PillSuite

I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in now way influenced by the company.

This has been a busy week of reviews here at RADiabetes, and that coupled with some commitments on TUDiabetes have made me a bit late getting all the reviews done.  But this is number 3 of 3 and I promise to get back to my typical posts next week.  But in the meantime, I have been asked to perform this sponsored review of a product that started out on Kickstarter and is now available for sale.  My note about the sponsorship is included at the bottom of this post, I invite you to check it.  But to cut to the chase, I received  a free PillSuite in exchange for my honest review.

PillSuite

When I was asked to review this product I passed twice before agreeing to do so.  Frankly, I was skeptical of the solution being offered.  I should not have been.  PillSuite is a way to sort, and store pills in groups for dosing and transporting.  I take a lot of pills; so when first I looked at the system it seemed cumbersome and not worthwhile.  I was wrong.  PillSuite is anything but cumbersome and it is a great way to transport pre-sorted, self-packaged groups of pills.  It works well for single pills that you may not want to become buried in your bag, and it keeps groups of pills in distinct packages for one time use.

The system is comprised of three parts.  The sealer, suites (this is what the bags are called) and sorter.  The sorter is a seven chamber plastic device (like a typical daily pill sorter) with a special attachment to allow filling the suites.  Placing the suite at the end of a specially designed chute on the sorter allows the pills to slide in and then comes the cool part.  You place the open end of the bag on the sealer and press the large button and hold it until the red light turns off.  Presto, you have a sealed bag of pills.

The suites are completely biodegradable (which is important to me) and they allow the operator to write on the outside for purpose of identification.    Then when it is time to open the package it is reasonably easy to tear open the suite for access to the pills.

I was very impressed by the ease of sealing the PillSuite which was fairly easy for my painful arthritic hands.  The sealer does not work based on the amount of pressure applied.  My natural reaction was to press as hard as I could to get the best seal.  What I learned is that it does not matter how hard or how little I press so long as I press it closed the bag seals securely.  This is a big plus for hurting hands.

The PillSuite is also fairly affordable.  The initial system includes the sealer, 400 suites, the pill sorter and 4 batteries retails for $39.95 which includes free shipping.  The replacement suites retail for $7.95 for 200 and $13.95 for 800.  Shipping for the replacement suites is a flat $3.00 making the larger quantity a better buy.

PillSuite Benefits

There is no doubt that traveling will be simplified.    I have had my pill containers spill during travel and I have to say it is simply a mess.  Finding 22 pills per day times 7 days laying in the bottom of your carryon is next to impossible.  Trying to tell if you use a particular loose pill at night or during the day and does this pill make you sleepy or lower blood pressure is a nightmare.  Invariably, I get the sort wrong and I end up missing doses or worse yet taking a night time pill during the day and finding I can barely stay awake.  The PillSuite System will, if used correctly, overcome this problem.  I do not believe the suites will break open and scatter.

Also if you are like me, traveling for two weeks means bringing all my pill bottles because I have to refill the pills after seven days.  Again the PillSuite solves this problem because pills can be counted and sorted for the number of days you will be out.  Leaving the bottles at home will save weight and space in the bag and as a bonus you can do it with peace of mind.

Areas for improvement

The PillSuite is a spot on solution for most pill issues.  But I still see three areas that could be improved.

1. The sorter could include slightly larger pill sections. Like I said I take lots of pills and as such I filled the sort slots to the maximum making handling it a bit cumbersome

2. The suites could be a little larger. I stuffed the bag full.  Again this makes the device more cumbersome to use than need be.  If I took 1-7 pills at a time it would be fine, but I do not and as such I noticed the system being stretched.  Larger suites would make handling and sealing a little easier

3. I wish the bags were identified by color instead of writing on each one. I take my pills twice a day, others take theirs 3 or more times per day.   Writing on each suite label is   cumbersome and can at times lead to dosing errors.  So I take my pills according to color.  White is night, blue is day and that corresponds to the color of the trays I use.

In my opinion, the PillSuite bags should be color coded for better control.   If different color bags or bags with different color strips could be added then the system would make much more sense for those who take pills several times a day.  Color gives the user a far more significant signal about use than writing on the bag.

Recommendation

Even without those improvements, I recommend the PillSuite System.  It is easy to use after the first few PillSuites are filled and they are secure.  It does not require much hand pressure to operate and the result is a well thought out solution for travel.   I do see some room for improvement, but overall if I bought the PillSuite System I would be happy with my purchase.

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Take away for March 28, 2016

• The PillSuite is a pill sorting system for specific dosing of medication
• It allows the user to dispense with carrying pill bottles or hard plastic cases
• The PillSuite will prevent spillage of prefilled pill trays which can lead to pill waste and medication confusion
• There are some improvements I would make in the system but overall I recommend it

Note:  I was given the PillSuite system in exchange for my review.  I was not in the market for such a system and initially passed the opportunity to review it based on the shortcomings I perceived. During the review, those shortcomings were born out and included in my review as areas of improvement.