New Pill Box

Bob is 'movin on up' with his pill taking. He now takes pills twice a day rather than all at bedtime as he's done for years. This has thrown things into a crisis. He does not like change, and above all not when it involves his medications.

At first I kept the pills he takes in the morning because his diuretic was in that group and I didn't want him in charge of that. He was never happy with this arrangement and soon whisk those medications away to his bedroom. I decided it was time for a new pill box that allowed for pills twice a day.

This morning I introduced the new pill box. As my father used to say, he looked at it "like a calf looking at a new gate." It was down hill after that.

The a.m. & p.m. system did not compute with him. I haven't seen a pill box labeled 'morning & night.' Then he took a pink marker and colored the top of the lids for the pills he takes in the morning. To add to the confusion, he takes two of one pill in the morning, and only one pill in the morning of another but takes it again at night. It was totally too much for him. I typed sheets giving him guidance  but it was to no avail.

I went on to tidy up the house and left him to ponder the situation. After a while he asked me to check to see if he'd done it right. He had reversed the a.m. & p.m. Pills were all opposite where they should have been. I thought about just leaving it but was afraid later the a.m. & p.m. labels would click with him and he'd take the wrong meds. Perhaps we're going to have to go with blue and purple instead.

I could save him all that stress by filling the pill box myself but that is one task he is hanging onto come what may. He has no intention of letting me fill it.

Lately I dread to see him coming with his pill bottles because I know we're both going to be stressed before the task is finished.

Uneventful Living

In spite of all the awful things that have gone on in our country this week, life in our little corner of the world has been uneventful. Uneventful living can get boring but it can also be welcome relief.

Bob and I played well together this week. I'm now convinced running frantically to keep him entertained was not good. Yes, he is still an extrovert but now he's an older and slower one. Constantly being around people sometimes causes him to have to think faster that he's really able to do these days. Short exposures are better, a chance to smile and speak a greeting, a neighbor stopping by, things that happen at our apartment or as he moves around the complex, even greeting people in the grocery store are better I think.

Having Safeway deliver groceries was a godsend. We still hit the grocery store two or three times a week but only for a very few items. No more loading and unloading large amounts of groceries.

This week we've been pretty quiet. Bob does pretty well given a little extra time to think. I need to remember not to rush him. He even did a small repair on the car this week, after thinking about it a couple of days.

He's still cooking. I'm in charge of what he cooks but he pretty much does the rest. We're keeping it simple. He's not eating much these days but I don't think it has anything to do with what we're cooking.

Weeks like this make me think we may make several more anniversaries and I would like that.

Next week he will have another blood test to check his platelet level. There was reason for concern a month ago so the doctor ordered another test in a month rather than six months. This test will tell us if he's in trouble or if the dip last month was just a fluke.
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I'm a bit put out with the world of medicine. I so fear for older people who have no one to stay on top of their medications.

Right now two of Bob's doctors think they're treating his blood pressure. They're both prescribing the same medication, one with an added ingredient, and one without. If he took the medications coming to our mailbox he would be dead.

Three time last week I had telephone conversations trying to straighten this situation out and still another bottle of the wrong medication arrived in our mailbox. Fortunately Bob knows there's something going on about that drug so he's been good about showing me the bottle and asking if that's the one he should take. I've been quickly whisking away the bottles he should not be taking.

At one point I called our mail order pharmacy and canceled delivery of the wrong prescription. To my horror the doctor sent a new one and another bottle arrived last week.
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I've been thinking some about the 60s and 70s, thinking about some of the personalities of those times. Remember Governor George Wallace of Alabama? My, my, did he ever strike fear in my heart.