Anyone have experience or recommendations with medication dispensers?

A 4 compartment x 7 day box is wonderful! BUT eventually mom's memory got so bad, that didn't work. She could not remember the day of the week. She could not remember if it was morning or evening. Depends how alert Grandpa is.

I found a great one on amazon called med-q. you can set it for once a day or twice a day and it has an alarm that goes off for 5 minutes. it eventually gets louder and the day lights up that you are supposed to open. then if it doesn't get set, it goes off every 25 minutes til you hit the next alarm button. not cheap (about $70) but it is the best investment I made.

Walgreens or Walmart has a selection of plastic dispensers that go from one week to one month daily individual slots for meds, so you have a choice which one to choose. Check them out and ask your grandfather to select the one which he thinks he can use easily.

We are from Chicago and I use a service from Walgreens that puts my dad's medications in a book form that is label am, mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon, etc. The pills are in a punch out format. This is used in nursing homes. Walgreens does not charge me any extra to do this and the medications are sent directly to his home monthly. Just an idea that works for me.

We bought the MedReady for my Mom years ago. It was a godsend. Prior to getting it we had the usual days of the week plastic container. We had trouble with mom either skipping the pills or taking three days worth all in one day. The MedReady would be locked and held enough pills for four weeks when she only needed once per day, and two weeks worth later when it was twice a day. When she briefly needed an antibiotic 4 times per day, it accommodated that too, with the timers being easy to change. When she eventually went into the nursing home, Dad was already dependent on it ringing, as his pills were twice a day also. So I started putting his pills in it immediately it wasn't needed for Mom anymore. The first one lasted nearly eight years, before the gears wore out. The company replaced the parts, no questions asked. We eventually passed that on to a friend, and bought the version with the extra loud alarm and flashing light (Dad is very hard of hearing) The first version one had no light and was a normal level buzz. My folks would likely have overdosed themselves, or had to be put in a care facility years earlier without that machine.

Medready! Used one for the last 5 or 6 years of my mothers life. She would take her pills when the buzzer went off even with serious dementia. I filled it. She used it till she died at 90!

There are also dispensers that are "locked" so a person can't go ahead and take a dose ahead of time or double dose due to forgetting they already took meds. One example:

Hi,
I bought this one for my mom. And, it has been a life saver!!

amazon/Medcenter-Talking-Alarm-Medication-Reminder

I ordered a dispenser from Philips Medication Dispensing Service.
It is awesome!! It talks when pills are ready, says please press the button to dispense, when she removes meds it says "thank you, please drink extra fluids",
(options other than fluids). If mom doesn't take meds from the machine, in an hour it calls me, if her electric goes off, it calls me. The only way she can mess up is to take meds from the dispenser and then not take them. People occasionally think they are taking too much medicine and want to stop all meds. I usually see the little cups and we have a talk about how only the doctor can say you can stop your meds. I thank God I searched till I found this machine.
It cost me $99 for set up and instruction, and $50.01 a month on my Visa. I can call that same number 24/7 for help or a problem. (for instance, I asked them how to "purge" the machine and start over with an empty machine). I fill little plastic cups and put lids on and then insert two at a time as the machine instructs me to. (and then pray that mom takes them when they dispense.). I'm there every other day or so to take her things and to make sure she has what she needs. The cups and covers are free, I can order anytime when I start getting low. It's worth every penny to not worry as I did before.

I like the alarming med dispensers. make sure there are enough slots if she takes meds 3 or 4 times per day. Some go from a week up to a month. Weekly does nicely. It alarms when each medication is due so the alarm is a reminder to take the medication. I've used them with people who have early stage dementia and have had good luck with them. Speak to your pharmacist or look them up online. They come in different sizes and price ranges.