How Effective is Using a Daily/Weekly Meds Container?

I use these myself. I have a week's worth and fill up after three days are empty so I don't have to fill up a whole week at once. I have a booklet, I think you can get at the pharmacy, where you write down every time you take your medication so that you know you took it. I think it would be easier just to use a calendar. I know what you are going to say, what if they forget to write it in the calendar/daytimer? I think if their memories are that bad then they require the alarm another poster mentioned earlier on.

Patients who can't remember what day it is really need to have someone there to give them their meds every day. My mother and father in law both have trouble remembering if they took their meds already. My brother in law helps remind them. They both have containers to hold a week's worth of daily doses, but they get confused.

I totally understand, my Grandma had trouble knowing which container was morning and night pills. We color coded them and only put out ones for that day. We also made a card with the colors and told which one was which time.

Yes it is a problem so could they not get one with Numbers on and explain to them that there is a week there so all they would have to do is count them and then they would know if they have to take one It is just an Idea again there could be a problem with that one to

There are med containers with timers that beep and will keep beeping until the medication is taken or at least the container is opened. I would think that something like that could be useful or having someone set alarms. If the container is used and you go there and refill it once a week, if ther are still pills there, then it is a good bet they the person is nottaking their meds properly. Maybe your emplyer could start adding in a call service, to call people to remind them to take their meds.

My dad had a big med container and he was OK when he was clear headed and healthy. He would take his meds right. As dementia and old age set in, he would forget, take the wrong day's pills, and screw up so they had to come and give him his pills each time at his senior's apartment. I think, for those of clear mind who can get around well on their own, it is a great help. (They also have to be failry nimble to get the pills out of the little containers.) But if they are forgetful or tend to have a touch of dementia, it really won't help much. I would come and see my father's pill box was full and it was three days into the week. Then I would come again and he was taking Wednesday's pills on Sunday, which wasn't a HUGE disaster because he took the same ones daily but still. It was best that someone locked the pills away and brought what he needed. He didn't take a LOT but what he did take he needed on the right schedule.

I can see how daily medication containers could be confusing or even a danger to people with extensive memory problems. One was great for us tho when our son had to take med's each day. Being a teenager he could never remember if he had taken it. So we got him a weekly container and I filled it each sunday. That way we always knew if he'd taken his pill or not. It helped us a lot.

Yes if their memory is failing, nothing short of a person helping them to know when to take their meds is going to help.

I think those daily/weekly medicine containers are well worth trying. My mother uses them. But she has a good memory. It's only that she has so many tablets to take, that this is a way of keeping track of of it. It's much more difficult for those with memory problems. Sometimes using colour to represent days helps. Other than thast, either a nurse is required to visit every day, or if the problem gets chronic, the patients need to be in a nursing home. If there is no family member to help out, there really doesn't seem to be much choice. Sad, but true.

I have found that the best weekly pill holder is one that attaches to the bottom of a cabinet. You pull out the tray (circular) and fill in the meds. When it is time to take meds, the person just has to pull the latch over and the pills needed at taht time, just fall into their open hand. It is really easy to fill and holds several pills at each time for each of seven days. I have one and bought both our daughters one as well as several friends. I dont know what they cost out somewhere as I purchased mine at Gabriel Brothers. I have tried many different kind and this one works with all ages of people.

Yes, i think patients especially elderly ones, are still to be guided in taking their daily medicines even though they are using that daily/weekly meds container.. One of the reasons is that yes, i agree, that these patients may forgot what time does a certain kind of medicine be taken.. its okay if you only have to take the daily medicine in just one time.. but if there's a schedule of intake, say for example, one med should be taken after breakfast and the other med should be taken after dinner, then the patient may be confused.. I recommend using the med container with time schedules in a day.. the time or the schedule is labeled for every "cubicle", say for example in a three-cubicle container, labels are "after breakfast, after lunch, and after dinner".. In this way, the patient will easily take meds in accordance to the time scheduled for intake.

They may be helpful for some people, but for others, they seem to make things even more confusing. I know that there are those who seem to be ok with them, but as you said, those of us with memory problems can get confused.

I can see how they would be a problem, Elusive, because I use one myself(given to me by my mother last year), and I still forget sometimes. It's not as bad as it used to be, however, because it does not happen often, and I will usually miss maybe my bedtime pills. So, maybe it does help to some degree, because it also can help them to keep up with the days.

Hi Elusive :) I hope you are having a good weekend! This is one thing that I have tried with some success although it depends on the extent of the memory loss. I took a regular wall clock and with some masking tape and a sharpie attached a small sandwich bag tied of with a bread bag twist tie. The tape was taped to the section of the clock for the time of meds with the bag hanging from that tape. It is hard to explain this, I hope you can visualize better than I describe. :) Another thing that worked was to help them remember by a show they watch. One, for example never missed the evening news so I would tape a reminder on the remote he always used to take meds with the news and have them pre-poured and marked. I hope one of these helps.

I fill my 2 private clients pill boxes for them. I'm not in the health feild, but I am there for everything else that they need, no matter what it is. I Am there for there every need. And it really helps them out. I also do everything they need. I houseclean, errand running. I guess I do everything they need. And I so enjoy helping them. I feel our loved ones needs someone they trust. As a caregiver we can gain that trust for them, by being there . As well as showing general well being and concern for the person. And Peace of mind of The Family.