Is your loved one refusing meds? It can be challenging to care for your elderly mom or dad. Often, adult children find that the roles of parent and child change as a mom or dad ages in place. You are caring for someone who you may think is stubborn which makes them childish. This can be impossible to navigate and when things start happening like your mom or dad refusing to take medications, it can put you in a bad mood. After all, you just want to help them!
This is when it is time to consider hiring more help around the house, not just for your senior mom or dad, but for you too. Hiring in-home care can allow you to take the pressure off of this new relationship and allow you to focus on building and maintaining a healthy relationship with your senior parent. In-home care can help manage your senior in many ways and one of the ways they can do that is by giving your senior medication reminders and paying attention to when and why a senior may be refusing medications. If your loved one has stopped taking medication and it seems like they’re being stubborn, here are some tips to keep in mind moving forward.
Have In-Home Care Ask Them Why
When an adult child asks a senior why they are not doing something, your loved one may become defensive. You may not get a direct answer and it may cause issues. A senior may not always want to have to answer to an adult child, but understanding why they are not taking something is going to be important to moving forward. There could be very legitimate reasons as to why your senior mom or dad does not want to take the medication. It could make them stay up, it could make them jittery, they may get an upset stomach, or anything else. If there are any side effects to medications, in-home care can take notes and a senior can then bring it up to a doctor later on who can help them navigate the issues. Once the issues are identified, something can be done to help. In-home care can help keep the line of communication open between the family and a senior and the senior and a doctor. This is one of the most crucial aspects of hiring in-home care and it can help relieve a lot of stress.
Understand a Senior’s Anxiety
Believe it or not, health can cause a lot of anxiety even for a senior. There are so many drugs and medications your senior loved one may not feel comfortable taking something new. The most important thing you can do is listen to your seniors’ fears openly and encourage them to talk to a doctor. Ask them to try their new medications for a few days and provide distractions and activities to steer them away from any anxious thoughts. Medication anxiety can happen to anyone.
Are They Confused?
The more medications a senior takes the harder it is to manage. They may be unintentionally forgetting new medications because they can’t remember when or how to take them. This is when in-home care can come in handy. These professionals will help a senior stick to a schedule and provide simple reminders of how and when a senior should be taking medications. Sometimes a few simple words can help a senior stay as healthy as possible.
If you or an aging loved one are considering In-Home Care in Dallas, TX, please contact the caring staff at Arcy at Home at 214-424-6100.
Providing In-Home Private Care Services in North Texas, including Dallas and the nearby areas.
My name is Jimmie Stapleton. I am the founder and CEO of Arcy Healthcare. Arcy Healthcare includes Arcy Hospice, Arcy Supportive Care, MaximaCare Home Health and Arcy at Home.
Arcy Hospice was opened in 2007 to provide care and support for individuals and families facing a life limiting illness. It was established after my wife Ellen, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, had completed her chemo and radiation therapies. At that time, things were looking positive, and we wanted to do something for our community that had been so supportive of our family during her treatments. Unfortunately, the cancer returned a few years later, and she subsequently passed away under our care in 2010.
In the years that followed, I began to see the need to provide the same level of excellent care to patients across the continuum of care. Therefore, we have added a home health division (MaximaCare Home Health), a palliative care division (Arcy Supportive Care), and a home care division, (Arcy at Home). With the addition of these divisions, we can meet most of the post-acute care needs for you and your family in your home.
I started Arcy Hospice with my wife as my motivation to provide exceptional care and support in the patient’s home, where they are surrounded by family and where they feel most comfortable. I’m proud to say that our staff provides some of the best in home care in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.
Please let us know if we can enrich the quality of life for you or a loved one.
Sincerely,
Jimmie Stapleton – Founder and CEO
Arcy Healthcare
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