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Her pills are mainly for blood pressure and just recently, a pill for acid reflux was added. Never know how she will react. She could be laughing one minute and then sees the pills and hides them or throws them in extreme anger. Dementia has set in. So hard!

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The skilled nursing home crushed the pills and put into Apple sauce, obviously you would need to confirm with the pharmacy that you can crush these pills. Also, if you can try aloe vera juice, readily available even at Wal-Mart, mixed with Apple juice instead of an acid reducer, they make you feel better but screw up your stomach so bad. My husband uses aloe Vera and is amazed at how much it helps, there are also lots of other benefits, check it out and see it that might help her, always consult with her doctors about changing anything but I'm pretty willing to try natural path with over the counter meds.

I am so sorry that she has become combative, dementia is the toughest journey for caregivers. Be kind to yourself and hugs for all you do.
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Does her mood follow a pattern from day to day?

If you can be reasonably confident that she'll be on her best behaviour in, say, the mornings, you could ask her doctor or pharmacist if her px can be changed to a once a day formulation. For your own peace of mind, also take their advice on what to do if she chews and only partially spits out a tablet - forget about it, try again later, or what.

The acid reflux pills - what sort? If they're standard antacids like Rennies or Gaviscon or Tums, try switching to a liquid formula and see if she's happier with that. If they're PPIs, with a name that will usually end in -azole, you have a problem because they have to be taken intact - you can't dissolve them or break them up; or at least you *can* but oh my goodness it's a performance under time pressure and there's still a risk that your elder will just spit it out of the corner of her mouth.

You can only do your best. You can change the formulation, you can mix the tablets with things she finds enjoyable like yoghurt or ice cream or applesauce, you can provide a "chaser" like a chocolate or a piece of fudge and use straight bribery.

But in the end, if nothing's working, then she doesn't get that dose and that's that - and you might well find that her doctor isn't nearly as worried about it as you are.
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My mom does seem to follow a pattern. She is more willing to take her meds in the morning. By late afternoon she is starting to get tired and becomes more combative not only with taking pills, but with life in general. Just now after lying down for the night, she called for me to help her with getting more comfortable. She is still healing from a fracture in her left elbow. She saw the pills laying there and asked if I wanted her to take them. I said, “sure!” Another day down. Thanks for all the good advice. She just came home from the hospital the other day from having a bad case of throwing up last Monday with what looked like coffee. That’s how all these new meds got added. She’s been prescribed Pantoprazole for her stomach. She does have a follow-up visit with her primary later this upcoming week and I’ll go over the new meds. One is for iron, another for constipation as needed. This is besides her regular blood pressure meds. You both have been very helpful.
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