It is.
It isn't.
It is.
It isn't.
I'm telling you it is. I remember exactly putting it there.
And that's how my morning started. And for the last who knows how many mornings. Half an hour argument over some little pills.
See, dad has to take pills to manage his Parkinson's. 8, 12, 4 and 8. When mom passed away, he was doing them himself. Which involves; getting the prescription from the doctor, getting the prescription filled at the pharmacy, filling the dossets at home, and then taking the medication on time, every time. Because ...
So it went this way for a while, until he started to get confused about that, so I took over. (blister packs don't work because of the motor skills required. Pill dispensing machine available but you have to be at home to take the pill when it dispenses. Dad doesn't remember pill times - so he could very well be out at the time... and there's no option to take one with you.)
I was getting the presciption filled at the pharmacy, then measuring out the pills into weekly dosets which sat out in the counter. In about October last year, this became too overwhelming for dad, and he was getting into the next days pills and double-dosing.
Alarms are set for the pill times, but found he was ignoring the alarms. So I call him 4x a day at 8 12 4 and 8 to ensure he gets that pill into him.
Anyway - a call to the Nurse Next Door determined that the pills needed to be put away, save for the current day. That would take away some of the confusion, or would it? I was still calling him at the times, but he was looking at the time of day, and getting confused and taking doses off time, skipping them or double-dosing.
Another call to the NND, another home visit and it was determined that the pills should be brought down one at a time, and they'd arrange their nursing care around 2 pill times, (which was also around meal times which was helpful as he ...) to ensure those ones were taken, and to bring down the 8pm pill.
So I would still be calling 2x a day: in the morning and at night. So that I wouldn't have to be there at 8am, I'd bring that pill down and hide it in a cup in the cupboard to be taken the next day. Which worked for a while, but then it backfired. I don't know why he remembered that pill was there, when he didn't remember anything else. But remember he did. He got into that cup and took that pill whenever the mood stuck. I found out last weekend that he took the 8pm pill at 8pm, along with the 8 am pill for the next day.
Now what?
I started hiding the pill around the kitchen, trying to outsmart him. I suppose I could tromp over there every day at 8am to give him his pill. But sorry, my life has been impacted enough. I'm already over there once a day to get the pills prepared for the following day, do I really need to go over at 8am?
Maybe it would be simpler though. Because this week has digressed into
It is.
It isn't.
It is.
It isn't.
How does that not end up in an argument? I know where the pill is hidden - pretty much in plain sight. After me explaining where it was 5 times, and 3 hang ups... he called me to tell me he'd found the pill.
Right where I told him it was in the first place.
Uh oh! Falling into the naughty expression of, "I told you so."
It isn't.
It is.
It isn't.
I'm telling you it is. I remember exactly putting it there.
And that's how my morning started. And for the last who knows how many mornings. Half an hour argument over some little pills.
See, dad has to take pills to manage his Parkinson's. 8, 12, 4 and 8. When mom passed away, he was doing them himself. Which involves; getting the prescription from the doctor, getting the prescription filled at the pharmacy, filling the dossets at home, and then taking the medication on time, every time. Because ...
So it went this way for a while, until he started to get confused about that, so I took over. (blister packs don't work because of the motor skills required. Pill dispensing machine available but you have to be at home to take the pill when it dispenses. Dad doesn't remember pill times - so he could very well be out at the time... and there's no option to take one with you.)
I was getting the presciption filled at the pharmacy, then measuring out the pills into weekly dosets which sat out in the counter. In about October last year, this became too overwhelming for dad, and he was getting into the next days pills and double-dosing.
Alarms are set for the pill times, but found he was ignoring the alarms. So I call him 4x a day at 8 12 4 and 8 to ensure he gets that pill into him.
Anyway - a call to the Nurse Next Door determined that the pills needed to be put away, save for the current day. That would take away some of the confusion, or would it? I was still calling him at the times, but he was looking at the time of day, and getting confused and taking doses off time, skipping them or double-dosing.
Another call to the NND, another home visit and it was determined that the pills should be brought down one at a time, and they'd arrange their nursing care around 2 pill times, (which was also around meal times which was helpful as he ...) to ensure those ones were taken, and to bring down the 8pm pill.
So I would still be calling 2x a day: in the morning and at night. So that I wouldn't have to be there at 8am, I'd bring that pill down and hide it in a cup in the cupboard to be taken the next day. Which worked for a while, but then it backfired. I don't know why he remembered that pill was there, when he didn't remember anything else. But remember he did. He got into that cup and took that pill whenever the mood stuck. I found out last weekend that he took the 8pm pill at 8pm, along with the 8 am pill for the next day.
Now what?
I started hiding the pill around the kitchen, trying to outsmart him. I suppose I could tromp over there every day at 8am to give him his pill. But sorry, my life has been impacted enough. I'm already over there once a day to get the pills prepared for the following day, do I really need to go over at 8am?
Maybe it would be simpler though. Because this week has digressed into
It is.
It isn't.
It is.
It isn't.
How does that not end up in an argument? I know where the pill is hidden - pretty much in plain sight. After me explaining where it was 5 times, and 3 hang ups... he called me to tell me he'd found the pill.
Right where I told him it was in the first place.
Uh oh! Falling into the naughty expression of, "I told you so."
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