Taking tablets prescribed "With Food," without food.
Discussion
My elderly mother-in-law, who lives on her own, has a mountain of tablets to take every day and gets confused. Her daughters are prepared to call her at the appropriate times and talk her through taking the relevant tablets. However, if the tablets are prescribed "With Food" or "Without Food" the chances of MiL forgetting what to do are very high by the time she has made herself a sandwich or even fetched a biscuit.
So, the question is, is it better to take the tablets at around the right time, irrespective of whether they were prescribed with or without food, rather than missing them out altogether which is what happens at present?
So, the question is, is it better to take the tablets at around the right time, irrespective of whether they were prescribed with or without food, rather than missing them out altogether which is what happens at present?
Really depends on the tablets. Anti-inflammatory tablets, for example, really should be taken with/just after food to stop them causing irritation to the stomach lining.
On another point is there not a service run by a local pharmacy that will dispense the medication in medication trays that have all the tablets in compartments marked for the time of the day? This would help if there are a number of tablets which can become confusing.
On another point is there not a service run by a local pharmacy that will dispense the medication in medication trays that have all the tablets in compartments marked for the time of the day? This would help if there are a number of tablets which can become confusing.
Thanks, Oscarmac. She already has the blister trays and she still gets confused. Until my wife and her sister took away all but the current one, she could mix up three or four weeks' worth of tablets. Before anyone says she's clearly on the road to dementia, I must point out that when she's in command of her tablets, she's absolutely fine and everyone is amazed at how she copes. The tragedy is, if she oversleeps one morning, if there's an unexpected event in the day - anything to interrupt her routine - and the tablet taking discipline is out the window, she gets confused and it's all downhill very quickly. Then it takes a couple of days to get her back on track. It won't be long before carers have to call night and morning, but even them setting up her tablets for the day is no guarantee of success.
Something of this ilk may be useful, now or in future? http://www.medreadyinc.com/
Pivotell ( http://www.pivotell.co.uk ) supply these in the U.K. Some local councils will pay for them and the cost of filling them.
DickyC said:
That's nice, BVD. Oddly, I was busy trying to invent something rather like that in the back of my mind.
It's already there! Thanks.
You're most welcome, Dicky. They're nifty bits of kit and I suspect they've kept quite a few people safe and well who would otherwise need a great deal of human intervention to remain so.It's already there! Thanks.
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