I wondered if anyone has a solution to this problem. My wife is having more difficulty swallowing her pills, particularly in the morning. She just holds them in her mouth and swallows the orange juice or coffee around them. Sometimes she chews them, and still holds them in her mouth. Some of the pills are sustained release, so chewing could give her a sudden high dose. Most of the pills are necessary - diabetes and high blood pressure. Some, like vitamins, I could eliminate. I'm not sure putting them in apple sauce, etc., would work since, as a child, when her mother tried this trick she would swallow the apple sauce, but hold the pill in her mouth.
marsh-time for a talk with your pharmcist. There's a catapress patch for B/P, a nasal spray insulin-probably very expensive, and possibly compounding some as a liquid. Our pharmacy even lets you select the flavor of the liquids. Hope this helps.
Marsh, are you giving them one at a time? My husband takes 4 in the morning and 4 in the evening. He swallows just fine (all 4 at once) in the morning, but tries to chew the evening dosage! I've thought about giving them one at a time to see if that would help.
Unless you crush up the pills, I don't know of another way to get them to take them, other than putting them in something sweet or like bluedaze suggests. It is the gel capsules that are time release that can't be crushed that are the problems. I wish I knew of a solution for both of us!
I used a pill crusher for my Mom and crushed them fine and gave them in her applesauce of pudding. Eliminated vitamins. You, of course can't crush the sustained release. Some of my husbands pills come sustained release and not and because of Insurance coverage we get the ones that are not sustained release. bluedaze is right, have a talk with your pharmcist.
Marsh, i am going thru the same thing - those that i can crush and add to liquid do fine. i find that the bladder one that is sustained release- i have try at various times during morning if he cant get it down the first time, maybe 30min apart- . and also not while he is sleepy or just awake. my DH does best when hes full awake and standing -have no clue why but he swallows it -also i find giving the pills with water out of a small closing like a plastic water bottle instead of a glass or wide rim is a must here. for some reason the water bottle seems to help him swallow more water with the pill.. there maybe some alternative brand to the time release ones, i will have to check that out as well when he wont swallow it anymore -divvi
As several have said, check with the pharmacist. My hubby has to have a prescribed dose of Potassium. The Pill(huge) won't go down. 2 half size won't either and they aren't as big as his vitamin or fiber caplet. He gets a powder packet to be mixed with liquid or food and does fine. A lot of meds which are time release, were originally available as regular dose pills to be taken x times a day. The time release is better sometimes to maintain a more even level of meds over the time frame. But if it won't go down whole, you can't get the time release control, so the regular doses spaced properly may be what's needed.
Nanapapa i dont think you should be giving the time release ones all at once opened like that. Dr Marsh says you could be giving your LO a huge dose of a med thats meant to be dispursed during the whole 24hrs. at least this is the explanation i got about if it can be done. better check with a dr first. divvi
Please check with your Dr. Some time release capsules are able to be sprinkled because the beads are actually the time release. Others, however, should never be opened or crushed. Check with the Dr. or the pharmacy and they should be able to tell you.