Can you easily swallow pills?

[SueDeNimes]

Hi, I thought I'd ask you all because since I've told some people that I have problems swallowing big pills I realised I'm not on my own. :uhoh:

 

For 2 weeks now I have to swallow huge pills - 3 effing times a day! :bigcry:

 

After some failed attempts to take one (together with food) I finally gave up, pounded the pill into powder, mixed it with sugar and grape juice and drank it. :embarrassed:

They're the ugly kind without any layer around them and taste bitter as soon as you put them into your mouth.

The ones in capsules or with that shiny layer around them are easier for me because you can have them in your mouth for a while without dissolving immediately... easier doesn't mean that I never have problems with them though. :\

 

So - do you have problems swallowing pills as well or are you one of those people I envy for being able to do it without thinking?

Tell me your tricks please!

[Prince Myshkin]

as long as i have three reasonably sized gulps of drink with it i'm fine. one to swallow and two to make sure it doesn't get stuck in my throat.

[Crests]

I don't even need water, I just swallow it and it's easy. :shrug:

[Wherrwhfer]

Sometimes I don't even need water, it's fine.

[Megalomania]

I swallow them dry.

[SueDeNimes]

Thanks, how comforting. :P

You even don't have problems when they are the bitter-without-sugar-cover kind?

 

Anyone here having similar problems and willing to share some tricks? :uhoh:

[busybeeburns]

I know Jen shoves them down her throat with her finger, if that helps?

[Wherrwhfer]

I have to take penicillin three times a day. Just look into the ceiling and drop it.

[Megalomania]

Thanks, how comforting. :P

You even don't have problems when they are the bitter-without-sugar-cover kind?

 

Anyone here having similar problems and willing to share some tricks? :uhoh:

 

Sorry :P

 

Not really, I just ignore the bad taste.

 

Stupid question, but you said you tried it with food, have you tried it with a glass of cold water?

[pickle]

I used to have the worst time trying to swallow pills. I got so nervous I would choke on them, that before I took my allergy medicine I would practice with Rice Krispies. :lol: I'm over it now though. :P

 

My sister, she was the same way as me...once she went through drinking a whole glass of water trying to swallow a pill, and after it was still on her tongue. :lol:

[SueDeNimes]

Water alone is getting me nowhere! :embarrassed:

I swallow the water and the pill stays where it was haha.

Guess I'm a hopeless case.

 

 

I know Jen shoves them down her throat with her finger, if that helps?

:stunned:

Mhmm, no help!

 

I have to take penicillin three times a day. Just look into the ceiling and drop it.

I've read on some sites that looking up makes it even harder to swallow... and I mustn't look up, I had dislocated vertebrae and this is why I have to take them after all!

[EmmaLouiseSmyth]

I just drink them down with a class of water,

I don't know how to help you :shrug:

 

 

 

Maybe it's the just gtting used to it.

My brother had to go from never taking tablets, to taking two a day to taking 4 a day ( two at the same time )

 

They aren't the biggest of tablets though.

:\

[Wherrwhfer]

Uhh, I could never take pills without looking up!

[the_gloaming09]

I remember I used to have a problem when I was in my early teens, but now it's fine.

[SueDeNimes]

I used to have the worst time trying to swallow pills. I got so nervous I would choke on them, that before I took my allergy medicine I would practice with Rice Krispies. :lol: I'm over it now though. :P

 

My sister, she was the same way as me...once she went through drinking a whole glass of water trying to swallow a pill, and after it was still on her tongue. :lol:

Same for me, except the "I'm over it now" part!

 

I know it's just in my head, the awareness on its own however doesn't make it better, the inner refusal stays...

 

That's the annoying thing about the body. You can't just say "message received, now swallow nevertheless, you idiot". Or let's say tell your body that you're fully aware that you just burnt your hand so it can stop hurting now. :lol:

[SueDeNimes]

Uhh, I could never take pills without looking up!

If that's a working way for you that's fine - you're one of the people I envy! :)

[NumbersGirl]

Water alone is getting me nowhere! :embarrassed:

I swallow the water and the pill stays where it was haha.

Guess I'm a hopeless case.

Typically I only have issues with the big horse pills (which is why I avoid them, because typically those are just the all-the-vitamins-you'll-ever-need-in-an-entire-month type of pills). But occasionally the medicine I have to take daily gets stuck on my tongue, as it also doesn't have any type of coating and is a funky shape. When it does happen, it's usually because there wasn't enough water in my mouth to get it unstuck off of my tongue first. So, I suppose my advice would be to make sure the water has lifted it up off your tongue first before you try and swallow.

[aniskywalker]

I haven't problems with this ... but the why is another story...

[ivet]

I'm 17 and I just learned how to swallow pills like a couple of months ago, no joke. It was this little tic tac like thing and I was like, "Well what the flip!" and I just swallowed it

Then I felt like a complete dumbtard all these years :laugh3:

 

Good thing I learned cos I've been taking these antihistamines and they're huge!

 

I've got no problems now :wacky:

[eff-exx]

i hate it when the pills go down, but leave a taste at the throat. and when you burp, the taste comes out. bleh.

 

but it depends on the pills' taste. :wacky:

[Space Cadet]

I can swallow most things without water, even big ones.

 

But there are tricks, it took me a lot practice, and yeah those big bitter horse pills that dissolve too fast are the pits. :tongue:

 

 

Sorry if this all sounds a bit pretentious (or gross), but it's how I learned to do it and you asked:

For little pills the trick is to stand up straight, build up a good layer of saliva on your tongue so the pill doesn't stick, and place the pill as close to the back of your tongue as you can without gagging. If the pill is long point it toward the back of your throat. The most important thing is to relax while you swallow. Focus on the muscles in your throat and tell them to relax. It's a little like trying to sing a low note- you have to relax your muscles and vocal chords so that your throat opens up and you can get that low note out. The bigger you make your throat the easier it will go down.

 

It's ok to think about it, but if you visualize it getting stuck you'll tense up and then your throat will be too tight for the pill to go down. Try visualizing swallowing where you're relaxed and in control and the pill goes down easily. If you have that image in your head you won't tense up when you actually swallow.

 

Now the big pills.

 

I couldn't swallow anything at all for pills when I was little. So what I did was I would stick my finger on my tongue and try to relax so that I wouldn't gag. It taught me muscle control so that I wouldn't gag even when the pill got stuck. Slowly I could control everything with my finger further and further back. You feel that little twinge like your about to gag, but then you tell yourself it's ok, relax, nothing's going to happen. The further back you can put the pill on your tongue, the easier it will go down. Practicing might help you.

 

With the bitter uncoated ones, I just tell myself "yes, it's bitter. That doesn't matter." and then I compartmentalize it and focus on swallowing rather than completely ignoring it because ignoring bitterness makes it more bitter.

 

If the pill is getting stuck, building up a lot of saliva on your tongue before you put the pill there is really important. It's sticking because it's absorbing the moisture in your tongue. For some reason it doesn't absorb saliva as easily as water, so it should go down easier. Drink some water. I didn't start going without water until I got really good a swallowing with water. When something is so big (or half dissolved) that even I still have trouble, I keep a very large glass full of water handy and I chug the entire thing in one go. Sometimes I tip my head up too. Between all that water and gravity, it eventually goes down.

 

When you learn the mechanics of controlling your throat muscles, swallow fast. It keeps the pill from having time to dissolve at all. But don't panic swallow. Stay in control.

 

If you do choke or get it stuck on your tongue, wait a few minutes before you try again. You'll be too tense to swallow it on the second try otherwise.

 

If a pill is making you really miserable after lots of tries, remember that swallowing the pill on the first try is easiest, so it's ok that you're having trouble and the next time you need to swallow a pill will be better. It will keep you from psyching yourself out next time.

 

Anyway, that's all I've got. Maybe some of my madness makes sense?

[Black Rose]

I need to outwit myself to swallow them but it works

[SueDeNimes]

Sorry if this all sounds a bit pretentious (or gross), but it's how I learned to do it and you asked:

[...]

Anyway, that's all I've got. Maybe some of my madness makes sense?

Wow, thank you!

I'll keep trying... after all I have 2 weeks to "look forward" to!

(It's not the fear of getting it stuck in my throat, it's the swallowing process itself.

Once it's swallowed everything's fine.)

[Darlene_Ihnfsa]

when i'm sick/ill worst part is if the doctor ask me to take any pills, luckily most of the time they give me the option of taking efervescent ones... but swallow, is impossible.

[SueDeNimes]

when i'm sick/ill worst part is if the doctor ask me to take any pills, luckily most of the time they give me the option of taking efervescent ones... but swallow, is impossible.

So are you the one who joined me in the "fucking drama" option? :wacko:

 

I always ask for soluble medication, too. Unfortunately that's not always available. :(

 

My suspicion is that it really started to be so hard for me to swallow pills after I had a prescription for strong antibiotics which I didn't tolerate and made me puke when I was little.

Confession day:

There's my other thing. I'm so awfully afraid of puking. :uhoh:

 

I hadn't puked for 10 years until January 2009 when I ate something wrong.

I hope it'll take at least another 10 years until I have to puke again!