My MIL has AL and lives alone. 75 yrs old. Short term memory is not there. I fill her pill box weekly and usually go by there daily or every other day, to check. If I call her to remind her, she says she will or has, but doesn't remember. I've even gotten her a clock with date/time/month and alarm that goes off to remind her when to take meds (it even says it on screen), but i think she just ignores it. I can not be there every morning or evening to give them to her, at what point do we decide to get in home care or place her in a assisted living facility?
But Als is not the same as being bummed out cause all there is to do is watch TV and play microsoft solitaire all day. She should not be alone. The time is now. I'm sorry. In the meantime if it is possible to rally family for a tempporary assist this is it. Your MIL is not safe there alone anymore
You wrote last week about MIL. She cannot be left alone with ALZ. She needs 24/7 care. If no one wants to be with her 24/7 then she needs to live with someone or go into a LTC facility.
Try putting pills in applesauce or pudding. But really, you can't expect what you want out of your MIL. Her short-term memory makes it she can't remember from day to day, hour by hour even minute to minute.
You know she is forgetting to take her pills but ...
She could forget to turn the stove off
She could forget to turn the water off
She could adjust the furnace way up..or down...
Or she could decide to take a walk....and not know how to get back and if she takes that walk is she going to be dressed appropriately? (I hope she does not have access to a car)
Your choices are Memory Care not Assisted Living or getting caregivers that will come and stay with her so she can remain at home.
Other than the pills that you are setting up what else are you doing or other family members doing that make it possible for her to live "independently" in her home. If you are doing every day tasks for her then she is not independent.
So the time is NOW. Choose caregivers or AL. Either will do the trick. She needs help. They can also help with laundry, playing games with her, cooking (which your mom is probably not safe to do anymore), light cleaning, etc. I had a to do list for our helpers so they knew what was expected. They all liked it and I was happy with it too.
Best of luck.
I was able to use the option of a "MedTech" which was supplied by the facility, at a monthly fee. The MedTech would come twice a day and the Tech would make sure that Dad took his pills.
Home care is expensive. But it sounds like your Mom may do fine with just one shift, like 9 to 5 which would have her take her evening pills before the caregiver leaves. Something to think about. You would still need to fill her pill box.