How to Keep Up with Your Daily Medications for Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis

As with many chronic illnesses, medicating ulcerative colitis and Crohn's can be challenging. It may take a handful of pills to treat a Crohn's or colitis flare-up. It also often takes a number of pills, taken on a daily basis, just to keep the disease in remission.

Steroids, MP3's, pain killers, and anti-nausea medication may have to be taken multiple times a day. The task of keeping medications separated, remember when to take each dose, and whether you have taken a dose gets confusing.

There are a number of ways to keep up with your medications. The best thing you can do is find the method that works for you and stick with it.

You can depend on your memory or the memory of your caregiver, but if you are on a number of ulcerative colitis or Crohn's medications that can be a problem. I recently overdosed by 150mg because I forgot I had taken a medication. I take three different doses and forgot I had already taken one and took it again. Luckily, the medication I took was not life threatening, although the dosage is already quite high. If you have a mind like mine, it's best to come up with another way to keep up with medication dosages.

Some ulcerative colitis and Crohn's patients prefer a checklist. Daily medications and dosages are listed and as the patient takes their medication they check it off their list. The biggest challenge with this method is that you not only have to remember to take your medication, but you also have to remember to write down your dosage and what time you took it. If you are challenged with keeping up with medications, this method can make your life more complicated.

Pill boxes are a great idea. The little plastic boxes come in a single row with one box for each day of the week, a triple row with three doses for each day of the week, and even a box with 5 doses per day. Fill up the dosage boxes at the beginning of the week. Once you remove the dose, you are physically reminded that you have already taken it.

Pill boxes are among the best methods for keeping up with ulcerative and Crohn's colitis dosages. They aren't a perfect method either. You have to remember to refill them at the beginning of the week. I usually start out with good intentions, but forget to fill the pill box. It is also a problem if you forget to carry your pill box with you throughout the day.

Research for cures and medications to ameliorate the effects of Crohn's and ulcerative colitis continue. At least one FDA-approved medication, Lialda, was developed as a once-daily, oral treatment. Lialda tablets have a special coating that does not release medication until it reaches the intestines.

Research by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America and pharmaceutical companies may lead to more once a day medications. Until that time, find a program that works for you and work to take your meds daily as scheduled.