Need advice on swallowing pills-Resolved, kinda

[Stella-Io]

Just as the title says. I guess I have anxiety or a phobia of pills, cause it's incredibly hard for me to swallow them. It's a gel pill so I can't crush it. Google isn't helping either, it just says stuff like 'place on tongue and drink' which I've tried. Multiple times.

They get stuck on my teeth, or I just can't swallow them. I've tried placing then on my tongue then drinking, I've tried dropping them in water and drinking that, I've tried to 'waterfall' it into my throat, that doesn't work either. I'm gonna try next to wrap some bread around and swallow the bread but idk if that will work either.

I seriously have such a hard time swallowing it, and I need to cause these are antibiotics. So any advice/methods would be helpful.

 

[Cosmic-chan]

You need to lay down and swallow the pill as you drink your drink. Don't even think about it. Just do it.

 

[Stella-Io]

You need to lay down and swallow the pill as you drink your drink. Don't even think about it. Just do it.

I will def try that at some point, thou I'm more worried about choking on water than I am on the pill at that point if I'm laying down and drinking/swallowing

 

[Kirbyz]

woah don’t lay down, we don’t want you to choke

i always hated taking pills too, especially the larger ones since i could never swallow them half the time. i think try putting it on your tongue first and drink a swoosh of water directly right after while tilting your head a little back so it can fall to your throat. if you feel feel that water is bringing it back up then immediately swallow so that it doesn’t, drink another splash of water if you have to. i usually try not to think of it as it’s easier that way, and then drink a generous amount of water to make sure i swallow it. i don’t know if this will help but hopefully so!

 

[xSuperMario64x]

what I do is I fill my mouth with water (or whatever i'm taking the pill with) and then I drop the pill in my mouth and quickly swallow it so it easily goes down with the water. I've had to take huge capsules in the past (those liquid Dayquil/Nyquil pills are awful) and I learned this method from a friend, helps me really well so maybe it could help you

 

[deana]

Sometimes I find it helpful to try to take pills with a bit of a thicker liquid than water like milk, vegetable juice, or even smoothies.

Also to add on to what xSuperMario64x suggested, my sister does this same method but when she places the pill in her mouth she will also tilt her head up and shake her head around to get the pill down towards the back of her throat, then swallow with her head still tilted upwards. She looks really silly when she does this which is why it's memorable lol but she swears by the method

 

[Cosmic-chan]

woah don’t lay down, we don’t want you to choke

i always hated taking pills too, especially the larger ones since i could never swallow them half the time. i think try putting it on your tongue first and drink a swoosh of water directly right after while tilting your head a little back so it can fall to your throat. if you feel feel that water is bringing it back up then immediately swallow so that it doesn’t, drink another splash of water if you have to. i usually try not to think of it as it’s easier that way, and then drink a generous amount of water to make sure i swallow it. i don’t know if this will help but hopefully so!

I heard that laying down would help. Maybe I'm thinking of something else. I didn't realize they could chock

I will def try that at some point, thou I'm more worried about choking on water than I am on the pill at that point if I'm laying down and drinking/swallowing

I heard that laying down would help. Maybe I'm thinking of something else. I didn't realize they could choke qwq </3

 

[ForgottenT]

I hold pills between my front teeth, and let them fall while I drink, it washes them straight down.

 

[Xara]

when i have to take pills, i hide them in a bite of pudding, ice cream or yogurt! as a cautionary so i don’t risk choking and/or the pill slipping out of whatever i put it in, i take one at a time which always does the trick for me! :’)

 

[Stella-Io]

Sometimes I find it helpful to try to take pills with a bit of a thicker liquid than water like milk, vegetable juice, or even smoothies.

Also to add on to what xSuperMario64x suggested, my sister does this same method but when she places the pill in her mouth she will also tilt her head up and shake her head around to get the pill down towards the back of her throat, then swallow with her head still tilted upwards. She looks really silly when she does this which is why it's memorable lol but she swears by the method

when i have to take pills, i hide them in a bite of pudding, ice cream or yogurt! as a cautionary so i don’t risk choking and/or the pill slipping out of whatever i put it in, i take one at a time which always does the trick for me! :’)

I've tried both methods tonight but I'm still having trouble with actually swallowing it. I used applesauce since I had some. When that didn't work I tried tilting my head back and swallowing, and also doing that but with water. I did also try to put it farther down but I ended up coughig it up twice :') I can swallow, but I'm not swallowing the pill. At this point I'm not even scared anymore but I need to be able to do it quickly cause it usually takes me about 5 minutes to actually do it, in which case the pill has already broken up in my mouth and at that point I'm swallowing whatever HORRIBLE tasting medicine is in the pill and a mashed up pill.

One thing I think might help if I can do it right is eating bread with it, but I tend to accidentally bite the pill too hard to then it breaks, which I'm trying to avoid.

Also I thought someone said something about switching prescriptions for future reference, but I can't find the reply now. What they gave me is a doxxyc-somethin and it's 100mg pills.

 

[Corrie]

I can't use water with my pills. I just swallow the water without the pill.

I use applesauce or pudding or something with a similar texture. That way it's liquid but thicker to help "hide" the pill.

 

[Stella-Io]

I’m really sorry you’re having such a hard time with your medicine! it might be too late now but if your antibiotics are amoxicillin there should be the option to get a liquid version. Typically doctors write up the pills for teens & adults but when I was a pharmacy assistant I remember a woman specifically asking for the liquid version of amoxicillin because she also struggled with pills. I remember because figuring out the math & instructions for the liquid version is a pain lmao

Again, I’m not sure if they’ll be able to switch to the liquid now that you’ve started with the pills but maybe for the future it could help to know that for the time being though I’m not sure if you’ve tried but I find putting the pills in food like applesauce, yogurt, or pudding helps make it easier.

Oh wait I found it. Sorry for the late reply, I was out all day today and didn't know the name of the prescription. It's somethin like doxxyc- and then a bunch of letters.

I can't use water with my pills. I just swallow the water without the pill.

I use applesauce or pudding or something with a similar texture. That way it's liquid but thicker to help "hide" the pill.

Yeah I used applesauce today but I think it might be too thin for me, cause I still struggle to swallow it. I can swallow the applesauce in my mouth but the pill won't go down.

Edit: sorry to who ever mod had to move my thread, I wasn't sure if it went here or the other Basement forum

 

[Corrie]

Oh wait I found it. Sorry for the late reply, I was out all day today and didn't know the name of the prescription. It's somethin like doxxyc- and then a bunch of letters.



Yeah I used applesauce today but I think it might be too thin for me, cause I still struggle to swallow it. I can swallow the applesauce in my mouth but the pill won't go down.

Edit: sorry to who ever mod had to move my thread, I wasn't sure if it went here or the other Basement forum

Hmmm, maybe try pudding if you have it? It's thicker and kinda "sticky" so it might help?

 

[DJStarstryker]

I saw this method on Google (via Harvard Medicine) that sounds interesting:


The pop-bottle method is designed for swallowing tablets:

• Fill a plastic water or soda bottle with water.
• Put the tablet on your tongue and close your lips tightly around the bottle opening.
• Take a drink, keeping contact between the bottle and your lips and using a sucking motion to swallow the water and pill. Don’t let air get into the bottle.

Just another option to try.

 

[LadyDestani]

So I'm 40 years old and still can't swallow a pill with liquid. I have a small mouth, a sensitive tongue, and a horrible gag reflex. If a pill touches literally anywhere inside my mouth, it's just not going down. But I have found a method that works consistently for me.

I use bread or crackers. I put the food in my mouth first and chew it until I'm ready to swallow. Then, I use my tongue to create a sort of pocket out of the softened food, slip the pill into the pocket and quickly swallow. I've already chewed so I don't have to worry about biting the pill and I never feel the pill in my mouth so it doesn't trigger my gag reflex going down. It took some practice (always at home) to get it just right, but now I can do it so smoothly and easily that I can use the same method in public without anyone being the wiser, because of course I don't want to gross anyone out.

Good luck. I feel your pain. I have had panic attacks before from stressing out over not being able to take my medication and wasting pills.

 

[Xara]

I've tried both methods tonight but I'm still having trouble with actually swallowing it. I used applesauce since I had some. When that didn't work I tried tilting my head back and swallowing, and also doing that but with water. I did also try to put it farther down but I ended up coughig it up twice :') I can swallow, but I'm not swallowing the pill. At this point I'm not even scared anymore but I need to be able to do it quickly cause it usually takes me about 5 minutes to actually do it, in which case the pill has already broken up in my mouth and at that point I'm swallowing whatever HORRIBLE tasting medicine is in the pill and a mashed up pill.

One thing I think might help if I can do it right is eating bread with it, but I tend to accidentally bite the pill too hard to then it breaks, which I'm trying to avoid.

i’m sorry to hear that it didn’t work! i saw in another thread that you’ll be taking to your doctor tomorrow about potentially being able to crush up your pills and take them that way - if given the go ahead, i hope that it works out for you! also, i feel you about the horrible taste; accidentally bit into an anti-nausea pill the other night and oh my god?? my eye’s twitching literally just thinking about it LOL.

 

[-Lumi-]

Oh wait I found it. Sorry for the late reply, I was out all day today and didn't know the name of the prescription. It's somethin like doxxyc- and then a bunch of letters.

Oh goodness, no worries! I don't have all the different types of medications memorized, I just knew for sure about amoxicillin since that was the most common antibiotic. It sounds like you're going to be talking to your doctor tomorrow, though! Hopefully she'll be able to help and you'll either be able to break the capsules open and take the medicine that way or maybe she can switch you to a liquid prescription. Best of luck either way! Infections are already terrible, I'm sorry that trying to take the medication needed to get better is causing you so much stress, too.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

this video might help, especially the one tip that starts at about 2:44

 

[Shawna]

- Try placing the pill as far into your mouth as possible.

- Try to swallow it with a drink you really like

- Try not to think or worry about it

 

[Stella-Io]

So I'm 40 years old and still can't swallow a pill with liquid. I have a small mouth, a sensitive tongue, and a horrible gag reflex. If a pill touches literally anywhere inside my mouth, it's just not going down. But I have found a method that works consistently for me.

I use bread or crackers. I put the food in my mouth first and chew it until I'm ready to swallow. Then, I use my tongue to create a sort of pocket out of the softened food, slip the pill into the pocket and quickly swallow. I've already chewed so I don't have to worry about biting the pill and I never feel the pill in my mouth so it doesn't trigger my gag reflex going down. It took some practice (always at home) to get it just right, but now I can do it so smoothly and easily that I can use the same method in public without anyone being the wiser, because of course I don't want to gross anyone out.

Good luck. I feel your pain. I have had panic attacks before from stressing out over not being able to take my medication and wasting pills.

Yeah I find bread helps, thou the way I'm doing it I still bite into the pill by accident, or I just have it too long in my mouth and it breaks. I'm def gonna try the pocket thing. I still have several pills to take so I can gets lots of practice in

Also glad to know others feel my pain when it comes to pill taking