Medication Difficulties

CampCarol · July 29

Hello everyone. I can’t say I’m very new here, but this is my first post. I’ve been (what my husband would say is “lurking”) in the background - reading and learning from all of you who have travelled this path before me. Thank you so much for your comments and candor, it’s already made my life better by knowing you’re here.

My question is regarding medications. My DH is mixed Alzheimer’s/Lewy Body, solid stage 5. However, he is incredibly lucid regarding his medications. He looks closely and counts all of the pills carefully that I put in his cup every morning and evening, and if something doesn’t look right, he pitches a fit. He’s now refusing anything new regardless of what it’s prescribed for. He’s supposed to be on Fosamax for his osteoporosis, as well as meds for Alzheimers, Anxiety and Depression, and he will not take any of them. He’s worried he will (a) have a bad reaction or (b) they will make his ‘neurological’ condition worse. I tried just putting the Donezepil in with his other night meds, but because it doesn’t look like anything he’s taken before, he spotted it right away. He doesn’t eat soft foods, so I can’t hide any there. He’s also refusing the psych referral from the neurologist, as he was in therapy years ago and ‘can’t learn anything new from them’. He’s not in denial that he has this disease; he’s just more frightened of the meds than he is of what might be coming next. I’m not a doctor, but I know he would be doing so much better if at least his anxiety could be somewhat alleviated. I also worry about the ethical piece & guilt of forcing meds on him that he’s so afraid of and doesn’t want. If any of you can provide any counsel regarding this, it would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

M1 · July 29

hi Carol, glad you posted. I wouldn’t worry about the donepezil, it’s likely of minimal help anyway. And I wouldn’t worry about the Fosamax either, honestly. Lots of side effects and unlikely to tolerate it the worse he gets (having to take on an empty stomach, stay upright, having to take calcium and vitamin D, etc). If he’s truly had problems with fractures there are injectable drugs that could be considered where he didn’t have to worry about taking a pill.

But for the anxiety and agitation, there are liquid formulations you could try putting in drinks so that he doesn’t even know he’s getting it. I would talk to his docs about that and not feel guilty about it.

Iris L. · July 29

Does he drink coffee? Liquid meds can be put into coffee.

Iris

Quilting brings calm · July 29

My mom had an undiagnosed ( actually misdiagnosed) UTI. She started getting very paranoid about her medications and refused to take them. It didn’t matter if they were in her pill reminder tray or laid out on the table. We found that a third party could put them in her hand and she would take them. Once she got the proper medical treatment, we moved her to an AL with medication management. That meant that the local pharmacy packaged up her pills into blister packs. Her pills for a specific date and time were in an individual package that the aid handed to her at the appropriate time. We haven’t had an issue since.

CampCarol · July 29

Thank you all! He doesn't drink coffee; he's headed down the "only sweets" path, but I will look into some of the liquid options (didn't realize they existed for anxiety/depression). I tried the prepack solution from our pharmacy, and that didn't work either. He is paranoid as well, has accused me of messing up his meds and possibly overdosing him. Getting harder, hopefully I can bring this under control.

SDianeL · July 29

My husband was also obsessed with his medications. He was trying to do them himself every morning. He would have a meltdown after trying to sort & count them 10x. I told him the next time he had a meltdown I was going to do his meds & get them organized. (I realized later that was not the right thing to do). A few days later he started to do them & I said do you want me to do them and he said yes. Every time the doctors added a medication he asked what it was. I told him it was a pill to help his brain. He took it with no problem. I never talked about Dementia or Alzheimer's. Talk to his doctor about the Psychiatrist appointment. I told my husband it was another brain doctor his primary care doctor wanted him to see, and he went with no problem. She helped him the most. You need a Geri Psychiatrist to manage his anti anxiety medications.

dayn2nite2 · July 30

Fosamax and donepezil aren't helping him, stop those. In fact, the Fosamax may give him side effects. The only ones I'd be worried about are his depression/anxiety meds and I'd be putting them into food.

Iris L. · July 30

Many meds can be crushed and added to food or dessert. Ask the pharmacist. A pill crusher costs about $5-10.

Iris

Crkddy · July 31

Went through a stage early last year with DW where I couldn't get her to take any meds. I tried various suggestions, but what finally worked for me was ice cream. I just stuffed the pills (one at a time) into spoonfulls of ice cream. Didn't even crush them - she just chewed them up.

She has a bigger pill now - using a pill crusher and apple sauce for this one.

DW is late stage 6 - early stage 7 so she is not really aware that I'm giving her meds. This may not work for your DH since it sounds like he still is aware. Hope you find something that works for you.

CampCarol · July 31

Thank you all for taking the time to respond and help me with your suggestions. But now he’s progressing to where he doesn’t want to take any meds at all! He has a number of other issues and will most likely land in the hospital should he persist with this behaviour. I cannot force him to do anything. He’s a big guy with a mind (?!?) of his own. We see the neurologist again in a few weeks, praying they may have some other ideas.

harshedbuzz · July 31

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/217626#Comment_217626

That may be your answer then. A geripsych stay to trial medications and get this behavior under control might return him to you as a more compliant patient.

What does he eat and drink? You can hide a lot in a smoothie, milk shake, ice cream. One member here got mom's medication into her daily via the hollow in a raspberry on her oatmeal.

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