I don’t think I’ve ever really taken medicine from the pharmacy the way it was intended. I know I never read the package inserts. Or I rarely do so, I should say. Recently I had a chance to attend the Maryland DUR (drug utilization review) board meeting held virtually in my area. It was eye opening re: pharmacy procedures and protocols, and also alerted me to what I didn’t notice about my own pharmaceutical issues.

When you get a prescription filled, there’s typically a ton of paperwork involved. You may have a paper script from your dr., you’ll need to fill out intake forms at the pharmacy when it’s your first time there, and you have to wade through lengthy insurance processes to get certain medications authorized. The last thing you want to do is read anymore papers or research how to take your meds properly.

When I’m given my medication bottles, I tend to throw away the package inserts and only handle the physical bottles. What I didn’t realize is that by doing this, I was missing vital information about how to take my pills. Additionally, without a regular consult from my prescribing physicians or the pharmacist, it’s been hard for me to recognize the importance of label reading/following the directions.

Lately I’d been noticing a recurrence in my bipolar symptoms. And I also saw an increase in other negative behaviors associated with my chronic health conditions. It was concerning to me and my support team. Then I realized that part of the problem is how I’m taking my medicine, and my adherence, or lack thereof, to the strict guidelines given with each medication.

So, I pulled out all my pill bottles and decided to read the labels. Boy was it enlightening. Take, for example, Ritalin or methylphenidate. On the back of my bottle it reads, “take this medicine 1/2 to 1 hour before meals.” And, “Check with your doctor or pharmacist to make sure it is safe for you to take this drug with all of your other drugs.” I never knew I was supposed to do this.

With my buspirone, the front of the bottle says, “take 1 tablet by mouth 2 times per day.” And on the side of the bottle there’s a table that indicates I should take one tablet in the morning and one in the evening. Until this morning, I’d never seen that part of the medication label. I’d never put together what two times per day meant. After reviewing all of my medicines, I knew that my symptom issues largely had to do with incomplete compliance with directions.

Part of me is annoyed that it took this long for me to figure this out. And part of me knows that this is a better late than never situation. Had I not attended the DUR meeting, I wouldn’t have thought about reviewing my medication history and going through my supplies. Sometimes it takes an event outside of your control to help get you back on track. In my case, it was an educational event I attended for the purposes of my advocacy work. So this turned out to be a blessing in disguise.