Good evening. My mom is 67 yrs young. She has horrible short term memory. She has suffered from Epilepsy for 50 yrs. Her memory has been bad for as long as I can remember, but the last few years it has gotten much worse. She does not have dementia, but if you didn't know her you might would suspect she was in the beginning stages.
Here is my problem: she double doses her meds sometimes! I ALWAYS prepare her meds in the plastic minder bins. One box AM M-S, PM M-S. I put the pill bin in a plastic storage box that latches. There is a note taped to the box " Mama LOOK at the DAY on the CLOCK before you TAKE MEDICINE. Do this for me. TOO much med is dangerous!"
I purchased her a clock from Amazon that shows the Day, Time, Morning, Afternoon, Evening. It also has an alarm, which I have set for 8am and 5pm.
Today at 7 pm she had already taken Thursday AM meds.
I am at my wits end. I don't know what else to do. She does not belong in a facility. I can't afford an aide every day. She doesn't meet the ADLs for Medicaid to pay for an aide. I do pay an aide 2hrs 2 days a week. I have to work, I can't go over there twice a day and dispense her meds.
When she double takes meds, it makes her "drunk". She literally falls and I worry that it will eventually kill her.
Please, anyone have suggestions.
I am a working RN. Episodes of elderly folks mismanaging their Medications at home are way up there for ER & hospitalizations that can lead to fatal or non fatal long term complications from falls, dehydration, etc.
No agency will commit to provide medication management once or twice a day. Aides can’t dispense - they can provide a reminder only (legally). Only licensed staff can dispense meds. Aides are certified; not licensed.
Unless you unlimited resources to pay and even then, having a licensed person commit to going to the home twice a day at a less than 4 hr increment of time will be difficult for an agency to provide as they prefer blocks of time.
It may be time for LTC or AL with med mgmt services as situations like these are nightmares waiting to happen.
Safety first.
Another cheaper alternative would be to buy a clock that has a verbal voice command that tells her to take her meds.
that could help with this or any other family members. Sometimes, your council on aging may have volunteers in the community, or your area aging agency may have resources.
We opted for this initially because we had no way to determine if mom took hers or doubled up (or more) because she forgot she took them. We still had to hire aides to come to ensure they were taken (minimum was 1 hour, so we didn't care what the balance of the hour was - just ensure she takes the meds! They cannot give the pills or fill the dispenser, but they can remind the person to take them.) Unfortunately, after a few months she refused to let them in, so we had to change plans from stay-in-home to MC.
I do like the ones several mentioned that will notify you after X time that the pills have not been taken! Although it is likely much more expensive (and I would guess requires some kind of WiFi), it would cost less than hiring aides! However, intervention will be required if she doesn't take the medication - a phone call might work, otherwise someone will have to stop by and make sure she takes her medication. Installing a camera might help as well, focused on the area where the dispenser is so you can see that she takes the medication (note someone else used this method because the person yupped on the phone, but walked away without taking them! I know mom was like that when I would ask her to write on the calendar appointment that I would take her - she would call me every day or every other for up to 2 weeks before asking me if I could take her. Yup. No mom, take a pen or pencil NOW and write it while we're on the phone!!!)
I also question whether your mom has some additional cognitive decline. We all can be forgetful of something, but when it becomes habitual, it is likely the very early sign of dementia. She should have a thorough checkup - not just a simple checkup. Our mom was getting forgetful, but blamed it on being old and said she's entitled to forget some things. Problem was how MUCH she was forgetting, including repeating statements and questions minutes after making them! Mistakes on bill payments/over-payments, etc were another sign. Damage to the car which she denied doing. The early signs are very subtle and the person can "mask" some of them. If possible, spend a week or two living with her (use some excuse like having your house painted, bug treatment, etc) and what you observe could be enlightening. It is inconvenient, but could be crucial in determining mom's real status (doctors only see us for a few minutes - not long enough to detect REAL issues!!)
Good luck to you, it's a very challenging roll taking care of our parents....who knew we'd have 80 year old children.
Most plans accept Pillpack, you should check into it.
automatic pill dispenser with alarm and lock
Was the perfect fix for us. Hope this helps!
I would also have her reevaluated. Her needs considering what you have said should be cause for reevaluating.
Also, in dealing with anyone who has dementia or similar, you must use as few words as possible to communicate...you're overloading and confusing otherwise. But even this is no guarantee. For instance my mom, who does have dementia...gave her a beautiful arrangement of silk tulips in a vase that gave the illusion of water being in it. I left a note that said "Do Not Water." For your bedroom or bathroom. Found it in her bedroom. Filled with real water.
This whole caregiving is a series of finding solutions to the ever-changing problems. As soon as one was solved, or a routine established I thought I could count on, it all changed again, and again,.......
Good luck with your mom. AL and later even Nursing Home were less expensive than the home care alternatives after awhile. Round-the clock care became essential, and my health needed help also. I'm 72.
Big (((HUGS)))
Phillips has a pill despenser that is really neat. Its been awhile since I have seen it demonstrated but I think the cost maybe worth it. It is locked and only u will have the key.
If I remember correctly, it holds 10 days of pills and dispenses when needed thru out the day. Each set of pills is put in a little container. At the time they are to be taken a voice comes on and says "time for your pilks" the person pushes the button and out pops the pills. If they don't push the button after a couple of tries by the voice, u will be notified.
https://www.lifeline.philips.com/pill-dispenser/health-mdp.html
Thinking of work around solutions, there are pill dispensers that won't open until the appropriate time, like this one
https://www.alzstore.com/electronic-pill-dispenser-p/0032.htm
Also, people have also been using personal assistants like Alexa to help monitor their loved ones and to set reminders.