anyone any bright ideas on how to organise medication for mother ?

[gingeroots]

I'm stumped over this .

Mother lives alone ,I visit 6/7 ,she has v.poor eyesight and very arthritic gouty fingers .

She has a kind of system - some blister packs by the kettle so she takes those with morning tea .
More by microwave where she makes her porridge .

But she's getting less able to cope and any change - like course of antibiotics - makes her so anxious that she panics she'll get her tablets wrong .

She doesn't have the dexterity to manage any dosset box I've seen and any ideas I come up with ( eg I leave out the tablets in ramekin dishes with huge note ) seems to increase her anxiety " no ,no don't change it ,I'll never know where I am "

She wanted to keep the recently introduced antibiotics in the seat of her rollator /walking frame ( where they are out of sight ) because when I leave the one she needs to take b4 sleep in a dish by her bed " she doesn't know it's there and might forget it "

Oh dear ,she's not managing on her own very well is she ?

She admits she's stressed trying to remember what to take but really strongly resists any help ( her nature has always been to assume that anything new ,any change regarding anything will always make life worse/harder )

Anyone any top tips for pill taking ?

I wonder, could you arrange to ring her at antibiotic taking time?

I did think of that joan ,when I suggested it my mum looked at me and said " Why ? Am I going to forget to take it ? "
etc
but I think I need to toughen up ( she is very opiniated ) and just tell her I think that I will phone .

I think some of the problem is her not admitting to herself fully that she's not coping - while at same time being very anxious .
I try and encourage her and tell her it's not all down to her ,that I'll help but I think there's a very big part of her that doesn't want me to .

if you visit nearly every day, could you supervise her taking the medicines?
can you speak to her gp, maybe it is time for her to have extra help.

I supervise as much as I can - the lunchtime and mid afternoon ones - but am not there for early morning and late evening ones .
You're right ,she needs carers ,but I can't even begin to tell you how she is regarding that .
She was a nightmare with them following hospital admission couple of years ago .
Made her incredibly uptight ,she forced herself to get up b4 they arrived when they were calling to help her get up ( post broken hip ) ,couldn't understand anything they said ,patronised them ,and more .
Still ,she's older and frailer now .
Trouble is she always manages to retain her aggresive /I'm right ,everyone else is wrong streak ,however ill she is .
And when really forced to do what she doesn't want ( eg have carers ) she just starts lying about things - I've already eaten ,will eat later etc ,etc .

I feel horrible talking about her like this

Have you tried asking whichever chemist dispenses her medication to package them up for her? I'm not sure it would necessarily help as she would still require a certain amount of dexterity, but at least all her dispensed medication (including any additional changes, e.g. the antibiotics) would be already counted out for her.

Boots do this for me as I take so much. Each week my pills are packaged like this, but I do remember that my Grandad received his stuff from a small independent pharmacy, and his dosset box opened with a slide mechanism, which might perhaps be more easily managed?

Even if it doesn't actually persuade her to take them, at least it should be immediately obvious what she has and hasn't taken, which would assist you when talking to the GP or asking for additional help for her. It sounds really tough, and as though you're doing a brilliant job.

how about 'carers by stealth'?
when my grandparents became frail and couldn't cope anymore, my parents organised a meals on wheels type of service who would also place the tablets from the doset next to a glas of water with the food. they also hired a cleaner who at first would come once a week, later more often.

Have known a patient of mine who had one of these fancy pill dispensers attached to medalert

Has she had a recent medication review by GP to see if she actually needs all the meds and whether there is a way of simplifying them , maybe doing away with certain time slots or amalgamating some.

Oh wow oxcat that looks brilliant .
Not studied it fully ,but that looks as though it would be the answer .
This going to help me sleep better tonight !

And thank you mousey and ggirl - hadn't read your posts when I replied to oxcat .
Good points about stealth carers and a review .

I think I'm getting infected by my mums anxiety about the pills - believing it's all too complicated . It can be simpler I'm sure .
Feel much encouraged .

I work in an independent pharmacy that also supplies monitored dosage systems like the one in Oxcat's link.

Talk to her pharmacy - they probably do something similar, if not, the GP should be able to point you to one that will.

I also noticed this 'assisted living' programme on that PDF from Boots - I know nothing whatsoever about it but might be worth looking into further if the Medisure doesn't provide enough help?

Hopefully We'll find something to help her, and you!