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I need to take vitamins and can not swallow pills for the life of mine. every time i try i feel like ill choke chas v’shalom or throw up…any suggestions?
Hi a_m: Try putting them in yoghurt or pudding or apple/fruit sauce. Swallowing a spoonful of the above with the pill embedded in it might help.
Practice with much smaller things, like a rice crispy, or a mini-mandel.
Put it on your tongue, and take a huge gulp of water, and swallow.
Gradually work your way up to larger things over a few days, until you can take the pills. Then try doing 2 at a time, then 3, then 4…
In my heyday, I could swallow 10 large pills in one go. What a waste of pills.
PBA,
whats the waste?
The waste was that I was taking all those pills while I didn’t need them, because I thought it was fun to swallow them.
Oh no! What did you take!!?
I cannot swallow pills either. Neither can my kids. I’ve tried all the recommendations – NOTHING WORKS. So I have to resort to either chewing them (ugh) or opening capsules and putting the “beebles” in ice cream. Sometimes my doctor can actually get me the med in a liquid or chewable form – but not always.
Who knows. . maybe those few times when PBA was decent, were when he was taking those ten pills..
aidel_maidel -“I need to take vitamins”
Hey they actually make chewable vitamins!
yes its safe
they sell omega 3 in liquid form for and I believe chewables for kids, just check the dosage and adjust for adults. you can get small prenatal and iron pills that are easier to swallow.
this is the way i learnt — open your mouth VERY wide and tilt back. have someone put the pill as far back in your mouth as possible. have a huge gulp of water, or two or three, and after about 5/6 tries iy”H you’ll be set for life
i could not swallow pills for anything and tried everyone’s advice. i finally learned how at 19, when i had to take 4 pills a day after a bloodtest results. chewing them was DISGUSTING and after trying and failing and trying and failing, i got the hang of it after 3-4 weeks. its just a matter of figurign out what works for you. i still do on the odd occasion have trouble but most the time i can swallow pills. i’ve got my two thought processes that work. for me, the best is to take a mouthful of water, consciously put the front part of my tongue up to the roof of my mouth, withthe pill on the back part. and if you plug your nose, you will be forced to swallow. haven’t found chewable prenatals yet. Hatzlocha!
Says me- “haven’t found chewable prenatals yet.”
And why can’t you take chewable children’s vitamins? Take what you need to get the prenatal dose.
I also am part of that non-swallowing club..
cherrypits are no problem and` vitamins or medication are a no-go.
I know its in my head..
I also ’embed’ them in a banana or cracker or any other food that has the right consistancy,,
I get a lot of pills down that way.. one at a time..
the magnesiums are too larg though, so know i am taking the powdered one.
I reached a major milestone today— I swallowed my first capsule! I’ve done small tablets and “M&M” type ones before but this is my first capsule.
I’ve always found it really hard to swallow pills, but I was getting sick of the gross grape Motrin and stuff like that so I forced myself to learn how to swallow. M&Ms are great for learning (though it feels like such bal tashchis).
Some things are just too big so I take advantage of the fact that I can still take that bubble gum antibiotics (not exactly good, but better than that “cherry” stuff that tasted like tar).
I’m worried I’m need to take more meds now because I have symptoms that are really bad right now. I hope I won’t need to.
If you do not use only cholov Yisrael, try swallowing a pill with some Ensure. The just-right thickness of the drink, helps the pill to go down more easily. I can swallow at least 6 vitamins at a time, of assorted sizes and shapes.
Alternatively, perhaps there are chewable or liquid versions of those vitamins. Whatever you do, do not take them apart or crush them, if they are meant to be swallowed whole, as they might need to be in the stomach for a certain amount of time before being absorbed.
try practicing the act of swallowing without anything in ur mouth then put the pill in take a sip of water and a big swallow
this worked for me but others like 2 put it in maccoroni or marshmellows
I believe the act of swallowing a pill successfully is all in the head. If you just imagine your throat to actually be a huge drain pipe that is draining all the bath water down it, then the pills go down very easily. Its when you think you might choke you then clam up that space by making it constrict with your subconcious fear.
Maybe they ought to do therapy for people. Hypnotize them or something or call this a syndrome.
aidel maidel – I don’t think prenatals come in chewable. Iron comes in liquid. When I had to do the prenatal thing – i either crushed them up or just took some children’s vitamins. Baruch Hashem my kids came out healthy. Hatzlacha to you.
always – i agree it’s in my head. yes i do picture myself choking. i just can’t help it.
ARWSF -“Maybe they ought to do therapy for people. Hypnotize them or something or call this a syndrome.”
Sorry they already have a name for this syndrome -it’s called immaturity!
If you eat something that has more substance to it, like a bagel, chicken, or a bigger handful of cereal, than your throat gets used to the feeling of something larger AND edible going down. By the time I get to the pill, it goes down more easily. I also put the pill as far back as possible, as I avoid tasting the pill.
i don’t think thats the kind of advice anyone was looking for, Health. Thanks but no thanks.
Sorry they already have a name for this syndrome -it’s called immaturity! “
Pot, meet Kettle.
oomis1105, please – not so strong!!!
Anyways, Maidel, think of it as a pill you’ve got to swallow!
OOmis -Since you think I’m immature -I’d be perfect for your kid!
Only maturity age should matter!
Hi aidel.
I am the same way. Once you experience that gag reflex, it seems there is always a hesitation thing before swallowing pills.
Here is what I do with vitamin pills:
1. I try to get them in liquid/drops form like Vitamin D and Dr Garlic and stuff.
2. If I have to take the vitamin as a pill, I use orange juice. It is thicker and helps the pill go down without getting stuck from a reflex thing.
3. If it’s a capsule, I open it up and mix it with apple sauce or yogurt.
4. It it’s a tablet, you can get a crusher and crush it up.
5. Sometimes I just bite the thing and be sure to drink juice because they invariably taste horrible.
I wish taking pills was not such a big deal. I try to relax and realize that I swallow food pieces larger than a pill. It seems like an involuntary reaction. I guess that is what you get too.
Hatzlacha!!
I forced myself to learn how to swallow. M&Ms are great for learning (though it feels like such bal tashchis).
It’s definately Bal Tashchis. You should a Parve Heimish knock-off instead.
There are chewable prenatals, my midwife told me about them years ago. The were not sold everywhere but were order-able. Ask your ob if they know of them.
Once upon a time……sorry 🙂 I couldn’t swallow pills, I tried all the tricks and then learned to put them on the back of my tongue. Necessity is the mother of invention. At this point in my life, i take pills like someone else would take candy and I don’t have the patience to take one at a time. I just throw the whole handful down at the same time with one glass of water. My hubby doesn’t understand how I can do that. Now I laugh when I remember how I couldn’t even swallow one, how I had to crush it and melt it in water, stick it in whipped cream or pudding, etc.
“And why can’t you take chewable children’s vitamins? Take what you need to get the prenatal dose.”
Not a good idea. First off, for those needing a chewable prenatal, ask your doctor about Natachew. Insurance doesn’t cover it and its a bit pricey. Second, You generally cant substitute the proper level with a children’s vitamin and here is one example why. Taking as an example the Kiddiemax multivite. As you would take more than one tablet to get the recommended prenatal level of say….zinc (15mg) you would overdose on vitamin E, known to be teratogenic and can cause CNS abnormalities. Of course that’s an extreme example, but it does illustrate that people should not try to substitute or experiment with vitamin intake during pregnancy. Vitamin E isn’t the only one to be detrimental when taken in high doses. This is why tablets labeled pre-natal, have specific upgrades of some things (folate/folic acid) and cuts down other things by almost by a third (vitamin E). So that in one tab you get the optimal (and proper) mix of vit/minerals.
oomis1105, please – not so strong!!!”
I am not the one who for all intents and purposes called the OP immature (“name for this syndrome – it’s called immaturity”). Health was doing all the name calling. I just called him on it, (name calling IS a sign of great immaturity). My single children (and my married ones) would never call someone immature because they were unable to do something that everyone else is able to do easily. The person who cannot do “simple” things that we all take for granted, feels very embarrassed by that inability. No need to make them feel immature on top of it.
Hi writersoul. Refuah Shelayma!
Hey oomis. That is a great idea. The thickness of Ensure is even better than the orange juice I suggested to help swallow pills.
Hi arwsf. lol.. I cannot believe you said that. I actually picture a doctors office type picture of the head and mouth from a side view and imagine myself and the pill in my mouth just going down the opening like a drain. lol
Bottom line for those of us who have that gag reflex, which we dont want, just know that if we clamp up, the pill does go down, or comes back out.
And as many of you know, time is of the essence because either the slick tablet coating wears away or the capsule starts to dissolve like melted plastic, and out pops a new pill.
Aside from that, you get good practice saying the Hebrew letter “chof”.
My friend’s father use to say he took 5 or more at once. To me, thats like people who parachute or eat lunch on a steel girder on the 105th floor of a high-rise they are building. I dont get it.
As far as the prenatals, maxi health makes s/t called B 12 Lozenges. They’re not a full pre-natal but it has folic acid which is one of the most important vitamins, and its chewable. That’s what I survived on.
Hi Anonyous91
I dont know. I really find that hard to swallow.
(I just had to post that somewhere in here so you were the lucky one with the last post, far
as I can tell…lol)
re thick liquid, if you can stand it, try prune juice with pulp. That’s a really thick liquid.
My friend’s father use to say he took 5 or more at once. To me, thats like people who parachute or eat lunch on a steel girder on the 105th floor of a high-rise they are building. I dont get it. “
I really do not love swallowing pills. BUT, since I can (and that is in SPITE of my extremely strong gag reflex), I started trying to do more at one time. I used to swallow five or 6, but today I managed 11 (ok four of them are very small). Seven are large calcium type shaped pills. I need to take them together, otherwise I forget to take some of them. They all go together well, so it’s not a problem. I use Glucerna now (sugar-free version of Ensure) for taking the pills in the morning.
Gefen, “beebles” hee! hee! Just hilarious. Did you make that term up? It’s great.
aidel_maidel in the event a substitute chew able or a liquid source of the tablet is not sold there are tablets crushers (I happen to own one, and have used the pill crusher many times for this purpose) that sold at the Pharmacy/Chemist. They are quite useful to crush and reduce the size of bigger tablets, so one can swallow the pill/tablet easier. I assume one (using the pill crusher) could crush the tablet to a dust form and mix it with Apple Sauce or some other food.
For the past few days I have honestly tried to be mature while taking the vitamins which I have to take in pill form. Things have not improved. I guess I have a long way to go.
Awesome!
YankDU, for the record, it is not safe to crush all pills. Some pills must bypass the esophagus and remain in the stomach for a while. If those pills are crushed and their essence is released too quickly, it could damage the intestine.
Thanks oomis I was not aware of that. Alternatively aidel_maidel as has been suggested a chew able tablet might be easier for you to swallow.
Hi oomis.
11?? That has to be a world record, unless someone else can honestly say they did more.
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