Mar 11 2009
When Mom’s Medicine Makes Her Sick…
When my husband got home from work yesterday, Mom was in her bed lying down. He needed to go somewhere with our son, so he knocked on her door to tell her that they were leaving. Mom said okay, then she told him that she had been sick all day and couldn’t keep any food down.
It seemed odd because she had been fine the night before and no one else in our house had been sick. I thought that maybe she had eaten something that didn’t agree with her. Today, Mom was fine and she was eating and keeping everything down like normal.
Mom had a follow-up visit with the dentist this afternoon. As we were driving back, she said, “I hate to tell you this, but I think I know why I was sick yesterday.” She explained that when she was getting ready for bed, she discovered she was wearing a medicated patch on her arm. She thought she only had the one on her back and had forgotten she had put one there. She told me that she had found some more patches in her room and may have put on one of them along with the one I sit out each day for her.
I don’t know why I didn’t think about this before. The medicated patch is Exelon, which treats mild to moderate dementia in Alzheimer’s patients. At first they prescribed Aricept, but it made her sick to her stomach and she lost a lot of weight. When they switched her to Exelon, they started her with a low dosage to make sure she could tolerate it before upping it to the level she needed. Nausea is a possible side effect, but Mom had no problems. Yesterday, since she had two patches on she was receiving double the medication. No wonder she was sick!
After Mom told me what happened, I told her that we need to keep the patches she found in her room with the rest of them in the kitchen. I also said she should make a routine of always finding the patch she had already put on before putting on the new one. I know it’s confusing to her because the doctor told her that she should apply it to different areas so she won’t irritate her skin.
She puts on the patch after I have left for work. I can monitor this to some degree by setting out one patch each morning. I even thought it might help if I write the day of the week on the patch. The problem is if Mom forgets to take off the patch that is already on. She’s been so stubborn with her medicine that I’m sure she would resist letting me help her with it in the evening. Does anyone know of any simple tricks we can use to help Mom remember where she put her patch and to take it off before putting on a new one?
What about you mark each patch with the day of the week, then when she takes it off have her put it in a bucket or on a sheet of paper with the days of the week marked off. So, she sees that the patch you have laid out for her says Wednesday, she’ll know that she should have a Tuesday patch in the bucket.
Glad to hear that your mom is feeling better and that you found out the reason why she was sick.
I don’t know if this would work or not…
Does your Mom shower everyday? If she does then maybe she can take the old one off before the shower and put the new one on after?
What about writing down what part of the body she puts it on - like on a chart - each day then she can check there before putting a new one on? Maybe keep the chart with her medications?
I really don’t know but I hope that you can figure something out so that she isn’t ill from the medication again!
Bless your heart. And bless your mother’s heart.
slcolman’s chart idea sounds like a great place to start. If that doesn’t work, perhaps implement a daily patch exchange. Give her a fresh one in exchange for the used one she’s wearing around the same time each day.
All the best.
Roxie