"I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company."
Most of the time, I am really good about taking my medications on time. Sometimes I am an hour or so late or early, but I never miss a bit. Scratch that, I have not been taking my medications except for keppra (my seizure medication). I have been having so many issues with the doctors I have been seeing before I got kicked out of UC Davis Medical Center due to insurance issues with Medi-Cal. Now that I am in the process of going under Cecilio's insurance as his wife, I will be able to see my UC Davis doctors again. I've just been having a horrible experience with the PCP I've been seeing (along with her front desk receptionist) because of how they have refused to give me my medications (and how abhorrent their systems are), but I will save that for another post.
But even after I take keppra, I have a freakout hours later, worrying as to whether I took it that night. It happens after midnight, so I rush downstairs to make extra sure that I took it earlier. And I do, it's just that paranoia ingrained in me, and the fear of getting a seizure (but praise God I haven't had one in almost 3 years, and pray that I will get my meds refilled on time so I won't get one again). I set reminders on my phone at 8 am, 8:30 am, 8 pm, and 8:30 pm to take my meds (I take keppra at 9 am and 9 pm, everyday), but even then it's easy to overlook those reminders.
But PillDrill* will help me remember to take my medications on time and even record it for me, so I don't have another freakout about taking them.
Wi-fi is required to set the hub and for it to work. I downloaded the Pilldrill app for it to work with the hub, and set my schedule to take keppra at 9 am and 9 pm. Now I honestly have not tried the hub yet, but it will set off once it's time to take your meds. Unlike a regular alarm clock, you cannot just shut it off. You physically have to scan your medications on the wave symbol on the right side of the hub. The scanning tags are stickers that you tack on top of your medication lids. Because my keppra is the "A" tag, I put it on, scanned it and it recorded that I scanned it on the app.
PillDrill comes with a Mood Cube that you can scan to record based on what you're feeling at the time you are taking your pills. I scanned that I was feeling "ok".
Though the app is completely optional, I like having it there because it records that I scanned my meds and the Mood Cube. I did not take the keppra at 3:03 pm: this was just a demo.
Finally, PillDrill has its own weekly medication container, their weekly pill strips. I like how they are held down by a rubber band to make it extra secure (One time, I dropped my pill container in the airport restroom in 2012, on the way to Canada. My meds spilled all over the floor and I could not take anything during the 5 days we stayed there. I now take extra precaution to make sure my containers are secure so that it will never happen again.)
PillDrill is travel-friendly as long as you make sure you have Wi-Fi and a special adapter for the specific country you are going to. I just got back from Mexico on Monday, and while I didn't bring this with me, a power adapter is not needed if you are traveling within North America. And like I mentioned earlier, the rubber bands over the pill strips make it extra secure you have little to no risk of losing or dropping your pills. The container is rather large for a purse, but can easily fit in your carry-on bag.
Once I get everything in order with all of my other medications (finger crossed, ugh), I will be sure to take advantage of PillDrill. I love how all I need to do is scan my medications, take them, and check out the app for the records. These extra steps I need to take would give me so much peace of mind.
You can order PillDrill on their website or CVS for $199. For those who tend to be forgetful (having a chronic illness comes with that nasty brain fog), PillDrill is worth having to make extra sure you are on the right track when it comes to taking your medications.
Does PillDrill sound like it would be something you're interested in?
What methods do you use to remember to take your medications?
0 Yorumlar