Tips To Help You Remember To Take Your Daily Psoriatic Arthritis Medication
It may take some time and effort to build taking your psoriatic arthritis medication into your routine.
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation in the joints, spine, and tendons. This inflammation can result in pain and damage around the joints.
While the cause of PsA may not be clear, there are plenty of treatment options that may help control it. For example, janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors are oral medications for severe PsA that you generally take daily.
It’s very important to remember to take JAK inhibitors exactly as prescribed. Medication starts to leave your system after a certain amount of time, according to Hana Conlon, NP, Rheumatology Nurse Practitioner at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City.
“If you aren't taking them as prescribed, you're basically setting yourself up to not have a consistent level of medication in your system,” she says. Those dips in medication could possibly trigger a PsA flare.
What are tips for remembering to take your psoriatic arthritis medication?
Sometimes it’s hard to remember to take a daily medication. Here are some tips to help you remember to take your oral PsA medication and reduce your risk of flares:
Use a pill organizer: When you have a pill box sitting in an obvious place like your bathroom or kitchen counter, it’s a visual reminder to take your medication.
Set reminders on your phone: You can set up an alarm or a notification on your phone’s calendar, or you can download a medication reminder app.
Carry extra pills in your purse or work bag: Conlon recommends keeping an extra few doses with you for backup in case you forget to take your medication when you were home.
Build your medications into your routine: Work your medication into your daily schedule so that it’s easy to remember. For example, you could take it right before you brush your teeth, or keep it by your bed and take it when you first wake up in the morning.
Pick a time of day when you’re not stressed: Try to take your medication during a time of day when you’re usually at home and it isn’t chaotic for you. That way, you’ll be more likely to remember to take it.
If you’re still having trouble remembering to take your medication for PsA, talk to your provider for more ideas. It may mean that you should consider a different type of medication that might fit better with your lifestyle.
- Hana Conlon, NPHana Conlon, NP is a certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in rheumatology at Columbia University.
References
Chen, Miao, et al. (2020). A novel treatment for psoriatic arthritis: Janus kinase inhibitors. Chinese Medical Journal.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. (2021). Psoriatic arthritis.
National Library of Medicine. (2020). Taking medicine at home – create a routine.