Tackling Anxiety

Hello all,

I suffer with anxiety, I have been on and off medication for around 12 years. I am receiving therapy to address this.

My main problem is I often run out of my medication and I feel this is hindering my progress. I have tried a few different things to overcome this with little success. When I looked at when my last prescription was order it was about 4 months ago, on a 2 month prescription, so I’m missing meds nearly every other day.

So far I have tried, leaving the last spare packet in my car but I always forget to reorder then I use this up and panic. Putting a reminder on my phone to reorder. I just cancel it because it’s not usually running out when it goes off. I keep meds in my bag to take with breakfast at work, I usually forget to take them, or if I do take them I can’t remember if I have taken them or not (my mental health and possibly the meds affect my memory).

Can anyone suggest some foolproof solutions so I will:

Take my meds everyday.

Reorder in time.

I have set a new reminder on my phone and written in my diary to reorder based on when my meds are due to run out. I could start putting a letter in my diary too to indicate I have taken my pill for that day.

Never leave pills in your car. Heat and cold destroys the integrity of your medication. Light can as well.

Set it up so that your pharmacy calls you when you are supposed to renew.

Seraphim I never considered that. I don’t have a pharmacy, repeats are done through my gp and then I have the option of using any pharmacy.

Thanks for that suggestion though as it prompted a search that found an app to remind me to take meds every day and order repeats that are delivered to me. Will use this as a back up so if I forget I will be reminded by the app. Happy days 😁

My anxiety med has no repeats because it is a controlled med but I contact my pharmacy and who contacts my dr who faxes them the prescription. My pharmacy does have the option of somebody calling you to remind you that you’re med is due for renewal .

Seraphim, the app won’t recognise my postcode so that’s useless.

The last time I had my meds sent to a particular pharmacy they kept losing prescriptions or not having the meds in stock. I might try the pharmacy connected to the docs! If they’re no use I will have to come up with something else.

Seraphim, the app won’t recognise my postcode so that’s useless.

 

The last time I had my meds sent to a particular pharmacy they kept losing prescriptions or not having the meds in stock. I might try the pharmacy connected to the docs! If they’re no use I will have to come up with something else.

I also use alarms on my phone to remind me to take meds. And it is LOUD. Really it sounds like a Blowhorn and scares everyone around me . Could never possibly ignore it . Try an alarm that is really loud so that you can’t just dismiss it .

Well that pharmacy isn’t open on Saturdays so that’s not much use to me as if I’m working late I can’t get my medication. I’m always ignoring my alarms lol. I need something I can’t ignore. A shock collar perhaps? 🤣

Well that pharmacy isn’t open on Saturdays so that’s not much use to me as if I’m working late I can’t get my medication. I’m always ignoring my alarms lol. I need something I can’t ignore. A shock collar perhaps? 🤣

If you ignore it that is on you though , right? Why work at cross purposes to your mental health?

If I’m busy I just switch it off and that’s that. Forgotten about. I’ve set my next one for lunch time when I’m less likely to be busy. Managed to get round the address on the app by putting in a different address then editing after I’ve completed the sign up process.

I turn on the repeats reminder service and it just automatically turns itself off (good job I checked!) and the dose reminder doesn’t give you any options so God knows when that will go off. I only take mine in a morning as it disturbs my sleep if I take it later. Might have to go with the old fashioned route and put it in my diary every time 🤔

My husband just takes his anxiety med every morning like clock work. It is part of the morning routine. Make it part of your morning routine, period.

I don’t really have one, some mornings I can’t even get myself out of bed, it’s a battle to brush my teeth and shower and dress, let alone leave the house.

I’ve tried over and over and over to get myself into a routine, I usually start poorly then warm up into a good one then one thing will unsettle me and that’s the “routine” out of the window before I’ve had chance to make a habit of it. There has been definite improvements so it’s worth trying but the routine never sticks. Not keeping up to my medication might be half the problem as I find it makes a huge difference in my ability to function and carry out normal tasks.

I have put my medication on bedside table with a glass of water to see if that helps remind me when I’m staying st home st least. It’s the weekends I mostly forget because I stay out xx

Ok, you tell your therapist you need help with routine management. I find routine is essential to human happiness . I get you really I do I have a lot of anxiety PTSD strange phobias and my husband has anxiety as well and so does my son . I even had a full break down 5 years ago and lost all ability to function . I get it. But if you need help in establishing a routine that is something you really need to bring up .

Use a pill pack, put each pill in its slot for the week. Set it up every Sunday. That way you’ll visually see if you took the pill or not and when you’re filling for a week and realize it’s the last one make yourself reorder them the next morning.

Seraphim, my therapist is working through this with me but she’s only given me the same techniques I’ve been trying myself, which is to write it down in an action plan. So far I’m struggling to motivate myself so I’m writing an action plan that reflects that and picking to do the bits I can manage.

I will add take meds to my plan and I will bring up the routines with my therapist again when she returns from holiday (assuming I remember lol)

Birdie, pillbox ordered!