If she's on active hospice care, they do NOT push any medications besides the hospice ones.
Honestly--at the EOL, does it matter that mom had her cholesterol meds? Or BP meds?
Mom was trying to force daddy into taking crushed up cholesterol meds and wow--were they nasty. I was at their apt one day and asked her WHY was she doing this? He'd spit them out and then not trust her to give him the morphine---she was in panic mode, I think, and was trying to 'buy time' for him. A kind gesture, but far from helpful. I talked to the the Hospice folks and they explained to her that she wasn't helping him at all, in fact, making a difficult situation worse. They, of course, allowed her to try--but soon she realized that all he wanted/needed was the morphine and Ativan.
Did she lengthen his very miserable existence by one day? Maybe, but we were so grateful when he passed. His last year was sad and so unfair.
My mom has been refusing her meds on and off for the past five months, and oddly enough, it hasn't really made much difference in her health. The only one she really seems to need is Lasix for her edema, but the blood pressure medicine and all the other stuff hasn't really mattered. Go figure.
She's on hospice care, so the nurses have told me they try to get her to take the medications, but they don't force her. She also isn't really eating anything beyond an Ensure or two each day, so they can't crush things into her food. They did put some pills in tea for a while, and that seemed to work -- when she'll drink tea.
Also ask if the medicine comes in a patch form. FYI even if you technically can physically crush a pill they are almost without exception inconceivably bitter, even hidden in foods. If the pills have a time-release component, do not break or crush them. Do as funkygrandma59 suggests and always ask the pharmacist first.
Is she perhaps having trouble swallowing, as that is common with folks with dementia? If not, then the medications that can be crushed(always check with her pharmacist first)you can crush up and put in her favorite food, like ice cream, pudding applesauce etc. And those that can't be crushed, you can check with her pharmacist to see if they might be available in a liquid form, to make it easier for her to take or for you to disguise. Good luck.
4 Answers
Helpful Newest
First Oldest
First
Honestly--at the EOL, does it matter that mom had her cholesterol meds? Or BP meds?
Mom was trying to force daddy into taking crushed up cholesterol meds and wow--were they nasty. I was at their apt one day and asked her WHY was she doing this? He'd spit them out and then not trust her to give him the morphine---she was in panic mode, I think, and was trying to 'buy time' for him. A kind gesture, but far from helpful. I talked to the the Hospice folks and they explained to her that she wasn't helping him at all, in fact, making a difficult situation worse. They, of course, allowed her to try--but soon she realized that all he wanted/needed was the morphine and Ativan.
Did she lengthen his very miserable existence by one day? Maybe, but we were so grateful when he passed. His last year was sad and so unfair.
She's on hospice care, so the nurses have told me they try to get her to take the medications, but they don't force her. She also isn't really eating anything beyond an Ensure or two each day, so they can't crush things into her food. They did put some pills in tea for a while, and that seemed to work -- when she'll drink tea.
ADVERTISEMENT