What to do if you can't remember if you took your medication

Key takeaways

• It’s common to forget whether you’ve taken your medications. The best steps to take will depend on the type of medication you take.
• Depending on the medication, it might be safe to take another dose or wait until your next scheduled dose, but some medications, like those for diabetes or mental health, should not be doubled. You can reach out to the prescribing doctor for advice.
• To prevent forgetting a dose, try taking your medication at the same time every day, using a pill organizer, setting an alarm, or using a reminder app.

Overview

We’ve all forgotten to take our medications or supplements at some point — or forgotten if we actually did take them. The thought of whether we did or not can gnaw at us throughout the day, and you’ll likely be wondering what to do in this situation.

Depending on the medication, you may need to call a healthcare professional or speak with a pharmacist to find out what you should do. They can let you know if the best step is to wait until the next day to take your medication or if it wouldn’t hurt to take another dose even if you may have already taken one.

Some medications, such as those that treat diabetes, mental health conditions like ADHD and depression, pain, and high blood pressure, shouldn’t be taken if you can’t remember if you’ve already had them. It’s better to wait till the next dose. Other medications and supplements won’t cause harm if you take them twice, such as birth control pills.

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What to do if you can’t remember 

If you can’t remember if you’ve taken your meds, there are some steps you can take.

First of all, if you know how many doses of your medication you have and how many you should have left, you could count your doses to see if you have the right amount.

Otherwise, you should reach out to a healthcare professional or pharmacist and let them know that you can’t tell if you’ve already taken medication. They can help you figure out the next steps, depending on the medication you’re on.

For example, if you’re taking medications for diabetes, like metformin (Riomet), prescription pain relievers, like hydrocodone (Hyslinga), or medications for ADHD and depression, like sertraline (Zoloft) or lisdexfetamine (Vyvanse), healthcare professionals may advise you to wait till the next day to take the medication.

Other medications, such as birth control pills, may be safe to take twice per day, but always check with a healthcare professional or pharmacist first.

What happens if you accidentally take your medication twice?

If you have taken two doses of a medication — or you think you have — by accident, contact a healthcare professional straight away. Some medications won’t cause you harm when they’re doubled up, but others can be dangerous.

Tips to help you remember

Forgetting to take our medications is one of the challenges of medication adherence, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It estimates that about half of all people in the United States take their medications incorrectly.

A 2021 study found that 42% of people with coexisting conditions didn’t stick to their medication, which includes not taking prescribed medication. A 2018 study said that medication nonadherence led to 100,000 preventable deaths in the United States. 

Certain practices can help us remember to not only take our medication but also not have to face the uncertainty of whether we’ve taken our medicines on a given day. Here are some tips: 

Take them at the same time every day

Having a specific time of day or even a specific hour in which you take your medication can help you remember to take them because it’s built into your routine. For example, you can take your medications right after breakfast or just before you go to sleep.

If you’re taking several medications that need to be spaced out, you can build the medication schedule into your eating routine, for example. You can take your first medication after breakfast, the second after lunch, and so on.

Use a pill organizer

Pill organizers and pill boxes are a great way to organize the medications you have to take on a daily or weekly basis. 

You can get into the routine of filling the pillboxes on the same day of the week. When one of the compartments is empty, you’ll know that you’ve already taken the medication for that day. 

You can also consider a smart pill bottle, dispenser, or cap. A 2022 study found that smart pill bottles improved medication adherence among people with depression and breast cancer.

Use an alarm or a smartphone reminder (if you can)

You can set up a daily or regular alarm on your phone, smartwatch, or a classic alarm clock to remind you to take your medication.

Use a calendar

If you’re the analog type and prefer to write down on paper your reminders and schedules, you can plan out your medication schedule on a wall calendar, a binder planner, a dry-erase board, or sticky notes — whichever method works best for you to plan your day.

A healthcare professional can also provide you with medication reminder forms to help you keep on schedule. 

Use apps

Research has shown that the use of medication reminder apps can help increase medication adherence. A 2020 study found that using mobile apps helps people with hypertension remember to take their medication and better manage their blood pressure. Researchers of a 2021 study also saw the same effect in people with cardiovascular disease. 

Summary

Forgetting to take a pill happens to all of us from time to time. And not remembering if we’ve already taken it can be a gnawing thought all day.

The best thing to do is to speak with a healthcare professional because, depending on the medication, it may be safe to take another pill or just wait until your next dose.

Some medications are dangerous when they’re doubled up, such as medications to treat diabetes, pain, ADHD, and depression.

There are things you can do to help you remember to take your medication, such as pill organizers, alarms, apps, and asking a loved one to help you keep track.

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