When your physician starts prescribing you a maintenance medication for your hypertension, you should take it at the prescribed time and dose. However, some patients tend to disregard it and forget how skipping a dose of medication can be life-threatening.
So, if you are diagnosed with hypertension and plans to skip a dose or stop taking it for some reason, you might want to think twice. Check out these risks you might encounter if you stop or even miss a dose of your medication.
The Treatment Will Likely to Fail
The first concern you must think about if you constantly miss a dose of your hypertension medication is the failure of your treatment. There is a reason why your physician prescribed maintenance drugs for your hypertension.
Your doctor might have noticed that your blood pressure is over the limit, and only medication can control it. Once a person’s blood pressure reaches 140/90, this is considered stage 2 hypertension and needs medication to control.
If you do not take your medication on time, the treatment will never work, and you will likely suffer from complications, which we will be talking about next.
Can Lead To Complications
For some, constantly missing a dose of their hypertension medicine leads to complications. Aside from heart failure, it can as well cause renal failure and stroke. In addition, if your treatment fails due to improper medication, your other organs will be affected, such as your kidneys and your heart.
It is like a chain reaction. For example, if you can not manage your blood pressure, everything inside your body will fail, making the treatment more expensive.
High blood pressure can damage your arteries. This will lead to your arteries becoming less elastic, which lessens the oxygen and blood flow to your heart. If this happens, heart failure will occur.
Moreover, high blood pressure can also make your kidney’s blood vessels narrow down, lessening the blood flow to your kidneys. If this happens, your kidneys will not work properly and will eventually fail.
If you are worried right now about the cost of your hypertension pills, imagine what it would be like if you also had to take heart medications and, worst, go for dialysis to survive. Your finances would not be able to take the brunt of the cost of maintenance medicines.
It May Lead To Death
The next thing you must be concerned about after the complications are the possibility of death. Once the complications occur, it can be hard to keep your body going, and treatment might be unable to save you. Hence, it’s necessary that you take your meds on time and avoid skipping two or more doses.
If you fail to follow your doctor’s treatment instructions and continue to skip doses, blood flow to other parts of your body becomes restricted. Eventually, you will suffer from stroke, renal failure, and heart attack, leading to death.
What to Do if You Skip a Dose?
If you only skipped a single dose of your high-blood medicine, you’ll still be okay. However, while this can be a normal occurrence to most patients, you should be very careful. Even if missing one dose of your medication is okay, you should always try to go back on track with your daily schedule.
For example, if you missed your medication for lunch and realized during the afternoon that you hadn’t taken it yet, you should immediately take your dose. Moreover, if you remember it at the time of your next dose, you can take both doses simultaneously.
However, if you’ve only remembered that you missed a dose the next day, there is no need to double dose the medication. Instead, take the necessary doses on that day and get yourself back on track. Continue taking the pills as scheduled.
It is best to ask your doctor the right approach if you skip a dose. Every medicine is different, and the approach is also different. So, contact your doctor as soon as you realize you missed a dose and listen to the doctor’s instructions.
When it comes to maintenance medication, it is vital to be back on track and ensure that you will never skip another dose moving forward. To do this, here are some tips that can help you not miss another dose of your high-blood medication.
How Not to Miss a Dose
- Set the alarm on every schedule. If you need to set 3 alarms a day, do it. This is an excellent way of reminding yourself of any scheduled medication that you should take at a particular time. Smartphones and smartwatches are great for reminding patients about their medication schedules.
- Keep your medicines at a convenient place. Place your medications where you can easily find them, allowing you to remember that you need to take them. It can be on your bedside table or your dining table. It is also best to have separate pill containers in your bedroom and the kitchen. This way, you wouldn’t have to go to another room just to take your meds.
- Always keep your prescription filled. Another reason why patients skip a dose of their medication is that they forget to fill it up. The best way to avoid this is to purchase medicines that are good for at least two months. This way, you will never have to rush in buying the medicine, and you can never skip a dose.
- If you’re skipping your dose because of the side effects that it gives you, discuss it with your physician. If you are not happy with your current brand, your doctor may prescribe you another one that won’t give you the inconvenient side effects you’re experiencing. Sometimes it’s just a matter of your body’s compatibility with the medicine.
- You can also opt for a hypertension medication that suits your budget, especially since some patients skip their doses due to the cost of the pills. If you are having trouble with the cost of your maintenance drugs, consider acquiring a discount card. A discount card from BuzzRx.com can be a huge help when purchasing your medications.
Remember that you have a lot of options to make your condition better. If you want to live longer, it is best that you follow the doctor’s orders and never skip a single dose of your medication.
To Sum It Up
Missing a dose is normal, and almost everyone who takes maintenance medicine has encountered that. However, there are risks associated with constantly missing medication doses. But, fortunately, there are ways that you can do to avoid missing any doses of your medication and live your life to the fullest.
