Can you swallow pills?

[kenny]

I know one person ... only one ... who can't swallow pills.
She has to chew them.
FWIW, she's in her 50s.

I thought this was rare, but I just read about 'life skills' you should ensure your kids have before they march off to college.
Apparently the growing availability of liquid medicine means many young adults have not mastered swallowing pills.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-08-15/off-to-college-avoid-herpes-101

Boy, talk about, 'people vary'; I had no idea.

So, can you swallow pills?
How many people do you know who can't?

 

[rosetta]

Yes of course.

Knives I have a bit of trouble with.

 

[kenny]

Whoda thunk there'd be a Wall Street Journal article about it?

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303759604579093324152415870

 

[amc80]

Yep. I can swallow several at once, actually. DH can't swallow pills at all.

 

[sonnyjane]

I *can* but with very great difficulty. If there's a liquid available I request it. If not it involves a lot of false starts, gagging, watery eyes, etc.

 

[msop04]

Good GOD, this is one of my pet peeves...


We just had a patient last week that flipped out because the medication prescribed to her didn't come in liquid/chewable/ODT form. She was literally freaking the eff out because she said she couldn't swallow a pill -- and it wasn't even a big tablet!! It was about the size of hearing aid battery (very small).

Ridiculous (37 yo) Patient: What did the doctor give me?

msop: He gave you an antifungal and a cough syrup---

RP: ANTIFUNGAL?? I thought I was getting an ANTIBIOTIC???!!!

msop: It will treat a fungal infection... [looking at pt summary] which was your diagnosis. So, it's like an antibiotic, only it treats a "fungal" infection...

RP: Oh... Well, is the antibiotic a liquid too?? ...because I can't swallow a pill.

msop: No, it's a tablet -- but it's really small. [proceeds to show tablet to patient]

RP: OH NO!!! I can't take that!! Can you change it to liquid form??

msop: I'm sorry, it's not available in liquid form, unless you want to have it specially compounded... if so, I can just give you back the script.

RP: NO! I don't have time -- I need it now! Can I not just crush it up and put it in applesauce or something??

msop04: No, you're not supposed to crush or chew it...

RP: Well, I guess I'll just have to die then, since you refuse help me.

msop: [RP storms off] (thinking) ...ummm, okay. I'm sorry you've got some kind of funky vag infection, but I don't think you'll die. If you hadn't acted such an ass, I would've offered to ask the doc to change it or see if we could order an injectable... whatev.

And all because she "can't swallow a pill" -- so, lo and behold, I asked the nurse what was up with her... I mean, maybe she had some kind of physical issue that prevented her from swallowing??

Nope, just doesn't like to swallow pills because "they scratch her throat and make her feel like she's gonna throw up"...

Really, that's what she said to the doctor. Notice he wrote for tablets anyway. When I told him what happened, he just rolled his eyes, and something like, "for God's sake... guess it's time to learn to swallow a pill." Our doc is super nice, so she must've really ticked him off... <shrugs>

Edit: Let me say that I understand that some people have difficulty swallowing pills, but if they act like a crazy person, chances are they'll get less sympathy those who can help them... (sorry for the typos... I tried to fix as many as I could find!!)

 

[Kelinas]

I can (I take 7 pills a day, down from 14) ranging from 25 mg (4 mm gem size lol) to a monster 1800mg pill that even my Dr calls the "horse pill" As long as I have some water or juice, I'm fine.
When I was young, my mom wouldn't give me pills because she was afraid of me choking so she would get the powder version and mix it with water. Horrible. As soon as I found out I could get it with pills? Game on.

My best friend can't do pills. He has to chew them to swallow it. *gag*

 

[ckrickett]

when I had bad toothaches for years I lived on handfuls of tylenol and advil every hour. I mastered swallowing 8-10 pills with just a sip of water. I don't know if i could have survived not knowing how to swallow pills

 

[msop04]

I'm with those above who can swallow a lot of pills at once... I think I'm up to 9 (three of them are tiny though...)

 

[VRBeauty]

I can though I have trouble with big capsules, so I try to find other formulations for those. There was a time when I was taking a lot of pills regularly and I'd build up sort of a psychological resistance that made it difficult to swallow them... I'd have to try several times, or it would take so long to get the pill down that the outer coating would break down and I'd have to taste whatever it was. But yeah, I can swallow them.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I can swallow just about any size pill but I have a VERY difficult time with liquid medicine like cough syrup. I smell it and taste it and am very lucky if it doesn't come right back up. I would probably cough all night rather than take cough syrup - I hate liquid medicine and have since I was a little girl!

 

[Circe]

... this never even occurred to me as a skill. Seriously. I know people who regard me with shock and awe when I dry swallow whatever random thing I'm taking in their presence (ease up, accusatory minds - the gamut runs from over-the-counter pain meds to, like, allergy medicine), but I figured they just had a really active gag reflex. The fact that you need to "develop" this ... damn, it's like the idea of training yourself out of lactose intolerance, or something. Weird.

 

[dk168]

I can, however, my late partner could not, and I needed to purchase soluble/dispersible/chewable over the counter medications for him.

DK

 

[Calliecake]

I also have no trouble swallowing pills. Give me a liquid medicine and I'm just like Miss Got Rocks. I have to wash it down with juice or soda immediately afterward. I've never known anyone who could not swallow a pill.

 

[swingirl]

I can swallow small pills and smooth capsules. But anything larger and I have a real difficult time. I just gag and can even throw up. Once I have gagged a few times trying I need to take a break because just the sight of the pills will make me gag again. I don't know why this is other than I must have a sensitive gag reflex. Luckily, I don't take any medication and have chewable vitamins.

PS I will try never to act like a crazy woman in front of the nurse!!!

 

[AprilBaby]

I had augmentin last week in pills I thought were made for elephants! Down they went!

 

[packrat]

Most of the time yes. I've had to work out a system over the years b/c I used to gag and retch and it would just get to the back of my tongue and be stuck. I have to put it waaay back and swallow a certain way. I have issues sometimes where I can't swallow and then the pill ends up floating around in my mouth, and if it's not coated it freaks me out. That's another thing-I can only just *now* do uncoated. I prefer taking pills w/something other than water, chocolate milk is the preferred choice. For whatever reason, being thicker than water helps. My mom can take a handful, toss 'em back and be done. Sooo not for me. One at a time, even if it's all kinds of vitamins and supplements, they all have to go individually. It's a whole weird process for me.

 

[kgizo]

Used to be able to with just water, but not anymore. Now I take them with applesauce and it works like a charm.

 

[gemtastic]

noooooo. Have to take gummy vitamins. IF I have to take Advil or something I have to take it like a guppy--tilt head back, fill mouth with water then pop pills in and swallow followed by more gulps of water. I have taken to putting any Advil in yogurt to swallow. I could never take a bunch of pills daily-- I see all the vitamins that my parents and husband take and it makes me gag. However, if I need to take an antibiotic, I just deal. Would never dream of being dramatic and asking for liquid-- how is that better by the way??? Still tastes like medicine. Pills make me gag, they get stuck, it is the worst

 

[ponder]

I mastered the "skill" of pill swallowing around age 5 or 6, maybe younger. I loathed peas and would swallow them whole. Pill swallowing came naturally after that. My older brother, not so much. I remember him being 12 or so and still getting liquid meds.

 

[MarionC]

I hate pills. Everything I can buy in the "gummy" version, I do.
However, this trick ,inspired by my friend, has helped.
When my friend has the pill in her mouth and is just about to [attempt to] swallow it, she thinks the word "success" as she swallows. I don't know why it works, but it does.

 

[MarionC]

noooooo. Have to take gummy vitamins. IF I have to take Advil or something I have to take it like a guppy--tilt head back, fill mouth with water then pop pills in and swallow followed by more gulps of water. I have taken to putting any Advil in yogurt to swallow. I could never take a bunch of pills daily-- I see all the vitamins that my parents and husband take and it makes me gag. However, if I need to take an antibiotic, I just deal. Would never dream of being dramatic and asking for liquid-- how is that better by the way??? Still tastes like medicine. Pills make me gag, they get stuck, it is the worst

by the way, I was told by a doctor that tilting your head back actually closes off your throat.
This makes sense - my singing teacher has me "curve my neck forward like a swan" to open the throat more to produce more sound.

 

[stracci2000]

When me and sis were kids, mom always gave us Exedrins. Big, jagged(like the song), hard and dry. If you can swallow those things, you can swallow any pills. It's nice that many kinds of pain relievers have slippery coatings now.

 

[missy]

when I had bad toothaches for years I lived on handfuls of tylenol and advil every hour. I mastered swallowing 8-10 pills with just a sip of water. I don't know if i could have survived not knowing how to swallow pills

Please be careful.You can develop an esophagitis if you don't swallow certain meds with enough water to ensure it goes all the way down your esophagus. NSAIDs can be problematic that way so always drink enough water when you take these meds.

I can swallow pills big or small but ever since I developed an esophagitis I take pills one at a time and with plenty of water. And my doctor told me I should no longer take ibuprofen or aspirin because once you develop an esophagitis you are more likely to get another with certain medications.

 

[jazzoboe]

My 60 year old mother has never been able to swallow pills (and has some other anxiety issues also), so I could never swallow them growing up, either. Up until a year ago I could only do tiny pills like my birth control. Then I was diagnosed with a chronic illness and now take 3 medications and a handful of supplements so, yeah, I had to just get my way through the mental block. Now I can swallow anything.

 

[jazzoboe]

I've also had to submit to the fact that I'll have to get blood tests every few months for the rest of my life, so it's a good thing I'm not afraid of needles! My DH would die. He HATES needles.

 

[Rhea]

Yes and no. No, I cannot swallow pills on their own without a struggle. Yes, as in, I hold the pill between my thumb and forefinger, take a sip of water, stick my hand holding the pill in my mouth as far as it will go, and drop the pill down my throat. Sometimes I gag it up a time or two, but I get there eventually! I like a sip of water immediately before and after but can dry swallow if it's required for medical reasons.

It never occurred to me to ask for chewables or give a nurse or doctor a hard time. How ridiculous! My process isn't pretty but I'm a grown-up so I just shut-up and do it.

 

[lyra]

Yes and no. I have a couple of chronic health problems, and take up to 13 pills a day. I will say, it doesn't get any easier to swallow pills just because you do it every day, or have reached a certain age. It's a struggle EVERY SINGLE DAY to swallow 5 of those pills. I end up drinking about a litre of water just for taking my pills, which I think is a good side effect. My family know not to look or talk to me while I'm swallowing, which is funny, but I honesty struggle with the huge pills. I have to take double doses of some pills because the single large dose pills were simply impossible. I realize some of this is psychological, but I'm in my 50's and it's certainly not getting any easier. It is pretty embarrassing actually.

 

[marcy]

Yes of course.

Knives I have a bit of trouble with.

I'm with Rosetta.

 

[DNB]

Pretty much, but sometimes it requires bread or a banana to get it to go. My oldest DS is 30 and he just taught himself to swallow pills in the last couple of years. I never could get him to when he was growing up. Youngest DS, like DH can swallow multiples with nothing to drink. Fortunately I only take vitamins, but the feeling they're not going all the way like they should is a pain.