Hi and some advice please

eire

Registered User
Apr 5, 2008
7
0
Hello,

This forum was recommended to me today so I thought I would come by, say Hello and maybe get some advice on my Mom. She is 76 and has been diagnosed with Parkinson's and Lewy Body Dementia :(

For now, she is OK to live at home with people dropping by and checking on her. She can go about most day to day activities quite well, has some memory loss or struggles for words but, so far, not too bad. However, she has what appears to be a mental block when it comes to her medication. Her week's supply is set up for her in separate containers (by day) with differnt colour container for morning, lunch, night-time etc., but she just cannot grasp which is which. For now, someone has been calling her 3 times a day to remind her to take her meds. So, although she is not the woman she used to be, she can still get along at home for now apart from this one road-block.. has anyone any experience with helping people overcome such mental blocks. any suggestions?

Thanks for taking the time to read. I will read through other posts on the site and look for some hopeful stories.. they do exist, right?
 

clarethebear

Registered User
Oct 16, 2007
197
0
manchester, uk
Hi Erie

Welcome to TP

I'm sorry but my story was different to yours. But I wanted to say hi and I'm sure others will be along soon with advice for you. I'm sorry to hear about you mum, I hope you will find this site a great comfort in the times ahead.

Take Care
Clare
 

eire

Registered User
Apr 5, 2008
7
0
Thank you for the welcome Clare.. I'm glad I found this site.. altho' I wish I hadn't had to (and I'm sure I'm not alone there )
 

clarethebear

Registered User
Oct 16, 2007
197
0
manchester, uk
Unfortunately you will never be alone on that one. But beleive me this site is like one big family, people know what you are going though and will be there for you every step of the way. All you need to do is keep posting and the arms of support will be there for you.
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
Hi eire and welcome to Talking Point.

Much as I wish it would happen, I don't think you'll get any practical suggestions to help your mother overcome this "mental block". Unfortunately one of the problems with dementia is that it is progressive and once a deficit has appeared, I do not believe that it can be overcome, at least, not by your mother. All you can do is what you have done: set up a system whereby someone reminds her to take her medication at the appropriate time. It is one of the first difficulties that people encounter I think - so many elderly people are on a variety of medications and with memory loss and loss of insight, medications tend to not be taken or not be taken at the right time. I remain convinced that if my mother's GP had taken my concerns about my own mother's memory loss more seriously, or suggested that she might fail to take her medications because of the memory loss, it might have been possible for her to have avoided her subsequent strokes.
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,455
0
Kent
Hello eire,

I have to agree with jennifer, unfortunately. Pre AD, my husband was always reliable and managed his own diabetic medication without needing anyone to keep a check.

Now I have to put it out for him every day. He has morning and evening tablets to take, and I have morning tablets to take too. If I don`t hide mine and his evening tablets, he will take them all in one go.

So continue with the carers checking your mother takes her tablets at the right time. It`s the only way.
 

Netti Brown

Registered User
Apr 5, 2008
13
0
Derbyshire
Tablet taking

Hello - this is my first day on this Forum. So from one newcomer to another - welcome!

My father has dementia and I look after him. THere are times that I have to travel for business and I have left him on his own. He has a medicine box - with seperate compartments for morning, midday and night. I make lists of 'To Do's' for him and print them in a large font then stick them in the kitchen, above the kettle and fridge. I leave a space for him to tick a box when he has completed something - it gives him a sense of achievement, and he can see for himself whether he has done a particular task.

Works for us - maybe it will work for you?

Good luck - I hope you find a solution.
Best
Netti
 

eire

Registered User
Apr 5, 2008
7
0
Thanks Netti (and welcome to you too). We have a similar med dispenser for my Mom but she still gets confused. The To Do list is a good idea, I think it's worth a try - we'll continue with the phone calls as well tho'... just in case.

Thanks :)
 

Tender Face

Account Closed
Mar 14, 2006
5,379
0
NW England
Colour confusion?

Hi Eire, my mum sounds very similar to yours - hard to understand why some things she is perfectly capable of and others not .....?

Colour coding certainly doesn't work for mum (as illustration our local authority has provided four seperate colour coded bins in an effort to improve recycling - the angst that has caused mum to the extent now she will not attempt to put any rubbish out on her own for fear of getting it wrong!!!!! What might be a very good idea for the mentally capable can present a huge challenge - and totally agree with Netti - rather than being able to achieve, induces a sense of 'failure' if they realise they cannot follow what to the rest of us are simple instructions ....)

I appreciate Sylvia's concerns about taking too many tablets - even if not all of them - I worry how will mum remember she has already taken her morning tablets and not take them again 10 minutes later? etc ..... I can only monitor that by 'spot-checking' and 'stock-taking' ..... but what works for mum (for now) is having morning tablets by the bread bin (prompt: tea and toast) .... lunch tablet by the microwave (prompt: must be taken with food, must eat at lunchtime) .... night-time tablets, when required, by her armchair (prompt: last drink before bedtime must take meds)

For now, mum seems to be managing - but a change in the manufacturer's packaging certainly proved a dilemma at one point .... got round that by salvaging the original 'box fronts' and re-applying it every time she gets a new script ....... Any change or new concept is almost impossible to manage .... if she has any routine which you know works, perhaps you can work taking the meds around it? For mum, none of her meds are 'super-critical' - as in, if she took one extra or missed a day with any or all of them it wouldn't be the end of the world ....... if they were, I'm not sure I'd be relying on quite such a flimsy arrangement as I currently have .......:eek:

I'm sadly inclined to agree with Jennifer's snetiments ..... IMHO dossette boxes only seem to come into play when people are no longer capable of managing their own meds .... at which point neither are they able to grasp new concepts .........:(

Good luck, hope you find something that works, Karen, x