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My 90 year old mother (who's diabetic, has a heart condition, and very quickly declining from Alzheimer's) has a lot of pills to take every day. However, she's starting TO FORGET how to take them! WHAT DO I DO when she NO LONGER knows HOW to take her pills anymore???


And, just so y'all know, I'm her daughter AND her ONLY caregiver. We ALSO don't qualify for in-home health care, or ANY OTHER type of assistance because we CAN'T qualify for Medicaid!


PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP ME!!!

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Please call your mom’s doctor and ask him what you should do about your moms inability to swallow the pills.
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A speech therapist was able to show my mom how to better swallow pills. It involved putting her chin down to her chest, rather than stretching her neck up.

Def call moms doc and explain that she has forgotten how to swallow pills.
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My husband is having trouble swallowing pills, but he still swallows food just fine. It doesn't seem to me to be a sign that the end is just around the corner.

Trouble swallowing pills is different from trouble swallowing food and drink.
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Just one probably useless suggestion about Medicaid. Have you checked with your local senior center? They might know of some free or subsidized care you could use.

Can you afford to pay for someone to come in just three hours a week? You deserve at least a small break once in a while.
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Please buy a pill crusher and mix a favorite with it. We use applesauce or pudding and it works great! Good luck
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Thanks for replying, lotsokittycats. It is most likely that she is losing her ability to swallow because of her advancing dementia.

If you’re able to get a call through to her doctor or the pharmacist who fills her prescription, see if you can get her meds in crushable pills or liquid form.

If you can, you mix the meds into puddings, smoothies, Jello, yoghurt, or heavy milk shakes, served to her in small amounts so that you can be sure you get enough of the meds into her.

Hoping you find something that helps soon.

Thinking of you.
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I AM the one who monitors her pills, and I DO make SURE she takes all of them! MAYBE I didn't make my post CLEAR.... she's forgetting HOW TO THEM!
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My mother can't swallow pills either, I put them in apple sauce and she can eat the apple sauce. takes a bit of time but it works.
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Did you read the answers you received about how to get your mom on hospice, here https://www.agingcare.com/questions/how-to-get-hospice-care-for-an-alzheimers-mother-456325.htm ?
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lotsokittycats Apr 2020
THANK YOU FOR THE LINK!!! I will read it right away!!! :)
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So, are you saying your mom cannot swallow pills? If so, she may have reached a point where Hospice is now required due to her failure to thrive. This often happens with Alzheimer's. Hospice will take her off of her medications, and instead provide her with comfort care in the last days/weeks/months or year of her life. With Alzheimer's, quality of life diminishes to the point where everyday life vanishes; they forget how to eat, how to use the toilet, how to do the basics, and then their bodies forget how to breathe, resulting in death.

Have a chat with mom's doctor and see if he can order a hospice evaluation for her now (if she's forgetting how to swallow). That may be your best alternative at this juncture.

Wishing you the best of luck moving forward
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lotsokittycats Mar 2020
Thank you very much! I've been trying to figure out HOW to obtain in-home hospice care, and under what circumstances, so what your telling me just MIGHT be what I need to get her insurance and/or Medicare to assist us/her!!!
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lotsokittycats, please do not crush pills without consulting the pharmacist as the effectiveness of how some pills work is affected by crushing or splitting...plus they are usually super bitter. Also contact pharmacist to see if the meds come in dermal patches or suppositories. Hang in there!
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lotsokittycats Mar 2020
I HAVEN'T been doing Amy of that, just so you know, and it's exactly WHY I've posed the question/asked for advice from THIS site!
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Have you asked your pharmacist if any of her pills come in a liquid? Or if they can liquify them? Can you crush them and add them to a favorite food?

Have you asked her doctor about how imperative these medications are considering the situation and her age?

I hope you find a solution that works for you both.
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lotsokittycats Mar 2020
Thank you!
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The OP lives with her mother (She’s a regular poster) and I believe this isn’t a matter of her mother forgetting TO take her pills. She’s forgotten how to SWALLOW them.
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Ahmijoy Mar 2020
Even though swallowing issues weren’t mentioned, you could be right. Also, if she takes a lot of meds, she might be confused about the times to take them all and how many. In any case, I stand by my original post that no matter what, Mom needs to be supervised. If swallowing is an issue, she needs to contact a doctor for testing for dysphasia. The over-capitalization of words in OP’s posts indicated some annoyance with her Mom. I really believe a visit or at least, in these times, a call to Mom’s doctor is in order.
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Just so I understand, when you say she forgets how to take them, do you mean that she doesn’t follow the schedule of what pills at what time, or does she have trouble swallowing them?
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lotsokittycats Mar 2020
I ALWAYS monitor her pill taking so I can be SURE she's taking all of the pills she should be, and I can visually confirm that she's taking them.

However, and I should have made this more clear, she's lately been putting them in her mouth but then forgetting WHAT TO DO WITH THEM after that!
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Do you live together? If so, you will need to manage her pills. If u don't live together this will be a problem. I know Phillips has a machine u can fill for a week or more. It locks so Mom can't get to her pills. You set the times. A voice will say, time for ur meds. If Mom does not push the button that dispenses the meds, u will get a call.

I would go thru Moms meds and see if she still needs them all. Diabetic, of course. Cholesterol at 90 not so much. After a while cognitive meds are useless. BP needed. Heart, of course.
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lotsokittycats Mar 2020
I DO live with her (my mom), and I monitor/give her her pills on a DAILY BASIS!

The problem that has recently become an issue is that once she's put the pill/s in her mouth, she holds it/them in her mouth and doesn't remember TOP SWALLOW!!!
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At that age and with her health issues plus dementia, your mother should not be responsible for taking or remembering when to take her medications. You will need to set a time of day for YOU to give her the meds. Set a timer if you need to.
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lotsokittycats Mar 2020
WOW! Forgive me, ALL of you, for NOT making my post CLEAR!

The issue I'm having is that when I GIVE HER the pills that her Dr's have prescribed, she holds them in her mouth and seems to have, at times, forgotten that she NEEDS to swallow!

I'm also sorry that my use of CAPS seemed to habe indicated that, of ALL THINGS, I'm angry, upset, or impatient with MY MOM! That CANNOT be further from the truth, the situation!!! I'm TERRIBLY frustrated by 1) not being able to deal with her inability to SWALLOW the pills she needs to take, and 2) not being able to receive outside assistance because we can't qualify for MediCaid, thus, NO in-home health care!

Is everyone on the SAME page as me now? SO SORRY for my frustration!!!
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