My Pill Box is Too Small

OK, I am laughing out loud because I am trying to jam all my daily vitamins into a pill box because I go away tomorrow but they don’t fit!  How did I get here in a place having to manage my pills and do I really need to be taking all of these magic gems?   My kids gave me the pill box for a joke Christmas present one year and I honestly thought I would never use it - little did I know I would actually need it!

My Mom and Dad both have pill boxes full of colourful pills in a variety of sizes and shapes. My Mom apparently considers this like a part-time job preparing their pill boxes for the week. Their other option would be blister packs where ones pharmacy will bundle pills into a preformed plastic pack so each day you pop out just what you need.  I can only imagine how many of our aging parents are forgetting to take their pills and worse yet, are taking so many different kinds that they actually cause harm.  Many seniors are living longer because we have learned to manage disease which is great but the cost of prescription medications to seniors is astronomical.  The other day when I took my Mom to the specialist she had written down on an index card all her medications she takes and in fact told me she keeps this card with her everywhere she goes.  She says it’s like insurance and apparently information seniors need to self manage. I reluctantly myself look at her list and wonder if one day I may be taking some of the same medications because the disease may be hereditary.  

My goal is to learn to manage my own health proactively, using vitamins so that I can try to ward off disease as long as possible.  I just got home from my local Health Works vitamin store and my monthly chat with the lovely gal who works there.  She is around my age and we often laugh out loud as we discuss similar challenges we are facing, reassuring each other we are not alone! Today I came away with Vitamin D and a new natural multivitamin and this is the reason my pill box is overflowing!

No blister packs for this gal, I will jam the vitamins into my pill box as best as I can. I refuse to buy another ugly pill box with bigger compartments because I am just not mentally ready to accept it.  Instead, I am going to design a fun ~bright container that Boomers can use when they travel and it won’t look anything like the sterile medical looking ones on the market today.

Let’s face it, I need no daily reminder that I am indeed aging.

Denise Kelly is a North Vancouver Boomer proudly living with her two children, husband and dog Mel.  She looks forward to sharing stories to motivate others.

Originally published in BC Black Press 2011