My mum keeps missing tablets

[Bex82]

Good evening,
This is the 1st time I've reached out and I'm hoping to get some help or find some information, so please any tips will be greatly appreciated.
So my mum was diagnosed with Dementia a couple of months ago, so
Early to mid stages. She lives alone as my Dad died last year, leaving me and my 2 brothers navigating care.
Our biggest struggle currently is her taking tablets. She has used a tablet box for about 12 months and apart from the odd day where she makes a mistake, generally it's been OK. Now, she can't seem to process what day or time of day it is and what pill box to open. I have started ringing her twice a day to talk her through it, and even then she takes the wrong ones. Has anyone got any suggestions? I keep instructions very simple, but doesn't seem to help. Please help.

 

[SherwoodSue]

Hello we are in similar situation. The pharmacist can put them up in ‘weekly blister packs’ I put mums myself into dosette boxes. I ring three to four times a day prompting and asking questions.
we have Alexa set up to remind mum to drink but she tunes her out.
mum is generally better at routine tasks but if she is coming down with an infection she will forget
we have carers popping in now. They are only allowed to help with the pre filled boxes from the chemist
good luck

 

[Rosettastone57]

There comes a point where the physical presence of someone to prompt taking tablets is the only way forward . Would carer visits be an option?

 

[Louise7]

Hi Bex, and welcome, this is a friendly and supportive group. I had a similar problem with mum and we stated off by ringing her when the tablet was due, then the adult social care team provided a Pivotell automatic tablet dispenser. You fill it up with tablets for up to 28 days at a time and then set it so that an alarm goes off when a tablet is due. It worked for a while but then mum reached the stage where she couldn't manage this herself so carers visited her to prompt when the tablet was due. The link below explains how the automatic tablet dispenser works, and there are various other makes available so worth contacting your mum's adult social care team to see if this is something they could provide, or shop around if you plan to buy one, although bear in mind it may only be a fairly short term solution. Hope this helps.

https://www.pivotell.co.uk/PivoTell®+Automatic+Pill+Dispenser+Mk3-11/0_CAAA001/PRAA003.htm

Here's a link which explains the Care Needs Assessment process too:

The care needs assessment: support for people with dementia

This page looks at how a person with dementia can get a care assessment, who does an assessment, how they are carried out, who makes the decision, and tips for making the most of the care needs assessment. It also explains the eligibility criteria.

www.alzheimers.org.uk

 

[Neveradullday!]

Hi Bex, if your mum is approaching mid stage she may need someone there to give her the tablets.
My Mum is mid stage, only has one tablet to take a day, but if she was on her own (never is), she wouldn't have a clue. She turns taps on, then has no idea how to turn them off - puts shoes/slippers on the wrong feet. The other day, I had to tell her where her mouth was, so she could take her tablet, I could go on.

 

[Banjomansmate]

It sounds as though it is too late for your Mum but I did the phone technique with the Banjoman by having the pharmacy dispense his tablets in the dossette box and numbering each pocket on the back with felt tip pen. Providing you keep track of where you are up to, you phone and say “open number ,,,”. Then talk them through taking the tablet. It worked for a little while until he couldn’t work out how to break through the paper backing of the compartment.

 

[Muttimuggle]

It was this very thing, wrongly dosing of tablets and my Mum's confusion over them which got her an early appointment with the Memory Clinic. In my Mum's case she had a lot of tablets to take and one of them was a dangerous blood thinner( which could be fatal in the combination of taking too many and then anything which caused bleeding such as a fall). I alerted the GP about my concerns which resulted in a Memory clinic appointment. So when the consultant came(to her house during the pandemic!) she told my mother she needed help for taking those tablets and she urged me to go ahead and get that sorted- It was important, she said.
Like you I had tried all sorts of ways. She was getting really confused over blister packs which the chemist was sending, originally, picking the wrong day and then either double dosing, so taking them twice, or missing doses. I got some simpler tablet boxes with large print days of the week written on them and began to transfer the tablets to a weekly box. I also got a memory clock with day, date and time to put in the same room as the tablets. But after a little time Mum was still getting it wrong. It was at this point that I alerted the GP and got the Memory Consultant.My Mum was self funding so she then paid for carers to come to give the tablets but they did other things for her too. As someone else said the tablets had to be in the blister packs for their dosing.Had Mum not been self funding Social Services would have, I think(?) come to assess and intervene with a care package in line with the consultant's recommendation.

 

[I thank you for the years]

Hi @Bex82

I bought the device beloevfor my Dad a few months ago when he was both missing doses and having too many!

For him it has so far worked really well.

When it ceases to work for him I will need to get a carer to visit to administer his medication.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TabTime-SI...27-8c2c-acde18c39667&pd_rd_i=B00PY2P9FU&psc=1

 

[Lesleyjane]

My mum was the same. She was diagnosed in May and I didn’t realise just how muddled she was getting over her tablets until we went on holiday in June. I had thought she was just forgetting the odd dose but she was all over the place with them and I had no choice but to take over.
I don’t know whether you’re in a position to pop in every day but I spoke with the pharmacist who agreed it is ok for mum to take all her medication in the evening instead of morning and evening.
I pop in every day and give them to her at 5 o clock. She will often tell me not to worry as she’s already taken them but she never has.

 

[wurrienot]

When we were seen at the memory clinic I was told that not being able to sort out your own tablets is one of the key things they look for during diagnosis. Dad managed with daily boxes (morning , afternoon and night) alongside his dementia clock for a while. Now I give him the day time ones and he has a notice pinned to the bedroom door to remind him about the night ones. Mostly he takes them.

 

[pvl]

There's not a lot that I can add to the suggestions above. We have to give my mother in law both her morning and her evening tablets and keep them hidden from her as she overdoses if we leave them where she can find them. Every morning there are notes saying PILLS URGENT!!! And more notes saying that she needs to ring the surgery because she doesn't believe we are making sure she has her pills. She's quite resentful and thinks she should be able to manage them herself but these are the things we have to do.

 

[nic001]

Good evening,
This is the 1st time I've reached out and I'm hoping to get some help or find some information, so please any tips will be greatly appreciated.
So my mum was diagnosed with Dementia a couple of months ago, so
Early to mid stages. She lives alone as my Dad died last year, leaving me and my 2 brothers navigating care.
Our biggest struggle currently is her taking tablets. She has used a tablet box for about 12 months and apart from the odd day where she makes a mistake, generally it's been OK. Now, she can't seem to process what day or time of day it is and what pill box to open. I have started ringing her twice a day to talk her through it, and even then she takes the wrong ones. Has anyone got any suggestions? I keep instructions very simple, but doesn't seem to help. Please help.

Hi Bex
I agree with Rosettastone57, I think at this stage it’s probably wise to get carers in to give mum her medication. My mum was the same, had actually overdosed on some tablets I discovered. Luckily all was fine but it became apparent she couldn’t cope with working out what to take and when. There isn’t really anything else you can do once the dosette boxes aren’t helping anymore x

 

[Sporadic gardener]

My pwd has this problem too. She started with dosette boxes but they delivered a month at a time so she got in a muddle. She managed morning pills bur always forgot evening. So the GP has now switched her type of medication so that she only needs take them in the morning. The pharmacy is also now only delivering one weekly box at a time. It's not perfect but much better than before.

 

[Alisongs]

Good evening,
This is the 1st time I've reached out and I'm hoping to get some help or find some information, so please any tips will be greatly appreciated.
So my mum was diagnosed with Dementia a couple of months ago, so
Early to mid stages. She lives alone as my Dad died last year, leaving me and my 2 brothers navigating care.
Our biggest struggle currently is her taking tablets. She has used a tablet box for about 12 months and apart from the odd day where she makes a mistake, generally it's been OK. Now, she can't seem to process what day or time of day it is and what pill box to open. I have started ringing her twice a day to talk her through it, and even then she takes the wrong ones. Has anyone got any suggestions? I keep instructions very simple, but doesn't seem to help. Please help.

I just bought a Ravencourt Pippa Tipper Automatic Lockable pill dispenser on sale in Boots. I am sure there are lots of similar products.