Caregiving for someone taking many medications with complex regimens, how do you manage their medications?

HI. My mom is on 23 medicines a day. Yes 23. My dad had a nervous breakdown over trying to fill up the weekly pill boxes so I took over. Its definitely not an easy task. It's not like the pharmacy fills all the prescriptions the same day. I dont think I would trust the pharmacy getting my moms meds right every time.

My spouse had a difficult time swallowing her numerous pills in the morning and evening doses. I purchased empty gelatin capsules which come in a variety of sizes and could put several pills in each capsule. Not only did this make it easier to swallow, there was no unpleasant taste from the pills beginning to dissolve in her mouth. Bottom line, 10 pills daily reduced to 5 capsules. BTW I use the size 00 capsule.
It does take some time (I average a little over an hour to prepare 4 weeks worth of pills using this method. And, of course, it is much cheaper than the blister packs from a pharmacy. A good source of capsules is capsuline.com, but I'm sure there are others.

I noticed that your profile says you are caring for a father who is 27 years old with dementia. Is this right?

We have experienced some issues with Exact Care packs.
* the packs aren't large enough to accomodate a transdermal patch.
* they will not include otc supplements, unless prescribed
* when there is a change in medication, the change doesn't happen with the packets for a month.
* when a scrip needs renewing, they contact the dr. If the doctor fails to respond, we only find out about it when the month's packets arrive with that pill missing.
* we requested the packet label be changed from "bedtime" to evening (sundowners medicine). That didn't happen for another 60 days, after another phone conversation
* they will not half a pill

So, there are issues to remain aware of.

My client has many natural supplements, as well as medicine. 3 x daily. It takes close to 2 hours start to finish for me to take care of a couple weeks' worth! The family cannot fathom why. (I'm going to give them a chance to find out, when her son comes to visit next week, and I'm off)

68 is NOT old. What are her limitations? Is she completely incapable of managing her own meds?

The answers as to having a pharmacy fill the pills for you is an excellent one. Also, you should know what each med does, what to expect as far as side effects and such, IMHO, pharmacists know a TON more than do the docs. All my dh's med mistakes were caught by PHARMACISTS.

It takes a while, when there are changes to the regimen to know what pill does what--my DH went from being a simple liver transplant patient to be a heart attack patient and his med's more than quadrupled. Some he will go off of at the year mark, some are for life.

Adding on to CM's question, why are there so many changes?

Could you perhaps explain why a lady of only 68 needs your help with managing her medications, first? It may well have a bearing on what suggestions would be most applicable to your and her needs.

Medme I just read an article in a magazine about digital timer lids. The cap tracks how long it's been since your last pill so as not to miss a dose or accidentally double a dose.

You should ask your pharmacist if they carry them. It sounds helpful. I wish I had heard of this while my mom was still alive.

We used both ExactCare and PillPack and liked them both. There is no doling out pills, they’re all in a little cello envelope. When meds change, call them immediately to report the changes.

Find a Pharmacy that doesn't charge for this service, not all do.

I kept my dads meds that changed often out of the packs, such as his warfarin that was adjusted 2xs monthly. This kept it simple.

You can also buy monthly organizers and do them for am, midday and pm. Be creative in how you manage this and you will find the best solution for you.