Is there a placebo pill that will color the tongue to let you know they actually took the meds?

It may be time to either take her into your home or find an AL. Phillips has a machine that you can set up her pills for a weekvor more. The machine will tell her when its time to take her pills, if she doesn't you get a call. Its pricy but may be worth it. It also can be locked.

You might try blister packs. However, she still could open then and hide her meds. Sounds like you or someone needs to watch her take her meds to ensure she takes them. At some point, you may need to hide them in applesauce, etc. How old is your mother? Has she been diagnosed with any memory loss or dementia? Her behavior sounds like the symptoms of several kinds of memory loss.

Sometimes it is a fine line between a patient's right to refuse medication and the patient having the mental ability to exercise that right. Sometimes "problems" with their meds is a first indicator that the person is having mental or emotional problems. Is it depression or dementia, or both? If my mother today refused to take her meds I would have a psych evaluation done on her. If deemed competent I would abide by her wishes, she is an adult. I may not agree with her decision but it is her decision. The reassurance I would want is that she is making the decision not the dementia.Sometimes it is hard to tell.

mmthku, dont get scared get prepared. Start now listing the things you need to put in place. Look into online grocery shopping transportation to dr visits, pharmacy that delivers and uses blister packs to make it easier. Think about who you might hire to help out. And look into long term plan if mom needs placement. If u have a plan it will keep u from making snap decisions. Plan your work and work your plan mom always said.

You can get the drug store to package her meds in blister packs (sometimes called compliance packs), that way it will immediately be apparent whether her pills have been taken or not. And if she is one of those folks who pop all the pills out at once you will be certain that she can no longer be trusted to take her meds properly.

Dont know of any pill that will do that. The blister packs are a good idea, however as others said still no sure way to tell unless you are there. Sounds like its time there was a step up in her care. If family cant do it perhaps hire someone to come in for pill time. There are people who might like a bit of extra income for a brief stop, a neighbor, friend college student etc...

I've been through this as well. Once a week I would set up her pill box, for a few years all was well. After a while I noticed she was missing the days that I or the caregiver wasn't there. So I called her every morning - she would take the pills while I was on the phone. After a while I began to notice a pill or two on the bathroom floor, which was odd since her pill box was on the dining room table since she took them with meals. Then one day I went to use the bathroom and the entire day's worth of pills were sitting at the bottom of the toilet! They hadn't disinagtated yet so she must have tossed the when I called to say I was on my way over - I lived 15 minutes away. When I asked her about it she totally denied it - really? They flew there on their own? She is now in a NH and a few days ago I found a pill on the bathroom floor (sigh). The med aide now stands there and then does a cheek check. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't fit the emergency room visits that follow a few days of missed meds.

Some pharmacies now have a clock on top of the cap to indicate when the bottle was last opened.

Oh and mom should not be out alone anymore, but you already know that part.

Thanks to all for the helpful responses. No, I don't ler go out alone any more, even though it's a pain in the butt for both of us, since she has to do the driving and getting my wheelchair into and out of the car. But she understands that she should not go places on her own, and should keep her cell phone charged--I think!