Mother has dementia seems to think she can keep tract of meds on her own

[cj8892]

My mother lives alone me and my son take care of her. When I went over to pick her up for church this morning she was dressed and said she had already eaten her breakfast. I said, "You must have gotten up early." She said she had. When I called her this evening to remind her to take her night time meds she said she had already taken them. We always call her at night. I don't know if she is trying to make us believe that she doesn't need us to remind her or help her. We know she does need our help.

[agoyer]

Medication management is often one of the first red flags that our loved ones need more support. It's tricky sometimes to help them remember if they are resistant to help or change. You can set up "smart" medication pill boxes that will alert her it's time to take meds and also alert you when she opens and takes her meds, you can set up motion sensors that alert you when she goes near her pill organizer, etc - technology can help a lot in this area! If you go online to a shopping site and search for "smart pill boxes" or "pill organizers" you should find some options. You can also find options at some pharmacies or talk with the pharmacist. The prices vary greatly - from inexpensive to high tech hundreds of dollars! 

Here are some of my articles that may be of help! 

A Caregivers Tips for Managing Medications  

More Caregiving Time-Savers: Medication Management  

Let me know if I can be of more help! 

Amy Goyer, AARP Family & Caregiving Expert

[JaneCares]

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@cj8892 wrote:

My mother lives alone me and my son take care of her. When I went over to pick her up for church this morning she was dressed and said she had already eaten her breakfast. I said, "You must have gotten up early." She said she had. When I called her this evening to remind her to take her night time meds she said she had already taken them. We always call her at night. I don't know if she is trying to make us believe that she doesn't need us to remind her or help her. We know she does need our help.

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Good question. Folks who have trouble remembering often cover this up. Do you fill her pill box? Do you know all the meds she is on? Do you go with her to medical appointments?

Some pills are more important than others, obviously.  

There are pharmacies all over, and mail-delivery pharmacies too, that put pills together in bubble packs. The patient just has to look at the bubble pack for everning, say, or before bed, or at dinner, and the plastic bubble has all the pills in it for that time. 

Sounds like your mom is touchy about being independent. She can stay independent if she uses what she needs to remind herself. There are pill boxes that talk to you, squawk if you forget your pills. She may not need them.

I'm thinking that as long as she's doing okay, and seeing her doctor on a regular basis, who can then check her blood pressure (if she's hypertensive) and check the other things she takes medicine for. In which case, she's taking them.

Don't you feel like a detective sometimes?

What have you tried? What questions do you need?  Write more?

Jane

[JaneCares]

https://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org_/articles/learntech/wellbeing/medication-record.pdf

this is a helpful form

[k920582e]

Hi there. Tracking medication can be very difficult, especially if you and your son are both involved. I have found with my own family that using some sort of tracking app can be helpful - I use Kinto. My sisters and I can all see what our father needs to take and when. This way we can all remind him what to take at the right time and keep track of it all in one place. 

It can be difficult for our loved ones to feel less in control, so that might explain why your mother wants you to think she can still do a lot of things on her own. Gentle reminders never hurt. Just keep a close eye. 

If you want more information about Kinto (I highly, highly recommend it to any caregiver), their website is kinto.care. 

Have a great day!