Heartburn & Missing Doses

My doc put me on a new formulation of my blood pressure medicine since surgery because of the absorption problems I was having with a sustained release version of the same med. The crap part of this is that I have to take it 4x/day instead of once a day and that means taking a dose at 6:00 am every morning. I'm not usually up at that hour, so I've been setting an alarm to get up and take the med and then I usually go back to sleep for another hour or 2. The problem is, though, that 2 weeks into this routine, I'm realizing that I frequently sleep through the alarm and miss the dose and since it's a blood pressure med, I can't just take it and then take the next dose a few hours later, which means I'm only getting in 3 doses about half the time, instead of the required 4.

The other problem is heartburn. I've started getting heartburn on the mornings I do manage to wake up and take my meds on time. I think it's because I'm taking them on an empty stomach with jus****er and then laying down again, but I'm not sure. It's only just started in the last few days....the thing is, if I eat something when I take the 6:00 am dose, I'll be fully awake by the time I'm done and that will interfere with my sleep, which isn't great to begin with.

Anyone have any ideas?

Did your doc say the doses had to be evenly dosed throughout the day? Maybe it's a case where each dose only needs to be a certain time apart, for example 4 hrs, which would be doable. I can't imagine they expect you to wake up early just to take meds. Maybe ask the pharmacist, you might be surprised. Good luck

I agree, I would ask the pharmacist how far apart the doses need to be.

Why not take it, one when you get up, one with lunch, one at dinner, one at bed? How many hours does it have to be between doses? LIke for me, I take my first set of pills at 630, when i get up, then next set at 11 when I do lunch, next set at 2 when i have snack, 5-6 at dinner, 8pm, then last ones at bed which is 10. That isnt all the same pill, some of them is my vitamins, all the afternoon and evening ones are my calcium, bed ones are my thyroid and sleeping pill.

I've checked. Because it's a blood pressure med, I have to take it 6 hours apart. If I take the doses too close together, I run the risk of my blood pressure dropping too low, which can be dangerous. I see my surgeon today, maybe he'll have a solution.

Mmmmkay...well, the surgeon wasn't too terribly helpful because he's not a cardiologist. So, I called my cardiologist. (Duh! That really ought to have been my first step!) I spoke with his nurse (who also has had RNY and understands the absorption issues with sustained release meds!) and since my doc is on vacation this week, she checked with the covering doc who told me something totally different from what the doc at the weight center and the pharmacist said! He said it was absolutely fine to take my first dose the moment I wake up in the morning, my last dose immediately before bed, and space the other 2 out evenly in between, even if this means that I'm taking them a little more often than every 6 hours. He told me to check my blood pressure before each dose and if it's low, then to hold off an hour and recheck before taking the next dose.