URGENT! Please, please help!

[SteveS]

I am desperately hoping someone will see and answer this in the next few hours!

I am on Atripla - brand new to all this, on it for just 4 months. I have been 100% adherent till tonight.

I am in the middle of an intense movie and got up and got my meds out during a commercial - the phone rang and someone walked in the door at the same moment and for the LIFE of me I cannot remember if I took the pill or not. The phone rang and about 3 things happened at once and I cannot remember FOR SURE if I took it or not! If you ask me to guess, I would say 35% I think I took it and 65% I don't think I did.

PLEASE! What should I do? Will not work to count the pills cause I had 3 or 4 from last month left over and put them in with these.

Should I skip, hoping that I took it, even though I am about 65% sure I did not? Or take one and risk it being a double dose.

Any help - please!

[life2]

First, don't panic.  95% adherence is considered very good.  With one missed dose in 4 months you're still over 99% adherent.

Are you able to go back and count the pills accurately?  Did you start the current bottle on the refill date?

Consider using one of those daily pill dispensers or perhaps fill a smaller bottle once a week with seven pills.  This can keep you from driving yourself crazy worrying about it in the future.

Be well.

[Jeff G]

It wont hurt to miss one dose , not at all . Atripla stays in your system a long time anyway and is a very forgiving med in that regard .

Get a weekly pill organizer and you wont have this problem , I would be lost without my organizer and have to check all the time to make sure I'm taking my pills , it works . 

[SteveS]

I understand but I am very early in my treatment - actually closer to three months in than four...I was UD within 3 weeks, but am scared missing a dose this early on.

SHOULD I TAKE A PILL NOW AND RISK THAT IT IS A DOUBLE, or RISK NOT TAKING ONE?

[anniebc]

No don't take the chance of doubling up Steve, missing one dose won't interfere with your UD level, so stop stressing out, that is more harmful to you than missing one dose of Meds.

Aroha
Jan

[Lou-ah-vull]

Agree with the advice the others have given...especially getting a pill organizer.  Almost all of us use them.  It is way too stressful trying to remember if you took a pill (it is like obsessing over whether or not you turned off your car lights after you are sitting down in the movie theater.)  The pill organizer eliminates this issue easily.

Gary

[Cpt.Mauzer]

Like others have said, one missed dose won't kill you and doubling up on dosage would probably mess things up worse than missing it.

I've found that putting my pills into a weekly pill container keeps this from happening (the pill is either in today's slot or it isn't...)