As a tech nerd and cancer caregiver, I found the use of an app to manage medications extremely helpful. I use an iOS app called Medisafe, but I am sure there are other good apps out there. This app gives me detailed instructions and warnings for every medication, and warns of known interactions, as well as the usual notifications of times and doses of medications, and tracks inventory to remind us when refills are required. We used to use the daily pillboxes, but found that the pill load and constant medication changes were too much for that system. Through the weeks surrounding our bone marrow transplant at Mayo Rochester we had detailed daily Medication reviews. The same reviews went on through six months of chemo as well. Nothing can substitute for maintaining a written record of every dose of every medication except for perhaps an eidetic memory. We put together a bag to serve as a portable medicine cabinet so that we can take all our meds with us in the original containers. If a question comes up in a med review we just pull out the bottle. If we need to take some medications during an outpatient visit (common in chemo after waiting for blood results) we have them with us, along with the app and our various instruments.

I guess what I am trying to say is that an organized approach to caregiving can relieve some of the stress. When the nurse or doctor changes a medication on the fly we just make the change in the App and add a note as to the reason. This certainly beats living in constant doubt as to whether we have properly followed doctor's orders. And on those days when we come home exhausted and overwhelmed, then muscle memory kicks in and we let the app tell us what to do and when.