Not taking tablets

Aine C

My mom has dementia. Unless someone is with her, she misses her tablets. Is a pill box a good idea? Or do we need to get a carer to come and supervise.

JeriLynn66

Will your Mom remember to take meds from a pillbox?? I’m thinking medication should be supervised to avoid taking under OR over prescribed doses…

Quilting brings calm

I would ( at the very least) move her medications to a pharmacy that will put them into blister packs that are labeled with the date and approximate time of day to take them. If your mom has a smart phone, set repeatable alarms that will alert her it’s time to look in the box for todays meds. If that doesn’t work, someone will need to be there at medication time. That could be multiple times a day. Not really feasible unless she has daily caregivers

My parents are in assisted living. Medication management is included in their fee. The pill packs are delivered to them and kept in locked cabinets in their apartment. Staff comes in the apartment multiple times a day, gets the correct one out and hands it to them to take.

M1

A pill box only worked for us for a very short period of time. When my partner couldn't remember the day of the week or the time of day it quit working. I would think the same would eventually happen with blister packs. There comes a point where only direct supervision will suffice; short of that you can't guarantee that she is actually taking them and not putting them in the trash, toilet, or sink.

dancsfo

I agree. I had a 7-day pill box, but as @M1 mentioned, a PWD would not remember the day of the week and would insist the pills were taken when in fact, they weren't. As an intermediate step, I would put pills for one day in a box, and if that was not taken, I would remind the PWD to take it. I later found some pills on the floor, so was not sure even if that day's pills were taken.

So it's better to actually see a person take all the pills, and that is the current solution.

Marta

Not remembering to take meds is likely the tip of the iceberg you are seeing. If you spend 24-48 hours with her you’ll likely see there are multiple other deficits: not eating enough, eating expired food, bills unpaid threatening home and healthcare and insurance, lack of home maintenance, all of which lead one to believe she shouldn’t be living alone.

Joan1

Hello, I would highly recommend a pill dispensing system like I have for my mom. It has been amazing! When she started to forget to take her pills with the regular pill box I did some research and found this. You fill the dispenser up every two weeks and every day it rotates and dispenses the pills automatically. It is called med-e-lert.

Amanda13Johnson

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/187770#Comment_187770

YES!!!!! My mom has a HERO device. It alerts me if she is late to take her meds, if he pills are getting low, if she dispensed them but hasn't actually taken them. Medicare and my moms supplemental insurance paid for the device.

I also have a camera near the machine because there have been times she dispenses them but will put them in the kitchen cabinet.

housefinch

housefinch