Child refuses to swallow pills

[MamaHenn]

So how the heck do I get my child (10) past his mental block of swallowing pills????

We're new to this whole thing, just diagnosed, haven't even made any "major" decisions on treatment/medication but doc wanted to start him on entocort and omeprazole to reduce inflammation while we seek other opinions/research/decide.

So, physically he CAN swallow pills, he's done it with probiotics sporadically the past few days --- mentally however is a complete different story. He is like a child I don't even know. Manipulative, crying, lying, defiant, etc. We've tried every trick, approach, etc. Nothing is working and no medicine is being taken (well technically I am opening up the omperazole and putting it into a mushed banana or yogurt).

Hubby and I are at our wits end. Help!

 

[Twiggy930]

:hang: we had a few nights like this in the beginning and now my son can take a handful of pills all at the same time!

The biggest thing that helped my son was to calm him down before he tried to do it. We calmly and rationally explained that he could do it and that the pills were smaller than bites of food that he swallows. We also got him to pretended to chew with nothing in his mouth and then when he felt like swallowing we got him to pop the pill in his mouth and swallow it.

With some of the more foul tasting pills we would hide them in jello, yogurt, or applesauce.

I have also been known to use bribery with some of the things that having this disease has made my son have to do. It usually works. :yfaint:

 

[MamaHenn]

Thanks I really appreciate all of that. Unfortunately NONE of it has worked. I could bribe him with a puppy riding in on a unicorn and I don't think that will work.

 

[my little penguin]

Few things we have done
Short of seeing a child psychologist .
We explain if DS won't take xyz then he must call the doc and explain why he knows more than the doctor and that he decided not to take xyz.
If he agrees to call the doc ( mine never did)
Then you really need psych to help.
We did bribery by putting whatever he wanted in front of him to look at not touch until he took the meds.
Also practice with mini m&ms tic tacs
Etc so you know and he knows he can do it .
Add the pills to pudding or applesauce if permitted .
The mental battle is tough but once it's made about sugar not medicine .
Things improve quickly
Ccfa has a good flyer on this
There is also a cup
That you put the pill
In
No battle that way .
Cause if you think you can't swallow something then you won't be able to .
http://www.ccfa.org/resources/pill-swallowing-techniques.html
https://www.oralflo.com/Default.asp?

We make things that can be choices still there choice.
Meds are a must but how they get in can be a choice .
Good luck

 

[Patricia56]

Sorrry - this is sort of stream of consciousness stuff not very organized so take it FWIW.

Many meds come in liquid form that taste much worse than pills. If he really can't handle the emotions around taking the pills it might be worth trying the liquid form. But I would ASK him if he would take it as a liquid instead. This may help you discern whether the problem is the pills or taking medicine in general.

We found that threats are not helpful as a general rule. Encouraging him to see himself as someone that doesn't let challenges stop him, that he can do whatever he puts his mind to, that he is brave and able to handle anything that comes his way even when they are unpleasant, that you are proud of him for doing his best when he makes the effort - these approaches have been most helpful at our house.

If it were me, as soon as everyone/anyone gets upset I would probably stop and suggest we try again in 10 minutes. I would try to do something calming together like reading or playing checkers to help build trust and a feeling of unity. Then try again. But I wouldn't try more than 3 times I think. It only increases the intensity to keep trying over and over. Everyone needs to know that there will be an end to it and he will try again the next day. Yes I know he needs the meds but this may set a pattern that is very hard to break long term - a pattern of opposition instead of working together to solve problems. Taking time to build trust now may have big payoffs long term.

Bribery may work for a little while but after that you run out of $$ or things they want and are left with having taught them a not so great lesson in manipulation and depending on external rewards for motivation that I know we came to regret. but our experience is certainly not universal.

Have you tried brainstorming with him how to take his meds? Calmly, not at the time he should be taking meds, perhaps while on a walk or shooting hoops? Making it a shared problem to be solved so it's not you vs. him can really, really help.

How much does he know about his illness? Have you told him he isn't dying he's just sick and has to do some unpleasant things to get well again? I ask because I discovered a couple years later that for several months my son believed he was dying and never once talked about it.

Trying to get an understanding of what he is afraid of (cause in my experience that kind of resistance is coming from fear) and then addressing that issue may be a good strategy too but many kids can't articulate what it is they're afraid of.

Getting a good child psychologist or therapist on board may be very helpful to everyone both short and long term.

If you are able I would also spend at least 20 minutes every day doing something together - whatever HE wants to do whether it's playing Legos, video games, shooting hoops, etc. If you can set a schedule (every day at 8 pm for example) and stick to it at least 5 days a week then that may also help.

All the best

 

[Mehita]

My son takes his pills with Ensure or Boost which are thicker than water and mask the taste of some meds. Because it's thicker, I think he thinks the meds sort of gets lost in the liquid, which is a good thing in his mind. Now he has it stuck in his head that is the only way he can take meds... and he's almost 14. You have to go with what works though, right?

We did the mini M & M thing too, but as a family. All four of us sat at the table and first one to swallow five got to choose dinner that night. Of course my husband and I didn't really try too hard. Three days later my son "won" and has been fine with pills ever since.

I don't have links, but we also watched some You Tube videos made by kids about swallowing pills.

Good luck!

 

[CrohnsKidMom]

I don't have much to add unfortunately. Initially we crushed them and put them in yogurt. My son went through a little period where he said he wasn't going to take the pills, but I tried not to react too much and calmly told him he'd get sicker and end up in hospital. He came around and got tired of tasting the pills in the yogurt and decided himself just to swallow them. Good luck! I hope you devise a solution that works for your son!

 

[SarahBear]

There's no magic fix for this. If he can't make himself do it, then he can't. I personally can't swallow pills. I know it's a mental block (if I drop a small pill inside a raspberry, I can swallow the entire thing whole) but that doesn't make it any less of a problem. I just can't do it. This doesn't mean I don't want to - I would LOVE to swallow pills, as it would make my life a lot easier.

My pediatric GI was very understanding - her husband actually had the same problem. He went through a pill-swallowing physical therapy sort of thing and was able to overcome the problem. She prescribed me methotrexate so that I could do injections rather than pills, and I simply chewed Prednisone when I had to take it (tastes awful, by the way). If the problem continues, you could try the therapy, or see if injections / chewable pills are options. Whatever needs to be done to get the medication in him.

Just try to be understanding with him. Being told, "You're just going to have to swallow them," when you're trying your best is every bit as frustrating as being told, "You're not really sick - it's all in your head." Telling him it's a mental block doesn't make it go away.

From reading your post, it sounds as if your son may be fighting the idea of being sick, rather than the medication itself. A diagnosis can be difficult to accept, so he's probably struggling with that. This issue might resolve itself with time, but seeing a therapist would probably be beneficial to him.

:hug:

 

[Gmama]

Lots of great advice. It's just difficult because you can't open the entocort, he has to swallow them whole. I will tell you with a few weeks of practice it becomes easy for them. We went through the same thing. A year ago when my son was diagnosed he had never even tried to swallow a pill...he was never sick so there was no reason to even try. Who knew what was to come

 

[DanH104]

I used to have the same problem when I was first diagnosed. My parents would make a cookie sheet of jello that would be cut up into small squares and the pills put inside. We also tried crushing the pills but that usually made it worse because most medications taste so bad crushed. I also recall taking sulfasalazine in a liquid form because ths pills were so enormous.
Eventually I overcame the mental block and swallowed the pills whole. You're right though it's completely mental.
Good luck to you and your son.

 

[kimmidwife]

I also have a hard time swallowing pills. Even now. For my daughter taking the pill inside a spoonful of jello helped her until she could do it on her own. For myself milk or vitamin water are the only two things I can swallow them with.

 

[LNS87]

It took me forever to learn how to swallow pills, I couldn't do it until I got c-diff and was given no choice but to take oral vancomycin. I got a lot of practice in that summer....but I learned it was mostly a mental thing, and if I thought positive "i will be able to swallow this pill!" it helped a ton. Anyways, what works best for me is swallowing them with a thicker fluid, I use orange juice with pulp, or a smoothie and I can't even feel them go down. At this point, I am also able to take them with juice or water if I really have to, but I still prefer smoothies 99% of the time! Even the Naked smoothie work well, if you don't want to make one or buy a fresh frozen smoothie. My favorite recipe I use to make them is a banana, orange juice, frozen strawberries, and frozen peaches.

 

[SupportiveMom]

I was going to mention the raspberries!

D got over her issue quickly, but I had an issue as a kid, I think I was the only kid in a dorm room in university that had to drink liquid tylenol for my headaches! I also tried cherries, cut the seed out and stick the pill in there.

Positive reinforcement is the only way it ever worked for me. I still chant "I think I can" like Thomas the Train!

 

[crohnsinct]

Sorry no extra advice just empathy. My daughter had a HUGE issue with swallowing pills when she was first diagnosed. The nurses in the hospital tried to no avail. They had her chew crackers or bread and before she swallowed the bread she would open her mouth and they would pop the pill in and she would swallow. Funny but all the bread or cracker would go down but not the pill. They were amazed. Said you can't do that if you tried!

She eventually got over it. Started with little vit D gel pills and eventually did a bit larger but the largest ones we still get as a liquid.

Good Luck!

 

[DanceMom]

My girls don't have issues with swallowing pills but my Mom does. She realizes it is a mental thing but just can't seem to get past it. She chews a bit of food first, pops the pill in, then takes a drink to wash it all down. She also can't do it if anyone is watching her.

Maybe your son would prefer to take his meds without an audience? That is, if he can be trusted to take them and not discard them somewhere. Like MLP said - some things can be a choice, others cannot. He can choose where he'd like to take them (kitchen, bathroom, etc.) and what he'd like to drink with them (juice, water, etc.). But not taking them is not an option. Unfortunately sometimes you have to put your foot down and not accept no as an answer. Been there, done that with Miralax prep. Hoping things get easier for you both very soon!

 

[CDJ]

I don't have much to add unfortunately. Initially we crushed them and put them in yogurt. My son went through a little period where he said he wasn't going to take the pills, but I tried not to react too much and calmly told him he'd get sicker and end up in hospital. He came around and got tired of tasting the pills in the yogurt and decided himself just to swallow them. Good luck! I hope you devise a solution that works for your son!

We did the same thing! This is despite the labels telling you shouldn't! We managed to azathioprine in liquid form to start with, but the Pentasa [ huge tablets ] and the omeprazole we couldn't get as a liquid. I crushed the Pentasa and added these to yogurt. The omeprazole I undid the capsule and added the grains to yogurt also. As time went on I gradually sliced the tablets into tiny portions, and Josh started to be able to tolerate these. We went to quarters and finally the whole thing:ylol: It can take a long time, but you should eventually get there. Josh now manages 3 - 4 whole tablets a time:ycool:

It is so hard on children to go from just being diagnosised to be given endless tablets to swallow! Most, up until now will have only taken liquid medicine, so this is an extra shock to deal with.

 

[MamaHenn]

I'm pleased to provide a small update: he finally took the medication this morning!!!:dance:

I hope tomorrow and the next day and after that are all the same. I don't know if we're over the hurdle yet but he was very proud of himself so hopefully that will continue. I actually let both of his teachers know yesterday because I was afraid that he'd be upset in school after the weekend we had. Thankfully he loves his homeroom teacher (young guy, cool teacher, all the kids love him) and his teacher spoke to him and then pulled him aside when they were going to lunch and showed him how he takes his own medication (it could have been breath mints for all I care!) and that motivated my son.

He was definately hesitant this morning but the thought of going into his teacher and telling him he didn't do it coupled with leaving school early to go to the doctor so her assistant could show him, was enough!!

Pray it continues! Thanks for all of your suggestions and kind words. I did order that oralflo cup that someone suggested. It certainly can't hurt to keep it on hand.

 

[Saralr]

Have you tried having him drink through a straw? Put the pill in his mouth and then drink as much as he can through a straw until the pill is down. My DD had to do that for awhile. Worked great for her.

 

[Jenn]

lots of responses, so clearly a common problem! We had trouble with my son too. We had a sit down so he understood why it was necessary. Then we practiced for weeks, I think, with mini m&ms. Somehow, it was fine to chew them up when they didn't go down. We worked daily with desensitizing his gag reflex, by gently rubbing the back of the roof of his mouth with his toothbrush a few times. One trick that finally did it, using a liquid medicine cup, you know, those little 2 tsp cups with tylenol or cough medicine? He would put the pill back of his tongue and then I would put room-temp water in it for him to sip from and whoosh the pill finally went down. It's extremely hard to stay positive, but we just shrugged and said maybe tomorrow every single day, patience patience patience. I crushed his 6mp into applesauce for months before we got there. Best of luck!