How do I get my wife to take her meds? I've tried covering her pills with apple sauce, honey, or maple syrup. She sucks off the coating and spits out the pill.

I use a coffee crusher and put them in her coffee or. Tea. Been working four years

see if any of her pills can be safely given to her if crushed... then put a bit in a milkshake, let her drink it. Or see if the meds come in a liquid form and try it that way.

As "AGAIN100" mentioned, see if any pills can be totally eliminated.

Ok, not to sound harsh... but. My dog would spit out the pills too after eating the good stuff around it....

the dog will take the pills from my friend with no issues, me..? Forget it!

Elderly people seem to fear "nursing homes" more than anything. If a threat seems to work, try to think of something else. Because IF, for some reason, she has to move to a nursing home, it will be very traumatic for her.

sKeezinski: Pose your query to her PCP.

If crushing and mixing with some of the tasty things mentioned below doesn't work I would discuss this problem with the doctor and see what he recommends.

Why is she resisting? Dementia? See if the doctor can cut down on her pills for one thing. My mom always complained so I cut out most of her supplements so that she was down to the least amount of pills possible. It seemed to help, but she only had mild dementia at the time.

Chocolate pudding? Ice cream? Let go?

Struggled for years with this issue. My mom has dementia and when she was in a facility the staff could not get her to take because she didn't know what they were and you couldn't explain. I now have her caregivers crush (using a pill crusher) into a fine powder and add to chocolate ice cream. The combination of strong chocolate flavor, cold, and love of ice cream works every time.

Please consult with her PCP ( Primary care physician) who should be able to offer the medications in other consistencies ( such as liquid or ' compounded' or other options other than pills) . You can also confer with the pharmacist who may be able to confer with the physician also.
You can also let the physician know if you think your wife needs to be assessed for hospice or other home care options to assist you, if not already on board.

I have the same problem , I can’t go to work in the morning unless all her pills are taken . We would spend a half and hour to 45 minutes on this task alone, simply because she doesn’t want to take them . It becomes nerve racking and frankly very upsetting since she doesn’t value my time at all in anything she does . My mom is very with it at 93 but she purposely takes her time to get on my nerves . Unfortunately , I have to threaten her by saying if she doesn’t take her pills she can’t live with me anymore and has to go to a nursing home for care and treatment that’s how she listens and yes , it doesn’t stick so this is a conversation that we have at least 3-4 times a week but it works ! I hope it helps but you can come up with your own scenario that frankly scares them off , just like a child really .

I found that my father started resisting his medications around the time he developed early dysphagia. In addition to his necessary medications for his dementia, blood pressure, and thyroid, the doctor also had him on many other vitamins and supplements. If I recall correctly, there were about eight additional supplements he was taking, some twice each day. We evaluated and removed those that were not necessary considering his late stage Alzheimer’s. At least for now, with fewer pills to swallow he has little difficulty and is no longer resistant.

Good Morning,

I would speak to the pharmacist for liquid form or tablets that you can break open, etc.

Some pills can be crushed but make sure you run this by the doctor first.

There are different price points for each kind dispensed. That's another whole forum.

I hope I was of some help. You sound like a good man.

Prescription pills are often extremely bitter, to the point where no food disguise can cover up the awful taste.

Some pills are not meant to be crushed or split as this affects the time-release mechanism and getting an all-at-once dump of the medication may have a bad effect.

Talk to your pharmacist about whether any of the medications come in patch form (not sure if she would it in liquid).

I tried everything with my mom. She took every pill faithfully every day, then in one day she started to pocket them, hide them in her gums, etc. she would pretend she was putting them in her mouth and, with incredible talent, slip them in a napkin. She started to distrust why she was taking them. I am not sure what your wife is facing but for my mom, it was the dementia decline. I tried everything…yogurt, apple sauce, crushing (when it was possible), liquids. Med taking became a lengthy discussion where I took it very slow, explaining the benefit and praising her for taking them.

She loved Ensure juice. I did have success with her taking meds with her favorite drink.

We finally evaluated what she could remove from her med list, and what she could not do without, to make it less frightening for her.

I wish you success. It is a very difficult thing to manage.

You may consider crushing the pills ( but a pill crusher) and putting in a spoonful of applesauce, yogurt or pudding.

This worked well when my dad had trouble swallowing.

Maybe her doctor can eliminate some of the meds?

Maybe it's time to let her stop taking her meds. We are not meant to live forever.

One idea I've read is to use jam, because it isn't smooth in texture the pill is less noticeable. And unless she's vehemently opposed to the idea of medication don't try to sneak the pills into her, tell her what you are doing and remind her she needs to try to swallow the pill too.

Ask the pharmacist if her drugs can be crushed. Many can be and then add to the apple sauce or pudding.
Some drugs come in a liquid form.