Pill Management

Daisie

Hi! Any ideas for pill management from the collective brain our there are appreciated!

Here's the dilemma. Every morning, I give my 90-year-old mom with MD her six pills. Every morning, she counts them and questions me. Whatever, I expect that. But in doing so and counting them, she invariably loses one, misplaces it, or forgets she already swallowed it. Then we go through the Whole.Process.Again.

Any ideas on dispensing the meds more easily? Any and all are welcome!

concerned_sister

Hi Daisy, I'm not speaking from personal experience, but from what I've read of the wisdom of other posters. It is often suggested to try to work with the pharmacy to get the needed meds delivered in the individualized pill packs. Perhaps you've seen them advertised where this can even be broken down by AM and PM dosing. Perhaps this is worth looking in to.

mabelgirl

My mom does similar routine, where she looks over each pill and then ask me to tell her what they are for. Yes sometimes she drops but I generally hang there till she pops them in her mouth and I keep a flashlight close by for when I need to hunt for them. The other thing she does , generally at nighttime pill is complain that I didn’t give her her morning pills along with reviewing the nighttime pills. Today she sprung a new one on me , asked what day it was I respond Tuesday and then she goes well you didn’t give my pills on Monday!
Maybe you can put them in a small sandwich container so she can see them and count them in it.

Daisie

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/215352#Comment_215352

OMG Yes! I go through the same thing, saying she didn't get them the day before! Fortunately, she only takes daytime pills. I couldn't imagine giving her a night-time dose when she's sundowning, too! That's a good idea about the sandwich bags. I think they even make smaller ones on Amazon that I'll look for. Thanks!!

Daisie

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/215339#Comment_215339

Yes! Thank you! Or I'll make my own if they won't!

H1235

My brother put her pills in a small bowl. She could easily count and see them. It was dark in color so the pills were easy to see. He still had to watch her very closely to make sure she took them all. Could you count them out for her as soon as you give them to her.

Susan_B

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/69821/pill-management

My MIL takes meds AM, Noon and Night. We have purchased several 7-day pill organizer boxes and have the box next to a clock that tells her the day of week, time of day and date and an alarm goes off 3x day to take her pills. She knows if today is Monday, she keeps the MONDAY container out and takes the pills when her alarms goes off. This has been working for us. We keep the 2nd container filled so we can swap out every Sunday.

​fesk

We used a pill organizer and we wrote each pill down after it was taken.

psg712

There are a lot of good ideas here. Bear in mind that whichever one you choose, any plan that requires a PWD to understand it or act on their own to take medication will eventually fail. You will need to watch closely for their correct use of any system and for progression of their dementia that will necessitate a change in plans.

At some point, nothing will ensure correct medication use but another person dispensing it to her and watching her take it. Every day, every dose. And keeping all meds, including OTC and supplements, out of reach. I wouldn't be so negative about it if it weren't such a big safety risk. I hope you find the system that works best for your LO in the meantime.

Jo C.

Some very good suggestions have been given . . . . if your LO begins to demand pills, or open access to pill bottles, that can become a very difficult dynamic. When my step-dad began that behavior; he demanded pills and pill bottles . . . SO . . . I kept some of his old, empty pill bottles with the labels and filled them with tic tacs. He had total control over those bottles and it did the trick! When he had "control" over those particular bottles, his demands lessened. For some reason, he did not question that other meds were provided to him - those of course were the "real" meds.

J.

scoutmom405

I recently started giving my FIL his AM & PM pills in a small white bowl. I have to stand there as he counts & takes each one. Before i would hand him the small square pill container & he'd pour them in his hand & take them. Then I started finding dropped pills the past week. So far he's ok with counting them in the bowl & having me stand there til he swallows them all.

Moose

My mom was refusing to take her medication because she couldn't remember what the pills were for and she thought there were too many of them. I was coaxing her into taking them so often that I was starting to have fantasies of hiding the pills in bits of cheese, lol! On a whim and with flimsy hope, I used my computer savvy to make a laminated double-sided chart of her pills (one side for morning and one side for evening), including blown-up photos of what each pill looks like and a very succinct description of what it is for (e.g. Pepcid. It's an acid reducer!). Beneath each photo I put a bold black arrow pointing to an empty white box which is where I actually lay out the pill(s) she needs to take. I wish I could share a photo because I'm not describing it very well, but it looks simple. She doesn't bother to read the descriptions at all, but ever since I made the chart a few months ago she hasn't refused her medications even once. It made a drawn-out battle the simplest part of our routine! I think having the labeled photos that match her pills just reassures her. I do keep her pills in a combination lock box, lay them out for her myself, and then watch her take them. Within the lock box is a pill organizer of the weekly AM/PM variety so I always know if she got her morning and evening meds throughout the week.

There are a lot of great ideas here! This is my first post and I'm grateful to connect with others facing the same issues.

concerned_sister

Moose, I was able to visualize your description. I'm glad you found a system that worked for you. It sounds like it was well worth the effort put into it. I like your creative problem solving.

nancym97

A speech therapist of my mom’s recently mentioned a machine called “Hero.” It’s a machine that you fill and program somehow, like say dispense this drug at 10 am. And then if the pill is not taken, you can get notifications sent to your phone.

This won’t work for everyone, but might be helpful to some folks who can trust their LO to take the pill.

Lport

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/69821/pill-management

I put all the pills in a small bowl & just give it to him . Watch to make sure he takes them all

nsglobe

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/216515#Comment_216515

I have a locking pill tray that is similar to the maching you therapist referred to that is made by Adamson. I got it from Amazon: Amazon.com: Adamson TimelyMed Smart Pill Dispenser Machine with Alarm + WIFI App Monitoring + NEW 2024 + 28 Day Medicine Dispenser + Automatic Pill Dispenser for Elderly with Alarm & Alzheimers Care + Lock Key : Health & Household

My mom is in Early Stages of Alzheimer's. She asked me if I thought she "needed" a locked pill try. I told her not yet; but the alarm is helpful. I asked her if she wanted to learn new technology now or later down the road as it gets harder for her. (She fights with technology as it is.) She agreed that she would rather get used to it now.

She has been using it for over a month now and LOVES it. She does have to take the pills out of the "tray" herself to take them (or someone could give them to her; but my mom likes to do it by herself). However, the alarm goes off at 9a and 9p (our choices). I get a notification on my phone that it is pill time. It also speaks through a speaker at her home, "It is time for your medication." Then, flashes blue lights. Then, beeps for 30 minutes (or until she takes her pills). When she takes her pills, it responds, "Thank you." If she doesn't take her pills by 9:30, it notifies my phone that she missed her pills. It speaks through the speaker, "You have missed a dose of your medication. Please take it as soon as possible." Then, if she does take it, the report (on my phone) will update but not send me a notification (another preference I set).

She was questioning the amount and color of the pills prior to getting the tray; so, I had the doctor print her pill list out for me. I marked each one for morning or night (on that paper). She can look at that paper anytime she "forgets" what she is taking to make sure I didn't "forget" to give her meds.

The tray has 28 slots. With her taking pills twice-a-day, it will hold two weeks at a time. This also makes her feel more confident that there is not an issue. Neither of us are making daily/weekly changes to the tray/container anymore.

My mom is pretty easy-going at this stage, so my story might be different that some others. She said she likes not having to make decisions right now. She is considering this her "mind vacation". :) She said I can just be in charge and that is fine with her. But, she still worries and overthinks things. I have to be careful with her to make sure things go well.