Difficulty Swallowing Pills?

[E B]

Are there any other adults like me in PSland that have a hard time swallowing pills?

I was talking to my mom earlier today, and she told me I need to make THIS the year I learn to swallow pills. I told her I wished it were that easy. It''s not for lack of trying- I get to the point where I can swallow pills for a few months (small-sized pills, mind you, not the horse pill-sized) and all of a sudden, one will get stuck in my throat. It freaks me out, and I''m back to square one.

So...anyone else?

 

[MonkeyPie]

My husband is like this. The gel pills? No way. But the soft ones he drinks with tons of water and chews them up! It''s so gross

But some people just have a mental block against it. After all, you swallow bites of food that are bigger than any pill you will ever take, so it''s definitely a mental thing. You just have to work past it.

 

[lyra]

I have quite a time of it. Due to my various medical conditions, I believe my count is now near 12 pills a day, of which 2 are capsules, and 4 are just very large caplets. Ugh! My family knows not to talk to me when I mime to them that I''m trying to swallow a pill. They turn away. LOL!

I have had bad swallowing incidents in the past, although mainly with food. I just have to psyche myself into it sometimes, imagine I''m swallowing banana (don''t ask why that, I don''t know), have the water temp perfect, and see how it goes. Some days I have no problems at all. Some days it''s torture. I do agree that everyone should learn to swallow pills--you might need to have this skill later in life.

 

[E B]

Date: 8/23/2009 1:22:56 PM
Author: MonkeyPie
My husband is like this. The gel pills? No way. But the soft ones he drinks with tons of water and chews them up! It's so gross

But some people just have a mental block against it. After all, you swallow bites of food that are bigger than any pill you will ever take, so it's definitely a mental thing. You just have to work past it.

I agree that it's definitely mental, at first. But once I get brave enough to start trying again, and am able (with decent confidence), one gets stuck out of NOWHERE. I've gone through this cycle, five, maybe six times since I was old enough to swallow pills (around age 12) and it's got me wondering if something's wrong with my throat. But you're right...I swallow bites much bigger than a pill several times a day.

Blerg.

ETA: I can chew up a nasty tasting pill without batting an eyelash. I guess I'd rather endure a sour taste than a chance that it'll get stuck in my throat (or worse, my windpipe). It's just so much harder to find chewables/liquids for various issues.

 

[decodelighted]

String an ordinary house key on a ribbon or something. Put it on like a pendant but drop the cold key down your BACK. Swallow a bit of water first ... then put the pill on your tongue, take another swish of water so that the pill is floating around in the mouthful ... slosh the whole gulp down.

That is the only method that worked for me ... eventually I was able to stop using the key & just stand up in the slightly arched back way that the key forces you into. (From the cold)

Even now I have to drink cold water before brushing the back of my tongue, or scraping it when brushing teeth. TERRIBLE GAG REFLEX!

 

[Shopaholic]

Yes, I have always had a problem with swallowing pills. I try to look for liquid versions if ever possible but some of the vitamins I take just do not come in this form. They do make supposedly 'easy to swallow' gel capsule versions but those are even bigger! Sometimes there is just no other solution except to swallow it. So I take a moment to relax myself, I place the pill as far back in my mouth as possible and take a big gulp of water - very quickly.....

You should never spilt your pills in half, pills are made a specific size to when the drug should be dissolved aka. released, breaking up your pills may cause them to be less effective. (e.t.a. - this pertains to medications - don't think vitamins are as affected)

 

[DiamanteBlu]

I have never had a problem swallowing pills - a few at a time, that is! LOL! One of my habits, however, is to swallow all of my supplements at once [12 or so capsules - yeah, I''m nuts]. I pop the pills in my mouth, then fill my mouth with water, tilt my head back and let the pills sink to the back, and then swallow. I can''t even tell that I''m swallowing anything besides a large amount of water. It has worked every time [knock on wood].

You might want to try the technique with a single pill to see if it helps.

 

[lyra]

Date: 8/23/2009 3:26:27 PM
Author: DiamanteBlu
I have never had a problem swallowing pills - a few at a time, that is! LOL! One of my habits, however, is to swallow all of my supplements at once [12 or so capsules - yeah, I''m nuts]. I pop the pills in my mouth, then fill my mouth with water, tilt my head back and let the pills sink to the back, and then swallow. I can''t even tell that I''m swallowing anything besides a large amount of water. It has worked every time [knock on wood].

You might want to try the technique with a single pill to see if it helps.

Well...you said it yourself. You''re nuts!!!

I''ve always admired people who could do this. My oldest daughter can do it. I have never been able to swallow even just 2 pills at a time. Bleah.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Date: 8/23/2009 4:26:29 PM
Author: lyra

Date: 8/23/2009 3:26:27 PM

Author: DiamanteBlu

I have never had a problem swallowing pills - a few at a time, that is! LOL! One of my habits, however, is to swallow all of my supplements at once [12 or so capsules - yeah, I''m nuts]. I pop the pills in my mouth, then fill my mouth with water, tilt my head back and let the pills sink to the back, and then swallow. I can''t even tell that I''m swallowing anything besides a large amount of water. It has worked every time [knock on wood].


You might want to try the technique with a single pill to see if it helps.

Well...you said it yourself. You''re nuts!!!

I''ve always admired people who could do this. My oldest daughter can do it. I have never been able to swallow even just 2 pills at a time. Bleah.

LOL, I know - I sometimes wonder about self-Heimliching if I''m home alone!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I have such a hard time swallowing pills too! I gag on them and then can''t get the courage to try again. It''s much worse wtih non-coated tablets than the gel or capsule type pills though. I also take pills one at a time. I take several medications a day due to my blood clotting problem and my husband cracks up at night since I take them one at a time instread of putting all of them in my mouth at once.

 

[packrat]

I don''t have quite as hard a time now as I did when I was younger. I used to have to take B complex for cold sores, and the pills were so big I couldn''t swallow them, so I''d have to take the liquid-which is horrible. I put the pill as far back as I can-there''s nothing worse then swallowing, and having the pill slide forward into your mouth..ew. I used to coat them with jelly to help them slide better..and I got in the habit of using chocolate milk instead of water. That helped me immensely. Don''t ask why-b/c it''s thicker and creamier than water I guess, it was like it surrounded the pill and took it down. Oh, I also used to take a little piece of bread and stick the pill in there..like we did for our dog. That worked too.

My mom is one of the weirdos who can take a whole handful of pills, toss them in her mouth and take a swig of water and they''re down.

 

[Munchkin]

I had to learn at age 5, so unless they are those giant, foul-smelling vitamins, I don''t have a problem. For my patients that have problems, though, I''ve suggested buying something like this: http://www.oralflo.com/oralflo-pill-swallowing-cup.htm

One of my patients has autism and serious texture issues and has no problem using the cup.

Sorry if this posts twice, I got an error message when I first tried to post!

 

[atroop711]

I find it hard when they are those HORSE pills..you know which one I mean? What I do is place the pill in the middle back part of my tongue and drink lots of water. Most of the time I don''t feel a thing

 

[Italiahaircolor]

My sister cannot swallow pills. No way, no how. She has panic attacks over it, big long crying jags. Eventually it just became routine for her to ask for "chewable" or "liquid" medicine. She sticks with that...her justification? It''s not worth the stress. If she needs medicine it''s probably because she''s sick (only 21 years old so no chronic illnesses as of yet) so it''s not worth the extra stress...she just needs to feel better, medicine is made in different forms because some people just cannot swallow them.

Give yourself a break. Don''t stress. If you can''t do it...and it''s not crippling your life...whats the big deal? So you need liquid instead.

 

[TravelingGal]

Whoops sorry, wrong thread. I thought I was on the problem PS posters thread!

 

[paeony]

I don''t know if this will help at all-- but I used to tilt my head back to swallow a pill, but if it floats, it floats to the front of your mouth. (I think people are able to "throw it back" to their throat, but if you hesitate at all, it floats back to the front)
I get a lot of water in my mouth, tilt my head down slightly (pill floating in back of mouth) and think about swallowing the entire mouthful of water in one big gulp to open up the throat. Then immediately follow with drinking the full glass of water to be sure the pill makes it all of the way down.

 

[Sharon101]

Date: 8/23/2009 1:15:12 PM
Author:EBree
Are there any other adults like me in PSland that have a hard time swallowing pills?



So...anyone else?

Swallowing pills for me is a huge event, and I feel like I have achieved a massive challenge even if its just a tiny little pill! Of course I feel physically sick if I even watch my h. or my 14 yo son swallow a horse pill or 2 without water. I dont want to even know them when they do stufff like that.

I dont even bother with pills that are`nt shiny or if they are too big.....and if they have even a trace of an odor, forget it...its not going to happen.

 

[Sharon101]

Date: 8/23/2009 1:27:35 PM
Author: lyra
I do agree that everyone should learn to swallow pills--you might need to have this skill later in life.

Im sorry that you have to swallow so many pills. Im going to use your idea of the banana to help. Also, I dread the day that I will have to swallow pills for survival because it usually gets to that point eventually, especially the longer you live! I think about that often and wonder what i will do!

 

[E B]

Thank you all for your responses, and for the tips- the next time I have to swallow a pill, I''ll try them. Heck, I''ll try anything! (But I''ll probably see if the pill comes in a liquid form first!

)

 

[packrat]

Liquid really isn''t so bad if you swallow it and then breathe thru your mouth until you can either eat or drink something else to take the taste way..I have to do that with some cough syrups.

 

[iheartscience]

I have no secret tips but I also have a terrible time swallowing pills! I actually used to get liquid medicines all the way through early high school, until a certain medicine (Prednisone for terrible poison ivy) tasted so bad I couldn't swallow it and I had to get pills and swallow them to make the poison ivy go away. And even then sometimes I would have to grind them up and put them in applesauce.

The one thing I can do to swallow a pill is to keep swallowing mouthfuls of water and then pop the pill in my mouth while I have a mouthful of water in my mouth. Sometimes it tricks me into swallowing the pills...other times I just have to spit it out and not take it! Luckily I take very little medicine (usually just an Advil here or there if I get a headache) so it doesn't come up too often.

 

[beaujolais]

Practice - daily. But take the size you are getting stuck at, break it into 1/6 of that size and swallow with water. Would that be easy enough to swallow?

Do this every day, even it is with some kind of vitamin. Do that for "X" months then increase the size by a TINY bit. Repeat for several, many months.

I had that issue a long time ago. Now I can swallow pills without water, if necessary.

 

[E B]

Date: 8/24/2009 7:34:32 PM
Author: packrat
Liquid really isn't so bad if you swallow it and then breathe thru your mouth until you can either eat or drink something else to take the taste way..I have to do that with some cough syrups.

My mom used to make me drink these awful (and I mean serious gag-inducing) health drinks as a child, so I'm not usually bothered by taste, even if it's pretty foul. If I can only find the long, extra-strength tylenol tablets around the house, I'll split it a few times with my teeth, no problem (grosses my husband out, though!).

 

[kittybean]

Anyone who has serious difficulty (not related to gag reflex) swallowing pills or food should maybe speak with a physician about it. There could be some sort of stricture in your esophagus that is actually making the pills get stuck.

I can remember having difficulty swallowing from early childhood on, and I would occasionally "choke" on pills or large chunks of food as a kid. My trachea wasn''t blocked, but my esophagus would get 100% blocked, and I wouldn''t be able to swallow. My pediatrician thought it was completely psychosomatic, and he recommended that my mom train me to swallow pills by giving me a bowl of M&Ms--once I swallowed half of the amount whole, I could then eat the rest. Even though I loved M&Ms, I refused. I knew those things would get stuck! I always did liquid meds.

In high school, it started to get worse. I couldn''t swallow any pills, and the "choking" episodes with food became more frequent. A pediatric GI had me take a barium test (you drink a bunch of nasty stuff that will show up on an X-ray, then get an X-ray of your digestive system), and it turned out I had a congenital stricture in my esophagus that was worsened by acid reflux. I had to have two surgeries to dilate it at that point, and I had three surgeries (two emergency, one scheduled) about 7 years later to dilate it again (and removed stuck pills from my throat!). I am now monitored by a GI specialist, and I can swallow all the pills I want!

Anyway, the point is that it can be dangerous to swallow pills if you have a stricture. My two emergency surgeries were related to taking a 12-hour allergy pill that, due to its time-release formulation, would not dissolve once it became stuck in my esophagus. My esophagus swelled to the point of squeezing my trachea and slowly cutting off my air supply--so terrifying. So . . . if you think you might have a stricture, I strongly suggest speaking with a doctor about it.

 

[litebrite]

Date: 8/24/2009 7:47:14 PM
Author: thing2of2
I have no secret tips but I also have a terrible time swallowing pills! I actually used to get liquid medicines all the way through early high school, until a certain medicine (Prednisone for terrible poison ivy) tasted so bad I couldn''t swallow it and I had to get pills and swallow them to make the poison ivy go away. And even then sometimes I would have to grind them up and put them in applesauce.

I had a problem until my mid twenties. Then I had to learn because the stuff didn''t come in liquid format and it was against the doctor''s advice to mash it up. I think having to take the meds helps overcome the fear of choking.

but prior to this, I had tried with skittles and m&ms, it wasn''t the same because I *knew* it wasn''t the same. My friend said practicing that way helped him though.

 

[Elmorton]

I had problems until I was about 13, which was the same time I was starting to get cramps and realize advil would make me feel a lot better.

I got over it by practicing with ice - the little round ones, not an actual cube or chewed cube. I think the fear a person has (or at least I had) with swallowing a pill was that it would go down wrong and I''d choke. By practicing with ice, I knew it would melt and it would feel good going down my throat.

I still have issues with big pills or taking multiple pills at the same time, though.

 

[diamondringlover]

Yep, I have an awful time swallowing pills, many of them come back up and since I take about 8 pills a day this is a real pain

 

[drk]

I''m the opposite - I can''t swallow food unless I''ve chewed it to a pulp. But pills? Used to have issues, still occasionally get one stuck partway down my throat, but it doesn''t freak me out.
Now, after years of endless vitamins and stuff to go along with the fertility treatments, and the gigantic glumetza pills I take for the PCOS, I swallow MANY a day. Toss in a handful, take a big gulp of water, and somehow they all go down. My least favourites are actually the little folic acid ones that start to dissolve in my mouth, and then somehow get stuck right around my larynx. A second sip of water takes care of it. I think I have 4 big, 1 medium, and 2 small pills with breakfast. 5 big and one small with dinner, and 1 big + 4 small at bedtime. Thank God I don''t have an issue swallowing them anymore. And that I don''t need a full glass of water to get each one down, or I''d be peeing up a storm all day every day!
Hope some of the tricks work for you.

 

[snlee]

I had lots of problems swallowing pills when I was younger. I got better with practice but the big ones still gave me a problems until a few years ago. I had to train myself to be able to take big pills so I could take prenatals. I started out training myself to swallow with soda. In the beginning it was bad. I''d have to stand over the sink in case I gagged. But over time it got better. I found the fizz helped and I couldn''t feel the pill go down. Then I moved onto using juice. I agree it''s definitely mental. Sometimes I imagine the pill is piece of food, like chicken. Weird, I know, but it helps when you reach a mental block. I still can''t take prenatals without tilting my head back. Cold drinks also help. And when I''m brave enough sometimes I can take it with cold water but most of the time I can''t. I don''t want to taste the pill at all or it''s over. Hope this helps. Have you been taking chewable prenatals?

 

[Maisie]

I had surgery when I was 17 and a nurse gave me a painkiller just after I woke up from the anaesthetic. It got stuck in my throat and ever since I have been useless at swallowing tablets. I used to ask for liquid rather than pills and I would get the fruity syrups that children have

In the past year I have been trying to swallow pills. It doesn''t always work but I am getting better at it. I have meds at the minute. Big dry pills for an abcess in my mouth. They taste disgusting, especially when they just swoosh around my mouth refusing to go down!