Any suggestions on how to get the pills down when they have forgotten how to swallow them? When that happens, it seems like everything else will go down but the pills and then the next time he may take them just fine.

I think you have 3 choices:
* he stops taking his meds on a regular basis;
* he gets a feeding tube and you crush meds in order to give them via the tube
* you transition all meds to ones that don't come in pill form. Many meds come in liquid form (which must still be swallowed and liquids can be aspirated). A few come in melt-able form (placed on the tongue). A few come in patch form.

You might see if he can *always* take morning medication because there's less fatigue involved, and try to transition meds to the morning.

I would suggest discussing this with the neurologist immediately.

Assuming he can swallow some things, you can crush the pills and put them into something of a consistency that's easier to swallow. It helps if he likes the taste of that something, too. Chocolate syrup works well for us, but our problem is more the distaste for pills than a problem swallowing.

Garnet

Anita -
Garnet makes a good suggestion. Check with your pharmacist to see what pills are crushable. Not all are crushable. And most taste quite nasty in crushed form.
Robin

I have been giving my husband his meds with apple sauce but he still chews the pills . I have asked about this problem and thye said if they are crushed they get to much of the medications all at once so I dont know if this is a good idea.