We are fortunate that my mother does not have a lot of medications to take but between two prescriptions and supplements, there are a few. In the early days of the disease, we were able to get by with a simple list that looked like this:
The two prescription meds started with easy-open bottles that mom could open and take one of each. As her memory failed further, she would forget and even though we have a chart that she checks off (see below), there was no certainty that the pills were being taken. In fact, inventories revealed that several days were missed.
So to address this, someone goes in each evening and places the two pills into this dish and marks on the chart that they were added. Then it is easy to check in the morning to see and follow-up if she hadn’t.
The doctor had originally requested that she wait an hour before eating breakfast and taking the supplements. With the doctor’s permission, we no longer wait an hour and follow shortly with breakfast and supplements.
Having mom drink a morning shake mid-morning slowly became impossible and since she maintains her weight, we no longer have this supplement. I’ve grown weary of the value of some supplements anyway.
Meals are a challenge. Mom’s appetite is almost nonexistent. She is rarely hungry. This is another topic I’ll write about separately. Fortunately, there are no meds or supplements but follow-up is necessary to ensure she has a meal at lunch.
Dinner has only two supplement pills and we have a check-off on the log for dinner / supplement.
Daily Chart:
We used this daily chart before mom was diagnosed so she followed the process pretty well. In recent weeks, the memory has made this a bit more challenging and we now rely on MemClock. The smiley fact at the end of the day is the person checking on her in the evening for dinner marks the smiley face to show that the prescription pills were placed into the dish for the next morning.