Building good medication habits is key to hypopara management

I’m lucky enough to have a group of friends who read my column every week and send me their favorite lines. In my column about using a routine to get through bad days, I wrote that taking my hypoparathyroidism medication on time and as prescribed is an act of self-care. This was one of the most highlighted lines in my group chat and led to us all sharing stories of the time-honored tradition of picking up a pill bottle, staring at it, and trying to remember if we took our medication that day.

I spent several years of my career working in a specialty pharmacy as a certified pharmacy technician. Learning about how medications work, what they do, and good medication habits lightened some of my rare disease burden. The most important habits I learned: tracking my medications and taking them on time, as prescribed, according to the directions.

My biggest battle is remembering to take my medications and logging that I did. Luckily, tracking is much easier now than it was back in the early 2000s, when I was diagnosed. While some of my friends prefer having a pill bottle timer that tracks how many hours it has been since they last opened the bottle, I have too many injections, sprays, and creams for that to work for me.

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Using a health or medication app makes tracking and remembering to take my dose much easier. I input my medication names, strengths, and when I need to take them. At the time of my dose, my phone sends me a reminder and asks me to confirm that I’ve taken it. If I need an as-needed medication, there’s a section for me to add the date and time to my list. This gives me an accurate record for my doctor appointments.

My second most important habit is familiarizing myself with the medication insert that comes with my prescription. This used to be the thing I spit my gum into and tossed in the trash. I’ve since learned that this insert is gold.

It contains pivotal information like if I should take my medication with or without food, if I should take it separately from other medications, and any potential interactions. My anti-anxiety medications should not be taken with grapefruit juice as it can cause a potentially serious side effect. For hypopara patients who also need thyroid medication, eating or taking calcium supplements at the same time as thyroid medication can lead to malabsorption. The medication insert is a safety net to make sure I’m taking my medications in a safe and appropriate way.

The third most important habit is reading the directions on my prescription label. If the label just says “take as directed,” do I know what that means? Does it tell me to take it at a specific time of day? Have the directions or strength changed since my refill? Do I still have refills available? When does this medication expire?

If I can’t clearly and concisely answer these questions, I call my pharmacist or doctor.

I recently added a fourth habit to my list: I keep an up-to-date guide handy in case another person is helping me take my medication. This guide includes a list of medications I’m currently taking, when and how often I take them, if there’s a specific manufacturer I prefer, which doctor ordered them, and at what pharmacy I fill them. I also keep labeled pictures of my pill case so that someone else could not only fill the case for me, but also identify what each medication looks like. I put this guide with my other essential information that people could use in an emergency, like a copy of my medical bracelet and a definition of what hypopara is and isn’t.

Having as many medications as I do for my hypopara can be overwhelming, but using good medication habits keeps me safe and my treatment consistent. This is my most important act of self-care.

Note: Hypoparathyroidism News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Hypoparathyroidism News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to hypoparathyroidism.