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Need advice on swallowing pills-Resolved, kinda
- Thread starter Stella-Io
- Start date
LuchaSloth
Sloth
Put the pill in your mouth, then take a big sip of fluid. Get enough water, juice, whatever in your mouth so that you can visualize just having a mouth of the fluid without the pill being there. Then just clear your head and swallow like you would if you had a big mouthful of water or whatever. Don't throw your head back or do anything fancy, as that will only remind you that the pill is there. Just try to pretend that it isn't. I guess it's kinda useless advice if you aren't able to get over the pill being there. But, that's what I've always done. Don't try to swallow the pill at the same time you take a sip. Literally fill your entire mouth with the liquid. Hold it. Focus on the liquid, then swallow it all.
I'm a couple days late but I just wanted to say - it looks like you are trying to take doxycycline?
Doxy is available in both liquid and tablet forms, so first off I'd recommend you call your doctor and ask for a format that you can crush or the liquid form so you can mix it with food. Don't get me wrong, it is bitter - but I get the feeling you'd have a better time trying to eat it! Just wanted to throw this idea out there, as there are a lot of other good suggestions on swallowing pills (including the ones I use). I'm so sorry you're struggling - I totally understand the feeling and it can be very frustrating when it's something you absolutely need to feel better! I hope you feel better soon.
Doxy is available in both liquid and tablet forms, so first off I'd recommend you call your doctor and ask for a format that you can crush or the liquid form so you can mix it with food. Don't get me wrong, it is bitter - but I get the feeling you'd have a better time trying to eat it! Just wanted to throw this idea out there, as there are a lot of other good suggestions on swallowing pills (including the ones I use). I'm so sorry you're struggling - I totally understand the feeling and it can be very frustrating when it's something you absolutely need to feel better! I hope you feel better soon.
litilravnur
Friendly Shy Kid
Yup, I feel that plain water makes it harder to swallow so I try to use juice with pulp when I feel the pills get stuck in my throat
dragonpisces69
Mayor Marcia of Lumina
Either try to put the pill on the back of your tongue before ingesting it with any drink/liquid, or perhaps try to ingest it with something in the way of yogurt, pudding or applesauce? Good luck, in any case 
Foreverfox
✨🩵Spook-tacular🩵✨
I don't know if I would try bread, your mind's natural instinct is to chew bread, and if you try to swallow it, your brain my freak out and try to gag it back up so that you can chew it. I put my big pills lengthwise on my tongue, so that they are less likely to catch the sides of my mouth or my teeth. I think a thicker liquid would help too. It might mask it a little bit. I hope this helps!
Swallowing pills took me at least a week to master. I practiced taking big gulps of water with no pill, as large of a gulp as possible. Then I tried adding a smaller pill, I think they were chewable fish oil pills for kids. Once I mastered swallowing those I tried with larger pills.
I always place the pill on my tongue, I think near the middle or tip of my tongue. I keep my tongue at the middle/bottom of my mouth. I take a huge swig of water (or multiple) and use my tongue to kinda throw/ push the tongue into the "current" of water that comes in. I always take an extra drink of water after each pill.
Hope your pill-swallowing adventures become easier!
I always place the pill on my tongue, I think near the middle or tip of my tongue. I keep my tongue at the middle/bottom of my mouth. I take a huge swig of water (or multiple) and use my tongue to kinda throw/ push the tongue into the "current" of water that comes in. I always take an extra drink of water after each pill.
Hope your pill-swallowing adventures become easier!
Wut?
I'm a couple days late but I just wanted to say - it looks like you are trying to take doxycycline?
Doxy is available in both liquid and tablet forms, so first off I'd recommend you call your doctor and ask for a format that you can crush or the liquid form so you can mix it with food. Don't get me wrong, it is bitter - but I get the feeling you'd have a better time trying to eat it! Just wanted to throw this idea out there, as there are a lot of other good suggestions on swallowing pills (including the ones I use). I'm so sorry you're struggling - I totally understand the feeling and it can be very frustrating when it's something you absolutely need to feel better! I hope you feel better soon.
Yes doxycycline! I forget names of things. I went in for a follow up today and told him that I have trouble actually swallowing it, so he switched it to a liquid version for me!
And oh yes I'm familiar with the taste, since I can't swallow it it's been breaking in my mouth so I've tasted it a few times already. Terrible but it's needed.
Yes doxycycline! I forget names of things. I went in for a follow up today and told him that I have trouble actually swallowing it, so he switched it to a liquid version for me!
Oh yes I know the taste well myself! I'm allergic to penicillin (and it's buddies) so I've been on doxy a couple times haha.
I'm so glad they could hook you up with the liquid though, feel better soon!!
ivelostmyspectacles
every so often, I get NSO 🤷
Just wanted to say, even though I saw you got liquid, this was me until two weeks ago 
27 and not able to swallow pills because I'd choke, gag, or cough them back up 
The only pills I've been able to swallow were my thyroid mess, and those are itty bitty. But then I got a dose of clindamycin a couple weeks ago and the cost between a bottle of pills versus liquid was $15 vs $75 sooo. I got clearance to open up the capsule but let me tell you. I'd heard this particular antibiotic tasted like crap, didn't believe it. It had to better than swallowing pills, right??
No.
I gagged over that taste for about an hour after mixing it with icing and then basically cried for another 7 hours while googling how to take pills HAHA
Some tips if you need them for future!
Tablets (especially smaller) - I do the pop bottle method, but just with a bottle of water. Put the tablet on your tongue, as far back as possible, put your lips around the mouth of the bottle, and suck the water as fast as you can, tbh. The idea is that it forms that seal. 97% of the time I get my levo down this way without feeling them at all.
Capsules - these are so much easier, and aren't chalky, but have the nasty (to me) addition of the capsule tasting like glue if you touch it to your tongue. I do lean forward for these. (My clinda were capsules, and they were much, much larger than my levo.) Take a sip of water to basically lubricate your throat. Then take a big gulp (as big as you can without spilling) and shove them capsule in your mouth (this is where no spilling comes in
), quickly tilt your head forward chin to chest, and swallow. Capsules float, so they automatically go towards the back of your mouth, so all it takes it one good swallow. I didn't even notice the pill going down.
But the main point: don't linger on it. I used to sit and stare at the pill in applesauce back when I was younger, and would basically choke before I even put it in my mouth because I was so upset. I know this is so much easier said than done, but the longer you take, the harder it becomes. When it's time for your dose, stop what you're doing, walk right to your pills, toss one in, and swallow. Go go go. The first time I swallowed my clinda capsule a couple weeks ago, I freaked out for 15 minutes and was full body shaking afterwards. It's great
I know these tips sound unhelpful! I spent hours trawling online looking for a solution and thinking I know this is easy, I don't need told 'it's just a little pill' to swallow etc etc. My gag reflex is the worst (the dentist has to numb up my reflexes), I'm sensory sensitive (pill coatings, tastes, ugh) and just basically a ball of anxiety. So I know it seems like a lot a lot!! Easier said than done, right?
But I thought I'd throw out the tips that helped me since I was literally you until I had this antibiotic. I never want to taste that ever again. (And I've never had your antibiotic, but I've found the liquid forms are pretty vile too OTL)
27 and not able to swallow pills because I'd choke, gag, or cough them back up The only pills I've been able to swallow were my thyroid mess, and those are itty bitty. But then I got a dose of clindamycin a couple weeks ago and the cost between a bottle of pills versus liquid was $15 vs $75 sooo. I got clearance to open up the capsule but let me tell you. I'd heard this particular antibiotic tasted like crap, didn't believe it. It had to better than swallowing pills, right??
No.
I gagged over that taste for about an hour after mixing it with icing and then basically cried for another 7 hours while googling how to take pills HAHA
Some tips if you need them for future!
Tablets (especially smaller) - I do the pop bottle method, but just with a bottle of water. Put the tablet on your tongue, as far back as possible, put your lips around the mouth of the bottle, and suck the water as fast as you can, tbh. The idea is that it forms that seal. 97% of the time I get my levo down this way without feeling them at all.
Capsules - these are so much easier, and aren't chalky, but have the nasty (to me) addition of the capsule tasting like glue if you touch it to your tongue. I do lean forward for these. (My clinda were capsules, and they were much, much larger than my levo.) Take a sip of water to basically lubricate your throat. Then take a big gulp (as big as you can without spilling) and shove them capsule in your mouth (this is where no spilling comes in
), quickly tilt your head forward chin to chest, and swallow. Capsules float, so they automatically go towards the back of your mouth, so all it takes it one good swallow. I didn't even notice the pill going down.But the main point: don't linger on it. I used to sit and stare at the pill in applesauce back when I was younger, and would basically choke before I even put it in my mouth because I was so upset. I know this is so much easier said than done, but the longer you take, the harder it becomes. When it's time for your dose, stop what you're doing, walk right to your pills, toss one in, and swallow. Go go go. The first time I swallowed my clinda capsule a couple weeks ago, I freaked out for 15 minutes and was full body shaking afterwards. It's great
I know these tips sound unhelpful! I spent hours trawling online looking for a solution and thinking I know this is easy, I don't need told 'it's just a little pill' to swallow etc etc. My gag reflex is the worst (the dentist has to numb up my reflexes), I'm sensory sensitive (pill coatings, tastes, ugh) and just basically a ball of anxiety. So I know it seems like a lot a lot!! Easier said than done, right?
But I thought I'd throw out the tips that helped me since I was literally you until I had this antibiotic. I never want to taste that ever again. (And I've never had your antibiotic, but I've found the liquid forms are pretty vile too OTL)
I used to have this problem, but after about a week of taking of taking an antibiotic it became way easier. I usually put the pill on my tongue, move it to the back of my mouth and take a big drink of water and swallow immediately. I also make sure to not think about the pill. This method works about 95% of the time for me, and if it doesn’t work on the first time, I usually just try it again and it goes down.
sleepydreepy
legendary egg
I had a phobia of pills for a long, long time because of something that happened when I was little-
my mom almost died choking on pills when I was about 3 or 4 years old. She tried to swallow multiple large pills at once to be more efficient but ended up choking on them. Thankfully she was ok in the end.
Princess Mipha
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
I'm the same and I have to take quite some pills, which sucks. :s
What I do is to take them while eating. Like literally, before swallowing my food I will take the pill in my mouth and then I can swallow it all together. Sometimes I still struggle a bit with it, but it's so much more easy this way. It's impossible for me to take any sized pill with just water.
What I do is to take them while eating. Like literally, before swallowing my food I will take the pill in my mouth and then I can swallow it all together. Sometimes I still struggle a bit with it, but it's so much more easy this way. It's impossible for me to take any sized pill with just water.
slightly cursed method but when i was taking fish oil pills as a kid and couldn't swallow them properly and my mom used to just put the fish oil inside the pill onto a spoon and make me drink it like it was liquid medicine? tasted horrible and forced me into learning to swallow pills by drinking chocolate milk instead of water ahuhuhu
i things work out for you!!
i things work out for you!!
I should prob post an update here, haha
So when I went in for a follow up on Tuesday the doctor guy said Doxycyclene (I prob spelled that wrong) comes in a liquid form, and that he would send a new prescription to the pharmacy so I could start taking that instead of the pills.
Turns out, Doxy doesn't come as a liquid form. And the new prescription they sent? Was the SAME as the one I'm taking now. Pills. I wasn't out of the pills with my current one. Buncha smarties.
In the end thou the pharmacist (and the doctor but not the best bunch of people) said it's okay to open the pill and take the contents inside, which is actually a pale yellow powder. So for the past two days I've been dumping the powder into some applesauce and takin it like that. Yes it tastes very bad BUT I don't have to choke on pills anymore. Also I'm already accustomed to the taste back when I had to attempt to swallow the pills, and they kept breaking in my mouth. If I mix it well in the applesauce it still tastes bad but less bad.
Thanks to everyone who offered advice! Hopefully in the future I won't have to take pills again, and if I do I will be able to crush/open them. And these gel capsules are supoosed to be the easier ones to swallow :')
So when I went in for a follow up on Tuesday the doctor guy said Doxycyclene (I prob spelled that wrong) comes in a liquid form, and that he would send a new prescription to the pharmacy so I could start taking that instead of the pills.
Turns out, Doxy doesn't come as a liquid form. And the new prescription they sent? Was the SAME as the one I'm taking now. Pills. I wasn't out of the pills with my current one. Buncha smarties.
In the end thou the pharmacist (and the doctor but not the best bunch of people) said it's okay to open the pill and take the contents inside, which is actually a pale yellow powder. So for the past two days I've been dumping the powder into some applesauce and takin it like that. Yes it tastes very bad BUT I don't have to choke on pills anymore. Also I'm already accustomed to the taste back when I had to attempt to swallow the pills, and they kept breaking in my mouth. If I mix it well in the applesauce it still tastes bad but less bad.
Thanks to everyone who offered advice! Hopefully in the future I won't have to take pills again, and if I do I will be able to crush/open them. And these gel capsules are supoosed to be the easier ones to swallow :')
Princess Mipha
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
I wish I had that option, but the ones I have to take are all hard ones and the doctor always told me to not open them,
when I had some to take that are possible to open.
I'm glad you're able to take them this way now and hope you don't have to take them too long anymore!
The ones I'm taking I have to take a livelong because of a sickness that you can't fix. Every morning the same struggle
and bad taste and I am not allowed to take those with food, in fact I have to wait 30 minutes before eating anything
after taking them. I always let them disolve in my mouth with some water (not supposed to do that, but it seems to work
so shh), otherwise I'd choke on them while they are super tiny. Boyfriend can take huge pills without water,
so he always makes fun of me >-<
when I had some to take that are possible to open.
I'm glad you're able to take them this way now and hope you don't have to take them too long anymore!
The ones I'm taking I have to take a livelong because of a sickness that you can't fix. Every morning the same struggle
and bad taste and I am not allowed to take those with food, in fact I have to wait 30 minutes before eating anything
after taking them. I always let them disolve in my mouth with some water (not supposed to do that, but it seems to work
so shh
), otherwise I'd choke on them while they are super tiny. Boyfriend can take huge pills without water,so he always makes fun of me >-<
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