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My mother is taking pills, one does not work she takes another . She sleeps during the day from the hangover of pills. Night she can not sleep she takes sleeping pills, one does not work takes a second, maybe a third. Then she take presone for pain. What should I do. Take her medication making believe she does not know where she put it? I am confuse. She illusioned and blames people of crazy ideas. Like someone putting flece all over toilet tissue and toilet. She did it. About 6 yrs. ago she thought someone came from 23 fl to her fl20 and went to the bathroom again all over fleces and she claims she was sprayed . It was her again. What to do?

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I had the same problem with granny, who at the time did not live with me. First of all I took all meds away from her, including over the counter. I would fill a pill box for her which I thought would solve the problem but then she was forgetting if she took her pills and then couldn't remember what day it was, so she would take the next days doasage. I then moved her in with me and I have now hid all medications, RX and over the counter. Her latest obsession is she complains of heartburn and wants to eat Rolaids, because to her they taste like candy! Now I give her a pepcid prior to dinner. I would definitely remove all meds from her apartment, maybe get a caregiver in her apt to hand out her meds. This is a very dangerous situation, she could possibly end up hurting herself or worse. I would speak to the doctor, maybe it's time she move into assisted living. She is a danger to herself.
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Hyundai, we must be sisters, because our mothers sound like the same person. She is diabetic, has high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, and an anxiety disorder. Her answer to feeling a little bad is to take another lorazepam. Sometimes she gets absolutely drunk. I tried to take control of her medicine a couple of times, but she became violent. I worked things a different way. She let me take charge of her diabetes and blood pressure medications, but she wants to keep them in sight. I put out the day's supply of these things in the living room where I can monitor them. But touching her lorazepam was off limits! After 50 years of diazepines, she is quite addicted. I noticed recently that she had taken 2-3X the usual dose of them, so I took them, cut them in half, and set them in the living room. Now at least she has to get up to come get one. Her usage has gone way down.

I don't worry so much about her Tylenol III. She doesn't misuse it. I flushed some old sleeping pills because I didn't want her taking one benzo on top of another. It is tough when our elders are drug addicts. My mother is nearly 86 and has dementia, so I don't really want her to go through detox. I just want her to not use her lorazepam the way she will if left to her own devices.

I've tried to convince her to get one the the boxes that will let her use her medicines only at certain times. She got angry and said that she would break it, because it didn't understand that sometimes she needed more. She said I had better not even bring it in the house or she would break it.

The semi-taking charge of her medicines has had good results. She used to make herself sick taking too much Metformin. That hasn't happened since I started our new method. She often double-dosed on blood pressure medicine. She denied all this, but I count, so I know. And she has dementia, along with tending to be a bit dishonest to start with. If she is not incompetent and will not work with you on the meds, try taking a more gentle control that makes her feel like she is still in charge. You may be able to come up with something that works in your situation. (I too worry about her being alone with her drugs.)
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Hi-My mom went through a month's supply of medication by day 15. My family doctor insisted that I take charge of her medication. She was livid but I told her there was no choice. At CVS/Walgreen's, they have week long pill dispensers so every Sunday, I fill up her meds for the week, If she runs short, she knows it was her fault. (They have dispensers with morning,noon.evening,etc,)
Good luck-it's difficult but once the routine is set, it really works!
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Hyundai, you do have your hands full! There are 2 things I would look at first......your mother needs to be seen by her physician for a general check-up and then to address her medication abuse. She cannot just stop what she is taking, especially if she is abusing narcotics, she will go into withdrawal. This should be done with the oversight of her physician. If I understood you correctly, you have POA.....is this for medical or financial or both? Some people say that a POA does not have to be notorized, others say it does so to be on the safe side it should be notorized and then there wouldn't be any questions as to it's validity.
It's apparent that the time has come where Mom shouldn't be living alone or at least caring for herself. Is your sister willing to step up and help you with this? Is this something you are willing to take on? You might also want to look into placing Mom where she will have 24/7 care with oversight of her medication so there isn't the possibility of an overdose. It sounds like no matter what you do Mom is not going to be happy, and keep in mind that some of her unhappiness right now could be caused by the amount of medication she is ingesting. It's hard to make the decisions for what we think is best for our loved one when they have lost the ability to live on their own. This may be tough in the beginning.....getting Mom to the doctor and getting her medication regulated....but it can be done. You will need to be firm and let things that Mom says roll off you.....remember you are making changes to allow her to have a good quality of life and for you to also continue to live knowing she is being taken care of. Good luck to you!
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This is SUPER dangerous. I would try those portion containers, and set up daily meds to be taken at precise times. This is one for 2 times a day, they make them for up to 4 times a day if needed. (To show you what I am referring to) They are sold at ALL pharmacies. If this doesn't work, then I would either lock up her meds and have them administered to her at the appropriate times or consider a nursing home. This is too serious to let it go!
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We must have the same mothers indeed. :) I noticed I just referred to them both as "she" without saying whose mother I was referring to. I hope you can figure it out. I do need to proofread before submitting!
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My Mama took too much painkillers and then because she was kind of out of it from that medicine, she wound up taking too much Coumadin and had to be rushed to the hospital because her blood was so thin they thought she would bleed internally. I completely agree that her doctor needs to see her and she may have to go to a "rehabilitory facility" to regulate her medicine. I like the little dosing containers idea too. Good Luck!
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I think Mom might have some dementia problems and need to have someone who will come in to dispense pills once or twice a day and lock them up in between times.
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I bought a pill box that holds a week supply with compartments for morning, noon,
afternoon, bedtime. It stays on top of the refrigerator where she can't reach it. This works out well. Once a week, I fill the box from my typed list.
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Update on my mother. She let me take total charge of her medications, including her lorazepam. I have to do things one pill session at a time. Taking charge of her medication has ended so many problems. She is rarely sick at her stomach now and is less confused. Pills used wrong can cause so much grief.
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