I first would review her meds with her doctor. Cholesterol is not needed at 89. It contributes to cognitive decline. So if she takes it, I would stop it. Blood pressure she needs. Mom stopped her thyroid meds when her numbers had been good for a while. She had been on heart medicine for a fast heart beat that was caused by thyroid. Thyroid meds corrected that problem so Dr took her off.
I did a weekly pill planner for Mom. My nephew lived with her so he gave them to her. We put them on a shelf she could not reach. Phillips does have an automatic pill dispenser. Its like a merry-go-round. You fill it for a certain number of days. It has a timer that tells the person time to take pills. The person has to push a button to dispense them. If not done after a certain # of tries, u get a call.
Welcome to the forum. My DH aunt started to forget to take her thyroid tablet. It needed to be taken first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I’m not sure how long it had been going on but I noticed when there were many more pills than there were days before a refill. She was good on all the pills in her pill planner. This one has to be taken alone on an empty stomach so she would take it from the bottle. I tried moving it from her bathroom to near the coffee pot (first stop of the day). Didn’t work. Tried the phone calls. Tried having someone drop in for coffee. She would get up early knowing her nephew was coming and already be drinking coffee. 🤨 Tried getting rid of sugar so she would have it with black coffee which was ok for her to do. Then I finally hired a morning caregiver to come in and give it to her and help her with her ADLs. That began a new era. Later I added cameras. If I had put the cameras in earlier, I might have been able to guide her to take the pill a little more successfully. Aunt also had home health which helped me monitor that the tablets were gone from her pill planner on the appropriate days but they only came a few days per week. It was a family/community activity trying to determine if she had taken her thyroid each day.
Next with the pills was when she began to refuse to take them at all. That’s a different issue hopefully further down the road for your mom.
The only 100% guaranteed way she will get her meds as prescribed is for a reliable other person to help her do it.
I learned this lesson with my MIL before we realized how bad her memory was getting. We lived in the next town but because we had a business, 3 kids and my own Mother to manage, I would call her up every morning and walk her through taking her meds... only to find the pills scattered on the dining room table and the undrunk glass of water still sitting there in her kitchen, even though after each step on the phone I'd make her confirm she did what I asked. She always said yes, but it was actually no. She wasn't lying -- she really thought she did what I asked. Then she started to not remember that she ate. After this discovery we transitioned her to AL.
Your Mom's memory will only get worse. Have you thought about this eventuality? I know it feels like a runaway train... May you receive wisdom and clarity and peace in your heart as you try to help her.
More details would help us give better answers.
I did a weekly pill planner for Mom. My nephew lived with her so he gave them to her. We put them on a shelf she could not reach. Phillips does have an automatic pill dispenser. Its like a merry-go-round. You fill it for a certain number of days. It has a timer that tells the person time to take pills. The person has to push a button to dispense them. If not done after a certain # of tries, u get a call.
My DH aunt started to forget to take her thyroid tablet. It needed to be taken first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I’m not sure how long it had been going on but I noticed when there were many more pills than there were days before a refill. She was good on all the pills in her pill planner. This one has to be taken alone on an empty stomach so she would take it from the bottle.
I tried moving it from her bathroom to near the coffee pot (first stop of the day). Didn’t work. Tried the phone calls. Tried having someone drop in for coffee. She would get up early knowing her nephew was coming and already be drinking coffee. 🤨
Tried getting rid of sugar so she would have it with black coffee which was ok for her to do.
Then I finally hired a morning caregiver to come in and give it to her and help her with her ADLs. That began a new era.
Later I added cameras. If I had put the cameras in earlier, I might have been able to guide her to take the pill a little more successfully.
Aunt also had home health which helped me monitor that the tablets were gone from her pill planner on the appropriate days but they only came a few days per week. It was a family/community activity trying to determine if she had taken her thyroid each day.
Next with the pills was when she began to refuse to take them at all. That’s a different issue hopefully further down the road for your mom.
I learned this lesson with my MIL before we realized how bad her memory was getting. We lived in the next town but because we had a business, 3 kids and my own Mother to manage, I would call her up every morning and walk her through taking her meds... only to find the pills scattered on the dining room table and the undrunk glass of water still sitting there in her kitchen, even though after each step on the phone I'd make her confirm she did what I asked. She always said yes, but it was actually no. She wasn't lying -- she really thought she did what I asked. Then she started to not remember that she ate. After this discovery we transitioned her to AL.
Your Mom's memory will only get worse. Have you thought about this eventuality? I know it feels like a runaway train... May you receive wisdom and clarity and peace in your heart as you try to help her.