When and how do I take over any medications?

Posted by anotherday @anotherday, Sep 5, 2023

My husband has only two prescription drugs at age 78, one is for blood pressure and the other is for pain. He was a race driver and suffered several crashes, a lot of broken bones including neck several times and back multiple times...others also, but he lives with pain unless he has something to alleviate it. In the last months he's run out of the pain med early and has been eating Tylenol like M & M's which in turn affects him adversely. Tylenol makes him mean and more aggressive. I can usually tell when he's taken more of the prescribed pain med than what he's supposed to because he gets all cocky and tries to be so cute with what he's saying. A.K.A - he's stoned.
So back to my question - When do I take over with the pain meds and how do I do this? Suggestions please.

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slysi | @slysi | Sep 24, 2023

So, it says that it doesn’t terminate.... so it should hold up .... period ! It ,(the durable POA ) should still be effective even if your spouse thinks he or she ,has overcome their issues !

janet7 | @janet7 | Oct 2, 2023

I would talk to his doctor for advice.

Scott R L | @scottrl | Oct 2, 2023

I'm actually amazed he doesn't feel worse. Acetaminophen is really hard on the liver.

I have huge amounts of pain, all day every day, but if I take more than 2000mg of that stuff in a 24-hour period, I feel terrible -- and I still hurt. Same with ibuprofen or naproxen.

janet7 has the right idea, I think. Ask his doctor.

anotherday | @anotherday | Oct 6, 2023

He goes pretty loco taking too many Tylenol, mean and aggressive. Since I took the pain killers away and am issuing a daily allotment, things have settled somewhat. I do plan on letting the doctor know when we see him next that I've taken this step. Thank you all for the great advice. Uncertainty is never fun...I didn't know how to handle this at first, but we're making progress.