Organizing the Chaos
Medical disclaimer: This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. For health advice, contact a licensed healthcare provider.
Handling your parent’s meds can be terrifying especially if you’re the type who won’t even take something for a headache…except maybe a stiff drink. But hey, I’m not here to judge.
The point is that you may find yourself sitting at the kitchen table with a mountain of pill bottles that your parents have been collecting since before you had a drivers license. Now, you’ve got to decipher the code they’ve been using for years to remember which pill to take and when. Spoiler alert: It’s not as organized as you’d hope.
You may find unmarked bottles with pills of all different colors and shapes. There may be faded labels for pills that expired back when people still used beepers. Also why are there six full bottles of lisinopril, MOM? Some of them are 25mg and the others are 50mg, and oh, IS THIS YOUR WEDDING RING IN HERE?!?!
So yes, managing medications is no joke. But guess what, you can do it and its actually pretty important. If you can figure out a system to make sure your parent is taking the right meds, at the right time, and in the right amount, you’re not just keeping them from confusing their blood pressure meds with their daily vitamins, you may be saving them a trip to the ER.
Let’s do this.
Summary
Make a List
Set up a Medication Schedule & Reminder System
Talk to Their Doctor
Get Help
Keep Medications in a Safe, Accessible Place
1 — Make A List
If they’re taking more than three pills, you better have a list. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a piece of paper or on some color coded spreadsheet in the cloud. Write it down. We want everything on there including: prescription meds, over the counter meds, vitamins, supplements, herbs, and even those naturopathic gummies the neighbor gave them.
In addition to what they’re taking we also want the dose (how much), frequency (how often), and the reason it’s being taken. Keep this list with you at all times, whether its on paper or digital. Every time you go to the doctor, bring that list with you. You should be updating that thing every time a prescription changes.
2 — Set Up a Medication Schedule & Reminder System
Here’s the thing, you’re not going to remember. You’re not! You have 57 things going on in your head right now, even as you’re reading this. You’ve got work, life, Netflix, maybe a kid or two, and you certainly can’t fool yourself anymore about how much toothpaste is left. There’s no more in there, you gotta get another toooooobe!
So create a schedule and a reminder system. The schedule tells you what they have to take and when, the reminders makes sure it happens at the right time.
For the Schedule:
Use a Calendar Again, it can be paper or digital but definitely use one. Not every medication needs to be taken every day at breakfast. Some are every other day, or once a week, or even twice a day. There are as many options as there are videos of cute baby animals, lots.
Get a pillbox It’s 2025 and while we may not have floating hoverboards these little gems are just as miraculous. They have separate compartments for each day and each time of day. Pick one day a week to fill the whole thing up and then don’t fill it up again until the same time the following week. This way you’ll know at a glance if anything was missed. Need help finding one? I got you.
For the Reminders
Reminder alarms: Use your phone, you know, that thing you stare at all day anyway. Set alarms for the times they need to take the meds. You can even label the alarm so you don’t confuse the med alarm for the one you set so you don’t burn the chicken. There are also some amazing apps that can help.
Also, some pharmacies can help too. They’ll refill all prescriptions on the same date, and may even offer blister packs with medications organized by day or time instead of regular pill bottles. Just ask your local pharmacist how they might be able to lighten the load.
3 — Talk to Their Doctor(s)
It can be really easy to just go in to an appointment with your parent’s doctor and treat it like an omakase menu at a sushi bar “I leave the details up to you Oh Wise One.” Alternatively you could go rogue on Reddit and trust what FlourPowr65 has to say. Neither option is ideal. (No offense to FourPowr65 of course…if this is even a real username)
It’s 2025 and healthcare is a collaborative sport. The doctor is the expert, they’ve got a degree, a license, and enough student loans to bury a rhinoceros to prove it. But the patient is the expert on their body and as their caregiver you have a say in the matter as well. Use your time at appointments and whatever messaging system the clinic uses to check in regularly with their doctor about the following:
Medications review Health is not static. Things change. Do we still need to be taking this? Is this still safe since we’re now taking that? You want to make sure that everything on the med list is still necessary, effective, and safe. They might not need that same cholesterol pill anymore, or maybe they’re dealing with a new issue that requires a new prescription.
New Prescriptions When the doctor gives them that new prescription, ask questions. Don’t just take it and walk away like it’s a free sample at Costco. What’s this for? How do they take it? What happens if they screw it up? Also make sure you understand the most common side effects and drug interactions.“Dizziness, nausea, vomiting, PREGNANCY…? Doc, at 84 I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed. Besides, my dad hasn’t been sexually active since the Bush administration.”
4 — Get Help (It’s Okay to Ask For It)
Again, you’ve got a lot on your plate already (did you get that toothpaste yet?) So get some help with this. Make you’re family steps up or ask that neighbor who you don’t really vibe with but have proven themselves to be a reliable human. Point is you don’t need to be running this solo, okay?
Another option would be to find a caregiver. You can hire one but see if your city or state have caregiver resources or look into some kind faith-based support. You’d be surprised how much help you can get for free. All you gotta do is ask.
Caregivers don’t necessarily need to be licensed nurses. They can assist with organizing medications, ensuring doses are taken correctly, and providing reminders. They can also monitor for side effects or interactions but all of this may be limited by the city or state you live in so be sure to ask before making any assumptions.
5 — Keep Medications In a Safe, Accessible Place
Where medications are stored matters. If you’re keeping their meds in the bathroom, you’re doing it wrong. The bathroom’s full of heat and humidity. It’s like putting your meds in a sauna and expecting them to work. Keep them in a cool, dry place like a kitchen cabinet or a drawer in the bedroom. And for the love of god, don’t put them on the top shelf where you have to climb a ladder to get to them. That’s an accident waiting to happen. Put them somewhere easy to reach. You don’t need to break your neck trying to reach for the blood pressure pills.
Wrap Up
I get it, this feels like a lot but once you get going it’ll all make sense and your life will be a little easier. Make a list, figure out a schedule, set reminders. Also make sure you’re talking to their doctor regularly to make sure everything is updated and necessary.
Basta!
