Caring for Aged Parents?

CAREGIVING/ ELDERLY/ MEDS

Medicine Management

Gasp!

“Oh no!”

I tripped and spilled not one but two pill counter medicine boxes. The meds flew all over the floor in multiple directions. His were mixed with hers. They went everywhere.

I burst into tears.

Spilling them amounted to a terrible waste of time, but more importantly, they now needed to be sorted correctly and placed back into the proper slots. I enlisted the help, and several hours later, the task was complete.

For me, managing meds was one of the most stressful tasks associated with caregiving. I’m not a nurse and have zero medical training, so there was a huge learning curve for me.

Filling the boxes

Once a week, I would clear the dining room table and line up all the meds, first Dad’s, whose were a bit easier than Mom’s. I pulled out a checklist I made of all medications, dated and number, and slowly and carefully counted out the meds and placed them in the appropriate boxes.

It’s not unusual for folks in their 80’s and 90’s to take a large number of meds. Dad had 2 typed pages worth and Mom had 3 typed pages worth, including a few vitamins and supplements they preferred.

There were meds that had to be taken at certain times of the day, some with food, some on an empty stomach. The scheduled meds like metformin, omeprazole, lisinoprol, synthroid, metropolol, tzanidine, Namenda, and Exelon patches were easier than the PRN meds like Tylenol, ativan, lidocaine patches, seroquel, and more, that required a judgment call, a conversation between us to determine what was needed and if it was necessary.

And then there were supplements. Does glucosamine chondrotin help? Did I include the Optivites? The multivitamin? Did I mix the men’s with the women’s? It was dizzying at times. I had to really focus and check and double check my work.

Then came the timing. Thank goodness for cell phones. I set multiple alarms on my phone each day with little reminders.

A solution

At one point, the local pharmacy called and offered a service. They could pack daily scheduled…

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