I Didn't Know Bottles Could Talk

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Girl Gone Blind®

SHUT the front door! Are you kidding me? WHY has no one told me about this?? I have been legally blind for almost 3 years and I’m just now finding out about these! This blind find needs to be shared!!

What the hell am I ranting about?

Talking RX bottles, that’s what! Prescription bottles that talk to you! This sure would’ve come in handy for me a few months ago. Here’s the story. I mistakenly took a muscle relaxant instead of a Motrin, (ibuprofen). Whoopsie! Oh, did I mention that I had already drank a couple glasses of wine before I popped that pill? I’m not gonna go into the gory details… but, I ended up with bruises, broken fingers, and the IKEA chair clearly lost the fight. I made sure that wooden bitch won’t be tripping anybody, ever again! My point is, this might not have happened if I had a talking Rx bottle…or used an umm, magnifier. Yeah, yeah, I made a blind rookie mistake! Don’t judge.

Currently, I manage my prescriptions by sound and feel. I get a feel for the size/shape of the bottle. I take note of the sound the pills make when I shake it…”shake it real good, da dada dah da dah…” sorry…and, I will feel the size/shape of the pill to confirm the medication. You can also avoid doing all that detective work by simply using a magnifier (or CCTV) to read the labels. (There are a few other tricks of the trade, like rubber bands, bump-dots, or a “Pen friend” system to identify your bottles. I don’t use those, so I’m not going to talk about them.) Figuring out medications is not that big of a deal for me. I don’t take a shit ton of meds!! Please keep in mind, that what works for me, may not work for you. Do what’s best for your level of vision and medication situation!

*If you are having trouble getting talking bottles from your local pharmacy or big chain drug store… Here is another option! June Robbins of En-Vision America was kind enough to give me information about ScripTalk. ScripTalk accessible prescription labels are available across the US and Canada for FREE through En-Vision America’s Pharmacy Freedom program. You can get talking labels, large print or Braille. Just ask your pharmacist for ScripTalk or search for a pharmacy in your area here: http://envisionamerica.com/ourpharmacies or you can call 1-800-890-1180 to find a pharmacist in your area.

Now for a little fun… I decided to make a short video to demonstrate more of what I’m talking about here.

Hit play and check it out!

Vision loss

Category: Things To KnowTags: Blind, disability, LHON, low vision, Prescription bottle, vision loss, visually impaired

7 Comments on “I Didn't Know Bottles Could Talk”

myra jones
August 8, 2016

you are adorable…i want you to video all your blogs

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Melanie
August 8, 2016

I agree – you should be a daily vlogger on You Tube 🙂 And that shouldn’t be only for the hearing impaired – I ended up in the ER once because I had slowly OD’d on my heart meds. My doctor changed my script, and I put my new dose right next to my old dose, and was taking BOTH for several days. Egads! Anyway, I’m glad you found such a helpful gadget. Does the pharmacy charge you for it? Hugs – Mel.

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- Melanie
  August 8, 2016
  
  I’m such a noob – I meant seeing (not hearing) impaired. Jeeezzz….
  
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Adeleh
August 12, 2016

Hi Maria, this is Adeleh. The artist/ophthalmologist if you recall 😉 Just wanted to say that you are adorable and your blog is one of a kind. I look forward to finishing our “beach painting project” 🙂

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June Robbins
July 6, 2017

HI Maria! Just watched your video and love your enthusiasm! If you’re interested in options, ScripTalk accessible prescription labels are available across the US and Canada for FREE through En-Vision America’s Pharmacy Freedom program. You can get talking labels, large print or Braille. Just ask your pharmacist for ScripTalk or search for a pharmacy in your area here: http://envisionamerica.com/ourpharmacies or you can call 1-800-890-1180 to find a pharmacist in your area.

All the best, June

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- Maria Johnson
  July 8, 2017
  
  Hi June,
  Believe it or not, I just had a friend ask if these talking bottles were available in Canada!! Thank You so much for the information. I will definitely be passing it along AND adding the info to this blog! xx
  
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  - June Robbins
    July 24, 2017
    
    Amazing! Thank you very much for being an advocate and talking about accessible prescription labels!
    
    All the best. June
    
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