Re: Cognitive Difficulties-Jeri

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/17/04 10:54:45 AM Pacific Standard Time,

kattali99@... writes:

I'd love to offer you suggestions, Jeri. However, I haven't figured

out how to do things myself. It's tyring to remember what I have

done or not done or what the heck I'm doing that is the problem. I

can hold a pill bottle in my hand and not even know if I took the

pills. It doesn't even help to have a check off sheet if I don't

know if I even took the pills.

I had the same problem. I purchased a pill box. This solved that problem. At

the end of the week, I will still have some slots with pills in them, but I am

getting better.

The pill box is divided into breakfast, lunch and dinner and an extra one.

Someone suggested counting the pills to know how many I had in the

bottle for each given day. OMG, I have so many bottles of pills that

it would take me forever to do that. I don't have the energy or the

where with all to do that anyway.

Then someone suggested the pill boxes. But some pills I take two to

three times a day and at different times of the day. I would get so

confused.

Oops. There goes the pill box idea. Before the pill box idea, I would try to

line the pills up. I, too, would have days when I wasn't functioning well

enough to do this. So, on the days I was functioning higher, I would try to line

them up for the week.

I at least mark on the top of the bottle how many pills I'm suppose

to take so I don't mess that up. Believe me I can.

I've had an awful couple of weeks of daily migraines and the past

four days my ankles are so sore I can barely walk on them and my

muscles are so sore that even wearing clothes hurt. My fingers are

totally numb.

I feel like an irritable aggatitated btch (DOT) I hate lyme.

Ali

I live in two different cotton sweat outfits or joggy clothes. I too have

noticed that watches, rings, what I wear makes a difference on my comfort level.

The sweat outfits are so comfortable that if I am having a rough day, I can

sleep in them too.

AFter 2 and a half years, I am now wearing my watch again at times.

I have so many responsibilities, I have to figure out something.

Any suggestions? Thanks. Blessings, Jeri

[Guest guest]

Ali- Ditto on counting pills so I thank God I'm now on bicillin. Was allergic to

Cephtin and Dynobac. I used to be the most active person: one full time job, one

part time, 7 critters to take care of, 3 eighty plus year old relatives to help

and a home to maintain. Now, I'm out of work and I'm trying to get my mind

together so that I can remember to eat (have no appetite), My first time with

Lyme 1997-2000 was all about aches and pains. My mind wasn't on vacation that

time. I don't know if this is a reoccurence or a new infection because I was

feeling 100% for three years and then wammo--sympathic again. I handle injured

wildbirds as a part time volunteer job so I may have gotten re-infected via one

of them. I tested negative, twice, in October and just was retested this week. I

have to know if this can keep reoccuring. My very lyme literate doctor (who

knows my history) said for lyme to reoccur it ususally takes something of major

stress to the body to do it (i.e surgery, pneumonia, etc) and I has feeling

great and working out at the gym just prior to this happening again. She thinks

a re-infection is very likely. I appreciate your replies..at least you all

understand. Today, I got my first " but you look so good " remark from a friend.

Look so good---feel so aweful. Jeri

[ ] Cognitive Difficulties-Jeri

I'd love to offer you suggestions, Jeri. However, I haven't figured

out how to do things myself. It's tyring to remember what I have

done or not done or what the heck I'm doing that is the problem. I

can hold a pill bottle in my hand and not even know if I took the

pills. It doesn't even help to have a check off sheet if I don't

know if I even took the pills.

Someone suggested counting the pills to know how many I had in the

bottle for each given day. OMG, I have so many bottles of pills that

it would take me forever to do that. I don't have the energy or the

where with all to do that anyway.

Then someone suggested the pill boxes. But some pills I take two to

three times a day and at different times of the day. I would get so

confused.

I at least mark on the top of the bottle how many pills I'm suppose

to take so I don't mess that up. Believe me I can.

I've had an awful couple of weeks of daily migraines and the past

four days my ankles are so sore I can barely walk on them and my

muscles are so sore that even wearing clothes hurt. My fingers are

totally numb.

I feel like an irritable aggatitated btch (DOT) I hate lyme.

Ali

I have so many responsibilities, I have to figure out something.

Any suggestions? Thanks. Blessings, Jeri

[Guest guest]

I went to the craft department at Wal-Mart and bought little clear craft

storage containers for sorting beads and small things that can be screwed

together with one lid on the top. Then I marked on the lid what dose it was,

such as rising dose, breakfast, bedtime, etc.. I bought a whole bunch of

them, enough so that I could have one for each dose of pills that I needed

to take throughout the week. And I sort out a weeks worth of pills at a

time. Then I stack a days worth of doses into each stack of containers, so

that I have 7 stacks of containers, one for each day. Then all I have to do

is look back and see if the pill container for that day has been used up.

Wal-Mart also sells colored containers for sorting pills in the pharmacy

department that screw together like the craft boxes, and are the same size

and shape as one of the sizes of craft boxes, which would then help a person

to see if the color for the day had been taken. But I have a couple times

when I have to take a large amount of pills, and they don't all fit into

that particular size storage box, so I decided to stick with the craft

boxes, because I can get larger and smaller sizes.

My naturopath suggested sorting pills into ziplock snack bags for something

a little less expensive, and marking on the bags with a pen what dose of the

day and what day, and each days worth of pills would then be stored in a

larger ziplock bag, and then sorting out a weeks worth into the individual

bags, and having 7 larger ziplock bags for each days worth. But it's hard to

keep the bags open to dispense the pills into, and takes a lot more time to

sort the pills than the craft boxes do, which I can just line up in a row,

and drop pills in without having to wrestle to keep it open. Also, you can't

tell at a glance what pill bag you haven't taken. The storage containers all

line up, and you can see immediately if they are the right height that

they're supposed to be for however many doses I'm supposed to have taken for

that day. Also the little craft containers are convenient for me to just

unscrew, put a spare cap on, and tuck in my purse when I need to go

somewhere that I'll need to take them away from home, and the pills won't

get crushed in my purse, and are more discreet to open and fish pills out

of. And it also seems easier to identify which one I need to take, because

they can line up, and the heights of the containers should all match at the

end of the day. Because some of the supplements I take need to be kept

refrigerated, I just keep the weeks worth of sorted pills in the

refrigerator. That way they're also in the dark. I suppose one could put

them into an enclosed box to block out light as well, if you didn't want to

put them in the refrigerator.

lindaj@...

[ ] Cognitive Difficulties-Jeri

> Someone suggested counting the pills to know how many I had in the

> bottle for each given day. OMG, I have so many bottles of pills that

> it would take me forever to do that. I don't have the energy or the

> where with all to do that anyway.

> Then someone suggested the pill boxes. But some pills I take two to

> three times a day and at different times of the day. I would get so

> confused.