Tricks To Get Me To Take My Vitamins?

[Guest KG in FL]

I have been so terrible at taking my vitamins. I take a good multi and sublingal B-12. I have a BUNCH more other good ones I'd like to take but can't even get these few in me, let alone all the other good ones that could help me. But I take them for about 3 days in a row, then forget for about a week. Sometimes I can go for about 7 days in a row, but that's only about every 2-3 months. I guess I end up taking the proper dose about 5-10 total days a month on average.

I know and can feel that I need the vitamins. I eat good food, but I know not enough or good enough to cover what I need. I have read so much regarding how important they are in general for celiac's and also for specific complaints I have as well.

I NEED to take them everyday. I guess I am somewhat undisiplined, but some things I can do everyday, like brush my teeth! (twice actually!) Coffee, first thing daily. Why can't I prioritize my vitamin taking? I always think they might upset my stomach, which sometimes they do. But then I forget the rest of the day to take with food.

Does anyone have a regular routine that works for this? I keep mine in the kitchen. They have thier own cabinet, right in front of my face by the coffee pot. I even started to keep them sitting out on the counter. I've done this so much, they just sit there permanently and I just clean around them and don't notice them at all! I have tried on my nightstand but they do give my indigestion if I take before bed. And indigestion with coffee in the morning.

I tried those plastic pill packs that go 7 days a week. That worked OK, I guess, but then I'd forget to refill it and half a week would go by. And when I restarted, I'd forget again after one day because I forgot the routine. I'm not all that dumb, I just find this vitamin thing tough for some reason!!

Does anyone else have this problem? Does anyone have any trick that will help me MAKE myself take these?? What makes remembering easy for those who have no problem with this?

I really need to be taking these regularly, I feel bad about it too, like I am subconsiously trying to harm myself!!

Well, how others take thier vitamins might inspire me and any tricks, I'd love to hear! Thanks!

[CarlaB]

When is your first meal? I take it you have a cup of coffee but not breakfast. You do need to take your vitamins with some food, but it doesn't have to be a lot of food. Could you eat a banana and take your vitamins before you drink your coffee? You can store them in the way of the coffee maker to remind you.

You could set them where you eat so that you see them while your eating.

Or, how about taking your vitamins out of the bottle while your coffee is brewing and put them in your purse to be taken with lunch (assuming that lunch is not eaten at home).

You could punish yourself ... if you don't take your vitamins today, then tomorrow, no coffee!

Or you could reward yourself, every time you take them you get a small piece of chocolate.

I have taken vitamins for years ... once it becomes habit, you won't forget, the trick is to make it a habit.

[missy'smom]

I had the same problem before. I also felt so full after taking the vitamins and water after each one that I didn't feel like eating. Plus it's just tiring. I'm taking a powdered vitamin supplement now and find it's alot easier to take. It's Rainbow Light's Healthy Family Multivitamin. Just mix it into a glass of water, juice etc. twice. a day.

[Clark Bent as Stupor-Man]

I've developed a bad short term memory over the past couple years so I've had to learn to compensate for it... my basic trick across the board is simply putting something physically where I know I will come across it and acting upon it when I come across it...

there's probably a number of things you do every day in your morning routine, and you can simply put an empty vitamin container (or 2, so that you put your vitamins in one and leave the other there so you see it each day) or something next to or on top of some item you'll use during your routine... when you're at that point in your routine and you go to use the given item and see the vitamin container, you should stop, go fill the vitamin container and put it with whatever you take to work, and then continue with your routine... this will take care of remembering to bring your vitamins with you...

as for remembering to take them with food... just put this container in the same bag as your food if you bring your food with you to work... when you go to eat your food, the container is right there... and then just adjust where you put them if you're eating out, home instead, etc.

just putting them on the counter might not have helped you much since you didn't have to use the counter in the first place... but if you put a vitamin container on top of your coffee for instance, then every morning when you go to make coffee, you'll see the container and can fill it immediately and put it with your work stuff and then make coffee...

[lcbannon]

Put your vitamens next to your toothpaste, and take them in am, B's tend to keep you awake so take early and you can always take some others at 2nd teeth brushing.

just and idea

[loco-ladi]

  lcbannon said:

Put your vitamens next to your toothpaste, and take them in am, B's tend to keep you awake so take early and you can always take some others at 2nd teeth brushing.

just and idea

I tried the toothpaste thing, didnt work for me, as I wasn't awake enough when I brushed it didnt help, instead i put them in the drawer with my hair brush, the toothpaste wakes me up to brush my hair then I see my meds.

[kbtoyssni]

I take them in the morning when I'm making my lunch. What is your job? I'm an engineer and we use an the outlook email/calendar so you could do a reoccuring appointment everyday to remind yourself to take them. Or could you set an alarm to go off? Maybe a cell phone alarm? Or if you pack a lunch everyday, put them in there so you take them when you eat.

[irish daveyboy]

  kbtoyssni said:

I take them in the morning when I'm making my lunch. What is your job? I'm an engineer and we use an the outlook email/calendar so you could do a reoccuring appointment everyday to remind yourself to take them. Or could you set an alarm to go off? Maybe a cell phone alarm? Or if you pack a lunch everyday, put them in there so you take them when you eat.

How about getting weekly pill dispenser box,

put your vitamins and calcium tabs + any other meds your on.

Place beside the kettle or coffee filter machine ? ?.

as you take them each day leave the lid open.

.

Plus print a notice and stick it inside the kitchen and hall doors.

.

Have you taken your tablets ! !

.

Sorry can't think of anything else right now

.

[darlindeb25]

All very good suggestions!!!!! I am like Clark Bent (cute name), my short term memory is bad too, so I keep everything in it's place. My vitamins are in a little 7-day container that I keep next to the coffee maker. I take them religiously every morning. It becomes habit. I have my set up so that they run out on Sunday morning when I have plenty of time to refill them. You can even buy 14 day containers, which may be good for you.

The bottom line is, YOU HAVE TO TRAIN YOURSELF TO DO THIS!!!!!

[JNBunnie1]

What I do is buy some really good juice, you know, like Naked or Bolthouse Farms, and I can't have any unless I take my vitamins with it. So I only get enough to take my vitamins every day. It will help with indigestion, hopefully, and it will provide incentive to take the vitamins. And they even make month-long pill containers, you could always buy one of those.

Or, since you seem able to remember them at night even though you can't take them then, you could go every night and put them IN your coffee cup in front of the coffeemaker, that oughta help you remember in the morning. Even put them in a little plastic baggie the night before, in your coffee cup, to take them to work with you. I'll bet you'll only waste one or two servings by forgetting and pouring your coffee, and it will definitely taste funny and remind you if you forget!

[Felidae]

Every night with supper and it just becomes routine.

[tiredofdoctors]

I have to take a bunch of medicine, along with massive amounts of vitamins (B1, B2, B6, CoQ10 twice a day; multi & B12 injection once a day). It gets really hard to balance them out. I take my synthroid first thing when I get up. I keep a bottle of water on my nightstand and the synthroid is the only thing I take then -- because I figure if you have to wait 1 hour to eat, they probably don't want you taking a bunch of vitamins to vie for absorption.

After that, I just keep a Rubbermaid box containing my medication and vitamins. I'm fairly good about remembering them then. The other thing you might want to consider -- they actually make pill boxes (I had one, but wasn't big enough) that you can set as alarms. Also, there are watches made (you can find them on ebay) that are for ADHD, Autism that have multiple alarms (up to 12, I think) that you can set. If nothing else, program your cell phone or PDA for reminders!

I think trying to remember vitamins is hard! It doesn't strike me as MEDICINE -- although, in some cases it definitely IS. I think everyone has had really good ideas -- just thought I'd throw some that have worked for me in the mix!!

[Karen B.]

Speaking as one that carried a bottle of Ginko in my travel bag for months before I remembered to take it, I know it can be a problem.

Step one is making sure you are taking all you should be

Step two is getting it down your throat

I've learned to be very regular about taking my supplements and I deal with step one by having an index card that I list them all on. This is also handy when you go to the doc. But otherwise, I'll forget to put something in my pill box.

Step two is an issue of discipline and psyching your self up. I keep a 7 day pill box for morning and a smaller one for night. When it gets empty, I fill it. I make sure it goes empty on the weekend when I have more time. It stays next to the computer because I check email in the morning and at night. I also keep a case of water (stored on end) next to the desk so I can reach for a bottle of water when I want. If you make yourself do it for a month, it'll be habit and you won't have to think about it.

Everyone has chores they have to do... cutting grass, putting gas in the car, laundry. If you think of refilling your pills as optional, they will be. If you mentally move it to the non-optional list and make yourself stop and deal with it, you'll have better success. You have to realize that it actually is a health issue. An accidental gluten exposure could see you not absorbing some particular nutrient for a couple of weeks. Part of it may be having to realize that if you don't keep yourself healthy, you can't take care of anyone else.

Since I had sciatica as one of the problems before I was diagnosed and that was due to a B vitamin and folic acid shortage, I equate not taking my pills with pain. That really works as an incentive. :-)

[tarnalberry]

Partially, it's an active choice. I sometimes have problems with it too, and really, if you buckle down, and choose to follow through on one of your methods, you can. If you think about it, you do *see* that bottle when you clean around it or make your coffee, and yet you choose to not open it and take one right there. So I think it's more than just figuring out a trick, I think it's understanding what the resistance is.

[georgiagirl]

I admit that I hate taking my vitamins and have been bad about doing so since I was diagnosed 3 months ago. I also feel guilty about not doing so.

The reason that I have problems is in the past I've taken vitamins that have made me feel very nauseated, and I associate that feeling with vitamins.

Here's some incentives that I'm trying this month:

1) I've posted a calendar in my kitchen, next to my vitamins, and am checking off each day that I take my vitamins. I've asked my husband to check up on my compliance. If I take vitamins daily for a week, I get a treat. If I get through all of June taking vitamins daily, I get another treat.

2) I simply don't like swallowing vitamin pills. I'm looking for a liquid or powder vitamin that is more attractive than swallowing a pill. Here's a few things I've been trying:

a) I just got a powder, tasteless probiotic called VSL#3 that I stir into yoghurt and I have no trouble taking. (It's very expensive though and have only taken a couple of times!)

I've also had success taking Floratival Iron & Herbs which is a decent tasting liquid vitamin.

c) There's a great B12 vitamin that you put under your tongue called Biochem Superior B12 that tastes alright.

d) As a last resort, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods carry kids vitamins that are like gummy bears. They taste great. There's a calcium one called "Rhio Swirlin" Calci-Bears" and I think the multi vit is called something like "Gummy Vits". Problem of course is they are intended for kids, but if I've been really bad about taking my vitamins, I figure taking these is better than nothing.

e) If you do take vitamins in pill forms, try vitamins that are food based as that cuts down on the nausea risk. Also try capsules and see if that works better for you. Also, avoid vitamins where you have to swallow multiple pills. I've been trying RightBow Lights Just One Women's One Multivitamin and RainBow Light's Just One Food Based Calcium and they don't cause any nausea for me, and there's no too much to swallow.

Anyone have suggestions on other Liquid or Powder Vitamins that taste decent?

Otherwise, best of luck on staying compliant with your vitamin intake.

Georgia Girl

[TLT]

Number one:I am so jealous of you guys who can get vitamins or pills down, I have a really rough time, because they make my stomach really upset. But I like the other person with Thyroid medicine take it first thing each morning so that it has an hour to settle in. But with vitamins it is hit or miss at night, and I like Georgia Girl use kid vitamins a lot, being able to chew up a tablet makes it a whole bunch easier for me to get down.

Good luck with setting up a habbit pattern that works for you. I think the key is repition, once you have taken something at the same time each day over an extended period it becomes old hat.

[Sandi]

mine sit near my keyboard and when i have my computer time, I always have water with me and I mostly take it then

sandi

[laurie1067]

I take my vitamin every night when I give my son his. If I forget, her reminds me. He likes getting his Flintstone vitamin, so he remembers better than I do most nights.

[SmLTwNGrL8504]

  On 5/30/2007 at 11:34 AM, JNBunnie1 said:

What I do is buy some really good juice, you know, like Naked or Bolthouse Farms, and I can't have any unless I take my vitamins with it. So I only get enough to take my vitamins every day. It will help with indigestion, hopefully, and it will provide incentive to take the vitamins. And they even make month-long pill containers, you could always buy one of those.

Or, since you seem able to remember them at night even though you can't take them then, you could go every night and put them IN your coffee cup in front of the coffeemaker, that oughta help you remember in the morning. Even put them in a little plastic baggie the night before, in your coffee cup, to take them to work with you. I'll bet you'll only waste one or two servings by forgetting and pouring your coffee, and it will definitely taste funny and remind you if you forget!

This Worked Perfect for me!!! I was really bad about taking mine too so I was reading everyones suggestions. If I dont take my B12 I do not want to do anything all day and I'm not a very nice person! Thank you for your advice!!