In the last day, I have gained a greater appreciation for those little boxes that tell you not only which day to take your pills, but what time of day as well.

This week I finally received my January blood work from my endocrinologist’s office, and confirmed that my blood counts remained at last year’s low levels. Both my acupuncturist and nurse-practitioner agreed that I needed supplements: from one, I received a prescription for a blood booster, and from the other, a prescription for an iron pill (with instructions to take it with a vitamin C drink).

Really, the only tricky thing about this is that I can’t take iron or calcium within four hours of my thyroid medication. And, of course, I can’t take iron or calcium within four hours of each other. And, I need to take all of these things with food, including the one that I take three times a day. So I need to eat three times a day, four hours apart, beginning one hour after I wake up and take my thyroid medication. Oh, and in between two of those meals, the probiotic supplement, with water only.

Thankfully, I have a sports watch with five alarms. Its original purpose was to time me for run/walk intervals, but reminding me to eat meals and take pills is a perfectly useful adaptation.

The upside: I finally have a use for those eensy weensy plastic storage containers that you get when you buy a set.