My mum has just been diagnosed 10 days ago

[Jaxter101]

My mum 76 yrs was diagnosed 10 days ago with early stage Alzeimers. She was put on Aircept one at night but this is keeping her awake and giving her cramps-is this normal? Unfortunately she took an accidental overdose on sat night as she just wanted pain to go ....off to Drs this morning to review her meds. Can I request one of those pill boxes to help my elderly dad (79) to dispense safely? What a whirlwind feel totally out of control at the moment any advice appreciated!

 

[Deb60]

Jaxter, my dad has been newly diagnosed to but is on a different drug so I can't offer any advice about that. My dads GP suggested blister packs from the chemist for him. Not sure if it works the same in every area, but I was told by the surgery I needed to find a chemist that was willing to dispense them, then go back to surgery with repeat script. On the second try of sorting it out, it seems to be going well. (I would recommend Boots myself) the staff in there were fantastic, nothing is too much trouble. Good luck. X

 

[carol4444]

Hi, although It was met met with reluctance from both parents, the blister pack system made things a lot easier. The blister packs were delivered to the house each week (both parents struggling to get out). Once the system was in place I could forget about keeping a diary note to order repeat prescriptions as the chemist takes on that role. I was surprised there was no charge for this system.

 

[balloo]

Hi, although It was met met with reluctance from both parents, the blister pack system made things a lot easier. The blister packs were delivered to the house each week (both parents struggling to get out). Once the system was in place I could forget about keeping a diary note to order repeat prescriptions as the chemist takes on that role. I was surprised there was no charge for this system.

my mum use to have these she did not have memory problems but she did have at least 20 pills a day to take at different times works well. Even when she became ill and had to come stay with me her chemist arranged an extra pack so I had 2 weeks to arrange from my own dr as she came to stay for 4 weeks. I did find nit all Dr will prescribe all meds though I am guessing the cost .

 

[Dawnster]

blister pack??

Jaxter, my dad has been newly diagnosed to but is on a different drug so I can't offer any advice about that. My dads GP suggested blister packs from the chemist for him. Not sure if it works the same in every area, but I was told by the surgery I needed to find a chemist that was willing to dispense them, then go back to surgery with repeat script. On the second try of sorting it out, it seems to be going well. (I would recommend Boots myself) the staff in there were fantastic, nothing is too much trouble. Good luck. X

Hi, mums just been diagnosed with vascular dementia. What's a 'blister pack'?

 

[canary]

Hi, mums just been diagnosed with vascular dementia. What's a 'blister pack'?

The pills are dispensed in a pack so that all the pills needing to be taken at one time are put together in a blister. The blisters are all marked by the days of the week and when to be taken (am, pm, etc). It is supposed to work as a reminder for the person taking the meds whether they have taken them or not. I think it works quite well in the early stages and when there are cares coming in to give meds, but mum got to the stage when she didnt know what day it was and wasnt even sure whether it was morning or afternoon, so she would just take the contents of any blister whenever she thought about it.

 

[Beate]

The technical term is "Dosette box". They are quite common and no good pharmacy should have a problem with them.

 

[CeliaW]

They are usually something like this: