AIDS Council of New South Wales Inc. (ACON) is a community-based organization in Australia's State of New South Wales serving HIV-positive men, women and children; the gay and lesbian community, including transgender people; and those people involved in the community response to HIV/AIDS.

In the October edition of Positive Living, this column featured adherence advice from ACON. Here are some additional tips from ACON on how to fit drugs into your daily routine.

• Sue: "I'm taking indinavir, so I leave them on my bedside table. That way the first thing I do when I wake up is take the pills. I always wake up at the same time even on weekends -- so I take them and roll over and have a Sunday sleep in."

• Rob: "At first I found the middle of the afternoon dose of saquinavir difficult to take. Now I try to have a late lunch break. I figure if I take it an hour after lunch it's still with food. Or I have a mid-afternoon pig-out... a milkshake and some hot chips or a packet of peanuts for afternoon tea."

• Leanne: "When I was deciding which combination to take, my doctor and I talked about my daily routine. I hadn't realize up until then how obsessed I am with cleaning my teeth. I keep my pills in my toiletries bag next to my toothbrush in my locker at work. I've forgotten to take them a couple of times in the last few months, but... I'm more worried about not cleaning my teeth."

• Peter: "Oh! It's so much easier since I switched my combo. I'm doing d4t, saquinavir and ritonavir twice a day with food which means I have them with breakfast and then with dinner in the evening."

• Steve: "I take my ddI when I get up. By the time I've had a shower, done my morning meditation and ironed a shirt for work I can sit down and relax over breakfast. My boss is amazed, I haven't been late for work since I started my routine."

• Alan: "Working rotating shifts put me off starting treatment for a while. I try to think about eight-hour blocks instead of mealtimes. But it hasn't always been successful. I'm seeing my doctor next week. I don't know if I can keep it up. See if I can't switch to something that only needs to be taken every 12 hours. I panic a bit if I've missed a dose, but my viral load is slowly going down so it's OK at the moment."

• Josh: "I'm not a morning person. I can't do anything until I've had a few cups of coffee. I kept forgetting my morning doses, my boyfriend suggested I tape a pill bottle to the coffee jar. I throw them down with a glass of water before my coffee now... it seems to be working... my viral load is undetectable."

• Peter: "I'm really slack. I'd forget without some help. I'm always running around the city for work, so I use my paging service. It costs me about $12 a month, I reckon that's pretty good value."

• Jenny: "Weekends are the worst. I go out raging (partying) most Saturday nights, so I don't know where I'll end up if you know what I mean. But I take my morning supply out with me in a pill box the night before. Someone told me you can leave one dose of ritonavir out of the fridge for up to 12 hours -it's been much easier since I started doing that."

• David: "The middle-of-the-day dose is the hardest for me, especially at weekends. I'm trying to cut down on my smoking, so I've started smoking rollies (cigarettes you roll yourself). Now I keep them (the pills) in a film container in my tobacco pouch. I've gotten so used to rolling a cigarette during my afternoon coffee break when four o'clock rolls around, even on weekends, I'm craving a smoke -- I just take them then. Dunno what I'm going to do when I quit the ciggies though."

Have supplies of your drugs at places where you know you'll be -- at work, at a friend's place, in your boyfriend's or girlfriend's fridge (keep secure from young children).

• Take supplies with you wherever you go (backpack, handbag, briefcase -- so long as they don't need to be kept in the fridge).

• If you're always busy and use an appointments diary -- mark in your diary.

• Use a pocket timer, beeper or a wristwatch with an alarm.

• Pill boxes or zip lock bags. Ask your physician, pharmacist, or treatment advocate for seven-day pill boxes.

• If they don't need to be kept in the fridge, store some near your toothbrush.

• Use a paging reminder service.

• Keep Post-It notes on bathroom mirrors, in your car, and on your calendar to remind you to take your meds.

• Tape your schedule to your refrigerator door.

• Cut out your favorite illustrations from Positive Living to remind you to take your meds.

• Ask someone you live with (spouse, partner, family member, roommate) to help you remember to take your pills at the prescribed time.