Here is a funny concept...Before Transplant, protect your liver at all costs by not taking ANY drugs including, caffeine, cold medicines, anything over the counter, any herbs, etc. The only thing I took was my diaretics and a multi-vitamin.NOW, I have a brand new healthy liver and I take 14 different kinds of meds, 22 pills a day. Some before meals, some after, some on an empty stomach some, etc. etc. The trickiest one is one of my antirejection drugs. Prograf. Which I can't eat 2 hours before or one hour after. It makes it tricky if you forget and eat something...
Oh, and I have to take them with me everywhere I go because you never know when you might get stuck somewhere because of weather, an accident, a change of plans, anything unexpected.... YOU HAVE TO HAVE YOUR ANTIREJECTION DRUGS..... or you can loose your liver.....Not a good thing....So, have a back up plan...
But this is the reason for this post. I will talk more about the drugs later but I discovered a couple of great websites for tracking and reminding you to take your pills....and they are FREE..
This one...MyMedShchedule.com is from the Transplant Experience. You enter your meds into a data base and it will create different schedules for you...even a weekly one where you can track all your daily vital signs if you are tracking those and one for your wallet to put next to your emergency info. It will send you text messages or e-mail reminders also....great for those mid day meds. Another thing I like about this is that particularly with transplant they adjust your meds according to your labs once or twice a week in the first few months of transplant and it is really easy to go online and adjust your doses, add and subtract drugs as they change and also just print out a recent copy to take to all your appt's so when they ask what you are taking...Which they do every time!.... You can just hand them a piece of paper....!!
Another one is packmups.com which are little zip lock pouches to fill like your pill containers without the bulk. I think they would be good if you organize pills for others also. I am going to try them.
This one isn't free but I am impressed with the options for reminders. Great for palm pilot, blackberry, internet users who would like reminders... ontimerx.com
These of course would work for any kinds of meds...not just transplant. If you try them give me some feedback!
5 comments:
Yeah - you're home. Isn't it great to get out of the hospital and sleep without interruption?
Good luck with those meds. I took about 60 pills a day when I went home after my transplant. Eventually the number dwindled and now I take around 20 a day, which is very manageable. It is much, much easier to take them when I'm out - I bought an attractive silver-looking pill container etched with "Things to Remember" on it, which I don't mind pulling out when I'm away from home. I didn't know about the little plastic bags after my transplant or I'm certain I would have tried them - those look great.
Take care and get better soon. I recommend putting Tiger Balm on your watermelon-sized bruise (holy cow - it's gigantic!). Just avoid the incision area. I've always bruised easily and Tiger Balm has really diminished the size and discoloration. A few days ago, in fact, I stumbled over the hem of my pants (I'm a clutz) and fell on my knees and an elbow. I rubbed Tiger Balm on them, which really helped eliminate the soreness right away - and since then there has been very little bruising. It's remarkable, because I landed on a tiled floor. Be careful, tho, because it can stain fabric. (I don't sell the stuff or anything, but it made a huge difference and I highly recommend giving it a whirl - maybe try on a small spot first???)
Unbelieveable! Good for getting out. I'm all for that. I'm so sorry you hit these bumps in the road. I don't want you to hit bumps. I am so rooting for you, Nancy. Hope you feel better. Love, Bobby
Geoff's pills are such a daily thing for him now I don't even notice...every Sunday is pill night and he organizes them for the week. After his first trnsplant he was on prograf, but eventually switched over to rapamune. That Haagen Daz bar sounds good....
Nancy,
You are absolutely right! It is essential to be very consistent with your immunosuppressants.
There aren't enough organs to go around, and none of them should be "wasted" due to patient error or forgetfulness. A lot of people say they have no trouble remembering their meds, but...
We did a small pilot study with "newbies and seasoned" transplant recipients to find ways to prevent the "double loss" when organ failures are due to noncompliance.
Interestingly, everyone discovered they were missing doses and they weren't even aware of it.
Thanks for the comment about OnTimeRx reminders. I'm the pharmacist who developed OTRx specifically to help transplant patients manage their medications - before surgery and after. OTRx comes in many different versions so people can use the devices or phones that they already use daily. I welcome feedback as well. Thanks again for your blog post.
Susan
I think oprah did this
Here is a great article i found about
the acai berrys. I didnt know about this
stuff and wish i had along time ago. Hope
this helps.
http://emergevictoriousoverfat.com/2009/01/acai-berries/
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