Free worksheet: Medication & supplement reflection
Starting, adjusting or wondering about a medication or supplement can bring a lot of questions. What’s helping? What feels off? Is it the medication, or something else going on? This worksheet helps you keep track of what you’re noticing, so you can have clearer conversations with your doctor, nurse practitioner, psychiatrist, pharmacist, naturopath and therapist.
HOW IT WORKS
- 01List everything you take, including supplements and natural health products
- 02Note benefits, side effects and anything else that may be affecting how you feel
- 03Bring it to your appointments and share it with each person on your care team
Please don’t start, stop or change a medication or supplement without talking with the professional who prescribed or recommended it.
Get help right away if you have thoughts of suicide or harming yourself, especially after starting or changing a medication: call or text 988, or call 911. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department for chest pain, trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, a severe rash, fainting, confusion, or a high fever with agitation, sweating or shaking. For other questions any time, Health Link is available at 811, and your pharmacist can help too.
01 · What I’m taking
Everything in one place.
Include prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, herbal and natural health products, and anything you take only now and then. Bring the bottles to an appointment if that’s easier.
| Name | Dose & when I take it | What it’s for | Started or changed | Prescribed or recommended by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
02 · What I’m noticing
Benefits and changes.
If you’re reflecting on more than one medication or supplement, you can print an extra copy of this section for each one.
What I was hoping it would help with
Areas that have changed
Tick any areas where you’ve noticed a change, for better or worse, then describe it below.
Possible side effects
Tick anything you’ve noticed since starting or changing it. It may or may not be related, and that’s for your prescriber to help sort out.
03 · The bigger picture
What else might be affecting how I feel?
Changes in how you feel aren’t always about medication. Tick anything that has changed recently.
04 · My care team
Making sure everyone has the full picture.
Some medications, supplements and natural health products can interact with each other. It’s safest when each person involved in your care knows about everything you take.
| Role | Name & contact | Knows everything I take? |
|---|---|---|
| Family doctor or nurse practitioner | ||
| Psychiatrist | ||
| Pharmacist | ||
| Naturopathic doctor | ||
| Therapist | ||
| Other |
05 · For my appointment
Questions and next steps.
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT ASK
How long before I might notice a benefit? Which side effects usually ease with time, and which should I call about? Does this interact with anything else I take, including alcohol, cannabis or supplements? What should I do if I miss a dose? If I want to stop or change it, how should we do that safely?
This worksheet follows general medication safety advice: keep an up-to-date list of everything you take, including natural health products, share it with each of your health care providers and your pharmacist, and don’t stop or change a medication without guidance. Some medications, including antidepressants, carry warnings about new or worsening thoughts of self-harm, especially early in treatment or after a dose change, which is why the safety note at the top is included.
Therapy can work alongside your medical care.
Whether or not medication is part of your plan, counselling can help with what you’re going through, and with your consent, our therapists are happy to coordinate with your doctor or other providers. You’re welcome to bring this worksheet to your first session.
Call or text 403.488.8912 · info@corepsychology.com
Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm · Saturday, 9am to 3pm