It is essential for you to be an active participant in your own health care.  In order to do this, you need to be informed about your medications.  Some of the following recommendations may help you. 

          For some, it can be quite a daunting task to take all of your medications at the correct times every day.  If you medicines are prescribed by more than one doctor (i.e. internist, cardiologist, ophthalmologist, etc.) be sure they know all of the medicines you take.  Keep an up to date list of your medicines including the strength and the frequency with you at all times. 

          At the Heart center, we like for our patients to bring all their medicines with them for every office visit in their original containers so the nurses can see exactly what they are on.  Don’t forget to tell your doctor or nurse about non-prescription drugs you take, no matter how often you use them.  Commonly, people forget to tell us about aspirin, Tylenol or cold symptom medications, which could interfere with other medications. 

          Be aware of why a medicine is prescribed for you.  Many medicines may be prescribed for more than one purpose.  For instance, a medicine called Verapamil can be prescribed for angina, high blood pressure or heart rhythm control.  We know medicines are very expensive, find out if your medicines are available as generic and if a generic can be recommended. 

          Know exactly how a new medicine should be taken before you leave the doctors office.  Ask if you’re not told!  If the prescription bottle says, “take 2 pills a day.” Does that mean 2 pills at once? Or one pill twice a day? At what time of the Day?  If the label is more clear and says, “take one pill twice a day.”  Does that mean one pill every 12 hours?  Does it matter if you take the medicine on a full or empty stomach?  Can you take the medicine at the same time that other medicines are taken? The answers to these questions can make a difference in how you feel and how the medicine works for you.  Take medicines at the same times every day.  This keeps a constant level of the drug in your system. 

          Remembering whether you have taken all your medicines at the end of the day can be difficult.  It’s not a bad idea, first thing in the morning, to take all the pills you need to take for the day out of the bottles---morning pills in one group, mid day pills in another, etc.  At the end of the day if all your pills are gone, you’ve remembered to take them all!  Wheat if you’ve missed a dose?  Common sense should be your guide here, but if you’re not sure of if you’re someone, who consistently forgets a dose, consult with your doctor. 

          Some medicines are available as a once a day preparation that is slowly released over 24 hours.  This can eliminate errors made in taking medicines more than once a day.  Ask if your medicine is available as such and is appropriate for you. 

         Knowing the potential side effects of a drug is important.  We recommend asking your doctor or nurse for this information rather than consulting some of the “pill books” available today.  All drugs have potential side effects (although the chances of you experiencing one are small) and reading a list of all the reported side effects on any given drug can be frightening.  Talk with your doctor and find out which ones you need to be alert to.  Again, ask if you’re not told.  Pharmacists can be an excellent resource for this information too. 
 For many medicines routine lab (blood) work may need to be followed during the course of treatment.  This is usually done to follow the effectiveness of the drug and to ensure against any side effects in the blood.  For instance, cholesterol-lowering drugs require blood work to ensure the cholesterol is under proper control and that liver and muscle enzymes remain normal. 

          Don’t let all those pills in your medicine cabinet confuse you.  Be informed, schedule your doses, talk with your doctor and you’re well on your way to being a confident consumer!