Ready For the Old Age Home

Somewhere in the midst of healing from my summer cold and the following symptoms of the flu and my rush to pack for a three day vacation, I mixed up the schedule for taking my medications. Some of the meds I take twice each day, some I take in the morning only, and some I take in the evening after meals. Somehow and for exactly how many days, I’m not sure; I was taking my blood pressure pill twice per day and my metformin not at all. The metformin is to control my diabetes. My morning blood sugars were creeping up and I couldn’t figure why it was happening. I was getting more exercise and losing dome weight. Not as much as I’d like, but five pounds is five pounds.

I was stymied as to what was wrong until I received a shipment of my blood pressure medication. It caused me to look more closely at the medicines and how I stored them. I finally realized what I had been doing. It scared me because I wasn’t being as cautious as I should have been. I’m very careful to store my medications where little fingers can’t get into them, but I was being less attentive in taking them. I have labels marked on the lids AM for the morning meds, PM for those I take in the evening, and AP for those I take twice a day. That was my system, but since the confusion, I now look at the printed labels AND their caps AND the meds before dumping out the pill. It has been five days since I’ve returned to my prescribed medication routine. My blood sugars are coming down nicely and I’m starting to feel more energetic.

I’d fallen behind in some chores and hadn’t done any grocery shopping in over a week, but that changed. I washed my bed linens and hung them out to dry. I defrosted my basement freezer and replaced the frozen food, before I went shopping for the groceries. I wasn’t completely out and my cupboards weren’t bare, but I was running low. That in itself isn’t remarkable, but I’d accomplished this all before ten a.m. I’m not sure what today will bring, but it’s time to take my morning medications and to make breakfast.