What is medication adherence and why should you care? Let’s talk about it!
What is medication adherence?
Adherence is all about taking your prescribed medications exactly as your doctor tells you to. It’s also important to commit to lifestyle changes (eating healthy food, exercising, and losing weight if you need to), and keeping up with regular medical visits.
We think TEEL is a simple way to keep track of your adherence, with the first letter, T, focusing on medication:
The rest of TEEL supports your overall diabetes management, which is also so important!
Why is medication adherence so important?
Medication adherence is important first and foremost because if you look after your diabetes, you feel well. Not managing your condition can lead to serious impacts like long-term complications, hospitalisations, feeling pretty terrible overall and increased healthcare costs over time.
Sticking to your treatment plan is key to managing diabetes, as well as conditions like hypertension (high blood pressure) and cardiovascular (heart) conditions.
Why do so many people not take their diabetes medication?
There are many reasons why people don’t take their medication. Managing diabetes means having to remember a lot of things all the time: medication, food, exercise, mental health, check-ups and then still… regular life!
Forgetting to take medication can happen to all of us now and again, but when lack of motivation becomes a habit, or other habits prevent us from remembering or fitting medication into our schedule, that means it’s time to pay attention.
Remember: the more attention you pay to diabetes, the healthier you’ll feel.
Side effects of medication
Certain medications can also have side-effects that make it hard to take them (here’s some great advice about Type 2 diabetes and diarrhea, if that’s something you’re struggling with). Sometimes a demanding medication schedule can feel difficult to fit into our lives, no matter how helpful the medication is. Other barriers to taking diabetes medication are related to stigma, discrimination or lack of support from our communities.
A supportive environment (at home, school or work) that makes the person taking medication feel comfortable is a huge part of building confidence to stick to medication schedules.
Barriers to taking medication
Another obvious barrier is that the hospital, clinic or doctor might be a long distance away, with a long waiting period, and no guarantee that the healthcare worker is properly trained in diabetes. This can be really frustrating as a patient! Not knowing your diabetes rights can make check-ups feel unimportant and unhelpful, so be sure to ask for what you deserve. (Check out your diabetes rights here!)
Sometimes it feels like we don’t see our doctors enough. If you’re really lucky, you’ll spend 2 hours a year with your doctor, and have to manage your diabetes alone the remaining 8,758 hours. But if you take your medication exactly as the doctor prescribes, and try your best to stick to TEEL, it can make a huge difference to your life with diabetes.
What are some practical medication adherence tips?
Here are some practical medication adherence tips. Download the PDF below to print out and keep at home!
Use your phone alarm or a calendar app to help keep track of when to take your medication.
Pair taking medications with daily routines like brushing your teeth or having breakfast.
Learn about your medications and treatment plan, so you know what to expect.
Share your healthcare goals with friends or family who can encourage you.
Make it fun to change your lifestyle: exercise with friends (here are some great ideas!) or get new ideas for delicious healthy meals (here’s a whole cookbook!)
What do you think about these medical adherence tips? Do you have any helpful tips to add?
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