spent 2 hours setting up my dads meds for the month, 2 weeks later i visit he says “i’ve just been grabbing random ones”
Wednesday, 12 Mar 2025
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Great, so the pills don’t know when they will die. Exciting
My mom would stop by every Sunday and set up my grandpa’s medication for the week. Every Sunday she would come back to discover he MAY have taken Monday’s, but ended up taking the medication from the bottles instead. And never in the correct amounts. Like, some meds ran out too soon and others had too many pills left over. This was all despite the fact that she had the instructions of what to take when next to the pill box.
He’s now in a nursing house and has been diagnosed with dementia.
Hoping that it’s just a daily general dosing schedule and that it’s been more than 2 weeks.
I used to have to set up my dad’s pills for him, he would still skip or hide them, around this time he was diagnosed with dementia.. keep an eye out for other signs.
I can tell I’m getting old—my takeaway from this is “that’s a cool pill organizer, I wonder where I can get one?”
TIL I can organize my pills for a month rather than weekly.
A lot of pharmacies will make blister packs for little or no charge.
The battle is real. My Dad refuses to let anyone set up his meds, not even the visiting nurse, because he knows more than they do. 🙄
i’ve been thinking about a 30 day pill organizer
when it came to numbering them by date the only advantage I could think of was that I’d never question if I took my medication yet because I could just check the organizer and see if todays date is missing or not
I had to spend two grand on a safe for my mother that keeps them locked up, and dispenses them on time as directed. Then I had to go over there every two weeks and inventory it, restock and whatnot. It lasted about six months, long enough to ween her off of the horrible shit her doctors had her on at the time. They exist, if you think it would be beneficial. Pain in the ass, but they exist.
Omg, I felt that in my soul. 😭
You try so hard to make things easier and safer, and they just…do the opposite. It’s like they don’t realize how much work you put into it. Maybe try color-coding or labeling the days? Or if he’s open to it, there are those pill organizers with alarms that literally won’t let them grab the wrong dose.
But seriously, you’re a good kid for trying to help. Don’t let his randomness get you down—you’re doing your best!
WOW & WTF🧐
I hate to say this, but if your Dad is living alone it may be time to think about assisted living.
Especially if his life depends on any of these medications being taken on time and at the proper dosage!
Or possibly taking a couple of meds together that shouldn’t be mixed!
I once pulled that stunt by accidentally taking my pain med and a sleeping pill that I had mistaken for another med but fortunately that mistake only caused an unscheduled nap in my Comfy Chair and thank GOD, I no longer drive!!!
Am I the only one who thought this was a lipstick holder
Op this could be a sign of dementia. It also be a sign he just doesn’t care but it could be something more sinister
Has your dad been tested for cognitive dysfunction yet? If not, do it now. This is a possible sign of dementia.
The most important question: is there different pills/quantities in each or are they all they same?
Because that would change things from “mildly infuriating” to “mildly concerning”.
This behavior is common among parents. I spent hours setting up a media server for my dad. It had all their movies categorized & in HD so they could watch all their movies a click away. That was 2 years ago & still he’ll record movies (That are on the server) off TV in standard definition with commercials “because I don’t have to turn on that damn box” the “box” you requested I set up in the first place and spent a weekend getting dialed in for you is too much to turn on?
Is he just being an idiot or is this your sign that it’s time for assisted living?
is it just like the same pills in each one and the day itself doesn’t matter? If so then I mean, I probably would too. If I have to take X Y and Z every day, i’ll just split XYZ into little containers and just take whichever I grab.
He doesn’t care.
I’ve been there. I’m sorry.
Are they different from day to day? If not, then it doesn’t matter a bit.
Edit, as has been covered, it shows what he may have missed.
Please tell me every day is the same.
I got my mom set up with a pharmacy that individually bubble wrapped each ofmy mom’s pills, with a time, day, and date on them.
She never had to mess with a pillbox or remembering if she’d taken her meds or not.
She’d just look to see if they were still there. An empty pill pack let her know she’d taken it.
It was amazing how it released a huge amount of stress from her day
My uncle has all his pills in one large bottle. He says he knows what each one is and how many he has to take, but that’s definitely untrue.
Dementia. Get dad some assistance. Also hide the pills so he can’t get to them.
Edit-a lock box would be better
You might want to consider switching to a smaller scale of available medication at some point. If he didn’t realize he was supposed to take them in order, he might start to forget if he took his medication for the day already, and end up taking an overdose.
Old people really don’t give a fuck.
He’s missing the point.
Are they the same in each one? If so I guess it doesn’t matter
I set up meds for my mother in law when she was living with my husband and I. She pretty much did the same thing. She went off her psychiatric meds and her insulin until we figured out why she was so surly and hard to wake up. Yikes. Sometimes the elderly can be very stubborn about things you wouldn’t expect them to be stubborn about. LOL. I hope to give em hell when I’m old too.
If he is medication non-compliant his insurance might cover a Hero pill dispenser. No effort at all for you to set it up.
I mean *if* they’re all the same then it’s fine. That I know of, most pills are “take x times daily” with possible clarification on time of day to take, not “take once a week”.
Serious inquiry, is starting to forget things?
Ask him to draw an analog clock. 🕒
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My grandfather who’s had diabetes for decades and takes his insulin based off of vibes do the same with his other meds resulting in him doubling his blood-thinners and halving his heart medication…
Lmao bro was choosing his lucky numbers of the day
I have to make my parents weekly, and give it to them multiple times a day and watch them take it. Otherwise it gets confusing
Dementia
Could be worse. As long as each day is the same meds.
And these are the people running our government
They make dispensers that only spit out the right meds at the right time and then you can see if he missed any then too
Someone’s a grown ass person and can do it themselves then.