Hello,
I’d just like to share how I cope with remembering to take my Tamoxifen. Fortunately I only have this tablet to take which is probably why I used to forget about it.
As I kept forgetting to take it I devised a little chart. I keep this, and a pen, beside the current 10 tablet strip. I can then instantly see if, when and how many times I forgot! Since using it I have only forgotten a few times. It’s very straight forward so hope you find it useful and it could of course be used for any medication.
If you personally message me I can try to send you the chart as an email attachment to download and print.
Jackie
nature.com/bjc/press_releases/p_r_nov08_6604758.html
I take so many meds so I use one of those pill boxes you can buy from a chemist. Some are just Monday, Tuesday… etc. but they also do one with an opening for Morning, Noon, Evening, and Bed. When my husband comes back from the chemist with my repeat prescriptions he calls out, “Your drug-dealer is here!” LOL.
AlexG
Hi Alex, They’re great but fortunately I only have the Tamoxifen to take which is one of the reasons I kept forgetting it. Hope you’re not rattling too much. Te he.
Jackie
My cousin used to forget to take her Tamoxifin until she set a reminder on her phone, which went off daily at a certian time. She never missed another dose.
I have loads to take but usually get the bulk of them out of the way whilst waiting for the kettle to boil for my morning tea. I take my hormone one last thing at night.
Glad you found a way Jackie to remind yourself.
Hi there
I keep a check on my Tamoxifen by using a permenent marker pen to write the days on the packet, I can see then that I have taken it. 2 years and 2 months gone by now, nearly half way there.
Jackie
I put mine in a pill box and set a reminder on my phone. V embarrassing if you are out and your alarm goes off. Have had both husband and son yell " PILL!! " at me at 9pm when we have been at social "do"s.Lol. Also, I have sometimes nearly taken my cat’s thryoid pill when I have beeen tired…
Debbie
xxxx
ps
Anybody know why tamoxifen is in stips of ten without days of week written on them when it is a drug designed to be taken every day? It makes no sense at all
I usealy write the day/date on the box when i start each new packet, counting them back as i go along lol, cos sometimes i realy cant remember if ive taken it or not ( Tamox/chemo brain )i too have often wondered why they come in strips of ten without the days of the week on them ,it would be so much easier.
Even worse ,my GP perscribes only 28 at a time when the box contains 30! so the pharmacist always snips 2 off, its so annoying because every few months i end up with a box of little snips of 2 tablets Grr and that messes me up even more .
Have asked GP why he cant just give me 30 tabs at a time but he says cant, suppose they get paid more for each perscription its realy annoying.
Linda x
It makes me wonder why they don’t put the day on each pill I take Arimidex which do have the days on but maybe cos Arimidex is for the more mature lady if you know what I mean ha ha joke. I always take my tablet with my toast and tea in the morning as this prevents any nausea I also have a snip of paper on my kitchen cuboard with pill written on it just in case! havant forgotton one yet.
Linda
lindiloo - how annoying for you! I can’t understand your doc’s thinking at all. I get my Tamox in batches of three boxes of 30. I am over sixty and no longer pay for my prescriptions but, thinking back, I was first prescribed them when I was 59 and paying. Curiouser and curiouser… as Alice in Wonderland said! LOL
AlexG
Hi Lindiloo
Perhaps you should tell your doctor that other docs are prescribing 3 months at a time, my doctor suggested it, as apparently it is really cheap to produce, much cheaper than the prescription charge.
I get really fed up with the whole checking, ordering repeated prescriptions and collecting them. I am back at work trying to get on with my life and seem to spend so much time having to leave early, rushing to doctors or the chemist before they close.
I now have Aromasin, alendronic acid (omeprazole so that I can digest these without severe indigestion) an antibiotic because one of the medications has begun to cause acne!! and calcium supplements all of which come in different sized packets, so all need renewing at different times! I just wish we could be given a few months supply of everything all in one go! And they need taking at different times to one another to add to the inconvenience.
Sorry moan over, but at least they’re free now!
Nicky
Thanks Ladies,
Yes it is realy annoying about this 28 tabs per perscription thing, when i was first perscribed Tamox almost 2 years ago now i asked my GP if they would supply me with more than 1 month at a time , and he told me the PCT would have his head on a block if he did that, tut , then when i got them i was astonished when they were only perscribing 28 tabs when there is 30 clearly written on the box, i suppose if you work it out by doing this it means that they will get paid for writing an extra perscription over the year! might not seem much but if they do that to a lot of patients ??? i asked at the time what would happen with all these 2 tabs that were snipped of each month, and guess what yes i get them all back when they have enough to fill a box, crazy isnt it?
Thanks for letting me know that you ladies get 3 mths supply at a time i shall now confront my GP again and plead my case .
I think i will proberly be switched to Aromasin when i see the onc in Sept as he always said 2 yrs of Tamox then one of the other meds , i must surely be post menopause by now as had no periods since DX July 2007.
Hope you are both doing ok and are both well , ive just had my latest mammo results and all fine phew , so big sigh of relief untill the next one anyway lol.
You all take care
Linda x
when i start a new med, i put an alarm on my mobile to remind me to take it, until i get into the routine of adding an extra med.
eva
I get 60 Tamox on my precriptions, and cross it off on my calendar when I take it each day.
i set the alarm on my phone to go off every day. i also have a wee card telling me what meds to take… cos i forget them and also i use a permanent marker to write the days of the week on the back of the pack so know that iv taken them on each day… been doing that for 4 years and seems to work for me.
Lxx
Hi Lulu. Elaine here!
When I open a new pack I write the days of the week on the foil with a thin felt tip pen. I f I don’t do it I can’t remember whether I took it or not that day! I’ts affected my memory too!