My mom has frontal lobal dementia. I fill her pill box once a week. She only takes a thyroid pill and an acid reducer. She also uses two inhalers in the morning and one in the evening. She has a rescue inhaler that she uses too often, because she insists that she has used her maintenance medication, although she clearly has not. I can tell by the numbered puffs on the inhaler.
My mom had 19 meds she was on when I took over her care. They were so mixed up Lord only knows what she actually had in her. In her apartment, we added the med nurse service to setup pillbox once a week.
I visited her once to find pills all over the floor. She got mad at the pillbox and threw it at the wall. If anybody ever moves that fridge, they're going to find some $50 pills.
Then we added on the lockbox service with twice daily administration. The nurse would put her pills in a paper cup, set on a big yellow target. Mom still had to independently take them and swallow them. She got to where she wouldn't do it while the nurse was there, and then was not doing it at all.
That was one factor that disqualified her from independent living. She needed more help than you get in that unit. Other things happened, and mom ended up in the 24/7 skilled nursing care unit where she had to take her meds. It was much better for her when she had the right meds at the same time everyday - like it or not.
I have totally taken over the administration of her pills. I take them out of the pill minder and put them in a small bowl. She takes them, but has to argue first.
So don't wait until there's an emergency -- get something set up where someone without dementia is making sure she's taking her meds on a daily basis.
See All Answers