Five Simple Tricks to Remember to Take Your (ADD) ADHD Medication

Remember to Take your ADHD MedicineFor many people, medication is a powerful aid in helping alleviate the symptoms of ADHD. But before you take it, it’s difficult to stay focused, and when you aren’t focused it’s hard to remember to take it! Developing a morning routine can make it easy for you to get your medicine on board every day. And there are lots of simple tricks you can add to your morning routine to make sure you don’t forget. Below are five simple ideas you can try.

If you don’t see an idea you like, make up your own! When you find one that works, stick to it! Do it every day. You’ll have a new routine in place, and be sure to have your medicine working for you. Five Simple Ideas – choose the one that works for you!

  1. Set an alarm.
    Most people use an alarm clock to wake up every day, why not use one to remind you to take your medication?Most cell phones come with built in alarms.Set yours to go off every day at the same time.Then take your pill as soon as you shut off the alarm.
  2. Post a to-do list.
    Lots of people with ADHD have a to-do list that they put on their front door to help them remember the things they need to take with them when they leave the house.Add “medicine” to the list you’re already using and you’re on your way.
  3. Put it in your shoes!
    Do you wear the same pair of shoes every day?Put your pill bottle in your shoe.You’ll have to take it out to put them on.When you take the bottle out, take out a pill right then and you’ve got your medication on board for the day.
  4. Ask your friend or family to help.
    Does it seem like mom is always nagging you about something?Give her permission to nag you about your pill!This doesn’t mean you can count on her to remember for you, but it does help ensure that you have one more reminder in place to take it.
  5. Keep an emergency back up on hand.
    Do you sometimes remember you forgot to take your meds after you left the house?Keep one back-up pill hidden in your wallet, desk or locker so you have it at hand when you forget it at home.Don’t over rely on this to work every day, because you’ll need to add a step to remember to replace the pill you used.Much easier to remember to take it before you leave home!

Now that you have a few tricks at hand, make a plan and stick to it.Hint! You might get bored with your system after a few weeks or months, but don’t change it if it’s working. A routine is by nature boring because you do it over and over. But because you do it over and over, it’s also the reason it works.Do you already have a failsafe system to remember to take your medication?We’d love to hear about it.Post it as a comment and share your success with other Edge Foundation readers.

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6 Responses

  1. admin
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    Great article!

  2. Nancy Ratey
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    I suggest to my clients to leave the meds bottle next to the first thing they do in the morning, for example, if the first thing they do is brush their teeth, rubber band the bottle of meds to your toothpaste!

  3. Jodi Sleeper-Triplett
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    There are a variety of beeping and vibrating pill containers available online. Many of my clients find them helpful.

  4. Maddie
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    I can totally relate: I need to take my pill to remember to take my pill. I have a “stop and check” area at a table before I leave the house. Every morning before I leave, I stop and check at this little table. That is where I leave my keys the night before, I have my medicine in a days of the week box (so I can tell if took it already or if I still need to) My purse is under the table, my cell phone gets plugged in there every night, my family knows to put notes there or if they need me to sign or mail something to leave it there and I will take care of it before I leave. We all have our “Morning Baskets” on the table by the door.

  5. Mimi Handlin
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    For my clients who like the snooze button, I suggest they set their alarm for a half-hour to 45 minutes earlier than they would normally get up. Keep their meds and a glass of water by their bed, take their pill, and then go back to sleep for a half hour. By the time they wake up for good, the medicine has already started working and they are more alert and focused.

  6. Derp
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    And what do you do to remember to but the pill bottle back into your shoe? So tired of these shitty tricks that involve having to remember things when THAT is precisely the issue in the first place.