find the best and safe way to handle your meds and the kids too.
Good Luck