4 WAYS TO MAKE SURE YOU TAKE YOUR IBD MEDICINES

4 WAYS TO MAKE SURE YOU TAKE YOUR IBD MEDICINES

Jessica Buzenski

Dr. Buzenski is a clinically focused...

Since about half of adults diagnosed with IBD have difficulty with taking their medicine, here are 4 things that should help you or someone you know take their medicine:

  1. Let your doctor or other member of the GI team know that you're having trouble taking your medications. Education about your treatment is important in order to be informed and discuss solutions. And they may have some suggestions to rearrange or change your meds
  2. For difficulties with remembering and organization,
    • Alarms
    • Cell-phone reminders
    • Cues (like taking your meds at mealtime, bedtime, when brushing your teeth)
    • Pill boxes
    • Charts
    • Apps such as My Pillbox or Medisafe.
  3. For those times when you just don't feel like taking medicine, is there someone you can talk to about your difficulties? If you know a person who has a medical condition and seems to manage their treatment well, they could share their successful strategies or help keep you accountable.
  4. Some of the negative thoughts/feelings about medications or incorrect beliefs about treatment can prevent people from making necessary behavioral changes. A psychologist or counselor trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help with this aspect of adherence.

It often takes a combination of strategies to improve adherence. You don't have to figure it out alone!

This article, as well as all others, was reviewed and edited by a member of our Medical Advisory Board.

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