Does anyone else struggle with swallowing pills?

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  1. M. T. Dremer profile image84
    M. T. Dremerposted 11 years ago

    Does anyone else struggle with swallowing pills?

    My wife has struggled her whole life with swallowing pills, but now that she is taking blood pressure medication, it is starting to become an annoyance for her. I know she's not alone with this trait, because many others struggle with it as well, but how does one overcome it? She's crushed them up and bitten into them, but is there any way to train yourself to swallow a pill as is, or is this something that just isn't possible for some people?

  2. teamrn profile image60
    teamrnposted 11 years ago

    I take a gazillion pills twice a day (@14 a pop) and I manage to get them down in one gulp. I've bee doing this my whole life and think I'm able to accomplish it because after I throw the pills in, I REALLY suck the water or milk back hard. Should I do this? Probably not, says this nurse. OF COURSE NOT! However, I'd just as soon get the 'dirty deed' over with and not be reminded that I need to take this many meds,

    I wouldn't recommend this to anyone; I've probably done some damage to my esophagu, but who's counting?

  3. pharmacist profile image87
    pharmacistposted 11 years ago

    Yes, swallowing pills can be a struggle for some.  My wife could not swallow pills when I met her.  I bought her a special cup designed to fix this.  It holds the pill on a little platform, then it releases the pill as you drink the water.  You never notice it.   Once the initial fear is overcome, it is easy.  She pops pills no problem now.

    You can buy the cup on Amazon for about 5 bucks.  Check out "EzyDose Pill Taking Cup"

    1. Penny G profile image61
      Penny Gposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      WOW thanks so much. My daughter lives in group home and chokes daily.I don't know if they know about this but I will buy several for them. One for my daughter.

  4. Daughter Of Maat profile image93
    Daughter Of Maatposted 11 years ago

    I had a problem swallowing pills for the longest time, and, occasionally, I still have a hard time getting them down. I've taken pills for well over ten years, and recently added a regimen of vitamins most of which are horse pills, I swear. This may sound really odd, but the way I overcame the problem was changing how I thought about swallowing them. Swallowing bits of food that isn't completely chewed is, essentially, the same thing as swallowing pills. With this in mind, I drink a mouth-full of whatever I'm drinking, hold it in my mouth for second until my brain "thinks" it's just food and then swallow. I've found using a sweet beverage, like tea or fruit juice, to be more helpful in tricking the brain into easily swallowing the "food." I also found that if I take all of my pills at one time, it simulates swallowing food better than if I take one pill at a time.

    I think anyone can train their brain to overcome things like this. My opinion is that it's mind over matter. This isn't to say I never have a problem anymore, on occasion, the pills just don't slid down right, but this happens rarely now. Hope this helps! Tell your wife good luck, and that she can do it, her mind is stronger than the pills! big_smile

    1. Daughter Of Maat profile image93
      Daughter Of Maatposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, thank you! How is your wife doing with the pills?

    2. M. T. Dremer profile image84
      M. T. Dremerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not too bad. She has developed a fairly reliable system to take her daily pills, though I can tell it still bothers her when she can't get one down faster. I think it is something that will continue to get easier over time.

    3. Debby Bruck profile image66
      Debby Bruckposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great ideas and great answer. Not only can you simply "imagine" that it is a mouthful of food, you can actually start to chew a bit of bread or something, then put the pill into the mouth and swallow them both together.

  5. NatalieSack profile image60
    NatalieSackposted 11 years ago

    Yep.  As a child, I choked on a cough drop while doing a handstand.  I was apparently born without common sense.  Ever since I can't swallow pills.  I know it's a mental thing, but that doesn't get me past it.

    1. profile image50
      grouch59posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      With a semi-full mouthfull of water, place a tablet into mouth and tilt tour head backwards to swallow a tablet/pill.
      Capsules float, so tilt your head forward and allow the capsule to float to the back of mouth before swallowing. This may help some.

  6. Rosalinem profile image59
    Rosalinemposted 11 years ago

    Yes its not easy to swallow a pill. Take a drink of water and hold it in the mouth and put a pill in and then swallow instead of throwing a pill in the empty mouth first.

    1. Georgie Lowery profile image91
      Georgie Loweryposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This. It's simply the best way to take a pill!

  7. Borsia profile image41
    Borsiaposted 11 years ago

    It has never been much of a problem for me and I can take 10 or so without water.
    However there are some, vitamins, that have a rough surface that stick to the roof of my mouth as I swallow.
    For those who do have a hard time I suggest taking them with food rather than liquid, fruit works best for me.
    Just chew the food as you normally would then toss in the pill at the end and swallow as useuall.

  8. Conleys Review profile image62
    Conleys Reviewposted 11 years ago

    This Hubpage covers the problems of taking pills and what I found to be a Solution.  The Oralflo Pill Swallowing Cup takes all of the stress off of the person taking the pills. read more

  9. profile image0
    chemoangelposted 10 years ago

    It just isn't "Possible" for "Some" People. I am one of those people. Fortunately, if you have a compounding center near you (I use APEX Pharmacy) they can turn those nasty little pills into a tasty liquid for her to swallow with no problem.Am 46 years old, and have taken liquids all my life.

 
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