What’s My Window of Opportunity?

Some of my medications have to be taken before meals. The directions on the label are very specific, take “30 minutes before meal.” This drove me nuts.

In trying to take my medicine properly I’d delay eating. Or I’d gamble on how long before dinner was going to hit the table.

Eating out was a particular nightmare. There’s no predicting how long it will take to get seated. And after that who knows how fast or slow service will be? When I asked the server for something to eat with my pill, inevitably I would get the (white) bread basket. A single roll could be half the carbs allotted to the meal!

If the food arrived in less than the 30 minutes I’d worry that the medicine didn’t have enough time to work. If the food took more than the 30 minutes to arrive I’d worry that my blood sugar was going to crash and I’d end up hypoglycemic. Either way I’d break out in a sweat.

But one simple question to my doctor put an end to this madness. I asked my doctor, “What’s the time range for taking this medicine? How soon can I eat after taking it? How long can I go before eating?”

Suddenly I had a window (of opportunity) for taking my medication correctly. Not a particular point in time. Having a range to fit in and not a single target to hit makes this so much more manageable. There’s some wiggle room.

And having a this wiggle room moves me away from perfectionist thinking. I don’t have to eat on-time. I don’t have only one single chance to get it right. I have options, as long as I stay in the window of opportunity.