Hello everyone. I’m looking for some tips on how to help a parent take their daily tablets. Some days it can be a bit of a struggle, and I’d love to hear what has worked for you.
I know some people suggest crushing meds, but I’m wary because I know that crushing extended-release or enteric-coated tablets can ruin how they work or even be dangerous.
Aside from crushing, does anyone have any hints & tips for making the daily routine easier or more cooperative.
All the best 
Talk to your pharmacist. Doctors always prescribe the cheapest form, but there may be alternative forms, like liquid or time release capsules. I always buy paracetamol capsules in Waitrose. as the solid form are difficult to swallow and the capsules the doctor prescribed are in ridiculously hard to open packaging for my arthritic fingers!
Many thanks and will see if alternatives to tablets are available.
Hi @12thcentury_unicorn , There are also some general suggestions about managing someone’s medication on this page: Managing medication and health needs | Carers UK
Hope this is helpful (even if not needed now).
All the best!
@jane.butler many thanks for the link and I will have a look 
You’re very welcome!
One of the first symptoms of my mother’s dysphagia was her difficulty in swallowing tablets.
She doesn’t have much in the way of medication, but what she has comes in liquid or soluble powdered form now. She also gets effervescent paracetamol on prescription and I keep Voltarol on hand for when her joints play up.
Assuming you are point of contact, contact your parent’s GP and have their prescription changed.
@Latreia_18071 many thanks and he is due to have an medicine review with his GP over the coming weeks so will ask them what they maybe able to do. He seems to be eating and drinking OK, so not sure if its dysphagia but will keep an eye on it
The other obvious issue is he may be avoiding liquid. Either way, it’s a fight you don’t need as it is so wearing. Good luck resolving it.
Some tablets can be mixed in food.Honey or marmalade is good
I count out my personal long-term tablets every morning and put them in two egg cups - one for morning and one for evening. This helps me to remember to take them, and at the correct times.
Sometimes, when I need to take extra tablets temporarily, the number of egg cups can increase to four, for morning, noon, evening and bed-time.
My caree bought one of those organizers, as mentioned in the link that Jane.Butler indicated above. However she never really got as far as using it, preferring to just take her tablets from the packets each day. She seems happy this way so I let her get on with it.
UPDATE:
Recently I was “presented” with a tablet organizer. It has 14 compartments arranged as two for each day of the week. It does take a few minutes to stock it up with a week’s supply, but overall this is more efficient. Taking my daily pills is now just a case of lifting them out of the compartments - not digging out blister packs and fiddling them each day. This is the way I’ll go from now on. Egg cups can be useful on occasions, and some may still prefer them, but this new way is proving to be easier.
In particular, for when I am away from home for a few days, I can just take the whole organizer with me - no messing about counting blister packs into a pouch as I did before.
My caree’s organizer contains 56 compartments, representing four per day over a fortnight. I think she finds the stocking up of 56 compartments too burdensome. The next time we go on holiday together I’ll try to persuade her to use it for that purpose. Better than filling the suitcase with umpteen whole boxes of pills, like she has done up to now.