Am I the only one who thought a simple pill organizer would solve everything?

I got my mom a 7-day box from the drugstore, but she just kept taking her meds straight from the bottles anyway. I learned you have to actually sit down and show them how to use it, not just hand it over. Has anyone else had to walk through the process a few times before it stuck?

4 comments

4 Comments

pat_murray531mo ago

Used to think it was just common sense. Had to watch my dad fumble with his for a week before I realized showing him was the only way.

pat_murray531mo ago

My buddy's mom kept calling her tablet a heavy magazine.

williamw751mo ago

Ever wonder if tech just moves too fast for muscle memory, @pat_murray53? Like, our brains get wired one way and new stuff feels wrong even when it's simpler.

the_oliver3d ago

The whole "common sense" thing always trips me up (guilty as charged). Actually, it's not really about common sense - it's about what our brains are used to, like muscle memory for medicine taking. That thing with the pill organizer vs the bottles though, I think people forget the bottles have years of habit built into them. The bottles feel familiar and the organizer feels foreign, even if it's obviously better. One little correction to what pat_murray53 said - that tablet/heavy magazine thing is actually kind of brilliant in a way. Old habits die hard and all that. Showing someone step by step is the only way it sticks, like you said. I had to do the same thing with my neighbor and her blood pressure pills - took three full walkthroughs before she stopped grabbing the bottles out of reflex.