Organizing the meds.... so many meds

How do you keep your prescriptions organized? I mean the full bottles and 90 day refills that you get. I have trouble keeping things organized and then I have pills everywhere. Is there a system that anyone is using that works?

I have a drawer where meds I don't need yet (from mail order) go. When I need one it comes out and goes into a plastic tub I keep near my bed which is where I happen to sit to fill pill boxes. As I go if I see something is empty or nearly empty I pull out a new bottle so I have it next time.

I have 2 pill boxes for night and 2 for day. This way I can go 2 weeks after filling them as I really hate filling pill boxes. The extra boxes go in the bin with the meds in use.

That's about it. It works for me.

I have a system similar to some of what BeyondtheRainbow described, but I store my medications in our safe. It used to be that the safe was locked and I didn't have the combination. However, in recent years, there is no need for the safe to be locked. Thank goodness!

I have old medications and extra supplies of new ones in the safe. I really should get rid of some of the old ones that I know I'll never take again. As for the bottles I regularly pull from, I have them in a plastic tray in the safe. I put the morning med bottles in one part of the tray, and the evening only med bottles in another, with med bottles that I need for morning and evening in a "middle" section. Most of my medications are from mail order, so I get 90 day supplies. Only three are from my local brick and mortar pharmacy. A few of the mail order medications are automatically filled and mailed, while a few require that I go to my mail order online account (or call) to have filled. In the latter case, it is important for me to keep track of when I'm running low. Otherwise I may have to wait about five days to get them via mail, after running out. Obviously, the ones I get from the brick and mortar pharmacy don't have that problem, unless the pharmacy needs to order them. In that case, it takes only 24 hours before they are available. The ones I get from the brick and mortar pharmacy include my benzos (for obvious reasons) and a new medication whose dosage may change a lot in the future.

I, too, use pill boxes. I think BeyondtheRainbow has a good idea filling two weeks worth, but I usually just fill one week's worth. I fill my morning box, my evening box, and my husband's one box. We keep his medications and supplements separate from mine. His are downstairs in the pantry. He manages the refills for his medications, most from the mail order, and one from the brick and mortar. Both of our psychiatrists are quite fast at submitting new sets of refills to the pharmacies, when needed. We're luck about that.

I have someone else (my mother) handle that because I can't really be trusted to take them or to not overdose on them. She uses a pill box and puts each morning/evening's worth of medication in a tiny cup in the kitchen for me.

I have two little suitcases, one for vitamins and my diabetes stuff and my water pills, and one for the rest of my 90 day refills.

I also have 4 pillboxes:
1 - 14 slot for vitamins (when im in the mood!)
1 - 7 slot for Metformin (twice a day, am and pm)
1 - 2 slot for "water pills" (2 pills, every other day)
1 - 28 slot for nightly pills (6 pills every night)

I fill the 28 slot once a month, altho sometimes i run out of something.

I double up the 7 slot - i can fit 4 pills in one slot, thats 2 different weeks worth?, so i can easily see if ive taken my two pills for the day.

I keep track of my water pill days on my phone calendar.

I hate filling them too! I count it as my major aerobic activity for the day! Ok, not really, but it should count!

I like to use AM/PM pill boxes they tend to help me stay organized. I used to always forget if I took my pills or not.

Oh yeah - my 28 slot is technically a 7 day am noon dinner pm tray, but i use it as a 4-week tray. I really dont mind doing it only once a month.

I use blister packs. They can be seen at Products - Dispill USA My vitamins I just take from the original bottles once daily.

This is similar to what I do as well, but I'm on a lot of meds, so I do one week at a time. I have 4 pill boxes - morning meds, afternoon anti-anxiety meds, vitamins (around dinner), night meds. I use the same type bin system though.

I get 90 day supplies and email notices when it's time to refill them. Except for one med that I have to refill once a month. I absolutely depend on my pharmacy to notify me and so far they've been very dependable at sending me notices. All I have to do is hit reply and they fill the order.

I keep the pill bottles in a tote bag in the spare bedroom closet and take it out once a week to fill two 7 day pill boxes, one for am one for pm.

I keep the AM box on the table and the PM box on my nightstand.

thank you everybody. You've given me some good ideas on how to organize my mess of pills

I keep my pill bottles in a bag, and I use a weekly AM and PM pill box which I fill once a week. With the pill bottles I write with a sharpie the first letter of the medications on the top of the caps so I can easily identify them quickly without having to look on the labels for the name

I have a little chest of drawers with three drawers--the top for morning pills. the middle for mid-day (and more than once a day pills), and the bottom for night-time pills. I put all the meds I can on automatic refill. from the pharmacy and read the labels from time to time to remind myself of refills left, etc.

I do this too! It makes it SO much easier!

My system's not too different. I have them in a little box and once a week I fill a set each for am and pm. The pill containers are identical. BUT the pm meds are far fewer, so it's pretty obvious. Also, I keep it on the right side. The am ones are on the left.

The little box is where I keep all the current ones. The upcoming ones are lined up outside the box. This is on a shelf, so they're all together.

We dont have to do crossword puzzles to keep our minds sharp - we just have to organize our pills! As long as we can do that, we know we have all our faculties. They are right - getting old is not for sissies!

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Originally Posted by BastetsMuse How do you keep your prescriptions organized? I mean the full bottles and 90 day refills that you get. I have trouble keeping things organized and then I have pills everywhere. Is there a system that anyone is using that works?

I swear by this case. Its the best one I have ever used. My husband does all my pills for the week on saturday mornings. I used to do it myself but I am a klutz and would drop some.

I get my pills in blister packs and I have a wooden ikea (jewelery?) box that I just put them all in, split up. I keep the boxes flattened and under my pills incase I need to travel abroad (which I do often). Every day I just go through the drawers and pick them out, and when going somewhere I have these little button bags that I stash them in.

I've tried the organizers but after a few weeks I forget to fill them, so the ikea box option is my only way, haha.

I saw this at the Container Store and bought it for a friend who is dealing with both ADHD and depression. He was very happy with this solution! And you cannot beat the color scheme.

This is my solution. It is a very sturdy clear plastic box with a lid that clicks into place - I got it from the Container Store, which is my favorite store - and the box is exactly tall enough to accommodate Costco bottles with Fish oil and vitamins and a huge 90 day supply of Gabapentin, 4 large capsules a day. Of course it can also house smaller bottles. I keep vitamins and current meds in one such box and store it on top of a big kitchen cabinet.

Then as described above there are 28 slot organizers which are technically for 4 times a day, but I use vitamins in the morning and meds at night, so I need two slots a day and the 28 slot organizer lasts for 2 weeks for me.

And then I have a huge huge huge plastic box that houses old meds I tried and do not use anymore, but that is another story. That box is in the back of a kitchen cabinet.

I keep all of my pill bottles/supplements/vitamins in a container that I got from the container store as for weekly storage I ordered a super cuter organizer from Amazon that has morning, noon, evening, and bed. It has a bag the weeks go into; it fits perfectly into my purse and it looks like an unassuming cosmetic bag. I fill it up weekly. I really adore the organizer I have now; it keeps me on track.

Back when I was on way more medication I also used an app (Medisafe) That would send notifications to my phone reminding me to take medications; which came in handy; might be something to look into if you feel you need a reminder. You would input the medications and it would also check if any of the medication had serious interactions with each other.

I just downloaded that app, no idea something like that existed. That refill reminder is amazing, I always refill at the last minute, this will save me some very ticked off people.

Thank you!!!!!

@aspiring author and @ theseacat can you share pics of the cases you have pills? Not the bins but the ones you take at certain times a day ? Thanks !

@sarahsweets of course -

Thats like the one of mine i use for 4 weeks.

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Originally Posted by sarahsweets @aspiring author and @ theseacat can you share pics of the cases you have pills? Not the bins but the ones you take at certain times a day ? Thanks !

Sure thing! I really love the compactness of it; I can toss it in my purse and have my medication on the go with me. Amazon has tons similar in different colors. Plus, you can cram a lot of pills into the spots; I have no problem fitting all of my medication into it. I also like how it has morning, noon, evening, and bed. I mainly use three of the four but still all those spaces are nice to have.