Does the person you're caring for insist they've already taken their medication even if their pill is still in the box?

There comes a point with dementia patients where somebody else has to hold onto and administer the meds every single time, every single day.

My mom had 19 meds she was on when I took over her care. They were so mixed up Lord only knows what she actually had in her. In her apartment, we added the med nurse service to setup pillbox once a week.

I visited her once to find pills all over the floor. She got mad at the pillbox and threw it at the wall. If anybody ever moves that fridge, they're going to find some $50 pills.

Then we added on the lockbox service with twice daily administration. The nurse would put her pills in a paper cup, set on a big yellow target. Mom still had to independently take them and swallow them. She got to where she wouldn't do it while the nurse was there, and then was not doing it at all.

That was one factor that disqualified her from independent living. She needed more help than you get in that unit. Other things happened, and mom ended up in the 24/7 skilled nursing care unit where she had to take her meds. It was much better for her when she had the right meds at the same time everyday - like it or not.

When the dementia has effected the memory to the point that the medications are being missed or mistaken, it's not likely that some strategy that relies on the patient's skill, action or involvement will work. The actions and reason that seem so obvious and simple to us, no longer exist with them. I wish you the best, but I would take over the medication administration or arrange for someone else to do it. She may not like it, but it's beyond that when she needs them to be able to breathe.

I know what you mean, txcamper. Mine doesn't argue, but says, "I don't know why I take these. They don't do any good" almost every time she takes the pills. It's all part of the ritual.

I experienced the same with my MIL. She took several pills and had three eye drops a day as well. I started out with the weekly meds box and quickly moved to the daily meds box because there were always pills left. Dementia is an insidious thing.....they truly think they are taking their meds even when you show them they are not....even with the daily meds box, a huge sign on the fridge with times of day for the meds AND setting an alarm for those times she still didn't take them properly. She was in an apartment on our property some 100 yards away and I ended up going up there four times a day every day to check on her and to see that she was taking her meds. Home health got involved for the physical things mostly showering....and it was at their recommendation that she go into assisted living. It was the absolute best thing for us all. Where she would argue with me over the least little thing, there she was the " sweetest little thing" and cooperated with anything they asked. Go figure. But because there were several people taking care of her instead of just the one (me) she felt pampered and doted on and was very happy. So was I LOL.

Every single day. Two times a day.

I have totally taken over the administration of her pills. I take them out of the pill minder and put them in a small bowl. She takes them, but has to argue first.

I have suggested to my mom that she start using PillPack service, which sends your Rx in dosage packets on a roll with date and time dosage is to be taken printed on each packet. Right now she has them in the pharmacy plastic bottles and dispenses them herself, which I witnessed was pretty hit-or-miss. She has 3 pills that look almost identical, so gets very confused about what she has/hasn't taken. On her last doctor visit her doctor had specifically told my sister she needed to take responsibility and handle the dispensing, but my mom seems to think she can handle it herself. Pillpack sends the Rx's in pre-packaged dosage packets sorted by date/time the dosage is to be taken. I think it would be a great service for her, but getting her to change anything is like moving a mountain. Then there is the problem of her taking some of her pills, setting the rest aside to take "later" and then she forgets about them. She really needs someone to watch over her now at 86, but I live out of town so can't be there except for visits. I wish I could be more involved in her care, but my sister likes having all the control. So even suggesting Pillpack to her would start a big power struggle...sigh. I am not wanting any "power" I just want what's best for my mom, but my sister sees everything as a competition, so any challenge to her control gets her on the defensive.

My mother would tell me she'd taken her pills (blood thinner) in the evening until she missed 3 days in a row and wound up in the ER with a clot in her lower leg. At that point, I started getting people to come in 2X a day to giver her meds. She'd insisted before that she didn't need help. She DID.

So don't wait until there's an emergency -- get something set up where someone without dementia is making sure she's taking her meds on a daily basis.

Mom will ask "have you given me my 8 pm meds"...um Mom you take your meds on odd hours...not even....7 am, 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, 7 pm and then bedtime. She will ask us every night "Did I take my meds"? Yes Mom you did. We write it down when she takes them. They are in pill minders and I fill them up once a week.

Jessiebelle, that's what I mean by argue. Just always got a comment to make.

I started using mymedschedule website to print a schedule and have my mom initial it. When she insists that she already took her medication, although it's still in the box, I can show her that she did not, it's still in the box, the inhaler is still on the counter, and she did not initial the paper. I remind my mom morning and evening to take her medication. I have the pills in the box, and the inhalers are on the counter. After she uses her inhaler, we put it back into the box the inhaler came in. Even though I am with her and giving her the medication, she still insists that she has taken it and won't take it again. The schedule that she is initials is helpbing, because I can point to it and show her that she did not initial the schedule, the pills are still in the box, and the inhaler is on the counter. Although she disagrees with me, I can get her to take it. I am going to look at the medisafe site now. Thanks for all of the input everyone.