Last dose
tracker.
When did you last take paracetamol? Ibuprofen? Tapentadol? Tap once to log a dose, and see at a glance how long ago each one was, especially useful when you're alternating between two or three medications and pain (or a groggy few days) makes it hard to remember.
This idea came from a real moment during recovery: alternating between three different pain medications, and simply not being able to remember when the last dose of one of them was taken. That kind of memory lapse is extremely common after surgery, anaesthesia, disrupted sleep, pain itself, and some of the medications you're taking can all blur your sense of time.
This tool does one thing well: it timestamps the moment you tap "I took this now" for each medication you're tracking, and shows you how long ago that was, updating live. If you want a nudge for next time, you can set your own personal reminder length: the tool doesn't pick one for you.
What this tool deliberately does not do: it does not tell you when it is safe or correct to take your next dose. It has no knowledge of your prescription, your weight, your other conditions, or interactions between your medications. That calculation belongs to your doctor, surgeon, pharmacist, or the label on the packet, not an app.
Your data stays on your device. Nothing is sent to any server. If you clear your browser or use another device, your log starts fresh.
Why tracking matters more than remembering
Regular, on-time analgesia tends to control post-operative pain better than waiting until pain has already escalated and then catching up. NICE guidance notes that scheduled (rather than purely as-needed) analgesia is often recommended in the first 48–72 hours after surgery, precisely because the underlying principle is that it's easier to keep pain at a manageable level than to bring severe pain back under control. Source: NICE NG180: post-operative pain management
Why intervals differ between medications. Different analgesics are metabolised at different rates, which is why they're typically dosed at different intervals: published guidance describes paracetamol as commonly dosed 4–6 hourly and NSAIDs like ibuprofen similarly at regular intervals within their daily limit, while opioid intervals vary considerably by specific drug and formulation. None of these numbers are a substitute for your own prescription label, which reflects your specific dose, formulation, and any other medications or conditions your prescriber has taken into account. Source: NHS: paracetamol
Alternating medications increases mix-up risk. Combining paracetamol, an NSAID, and an opioid on staggered schedules is a common and often effective pain-control strategy, but published guidance also notes it's exactly this kind of multi-medication regimen that patients most commonly lose track of at home, particularly in the first few groggy days. A simple timestamp log reduces that risk without requiring you to memorise anything. Source: NHS: medicines information
If an opioid is one of your medications. Constipation is common with opioid painkillers such as tapentadol, tramadol, codeine or oxycodone, and is worth planning for from day one rather than after it starts. See our constipation after surgery guide for published guidance on this. Source: NICE NG89: VTE and general post-op guidance
Why "when did I last take it?" is such a common question
It's one of the most ordinary and most overlooked problems in home recovery. Discharge paperwork covers what to take and roughly how often, but very few systems help you remember the one thing that actually matters in the moment: the exact time of your last dose of each medication. This is compiled from NHS, healthdirect.gov.au and NICE published guidance on post-operative medication safety.
Why memory fails after surgery
Several ordinary things stack up in the first days after surgery: disrupted sleep, the physiological effects of anaesthesia wearing off, pain itself demanding attention, and some pain medications (particularly opioids) affecting alertness and short-term memory as a known side effect. None of this reflects poorly on you or your carer; it's an expected part of early recovery, and it's exactly why a simple external record is more reliable than trying to remember.
Handovers between carers
If more than one person is helping with your care, a partner during the day and a different family member overnight, for instance, a shared, visible log matters even more than personal memory. Rather than a verbal handover ("I think she had Panadol around lunchtime?"), a timestamped log removes the ambiguity. This tool's log stays on the device it was entered on; if multiple carers need to see the same log, keeping one shared device or writing the time down when handing over is the simplest workaround, since nothing here syncs between devices.
When to contact your care team instead of guessing
If you're genuinely unsure whether a dose was missed, doubled, or taken too close together, the safest step is to call your pharmacist, GP, or the after-hours line your hospital gave you at discharge, not to guess, and not to wait until your next scheduled dose to find out. This is particularly important for opioids and blood-thinning medication, where the margin for error is smaller.
Sources: NHS (medicines information · NICE NG180) post-operative pain management · healthdirect.gov.au