Yep,now I've done it.....got so tired I fell asleep and forgot to make sure the DH took his bedtime dose of Insulin..It is early, he is still asleep, and I am just sure his glucose reading will be sky high. He didn't take his evening tablets either. Has this happened to anyone else and how do you manage to get the DS (dear spouse) to take meds without coming across as a nag? I need to clone myself..Is there photoshop for care givers so we can do that clone thing? Suggestions needed please.
I cannot begin to tell you what a problem this has been for so many caregiving spouses. It sounds like you are dealing with two different problems. Correct me if I am wrong. This is just how I read it.
The first is you being so tired that you fell asleep, so didn't even get a chance to nag him. My suggestion for that one would be if you are on the couch lying down, and know you are tired, set a timer to wake you up in time to give him his meds.
The second - how to get them to take the pills - is a rough one. Many on this board mash them up in yogurt, ice cream, applesauce, whatever they like and will eat. That may work for some, but if I had this problem with my hubby, there is no way that trick would get by him. Some of these suggestions come from my support group; some work; most don't, but you can give them a try:
1. One woman stood in front of her husband with his pills in her hand, and said they weren't going anywhere or doing anything until he took them. He took them. (If I tried that with my dh, we'd still be standing there.)
2. Another suggestion was, depending on how far along in the disease they are, to eliminate what is not really necessary anymore, which will reduce the number of pills they have to takes.
3. If they have any sliver of reasoning left, some have tried this method: "It is your choice whether or not to take your pills. If you don't take them, you will die. If you choose to die, I cannot stop you." That sometimes works.
4. If there is a child or grandchild in the house, sometimes, they are more likely to take the medication if the child tells them how much they are loved and that the child wants them to take it.
I would hope the applesauce, ice cream thing works, because that seems to be the easiest.
Something else to consider. My friends and I have talked about this a lot. Depending on your husband's level of functioning - if he is not in an advanced stage, it is possible that refusing pills is their way of subconciously (or conciously?) choosing to die sooner rather than later. AD is going to kill them. They may prefer to let the diabetes or heart condition take them first. Sorry to say it, but it is a possibility.
Mimi, When my husband started refusing to take his meds, I started crushing them. As Joan said, I either use applesauce, yogurt, pudding. In the mornings, he has toast with peanut butter, crushed pills, then jelly on top....he loves it. I have found that sometimes he will not eat the applesauce...when that happens I add sugar & he will eat it. He doesn't do a good job eating, so I feed everything to him but the toast...that way I know he takes his meds.
Joan, Your husband sounds like mine. This is one of my biggest problems with my husband, taking meds. I fill up a week-long cassette with morning and nighttime pills every Sunday morning. In the morning I take his pills out and place them on a brightly colored plate so he will see them when he walks into the kitchen. He will sit at the table looking at the newspaper with the pills right in front of him with a glass of water, but still won't take them. He gets very angry when I ask him too often to take the pills. He didn't take his morning pills until late yesterday afternoon, and that was only because our daughter came and asked him to take them. Today the same thing happened, only he's in a better mood. I thought I had it down pat the first time I put them on that plate, but now it's a real problem again. I could never put them in his food! But, I also don't think he wants to die. Never would I think that. He doesn't believe anything is wrong with him.
We always have the exact same conversation. I tell my husband all of his pills are for his memory and that they are making him better. He asks how I know that. I tell him that he asks fewer repetitive questions than before. He asks "Who are you?" (That is his attempt at humor.) Then he takes the pills.
Everyone, thank you for your suggestions. I am still lucky that he is able to take his meds and his insulin. The biggest thing is how stubborn he is..When he is reminded to take the tablets he will..in fact in the morning he is good about this..just comes out and does it and he does not take tablets again until evening. It is that dang insulin and glucose monitoring and I don't blame him for not wanting to stick himself. I was surprised that his reading was good this morning. I thought it might be 400 but it was in the acceptable range...but I know he did not take the" juice.".I decided todo the alarm clock technique to see if this will work. I dread the day I'll have to start giving him those shots..shudder... I especially like MarilyninMD's approach..that is one neat trick to tell him it helps his memory.
Before crushing any pills, check with the pharmacist to be sure the specific medication is okay to be crushed. Some pills shouldn't be crushed or cut as the pill is meant to dissolve and be absorbed further down the digestive systm. I suppose if it's mixed in with food the idea is that the medication and food go down to the stomach . . . but I'd still suggest asking pharmacist.