Sue: Routines with multiple medicines – Establishing effective medication routines
Listen to patients and health professionals speak about their experience with taking multiple medicines.
Sue
Female
Age at interview: 65
Number of medicines: 16
Cultural background: Anglo-Australian
Sue has a well-established routine, but minor changes are sometimes made after results of a medical test indicate something different needs to happen. There is then a ‘re-adjustment period’ before she feels comfortable again.
Jacqueline:
Yes, you mentioned that you're in the routine of your medicines now, has that always been the case or how has that changed over time?
Sue:
It certainly took a while to get established. Also each time I go, I go three monthly to see the GP for the review and he does a blood test and adjusts. Then there'll be a little period where I've got to redo all my paperwork, because I write everything down, and relearn—okay, I'm taking two of those now or I'm taking one in the morning and one at night or whatever. But that only takes a little while because most of them don't change. So there's a little relearning curve and then we settle back to routine again until the next three months' check-up.
The Living with multiple medicines project was developed in collaboration with Healthtalk Australia.