Helen: Forgetting and remembering to take medicines – Interruptions to usual routines
Listen to patients and health professionals speak about their experience with taking multiple medicines.
Helen
Female
Age at interview: 58
Number of medicines: 10
Cultural background: Anglo-Australian
Helen finds it particularly difficult to remember to take her medicines when she is at work, as her primary responsibility is to attend to work-related matters.
I think when I'm at work, my physical health and wellbeing … my illnesses, my conditions or whatever … they're not uppermost on my mind. I'm there to get my job done. I'm thinking about a whole lot of other things. The last thing I'm thinking of is when is my next medication due? So it's only something that will remind me like oh God, you're in a bit of pain. Oh, you forgot to take whatever. That's what reminds me.
Whereas if I was at home … and at the weekend, it is a lot easier when I'm at home, because I actually can remember it more. It's kind of almost in my face at home, it's not here. That's even though I've got tablets in my drawer at work. I will open the drawer and I might see them there, but I'm not opening my drawer all throughout the day. So it's … yeah, I just … even though I know what I should be doing, it's very, very difficult to remember.
The Living with multiple medicines project was developed in collaboration with Healthtalk Australia.