Ask to see Amelia Abraham's medications and you'll meet a veritable pharmacy. The 77-year-old said she cannot have any appointments or meetings in the morning because she needs to concentrate on taking her medications.

"If I don't get to take it in the morning, I may forget and then I'll be in trouble," she said.

And after her morning dosages, she still has others she must take in the afternoon and evening.

She showed me 14 different medicines she takes daily. There are three different insulin injections for her diabetes. One type is taken in the morning, another in the afternoon and a third type is taken in the evening.

Here's what the line-up each day looks like for her.

She takes aspirin for her heart as well as prescription medications enalapril and betaloc. Both work to lower her blood pressure safeguarding her from another heart attack.

"But the enalapril makes me dizzy when I take one," she said. Another cause for her to be at home and engagement free in the mornings.

Zocor is the medication she takes to help fight cholesterol build up in her arteries. "It makes my muscles so weak," she said.

The blood thinner wafarin, which is a key ingredient in rat poison, upsets her stomach and puts her off all meat. "My whole system goes whacky with wafarin," she said. "But the doctors have told me that I have to have some red meat especially for iron, because I am anaemic. So I eat just a little hamburger or a little chicken, but it makes me feel so bad."

She takes a slow releasing iron tablet for the anaemia. This must be taken on an empty stomach and lots of fibre included in the diet.

"The iron can make me so constipated," she said.

Mrs. Abrahams takes spironolactone — a steroid and furosemide — a diuretic for fluid build up on her legs.

She takes prednisone another steroid, for an arthritis she has developed in the head. But she explained that this causes her blood sugar levels to rise. As a diabetic this is a serious complication and so taking the prednisone is carefully timed with her insulin shots.

She has special daily vitamins for her eyes and eye drops which must be administered three times a day.

"Often I forget to put the drops in the evening but then my eyes start to burn and I remember," she said.

She also takes Zyrtec for allergies.

Apart from remembering to take her medications, Mrs. Abraham must also pay for them as her insurance does not cover the full amount. "Last year Government gave me $1,100 in HIP," she said. " I spent it all in one month on medications."

One box of Novolin — her insulin medication cost $63. It will last about a month and she needs three boxes each month (remember she takes three different types of insulin each day).