Mom lives in an independent senior living community and staff reminds her daily in person to take her aricept and Prozac that we load in a pill case. Recently mom took 6 Prozac in one day. We put a lock on her medicine case but I have been researching locked pill dispensers that distribute correct dosage daily but prices range from $159 to over $700. Does anyone have experience, recommendations or warnings on what kind is best or what to avoid? The staff at independent living only remind her to take meds they won't distribute them for her as they are not nurses. Unfortunately I am not able to distribute them to her myself on a daily basis and I'm concerned. Any advice or input is much appreciated. Thank you very much:)
Sigh.
I guess what I am saying is that a person with dementia needs more than reminders or locked boxes to take pills correctly. Persons with dementia reach a point where they cannot live alone. Living in an independent living community probably extends the period a little, but that is basically living alone and you cannot expect it to be the residential solution forever.
Right now distributing her pills is your issue, and I sincerely hope you come up with something that will work for at least a while.
But long term a more structured environment will most likely be needed. That is just the nature of dementia.
What state are you in? In NC, med techs can administer prescribed medication in an Assisted Living setting. I can't imagine how those residents would get their meds if they didn't. Most of them have no idea how to take meds on their own, from what I observed.
I would explore other options for your mom. Probably in a different setting where they can make sure she is getting her medication. And as others have said, this is progressive and the other things that she will not be able to do independently will increase, such as bathing, dressing, etc.
I am not angry and resentful toward Janeb at all. You, however, are pretty close to getting my dander up!
Since Al/s sufferer's find it very difficult to swallow these large tablets, I crush the med's and I give to Mum in a large spoon of stewed Apple. Al/s
sufferers forget to take them, so some Person kneeds to be there with Your Mum.
I would explore other options for her future care as you state, but I would also keep in mind that unless her friends are capable of supervising her daily excursions, she may be in risk of going places near rivers, busy streets, etc. Her ability to judge what is safe will progressively go down. I wish you both all the best.
A small child died after visiting her elderly great grandparent in a nursing home over here many years ago after eating some red sweeties she found down the side of a chair - so making sure they do actually take them and then checking later that they haven't then spat them out and hidden them is vital.
Can I just mention something please? Even if your Mum has lost the ability or loses the ability to swallow meds you ARE NOT ALLOWED to covertly hid them in food UNLESS you have documented permission from a doctor and that comes following a review. Equally some meds CANNOT be crushed specifically those capsule type meds which are usually slow release - a different type of drug would need to be prescribed.
You can however crush tablets that can be crushed into food if the patient knows about it and knows you are doing it, once the ability of knowledge and awareness goes however you are back to needing permission.
Failure to follow those guidelines could result in a charge of medical abuse
Although the independent living staff can't give medication to a resident, could they not watch the person to make sure they take the medication?
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