My Top Best Medicine Organizers

Being a caregiver is one of the hardest jobs I know, let alone for a loved one. As my mom’s disease continued to progress, trusting her to take her medications on time with the prescribed dose became a challenge. We caught her a few times taking too much and too early. Her doctor told us that a couple of her medications can be addictive to patients. Specialized Carbidopa/Levodopa was one of them. She would sneak some pills at night and take them during the day before her schedule in addition to her scheduled meds. She thought it would help her with her off period by doing so. But it didn’t help her at all, if anything it made her condition worse.

Her doctor explained to us that the medication works in such a way that the timing and dosing plays a very important role. If I’m remembering it right, he illustrated it like the below. Anything that’s taken incorrectly can cause fluctuations on her levels. Meaning, additional dose can cause higher peaks which can cause dyskinesia. Don’t quote me on this paragraph. This is only based on my recollection.

No amount of talking would convince her then that she was doing it wrong, mom would just agree then repeat old ways. It’s like she forgets about our conversations. As a caregiver, this was very frustrating. Especially knowing that Carbidopa/Levodopa medication is all about the right dose and right timing. But really, I can’t blame her. She was in discomfort and was just looking for relief from this evil disease.

Watching her 24/7 every second of the hour to prevent this from happening was just not achievable at this time. My brother and I are both working thus making it difficult to do so. In trying to find a solution to this problem, I found this helpful medicine organizer from Amazon for $70.00. It’s called Med-E-Lert™ Premium Locking Automatic Pill Dispenser with Clear Lid.

It has helped us tremendously and eased our minds knowing that mom couldn’t cheat on her medications anymore and also helps making sure she takes her medications on time without putting too much work on me and my brother. Here are main features i like about it:

Med-E-Lert™ Premium Locking Automatic Pill Dispenser (Medicine Organizer) with Clear Lid

Features:

It’s secure – with a lock and key
Customized labels
Programmable dispensing (up to 28 days, 6 reminders per day), using the buttons (Product Manual )
With LCD screen showing time
Customizable alarm sounds and volume
Alarm auto shut-off once medication is dispensed and flipped
Dispensing: will dispense medication as refills were sorted and placed
Refill process: refill with medication divided per time of take.
Power source: 4 AA battery

Cons:

It has a tendency to not auto shut-off the alarm, after dispensed and flipped, if battery is weak. Be on top of its battery life.
Time consuming when refilling medication.

Over the years, mom’s medication list grew and became too time consuming for us to prepare. The MedELert pill dispenser from Amazon wasn’t working for us anymore. To better manage mom’s medication, my brother found a system called Hero. The features are pretty similar to the MedELert but a little bit more advanced.

HeroHealth Pill Dispenser (Medicine Organizer)

Features:

It’s secure – with a lock and key
Programmable dispensing thru the machine and/or thru the app
With LED screen for status and commands
Customizable alarm sounds and volume
Alarm auto shut-off once medication is dispensed
Dispensing: will dispense as programmed and automatically sort medication
Refill process: refill with medication divided per medication.
Power source: Plug-in
May be covered by Insurance

Cons:

Definitely not compact and not something you can take when travelling.
Power outage means no reminder and automated dispensing.
Cost (Subscription type of purchase – check https://herohealth.com/)

We kept the MedELert for the rare times we do travel.

If you want to try Hero out, you can use this code to get 3 months of FREE membership after your 30 day trial period… so a total of 4 months free.

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I’ve also listed my to-go pill holders below:

I like this one because it’s perfect for mom’s medication when we are out and about for the day. With 7 compartments, mom can easily take her dose with a press and an unclick.

This is similar to the above but it comes with a pouch and cute colors

I like this one with mom’s gummy supplements. Although I do not recommend it if you have weak hands as it is sometimes hard to twist open.

Since I like for all of mom’s medication to be accessible and easy to grab and go instead of putting it in the cabinet, this one is what I use to keep all of mom’s medications, including her supplements.

This one is a smaller version of the above medicine bag.

Of course, there are other similar products or brand that may work for you better. It’s just a matter of finding it. What are the features that for you would be necessary and features that would be nice to have in a pill organizer? I dream of one that’s kind of like the Hero machine, but with additional and modified features. Features would be:

After dropping the pills in each compartment per pill, it will auto sort per time of intake.
Auto counts the pills dropped in each compartment, so it can monitor how much supply do I have left.
Reminder of almost empty pill compartment.
Pill per time intake will release to a pill container.
Container would be interlocking. This is so if dispensing multiple takes for a day (or so) supply when going out, it’s just press, wait and go.
Would also like something with liquid medication dispenser.
And a dispenser that’s capable of dispensing gummies.
Dispensing would all be programmed.

Sounds like a lot! I know. If something like this is existent, it would really cut down caregiver’s work. Wouldn’t you want something like this too?

I hope you’ll find the best fit for your need. I would love to know what you are using for organizing medications. Let me know about your experience.

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