Follow
Share
I had the same issue with my mother, who has vascular dementia. We were able to find a wonderful local home health care business that offers a medication reminder service. I fill a pill box for the week and they come at supper time to make sure she takes her pills, just for that day. Like stated above, they are not able to dispense them, but they are there to make sure that she is taking them and not taking to many, as she had done in the past. Maybe you can find one close to help you.
Helpful Answer (0)
Reply to JeffSenglaub
Report

jenndesil: He may require memory care.
Helpful Answer (0)
Reply to Llamalover47
Report

If he lives by himself, maybe he isn't able to take care of himself anymore. My FIL lives with us. He used to manage his own pills until we started finding his pill minder all mixed up. He was taking morning pills at night, night pills whenever and not taking all the pills that were in the pill minder. Also, we started finding pills on the floor. We have dogs and cats and we were not going to allow them to be poisoned.

When he started chemo pills, that was the final straw. He took chemo pills twice a day. I would give them to him in the morning before leaving for work so my wife could sleep in. He is not responsible with anything he does, so he took them and put them in a napkin and in his pocket to take later. That was it for me. I talked to my wife that night. I said "You have to manage his pills from now on.". She said "I tried, he won't let me.". He does not respect women, so I said "Watch this". I walked into the family room and took the pills and pill minder from the table. He said "What are you doing?". I said "We are handling your pills now". He came over to the living room where we were and said "Give me the pills". I said "No. We can't trust you with them. You're not taking them correctly, we're finding pills on the floor and you're being very careless with DANGEROUS chemo pills that would kill our pets.". He pouted for a while, but my house, my rules.
Helpful Answer (3)
Reply to dmg1969
Report

I'm a licensed home health aide and this type of thing happens all the time. We give medication reminders but not allowed to give medications to clients. I see a real disconnect in home health and patient care primarily for this reason. I'm afraid that someone with dementia or any other elder will either forget to take them or may actually overdose if not properly supervised.

I think policies need to change for the patient's safety and behalf allowing aides to dispense medication safely to clients; especially in cases where a client is taking maintenance prescriptions for chronic health issues. Most seniors do not have a relative in the area to oversee their medications and to make sure they are taking them properly. Medication management and dosages are taught to aides in basic nursing classes.
Helpful Answer (0)
Reply to Scampie1
Report
SrRita Sep 10, 2025
Love your answer. The disconnect is midboggling. There's vey little oversight to reconcile the disparity. I just fired the last caregiver because she expected my mum to remember the med schedule. Caregiver also said there were too many pills in the organizer and did not give them to her. People without an advocate are often lost in the process.
Sad but true.
(1)
Report
If he is living by himself, you likely can’t do anything about this.
Helpful Answer (0)
Reply to Bulldog54321
Report

Your father probably needs a caregiver to come in and supervise his medicines and make sure he takes them. If he is becoming generally confused, he needs someone to come in more often or he needs to live in a facility where he is supervised.
Helpful Answer (2)
Reply to RedVanAnnie
Report

Jenn
I tried many things to help my LO remember her pills. None of them worked for her. Cameras and phone calls, moving them to be more obvious, notes, family visits.

Finally I hired someone to come in for a couple of hours each morning to help her get her day started. We did that for several years. It worked well. I knew because part of her morning caregivers job was to take her vitals and record them plus she had home health through her Medicare insurance. Her medical care was well taken care of at home until she became incontinent and bed bound. Her vitals were always good.

My MIL just quit taking her meds. She died of cancer and not from any of the things she was taking the pills for. I don’t know how long she went w/o them. I was staying with her when my FIL was in the hospital for a broken hip and discovered the pills in a large Tupperware where she emptied the bottle out monthly in order for FIL to take the empty bottle to the drugstore for refills.
She had diabetes. They both had dementia. She didn’t want to take them so didn’t. That was that.

Each persons circumstances and family support are unique.
Helpful Answer (2)
Reply to 97yroldmom
Report

This will continue and worsen. Pill dispensers don’t work when someone has dementia, which is probably the case with your dad. People to help with his taking his meds aren’t enough because he’s still going to be confused in other areas and shouldn’t live alone.

In an assisted living facility, his meds will be managed for him on a regular schedule. It’s time to check out such places for dad.
Helpful Answer (1)
Reply to Fawnby
Report

Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter