Mom refuses to take medication and has become very aggressive....

ACaregiver24 · January 2

Hello! My mother is 69 yrs old. She was diagosed with Alzheimer's about 3 years ago. She was considered to be mild/moderate at the beginning of 2024 but I feel like there has been some progression. I am her primary and only caregiver. For about a month or so she has been refusing to take her medication. I've tried switching the time of day that I give her meds. I've also tried having my 15 yo son give her the meds because she loves and remembers who he is. I've tried splitting up the meds for example I'll give her 2 pills in the morning, 2 in the evening, and the rest before bed. Nothing is working. I was thinking about mixing the pills in ice cream or applesauce but I feel like she won't eat it beacause of the taste. She also has began become quite aggressive and angry. So far there have been 2 situations where things have become physical between her and myself and her and my son. She becomes aggressive whenever we go in the kitchen and I have to walk around with my house key because will lock me out of the house if I walk out the door. There's more but I'll keep this post short. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Thank you in advance.

SusanB-dil · January 2

Hi ACaregiver24 - You need to let her doc know what is happening. The physical aggression is not acceptable for anyone. Unfortunately, you may need to call 9-1-1 and have them admit her to geriatric psych. Geri-psych can get the meds that are needed, figured out.

You could try the meds in applesauce, but do check with a pharmacist to see what meds can be mashed in, some must be taken whole. It is possible that some of the sense of taste is lost with an alz patient. All you could do is try at least one?

Do you have DPOA and HIPAA accesses? very important.

Also important - you are primary and only caregiver, you need to make sure you get some respite. Once the doc gets the aggression down, maybe look into adult daycare a day or two a week for her.

Sorry you and son are dealing with 'this'. So frustrating!

ACaregiver24 · January 3

Thank you @SusanB-dil for your response! I have told the doctor about both issues and he really didn't have much to say about the aggression and he recommended I try giving her the meds at night which doesn't work as much either. I have POA and HIPAA access for her. I've been looking getting some sort of respite care and adult daycare but unfortunately in my area you have to be bedridden in order to get any sort assistance. I'm continuously looking for some sort of assistance but it is very difficult. I'm hopeful I find help soon I am on the brink of burnout.

Emily 123 · January 3

Hi—am guessing your doctor ruled out a UTI too? Sounds very frustrating. I agree with SusanB that if the doctor can't adjust her meds successfully then it might be time for a geripsych admission. Would you consider a discharge to a facility? I'm so sorry.

SusanB-dil · January 3

MIL has a fairly new primary care doc after the one that she had left the practice. Her new one is not really helpful, either. We get a lot more from her neurologist. Planning to switch primary care.

ACaregiver24 · January 27

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/232809#Comment_232809

Hi Emily_23! Thanks for your reply. I haven't even thought of a UTI. I'll make an appointment with her PCP to rule that out. Are geripsych admissions a "normal" part of the alzheimers journey? I've been trying to find her an adult daycare to go to during the day but everything is so hard to get into or they're too expensive. I'm hesitantly open to putting her into a nursing home but I was trying to avoid that for as long as possible. I'll look into the geripsych and discharge facilities. Thank you again!

Quilting brings calm · January 28

Have you considered eliminating sone of these medications? I’m sure some are necessary, but others may not be. For example: At this point, what’s the need for things like a multivitamin, calcium tablet, memory pill - that type of thing? Can any of the others be given in liquid or sprinkle form? Sprinkle means you open the capsule and stir the contents into food.

My mom became paranoid about meds when she was misdiagnosed about a UTI- misdiagnosed because the doctors kept saying she didn’t have one, when she did.

Mom refuses to take medication and has become very aggressive....

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