Automatic pill dispenser?

[mineallmine]

My mother is suffering from the early symptoms of dementia. We're managing quite well for now with home carers. Her (many many) tablets are blister packed so that is generally working ok -although she has gotten confused about what day it is at times. However, she takes a sleeping tablet every evening. We leave a week's supply laid out on her dressing table every Sunday evening but many many times, she forgets that she has taken one and will take another.

Does anyone know of a pill dispenser that would only open once a day so that she can only take one sleeping tablet every night? I've looked online but the only ones I can see have alarms etc to remind people to take their medication but that's not what we need. We just don't want her to overdose.

MIL has alzheimers and gets carers in three times a day. Her tablets are kept on a high shelf (she is tiny and is far too unsteady on her feet to try and stand on something to reach them now). The carers give her her tablets morning and evening so they can make sure she takes the right ones at the right time.

Can you get a carer to come in the evening to do this?

What happens if she doesn't take a sleeping tablet?

Try a pivotell pill dispenser, it has an alarm - but will only dispense the correct amount of medication at any given time and the alarm will stop when the medication is tipped out.

It might be worth contacting your local adult social care as they provide them for free through the telecare service in our area.

This might seem a strange idea - but you can get automatic pet food dispensers that do what you want to do. They open just one compartment at a pre-set time.

Obviously they are quite a bit bigger than a pill box (and potentially a bit expensive) - but it might work well?

Her home care package has only just been reviewed so we won't get another carer in the evening for now at least. My mam is at the stage where she knows she gets confused but she is in denial so doesn't cooperate fully and tries to do things for herself that she's supposed to let the carers do. In the afternoon she has to have her insulin injection under the supervision of the carer but she will often do it before the carer comes which screws things up as she won't have checked her sugars, forgets to eat after it etc. she simply will not cooperate and just wait for the carer to come. It's frustrating as she is insistent that she's fine. She's not.
If she doesn't take the tablet, she doesn't sleep. She's always been a poor sleeper. To be honest, at 84 we see no harm in her having them every night.
We're in Ireland so don't have the same services as you have in the UK so we don't have adult social care, however it may be worth contacting our health board to ask them if they can provide one. We just requested a wheelchair today but we're not holding our breath for that to happen!

I'll have a look at those pivotell dispensers, thanks.

The pet food dispenser is a good idea but we have to be careful with my mam because we're all carefully not saying that there's a problem. She knows. She knows we know. But it's just too sad and awful to say it out loud. So if she knew it was a pet food dispenser I think she'd be so sad to think she needs that. A pill dispenser is something she's used to, with her blister packs etc so I feel it would be easier to sell the idea to her.

I hate this. It's so sad for her and for all of us.

Dementia sucks

My parents both get their medication sorted into a 'medipac' from the dispensing pharmacy. My mom has early stage dementia and so I write very clearly on hers what is to be taken when and then telephone her at the necessary times to remind her to take it. (All tablets - would not work with liquid medication)