Ask Miriam – June 2024
Dear Miriam,
My husband and I are caring for his mother, who lives alone in a cottage on our property. She has early-stage Alzheimer’s disease plus a lot of other medical issues, including high blood pressure, diabetes, a thyroid condition, and more, for which she also has a lot of medications. I have become really worried because last week, when I checked the boxes of her weekly dosage container, there were pills left over from previous days. I showed it to her, and she tried to brush it off. What do we do at this point? Until now, she has been relatively independent. She only uses the microwave, doesn’t drive, and I go over every day to bring food and take in her laundry. She’s generally cooperative but is also someone who values her privacy. I’m afraid her health could go downhill quickly, though, if we don’t figure out how to deal with this.
—Daughter-in-Law
Dear Daughter-in-Law,
It sounds like you have been doing a great job of caring for your mother-in-law and creating such a supportive environment for her. With the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, it is not unusual for there to be additional challenges, such as the one you are facing now. It is likely that your mother-in-law’s memory is getting worse, so she just doesn’t remember that she is supposed to take the medications, and, in addition, she may not be as aware of their importance anymore.
You already have a medication organizer set up (which should have separate compartments for each day/time) but that still requires your mother-in-law to remember to go over to it and take the pills. Visual cues can be helpful, such as having the pill box sit on the dining room table and having a written instruction sheet posted on the refrigerator, both of which she can easily see. Another idea is to set up an alarm system to alert her to take the medication. These can be as simple as a buzzer sounding or as high-tech as using personalized messages to tell her, “It is time to take your Tuesday morning pills from the pill box on the table.”
Pharmacies can also be helpful. Consider enrolling your mother-in-law in a medication management service where medications are pre-packaged and delivered in single-dose packets, ensuring she takes the correct medications at the right time. In addition, there are also more sophisticated systems available through medical supply stores or online which only unlock the specific day/time compartment at the day/time the medication is meant to be taken.
Don’t forget to check with her doctor to make sure that all the medications she is taking are necessary. It sometimes happens that older adults are prescribed multiple medications for the same condition or that they are continuing to take a medication for a condition they no longer have.
And remember to take care of yourself too. Consider asking other family members for help, perhaps to bring a meal over to your mother-in-law one evening a week, or to research the alarm and pill box options.
For more information about helping people with dementia take their medications, view the Caregiver Tips Videos or Caregiver Tip Sheets, or call the Alzheimer’s Los Angeles Helpline at 844-435-7259.
Best,
Miriam
Questions for Miriam can be sent to askmiriam@alzla.org.