11 Ways to Get Someone With Dementia to Take Medication: Why do people with Alzheimer’s refuse medication?
Sometimes, people with dementia refuse to take their prescribed medication. It is important not to assume that the person is just being ‘difficult’.
A common struggle for caregivers of older adults with Alzheimer’s or dementia is getting them to take their medication. When they refuse to cooperate, it’s especially frustrating because you work so hard to keep them healthy.
Refusing to take medicine could be a response to feeling confused or afraid of what you’re asking them to do. They might also feel like they don’t have any control, which might make them feel angry or resistant.
To make medicine time easier and less stressful on you, we’ve got 11 tips to overcome these challenges and convince them to take their medicine:
1. Create a calm and quiet environment
When it’s time to give medication, start with a calm environment. Make sure there aren’t any loud sounds like TV or commotion like lots of people around. You could also try playing soft, soothing music.
You should also be calm yourself. If you’re agitated, frustrated, or angry, they’ll be able to sense it and will also become agitated and less likely to cooperate. Take some deep breaths before you start and stay calm throughout the process.
2. Be alert to side effects or illness that make them feel sick or uncomfortable
Someone might refuse to take their medicine if it makes them feel sick, uncomfortable, or if they have an illness.
Many medications cause unpleasant side effects like nausea, stomach aches, agitation, or dizziness and your older adult might not be able to tell you that there’s a problem. If you suspect this could be the issue, speak to the doctor about how to improve the situation.
They could also have something else going on like dental problems that make their gums or teeth hurt, poorly fitting dentures, a urinary tract infection, a cold or flu, or a sore throat.
3. Eliminate medications or supplements that aren’t absolutely necessary
Many seniors take multiple medications. Sometimes doctors forget to review medications to see if they’re still needed. The last thing you need is to try to get your older adult to take more pills than absolutely necessary.
Speak with their doctor to see if any medications are no longer needed and could be safely discontinued. Fewer pills = less hassle over taking medicine.
4. Make medications easy to take
Some pills could be too large and hard to swallow. Talk with your older adult’s doctor or pharmacist to see if any of their medications could be changed to a liquid formula or if you could crush the pills and add them to applesauce, yogurt, or food.
Make sure to ask before crushing any pills because not all pills are crushable. Some could become less effective or unsafe.
5. Use short sentences and don’t explain or reason
Don’t get into a conversation about why they need the medication or explain why it’s important that they need to take their pills. Reasoning with someone with dementia simply doesn’t work.
Use short, direct sentences to help them accomplish the goal. For example, you could just hand them the pill and wait patiently for them to put it in their mouth, then say “Big drink of water.”
6. Look for things that trigger distress
Sometimes other things about taking medication can upset someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
For example, they could feel distressed when they see a lot of pill bottles. In that situation, you could keep their medication bottles out of sight and only bring out the pills they need to take at that moment.
Similarly, if seeing all the pills they need to take makes them anxious, you could give them only one pill at a time and keep the rest out of sight.
7. Be their medication buddy
Taking your own medicine with them could make it more of a buddy experience. You might say, “It’s time for our medicine. Here’s mine and here’s yours.”
If you don’t take any medicine, see if you can get away with “taking” a harmless food item like an M&M or Skittles candy.
8. Don’t force it, try again in 10-15 minutes
Sometimes they’re nothing you can say or do to get your older adult to take their medication. If that happens, don’t try to force it. Leave them alone for a bit so you can both calm down. In about 10-15 minutes, give it another try.
9. Find the right time of day
People with dementia often have good and bad times of day. Trying to give medicine during one of their bad times isn’t likely to work. For example, if your senior gets sundowning symptoms, don’t give medication in the late afternoon or evening.
Think about the times of day when they’re in the best moods and adjust their medication schedule to meet those times. Of course, before making any changes to their medication schedule, talk with their doctor to make sure the new schedule you’d like to use is safe and won’t cause any problems.
10. Stick to a daily routine
A daily routine can do wonders for someone with dementia. With a regular schedule for taking medication, your older adult will get used to it and become more cooperative.
Give them their pills at the same time every day. Do it in the same place, like when they’re relaxing in their favorite chair, and use the same cup for water. Sometimes making medication part of their after-meal routine works well because they’re still in “eating mode.”
11. Offer a treat
You might consider offering a treat as a reward for taking their medication. For example, put a small piece of chocolate in front of your senior and say that it’s their treat after they finish their pills. It might even help take away any bitter taste the medicine leaves and associates something positive with taking medicine.
Bottom line
Getting older adults with dementia to take their medicine is a constant challenge for many caregivers. These 11 tips help you eliminate problems that can get in the way and find different ways to make them more willing.
If you would like more information about Memory Matters programs and services call us at: 435-319-0407 or email us at memorymattersutah@gmail.com
