Missing an Epilepsy Medication Dose - A Caregiver's Perspective

The care you receive from your health care professional (i.e. neurologist), is as unique as you. Your health story may be similar to another person but, no two stories are exactly the same.

Learning important recommendations

Whether you have Epilepsy, a chronic illness, or an invisible illness, your doctor works with you to help get the medications they prescribed for you on track. The med dose the doctor prescribes is specifically for you and your health, not anyone else. NEVER offer your meds to another person

It's not easy adjusting to remembering to take your meds dose at certain times of the day. Everyone's schedule is different and you need to set up a daily plan ( med schedule) to suit you and do your very best to stick to it.
I remember there were times my own daughter would forget to take her anti-seizure meds, and as her mom and caregiver, this was concerning. We were told by her neurologist to NEVER MISS A DOSE!

Helpful tools

We were asked to document in a journal when doses were missed and include time, date, and dosage. It helps doctors monitor my daughter's care. We were also told that missing 1 or more doses of anti-seizure meds, or coming off anti-seizure meds cold turkey without direction from my daughter's neurologist, is not safe and could in some cases result in possibly an increase in seizure activity or other unwanted side effects.

Building a medication support team

As a caregiver (always with my daughter's consent) I was allowed to reach out to our pharmacist for further advice.
(Note: neurologists don't have a lot of time but do try to help as they can.) For my daughter, we were told by our pharmacist that if my daughter forgets to take her anti-seizure meds, document it, then move on to the scheduled next dose and time to avoid taking a double dose that day. This way it helps regulate the doses taken and get her back on track.

This caregiver's perspective

If you're at all concerned about you or your loved one missing a med dose, due to whatever reason, reach out to your doctor. Not all people on social media have your best interest at heart, and they don't know your health history. They might accidentally give you bad advice. Your doctor or pharmacist will give you the best advice and they will help get you back on track.

It's scary missing an anti-seizure or chronic illness med dose, but it happens often. Don't beat yourself up over it! Instead, with the help of a pharmacist/neurologist, figure out what works best for you to remember. Do you need to set an alarm ⏰️ to remember to take the prescribed med, or do you need a caregiver friend, or family member to help remind you?

Everyone wants you to excel on your personal health journey, myself included. What works for you, doesn't necessarily work for another; each of us is unique.

I hope the content I provide helps.

Signed, Lorrie