A Tough Pill to Swallow!

my mom is scared (is the word scared is right to use?) to swallow pill or medicine. since childhood up to now that she is a grandma already is still afraid to do it. so in case of times that she really needs to take any midicine or vitamins specially now that she is older she uses banana to help her swallow the pill. since i was a kid i always see her take her pills inserted in a banana. from then till now.

Goodness! I can swallow a handful of up to six pills at one time. I have no trouble whatsoever. Do you know how gross Gravol tastes? My 11 year old gets car sick and we always have to give her Gravol when we travel for an hour or more. Usually we give her children's chewable but the last time we were at my mother's house, getting ready to leave, we realized we didn't have any children's Gravol so I suggested she try an adult Gravol, just a half of one. I told her to put the pill at the very back of her throat and then drink some water. She tried several times but couldn't swallow it. The taste of Gravol started to come out and she started freaking out. My 14yo daughter and I were laughing so hard because we knew the taste was gross and because she couldn't manage to swallow the pill. She finally did. It was pretty funny. It's hard to know when a kid is ready to start taking pills. My 14 year old has started to take Vitamin E pills and Reactine pills because she gets a lot of cold sores... at least she did until she started taking Vitamin E every day. She's been doing that for a couple of years now. I think it's going to take my younger daughter a lot longer to get the hang of it. She doesn't even like the taste of children's chewable anything. She is not much for medicine.

Ha, Ha, Ha, you are too funny. When you have been doing it for seven years, as I have, it becomes routine. I can swallow seven pills at once. I use to know a girl(may she rest in peace) who could swallow a whole handful with no water, and no, that is not what killed her. Okay, well the jury is still out on that one.

Annie,I think it's funny that you bring up such a subject and not just a little embarrassed by it.Because you were brave enough to admit the fact that you cannot swallow pills with ease I will jump in and admit the same.Lucky for me I've always been healthy and not needed much pill taking in my fifty-one years. I do try with a variety of tricks when necessary,such as hiding them in apple sauce or gulping down orange juice.I can't do it with just plain water.

I can take the small ones in a handful. I take 8 methotrexate and 10 folic acid all together at once every Friday. For the bigger ones, like the calcium, I put it in pudding. For the huge ones like some of the antibiotics I bury it deep in a big tablespoon of yogurt (which I need for my gut when on an antibiotic anyway) and down it goes with one big gulp. My hubby and son dry swallow. That I sure can't do!

Hi Annie.. Thankfully I do not have any problem...but my Mom did...and so does my hubby. Their solution is to take pills with something like bananas, peanut butter or bread. It has always allowed them to have the pills slide down the throat without the gag response that many experience when they try to get them down with water. Not sure if it will work for you...but it is my offering and be sure and let us know if any of our suggestions provided a solution for you. Good luck with it! Raia

I had to read this discussion twice before it really hit me that Swallowing pills was what it was all about...hee, hee! I was looking for something more serious. As for the comment; Yes, I can swallow pills. I have to take 4 every morning and 6 at night. I have been doing this for a while so it's no problem. The only one that I did have a problem with is the calcium tablet, it is so big and dry it tends to stick in my throat. So now I cut it in half and take with warm water. Warm water seems to work better than cool water. Have a great (painless) day!

Brava! I am so proud of you. Yes I can swallow pills. What I do is put the pill in the back of my mouth and I drink something and I swallow both the drink and the pill all at once.

LOL. You're funny. My husband is sooo just like you. He's got these illnesses and sometimes I just don't know how I can make him take these things. Well, as far as capsules, pills, etc., he doesn't have much trouble anymore, though since I think he's used to it now. But during the times we tried home remedies, ugghh, I just wanted to shove it down his throat so it will be once and for all over with. Geesh. But that incident has been awful and funny though. I have no problems with anything taking down unless it isn't safe. So, sometimes I get impatient when others cannot at all handle it.

i wont be in a better position to give any encouragements or advice on that.This is because i am a young male and i have never experience such.

I CAN swallow pills, but I hate doing it. I had my stomache pumped when I was a teenager from taking too many pills and ever since then, swallowing a pill has never been the same. I have to put alot of drink in my mouth, tilt my head back, drop the pill into the back of my throat and gulp the drink down. Its rediculous. lol

I've always been ashamed to admit to pharmacies, doctors, people in general that I can't swallow pills. I can swallow small ones like birth control pills but other ones I need to crush or dilute in water to take them down. People always look at me wierd as well when I say I can't swallow pills and my biggest concern for me right now is that my current physician is telling me I need to take Vitamin E for a year, which only come in softgel form and I hear they are huge which I am still unsure how I'm going to do this. What stems from my issue of not being able to swallow pills is that when I was a young child I choked on a hard candy piece and that is why today I have a fear of choking on pills.

I've always been ashamed to admit to pharmacies, doctors, people in general that I can't swallow pills. I can swallow birth control ones because they are really tiny but other ones need to be crushed or diluted in water. People look at me weird as well when I say I can't swallow pills and my biggest concern now is that my current physician is telling me to take VITAMIN E for a year... which only come in softgel and I hear are HUGE so not sure how I'm going to do this. What stems from my issue of not being able to swallow pills is that when I was a young child I choked on hard candy and that is why today I have a fear of choking on pills therefore having difficulty in swallowing them.