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How to swallow a pill - 10/5/2008 8:35:26 PM
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momma_bee
Posts: 1185
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Well - DeeDee is 11, and is the size of some adults. It is time that she learns to swallow a pill. She is 125# and over 5'2"
Any suggestions?
She doesn't seem to have a gag reflex problem until she tries to take a pill, and then it won't go down.
We have tried different pills in the appropriate dosages, to no avail. Tried bread balls - she chewed them.
I have mini M&M's now, but haven't tried them yet.
I believe that she makes this into a problem. I threatened to stop buying chewable things and Poppa gets them (cold meds or tylenol) I have stubborn children.
And, in case you are wondering. BigBee, her brother, is 14. When he was 5, he needed steroids and the dr asked if we wanted liquid and I said no so we got horse pills...He stuck it in his mouth in the car and followed it with a bite of granola bar and we haven't had trouble since.
She understands she needs to do it, but just doesn't.
I'd love to hear suggestions and stories. I'm ready to do it like you do with a cow magnet - hold her mouth shut and stroke her throat. JK 
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/5/2008 8:41:28 PM
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JoyfulWife
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Has she tried filling her mouth with water, leaning her head back, then dropping the pill in and swallowing quickly before the pill has a chance to touch anything in her mouth?
That's the only thing that will work for me. When I was little I had the hardest time swallowing pills, but I was putting the pill on my tongue, then taking a drink  Having the pill on my tongue made me gag every time. It was much easier to just fill, drop, and swallow quick.
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/5/2008 8:44:14 PM
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Jenny-Fair
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Have you tried having Big Bee teach her?
My parents tried everything with my little sister, and finally I taught her how and it worked.
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/5/2008 8:45:25 PM
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ezri
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Try having her drink with a straw. You suck your cheeks in and make a narrow passage to shoot the fluids down when you use a straw. Nothing swimming in the cheeks no fluids rolling round the mouth. just a simple jet powered sucking action. Get her a drink she REALLY likes and some really cool colorful straws - wal mart usually has them for a few pennies more than a buck.
I used to have issues taking pills too and this is what the doc suggested. I have only recently (since 2003) gotten to where I can take pills without drinking through a straw.
~e
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/5/2008 8:54:00 PM
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momma_bee
Posts: 1185
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Jenny - BigBee takes them without thinking - I don't think he knows what he does. He has been very encouraging - until she spits things at him.
Joyful - Ezri! Such good ideas. She is in the shower now so we will be waiting until tomorrow to start trying things.
I have been keeping her away from food coloring, so the M&M's are a treat anyhow.
I do think that part of the problem is that she doesn't need things until she is sick and then feels too poorly to work at it. And, you can't give her a pill if she doesn't need it.
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/5/2008 9:06:25 PM
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PrincessDonna
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From: Cow country, Upstate NY
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quote:
ORIGINAL: JoyfulWife
Has she tried filling her mouth with water, leaning her head back, then dropping the pill in and swallowing quickly before the pill has a chance to touch anything in her mouth?
That's the only thing that will work for me. When I was little I had the hardest time swallowing pills, but I was putting the pill on my tongue, then taking a drink Having the pill on my tongue made me gag every time. It was much easier to just fill, drop, and swallow quick.
This is what I do too.
I also had a hard time until I was 16 or so. Even now, I sometimes gag taking a pill (usually a non-coated one ), and then often puke. 
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/5/2008 9:33:23 PM
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betterisoneday
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Well, I'm 27 and still can't swallow more than those tiny, red sinus tablets. If it's amoxicillan (sp) I just open the capsule and stir it into oatmeal or applesauce. If it's a 800mg ibuprofen I chew it and drink some water or milk. They really don't taste that bad. A possibility??? Maybe?? *shrug*
(no offense meant)
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/5/2008 9:44:13 PM
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momma_bee
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No offense taken.
I was always taught that crushing / chewing a non-chewable pill affected the absorbsion of the medicine. You'd start to absorb it sub-lingually and also start absorbing them sooner than you would if you were waiting for it to dissolve in the stomach.
I suppose that isn't a big deal with Tylenol / Advil.
Where is CindyBode? She'd know that part....
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/5/2008 10:02:28 PM
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Memaw.
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With tablets tip the head back, with capsules the head goes forward.
Tablets sink, capsules float.
My youngest DD is 16 and just recently is able to swallow a pill without gagging and spewing everywhere.
I don't know why some people have such trouble and others don't.
I can take a pill with no water, just toss it into my mouth and swallow while Rick has to drink nearly a gallon of water to get one little pill down.
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Every generation has to learn how to protect and defend it, or it's gone
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/5/2008 10:10:50 PM
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crankius
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My son learned by putting the pill in a spoonful of yogurt or pudding or applesauce. We would tell him to swallow very quickly without pushing the food with his tongue. He would take a regular spoonful first, and then the second spoonful would have the pill in it.
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/6/2008 7:35:40 AM
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zoebob
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My DD10 learned with TicTacs too. She still has trouble if it's bigger than an advil though
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/6/2008 7:50:12 AM
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manda59
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My ds had a strong gag reflex and there was no way under the sun that he could take tablets when he was younger (he is 19 now). I personally wouldn't say that there is an age by which time a child shouldhave learned to take them - they just do when they do, and putting pressure on them can make the problem worse.
I encouraged my ds to try from time to time with Smarties (like M&Ms) - he eventally managed it when he was 16.
My dd is 15, and hasn't done so yet. She will, and I am not pushing at all.
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/6/2008 8:08:10 AM
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JimboFletch
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My son had trouble taking pills as a child. As an adult of 33, he still cannot swallow pills that give me no problem.
I would talk with the doctor before trying home-remedies for making your child do something they may not be capable of doing easily.
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/6/2008 8:34:06 AM
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Auben
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I was 14 and 5'8" before I learned to swallow a pill. And yes, I was sincerely trying. Some people just have a very strong gag reflex. I don't think I could deal with larger pills until my 20s.
Don't push too hard. What did help me was to get a drink of water. Take a drink. Set the pill far back on my tongue. Take another drink as if the pill wasn't there. Instead of trying to swallow the pill I swallowed the water and the pill would go with it 70% of the time (if it was small enough).
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/6/2008 9:39:23 AM
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Memaw.
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With my oldest DD we had the opposite problem, she couldn't swallow liquid medicine.
I know this problem stemmed from having to give her ipecac syrup when she was 2 and from that point on all her medicine had to be in pill form or nothing.
She is now 22 and still has some trouble with liquid med.
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Every generation has to learn how to protect and defend it, or it's gone
and gone for a long, long time."
Ronald Reagan
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/6/2008 10:18:26 AM
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momma_bee
Posts: 1185
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I forgot about the applesauce thing - that resulted in the applesauce going down and that pill staying up and her INSISTING that she chews all her food, including applesauce.
And, that is scary because if spits it out after 2-3 tries, how much medicine did she get when it dissolved in the applesauce?
I commented elsewhere that when she wants a midol, I'm not getting a 'script to get it in liquid or chewable form. She does get headaches at school, and they give her chewables, which is all the nurse keeps at the elem.
Tomorrow night we are going to work on this. Piano and Scouts and Laundry tonight.... :(
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/6/2008 10:23:45 AM
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manda59
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quote:
ORIGINAL: momma_bee
And, that is scary because if spits it out after 2-3 tries, how much medicine did she get when it dissolved in the applesauce?
That's why with my ds we practised with Smarties, and only progressed to the ibuprofen when he was confident with the Smarties.
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/6/2008 11:03:01 AM
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momma_bee
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I can see this - piano for 15 minutes, clarienet for 15 minutes and smarties for 10?
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/6/2008 11:56:07 AM
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stellaluna
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Some tablets are not supposed to be crushed or chewed, so be sure she doesn't chew one of those.
I used to see plastic cups that had a little shelf for a pill. I wonder if they still make those?
When I take pills, I put it in my mouth and then I shake my head a bit when I take the drink. That keeps the pill from sticking to anything, which is what bothers me about taking pills.
(This isn't a very good picture, but this is what I was talking about: http://www.medicalproductsdirect.com/drinkpillglass.html
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/6/2008 12:58:48 PM
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Row1
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at this point, i would offer a big reward.
like some game or teddy bear or cash, if she likes cash.
make some deal:
swallow a mini m&m twice a day for 3 days in a row, and I will take you and a couple friends to the movies, or i will buy you some dvd, etc.
then progress somehow to whatever pill she is supposed to be swallowing.
the reward has to be big enough to make her go do something she otherwise is really afraid of. tilt the tables enough and she will.
she will figure out her own way to get the pill down, given the right incentive.
one of those news feature shows - nightline or 20/20 or something- had a system for getting people to lose weight - they took nearly na ked pics of the people - i think in bathing suits - then threatened -if you don't lose 20 lbs or whatever, we will post these on our network site. the news show gave no info on how to lose weight- just on the consequences. it worked - everyone lost weight. [in reality the show had decided not to publish the pics if the people did not succeed].
the moral of the story is: where there is a will, there is a way.
this won't work if it is a power struggle deal - in which case my idea is bad, not good - escalating offers give her more power.
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/6/2008 8:29:10 PM
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Kath
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Mbee, I still have some trouble with Linz. If it's a big horse pill like augmentin I have to break it in half. I have no idea how she can swallow that sharp side. I'd think it would hurt.
We started out with small pills and went from there. She can only take the advil gel tabs, the green ones, even though to me the little orange pills would be easier.
Ok I just asked Linz to read your post. she says...
when I started doing it, I didn't think of it, that's the thing, if you think about it your mind tells your self you don't like it. So I would just take a drink to get my throat wet then put the pill in my mouth and put a lot of water in there and swallow it.
tilting your head back doesn't work, it makes the pill like stay there when you swallow, at least for me.
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/7/2008 1:00:04 AM
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Row1
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don't think abt it - that is a good idea!
i have had flu shots and work Tb screener shots - the good nurse ask you something to distract you right before they jab you.
So - maybe plan with her something to be distracted with.
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RE: How to swallow a pill - 10/15/2008 5:05:27 PM
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FunBetty
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when I was 8 or so we were at a friend's house and I needed tylenol or something for a headache, and since they didn't have kids they only had pills and not liquid. It was there I learned to swallow pills....we tried everything from putting the pill in peanut butter, twinkies... I don't remember what else but I think the twinkie did it. I do remember after that "practicing" by swallowing food like mashed potatoes or mac n cheese without swallowing (small bites)
For the longest time I learned to put the pill under my tongue (it's drier there so it didn't taste nasty if it didn't go down the first time), and then swallowed with a drink. I was an adult before I was talented enough to swallow multiple pills at once.
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