We got six pill boxes for mom's pills. They are marked morning, noon, evening. At first she did well by herself placing the right medications in the right boxes. Since she broke her hip and had to be shocked two times to get her heart in rhythm, she has become confused about the pills. Every time we went to her house the pills were wrong. We asked Home Health to check on them, but they still ended up being wrong. We think it's because she messes with them herself. She thinks she can still do it right. A few weeks ago, we took the bottles away from her. One of us has been filling her boxes once a week. We go see her every week and call her twice a day. She is getting very upset because we took the pills away and does not understand we are doing this to help her get the right pills at the right time. She thinks we are trying to kill her. My husband can't handle her attitude and becomes very upset with her. Mom even told him that she didn't trust me. What can we do?
You can measure out up to sixty doses of meds into the machine. So if she takes pills 2x daily you can measure out 30 days in one sitting, 3x daily 20 days... The cost is about $75/month. There is no contract, it's month to month. We have used it for the last six months. It has been a true Godsend.
There are other options but I do agree if she's dropping them someone needs to witness her her taking them.
Whether it is temporary or not, she needs to keep the meds straight. It sounds like she lives on her own...yes? The only way to guarantee that she is taking them correctly is to have someone check on her everyday. There really is no other way.
The fact that she has grown suspicious of everyone also worries me. Has she been evaluated or have you talked to her doc about the confusion she is experiencing?
Also, if she is taking a lot of perscriptions, find a good pharmacist who will tell you what each pill does and if there are any interactions or redundencies. Everytime I take Mom to a new doc they prescribe a new drug and really do not take the time to review her meds. We finally have her down to the essentials...3 Rxs. If it is possible to have your mom's whittled down this may help, too.
good luck...Lilli