Does anybody else have trouble taking swallow tablets or pills?

[Champion RD92 8,653]

I've always had trouble swallowing pills unless they're tiny. And even then, it takes me a second to get prepared to swallow it lol, im afraid im gonna like choke on it sometimes xD

[ChoroChii 284]

It was a problem for me when I was little but I'm able to get whole pills down now easily. 

[Techite Sparkle 354]

Its always been hard for me because of my extremely sensitive gag reflexes.

 

Until recently I admit I could only do chews or extremely small pills.

 

Now I can do most with some level of difficulty... but about 4-5 years ago I choked on a gummi Life Saver... Lets just say that it sucks not being able to breathe for over 5 mins... I wake up in ambulance. Lets just say too this day that gives me a bad vibe to anything that you have to swallow whole...

Edited December 26, 2013 by Techite Sparkle

[Mutemutt 772]

I don't remember exactly how old I was when I started taking pills but I hated liquid medicine so much that I immediately jumped at the chance to take pills instead. I either had no trouble at all or I was a fast learner. Well, there were a few times where a pill would come back up (and then taste kind of terrible on the 2nd attempt) but not too much trouble overall. 

[HunterTSN 1,444]

I vaguely remember hating them when I was really young, but I don't have any problems any more. My worst enemy is and always will be grape cough syrup.

[MLPForums Phanact 1,374]

I have to snap ALL tablets in half and it usually takes me a half pint of water to be able to get through one tablet.

I don't know why but I can never seem to make tablets actually go down my throat, I make the swallow motion but it just stays in my mouth. It isn't my gag reflex either cause I have like, none.

[Mlpfan185 1,763]

Something was here. Something was here. Something was here. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by NONAME

[Wonderbolt_Spitfire 235]

When I first started taking them I struggled a bit with getting used to taking pills, but over time I just got used to them and now I can usually take any pill without a problem. Taking pills with liquids is a lot easier than trying to take it with food, you just have to try and pretend there isn't a pill in your mouth when you swallow.

[Stormbringer 346]

I've got really bad acid reflux syndrome. I used to have to take pills daily, but now I don't have to take one. I just swallow aspirin or rarely, another acid reflux thingy by itself. I'm just that cool.

[Jokuc 8,172]

nope. I have never really understood how people find it difficult to swallow pills, I mean they are so small xD But everyone is different and I understand how people who has problems with it feel

 

I remember when I was younger and me and my sister had to take medicine or something, I always took the pills but she could not. Not being able to take pills is a quite common thing so yeah

[Midnight Dragon 264]

Yep, all the time! I have to take chewables when possible...

[Mightymags 1,053]

I had trouble when I first had to start swallowing pills. A lot of time I would try and it wouldn't go down at first which is why I would always get a really big glass of water and keep drinking it until the pill went down. Now it's not really an issue for me; I got used to it because I'm such a wimp when it comes to headaches and ibuprofen pills were my only choice for relief.  I don't know why yours tasted bad, if you do it right you shouldn't be able to taste it at all. I always just put it on my tongue and then drink water really fast and it goes down just fine. It did take a while to get used to, but you just have to keep doing it. I can dry-swallow pills now, it's uncomfortable but it works if there isn't any water around.  

[Moonlight 7,279]

Yeah, I have trouble swallowing pills. I always seem to choke on them which results in me having to take less stronger liquid medicine, sadly. Medicine, no matter pill or liquid form, still tastes terrible to me, so it doesn't matter much either way to me.

[Clover Heart 978]

I used to have a lot of trouble taking pills. I was never made to do it and one day, I got to an age where I had to, and I was like, "You want me to do what with that?" I couldn't swallow pills until I was, like, 20.

 

This was a bit problematic for me at one point. I have a few conditions that require medication. At first, I was only on one pill. They got me a variety that could either be chewed or swallowed, so I'd always chew them. Then they found out that the one wasn't enough, so they put me on a second medication. This one only came in a tablet. Now looking back, they aren't even really that big. Smaller in size around than a pea and maybe a millimeter or two in depth. But back then, it was a big deal. So my mom got me a pill chopper, and I used to cut it into quarters to take it.

 

After a couple years of doing that, I had to have my wisdom teeth removed. For those who don't know first hand, it can be quite painful. Especially since my mouth is so small and not used to being opened that widely. So they gave me Vicodin and ibuprofen to eventually wean off into. For those who've never taken it, Vicodin comes in gigantic horse pills. So every time I had to take a dose, I had to cut up the Vicodin quite small. I think, if I remember right, I cut them up into 12 pieces. Which, at the time, I had to because I didn't know how to swallow them, but you can imagine, I'm sure, how annoying and time-consuming it is to swallow 12 pills. Individually. So eventually, I got tired of this, so I started swallowing them in twos. Then in threes. Then I started cutting fewer pieces of the Vicodin. (Maybe 6 or 4?) And that's how I learned to swallow pills. From then, my tiny, smaller-than-a-pea medication were a breeze to swallow.

 

I admit, I do have a rather small throat. My tonsils and uvula are both quite big and I have a thick tongue. So I can see why I struggled with it. But I think a lot of it is just mind over matter. If you think of your food, you've probably swallowed bigger pieces of hard, solid food before. So it's not impossible. It's just a matter of not thinking so much about it.

 

So some tips I have. I would say practice. That sounds weird, but I'd try what I tried. Maybe try with an aspirin or something that's not going to mess you up if you're not sick. Or if you are sick, try with the tablets prescribed to you. And if you're sick, don't try this on a sore throat or an upset stomach. You may end up worsening your symptoms. This won't work with gel caps, so don't bother with those. Get a pill chopper or you can take a knife to them. If you use a knife, just cup the hand on top of the knife over the pill a little so it doesn't go flying everywhere. Cut them as small as you think you'd feel comfortable swallowing. Then practice. Get a ton of water. Once you're used to it, you'll only need a small gulp to swallow your pills, but when you're practicing, get a good amount of water. 20 fl.oz. is probably good. Not that you'll need that much, but just to have it on hand. Especially considering that the goal is to do this multiple times in one sitting, so you'll need a lot of water to take all your pill scraps. Drink some of the water to start. This will lubricate your throat and alert your body that drinky things are happening. Put the pill scrap as far on the back of your tongue as you can. Then chug. Drink a lot of the water at once. If you're drinking a lot of it, you'll be more focused on drinking than what's in your mouth. Don't overdo it, though. If it doesn't go down the first time, give yourself a few seconds and try again in a moment. Keep trying until all your pill scraps are gone. Try this for a few days. (Again, get something that's not bad for you when you're not sick, like aspirin. You may even want to ask your doctor what would be good to practice with.) Once you've gained some confidence with your small pill scraps, cut them half as small. Then, once you've mastered that, cut them even bigger. Keep cutting them bigger until you can take the whole thing. Then, you should be able to swallow pills. The important thing is to move at your own pace and keep within your general comfort zone. I know this breaks out of your comfort zone a bit, so you'll have to push your boundaries a little, but don't push yourself too far or too fast, or you may actually make it more difficult for yourself to swallow pills. Again, it's mind over matter, so if you make the matter overwhelming, your mind will never overcome it. Hope this helps some of you learn to swallow pills

Edited December 31, 2013 by Clover Heart

[crazitaco 596]

Nah, I figured out how to swallow pills fairly early on, since my mother was having increasing difficulty getting me to drink liquid medicine. I hate liquid medicine so much.

I'd much rather just swallow a pill than be forced to taste the nastiness that is liquid medicine.

I also get headaches fairly often, so I'm used to always taking ibuprofen. I do have difficulty swallowing pills if they are large and dry/chalky. Then it gets stuck in the back of my throat and I have to cough it back out.

Edited January 1, 2014 by crazitaco

[Retro*Derpy 3,078]

I had some problems when I was younger, but I'm pretty alright now swallowing pills. Some horse pills I still struggle with though.

[Prospekt 10,984]

There's one medication I take that sometimes gives me bad heartburn if I don't swallow enough water with it. But otherwise I have never really had any problems.

[King of Canterlot 9,588]

Eeehhhh....... I'm not that great at swallowing pills, I never really have been tbh. I don't take any prescribed meds or anything, so it's not like I have to swallow a pill often anyways, mostly just like a flu med or whatever when I'm feeling really crappy, but I really suck at trying to swallow it and not gag and crap, even with the smaller ones it's still a struggle 

[Kevin Tang 2,422]

I used to have troubles with swallowing tablets or pills.

But now it's not that hard anymore.

[Codelyy 1,281]

I remember I used to just not be able to swallow pills at all. My body just wouldn't let me swallow it so for awhile I had to also have medicine in the forms of liquids and chewables though as you grow up... that option becomes far less common.

I eventually did swallow my first pill and now it's no trouble at all! I can even swallow pills without water with ease. 

[Tao 6,706]

I tend to use milk to coat it so I can sallow it.   So at times, it is hard to sallow the pills! 

[Cash In 21,489]

I've been taking swallowing tablets for most of my life,. While I'm used to them, I do have trouble swallowing them on rare occasions. One time was when I was required to take two tablets. I swallowed the first one with ease, but struggled with the second one, eventually biting it and breaking it, leaving a horrible taste in mouth afterwards.

[Envy 5,996]

I can not take pills alone, and I can not take them with plain water. When I began to stop drinking pop, one major blockade to me successfully doing that was I knew that I always had to have some pop to take my pills with. In the end, I learned it was just the carbonation I needed, which I also have in my sparkling water, so it's all fine. But I can not take pills with just plain water or alone. It will make me gag it out 100% of the time otherwise.

As for the big ones? I don't have much experience with them, thankfully.

[Misty Shadow 7,065]

I've never had difficulty swallowing pills. I've occasionally gotten a sore, irritating feeling in my throat after swallowing pills that went down the wrong way and still like to use milk and juice instead of water to coat the bad taste of pills, but that's all.

[DixonTheAdversary 1,631]

I never have had any problems. Usually just the pill and a swig of water will do the trick for me.