For many people with diabetes, taking medications is an essential part of controlling diabetes. Following the day-to-day treatment at the right time, dose, and frequency that your doctor has prescribed is key to managing your daily blood sugar levels. Right now, your daily schedule might be different making it difficult to stay on your day-to-day treatment plan. Try a few of these tips to stay on track with taking your medications:

Know your medications.
Understanding how your medications work can help you to understand the importance of taking them at the right time so they work best. Know the names, doses, and instructions for the medications your taking.

It’s all about timing.
Find the best times to take your medications. Ask your diabetes care and education specialist about the best time of day, spacing between doses, pairing medication times with your daily schedule and grouping medications that may be taken together.

Create a routine.
Use what you know about the timing of your medications to create a daily medication routine to help you stay on track. A pill box with AM and PM can help you stay organized during each day.

Link your medications with an activity.
Perhaps keep your medication containers at your favorite breakfast spot or keep your pill box next to your toothbrush.

Use reminders.
Schedule a reminder on your phone. Use an app like Glucose Buddy to create daily alerts and track each medication. Place a sticky note on the refrigerator or pantry door.

Check your success.
See if your medication plan is working by maintaining a blood sugar log and tracking patterns in your blood sugar values and noting your A1c. Compare your new A1c to the previous one. Seeing blood sugar values and A1c improve will help to motivate you to keep up with your day-to-day treatment plan.

If you need help knowing what diabetes medications would be best for you, understanding how your medications work, or can’t afford your diabetes medications, please reach out to a diabetes care and education specialist at Lakeland Diabetes and Nutrition by calling 269.556.2868 or contact your doctor.