If you are suffering from high blood pressure, otherwise called hypertension, and you failed to control it by making lifestyle changes, then you will probably be taking blood pressure medication. This medication is important to hold the 'Silent Killer' at bay. Therefore, it is equally vital to take the tablets regularly, because otherwise the blood pressure will begin to rise quite rapidly even within twenty-four hours of missing taking the blood pressure medication.
So, how do you make sure that you bear in mind to take the tablets as prescribed by your doctor? It can be a problem for those individuals who have a bad memory, a busy lifestyle or many tablets to take. Some people purchase pill boxes with the numbers one to thirty-one on different compartments, so that they can see whether they have missed a day. This is a good concept which works for most individuals.
Others store their medication on the rack in the bathroom next to their toothbrush, so that they cannot help seeing their blood pressure medication. It is also a good concept to get into the habit of taking your tablets at the same time each day.
However, some tablets should be taken with or just after eating food to reduce the likelihood of upsetting your stomach. So, if you brush you teeth after breakfast, all well and good. Otherwise, you could leave your pills where you usually eat your breakfast or evening meal, so that you can take them with or after eating.
Regularity or routine is the best way of remembering to take your tablets. After even a short time, you will reach for them automatically like Pavlov's dogs if you take the action that triggers taking the tablets. I work from home and any tablets that I have to take, I leave by my computer so that I take them with coffee as soon as I start work.
This works if you work from home, but it is not a useful idea to have one set of tablets on the go in your employer's office and another one at home. You should never double up on this sort of tablets - it is normally better to miss a day than risk taking them twice if you are really not certain. Taking them late however is better than not taking them.
I do not have a pill box, so I just write the date the pill has to be taken on the back of the foil with a felt tip pen so that I can see effortlessly where I am.
Strive to associate taking your tablets with an action or make it a part of another action. For example, if you maintain a diary, make a point of putting a mark each day to indicate that you have taken your tablets and keep the tablets by the diary. If the strips of tablets are small, you can keep them with your money - literally in with your money, so that you see them a number of times a day.
If you use a computer every day, you can easily (very easily, honest) set up a daily reminder in Outlook or some other electronic organizer to tell you each day by pop-up to take your blood pressure medication.
