Submitted by Sueann on 08/18/2009.
My husband takes both Concerta and Wellbutrin. He has a bad habit of not putting the caps on tight when he takes them. We have cats that climb on the counter (I know that's not good but I can't figure out how to stop it) and I'm afraid the cats will knock them on the floor and either the cats or the dog will eat them. Does anyone know if that would harm an animal? Does anyone know how to get him to remember to put the caps on? I don't want to give them to him like he's a child because he's 47 years old, but if something happened to the dog or cats he'd never forgive himself and I'd never forgive him either.
Daily meds
Submitted by vcalkins on
Could he put a weeks worth in one of those 7-day containers. Then you would only have to put the caps on once a week. The problem my husband has is that he doesn't always close one of the lids tightly and then the pills go flying. It does help him remember if he took his pills that day or not.
pill containers for daily med
Submitted by arwen on
My husband also uses these 7-day pill containers - he also takes Concerta and Wellbutrin, plus other daily meds for things not relating to ADD. Actually, he has four of these containers, marked I, II, III, IV with a sharpie marker on the back (so when he gets to case four, he knows he has to get his Rx refilled). When he gets his monthly supply, he sits at our dinner table and fills all four containers with his daily meds, and stores them where the dog cannot get at them. (He keeps his meds on the upstairs bathroom counter -- we have trained our dog not to go upstairs. I realize that cats are harder to train that way, but maybe you can find some other way to keep them out. When we lived in a different house, we installed a dutch door to keep the dog and baby out of the laundry room because the water heater was in there -- maybe something like that could work? Sometimes you have to get really creative!)
Arwen, I know this post was a long time ago
Submitted by Sueann on
Someone gave us one of those 7 day pill organizers and i've gotten my husband to put his pills in it. He takes 3 Wellbutrin, 1 Concerta, 1 Topamax to deal with the shaking that the Concerta causes, and 1 fish oil, so it's a lot of pills. It leads (like always with ADD) to a new problem....
He leaves the pill thing on the dishwasher when he's done taking his pills. The cats knock it down and several of the daily compartments come open, pills all over the floor. And they are so expensive, even with insurance! IF he remembered to close the caps on the bottles tight, they wouldn't spill (when he left them on the dishwasher) but the organizer, even if closed, will open without fail. Any ideas on how to get him to put his pill organizer where it's supposed to go?
Med container
Submitted by Nettie on
Since my husband doesn't like his pills to touch, I (because I have more time at home) roll his meds in a small square of waxed paper (I just happened to have some when I started), fold the ends and tape the little packet. He keeps a supply at home (in a clear jar, visible on the counter), in his backpack, and at work. The meds are new to him, so I do ask once in a while if he remembered to take them and if the supplies are still available in all three places, but we agree it is his responsibility, and he tries very hard to remember.
make it impossible
Submitted by arwen on
I would try to make it impossible for my spouse to leave the case where the cats could knock it down. The only idea that comes to mind how to do this is to use a chain of elastic bands to secure the case out of the cats reach somehow. I would wrap a thin elastic around the middle of the pill case (e.g. between Tuesday and Wednesday's compartments) so it didn't interfere with opening/closing the covers. Then I would take a long sturdy elastic and loop tie it onto the elastic on the case (by loop tie, I mean that you pass one end loop of the long band behind the elastic on the case, and then pass that loop end through the other loop end of the long band, and pull tight against the band on the pill case -- I'm sorry if this isn't clear, I don't know how else to describe it). I would repeat this process with as many bands as needed to give enough range of freedom on the case to use it, making a chain of elastic bands, and then I would secure the last band using a final loop tie to something stationary in the room where it's supposed to be kept -- e.g. a knob on a cabinet or drawer. If there wasn't anything I could secure it to without creating an obstacle to other activities, I might put an eye screw into the wall in some unobtrusive place like a corner over a counter.
I realize this is not exactly elegant. But not knowing your exact setup, it's hard to think up anything else. Hope this sparks an idea at least!
"It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be." Albus Dumbledore