Pill box questions

TaraF

My father is still living on his own about 15-20 min away from myself and my siblings. Our mother passed away in December and he's getting adjusted. My sister bought him an electronic pill container with an alarm. She fills it once a week for him. He's still self sufficient and refuses to go into a facility of any kind (not that he can afford it). None of us are in a position to take him in either, so we're trying to keep him in his apartment as long as we can. We've noticed the last few weeks that some days, ALL of his pills are left in the container.

Does anyone have any other suggestions on ways to get him to take his meds right? I cannot go over there twice a day to personally give him his pills. My siblings and I all work full time.

ARIL

If the electronic pill box won’t work, he will need direct help from a responsible person. Also, you suspect it already, but I’ll say it anyhow: he may already be unable to live alone, but regardless, he’s certainly headed in that direction. This disease is relentless. You’ll need an alternative plan, sooner than you may imagine. I wish you well. This is hard stuff.

JulietteBee

Aril is correct. He is at that stage! He could benefit from a med-tech coming in to administer his meds. You may also find success in this alternative that I use with my mom..

Set up a Ring camera wherever his meds are so that you/your siblings can watch him take them. The camera will help you see him take it or indicate that a call is needed.

harshedbuzz

Sadly, there is no tech or device that replaces human supervision at some point.

Many PWD can showtime and seem to be functioning better than they really do during short visits, if you and your sibs are in this kind of drop-in routine with dad, it might be useful to create a ruse to stay over for a couple days and really observe him through the day.

H1235

Even if the pills are no longer in the dispenser, that doesn’t mean he actually took them. I found pill everywhere at my moms house. If he brings them into the living room to take he may drop one on the way. He may loose one on the way to his mouth. We used cameras for a while. They would probably be helpful, but I believe you would need an internet connection to view them remotely. My mom is old enough she didn’t have internet. Knowing when to move your dad is tricky. I was told by a doctor that the idea is to move the pwd before there is a problem. Because that problem could be burning the house down and at that point it’s too late. Keep in mind that many facilities have a waiting list. I would definitely start thinking and planning for a plan B. There is so much pressure to make the “right” decisions.

TaraF

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/247727#Comment_247727

Thank you. Yes, we know all to well how terrible this disease is. I buried my sister in law a few months ago from it and have 4 other family member who have/had it. My dad is extremely difficult and not willing to go anywhere right now. He also doesn't have the money to afford anywhere but a VA vacatility that is over 2 hours away from us, or a nursing home. He lifts weights every day and can clean, do laundry, etc, so we're holding out as long as we can.

TaraF

Thank you so much. That might be just what we need to do, for now.

TaraF

Thank you. He cannot afford to go anywhere, unfortunately. He only has social security. We have applied for VA Aid and Attendance but it takes forever.

JeanGayre

I have Amazon Alexa on a little screen and she reminds my husband twice a day to take his pills. She will repeat this hourly until you tell her it's done. She drives my husband crazy because he doesn't remember how to tell her it's completed...but he always takes his pills now.

Deepsea

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/247788#Comment_247788

That’s actually such a clever strategy! I love that Alexa keeps reminding him until it’s done, that kind of consistency can be so helpful, especially when memory is unpredictable. I totally get how it might drive him a little crazy if he forgets how to respond, but honestly, the fact that he’s reliably taking his pills now is a big win!

Thank you for sharing that, I might look into setting something similar up for my brother. It’s those small daily routines that can make such a difference.

psg712

Agree that at some point, the only thing that will work is someone handing him the correct pills and watching him take them. If that can't be arranged, you and your siblings may have to make a schedule to call him each time a medicine is due and coach him through it. But that doesn't prevent him deciding to take random pills at other times of day. It's risky to allow him to handle any medications at this point ... which also leads to questions of safety in the kitchen, handling finances (scam danger), driving or just going out on his own ... would he know what to do in a fire or weather emergency? It's so hard when they still have some skills but are losing memory and good judgment. And can't perceive that they need help. Many of us have been there, and we feel for you in the struggle.