Swallowing HUGE pills

[Devynnsmom]

We had the follow up to Devynn's colonoscopy and endoscopy today. Her diagnosis- mild to moderate ulcerative colitis and suspected mild to moderate Crohn's. She has been on Pentasa for over 2 years and was switched to Mezavant today. She has never swallowed pills before, and has been practicing on tic tacs and mini m&m's today (Dr's suggestions). But when we opened the pkg of Mezavant she immediately started crying and panicking. They are horse pills! Does anyone have any tips? :sign0085:

 

[DustyKat]

Oh bless her...:hug: I don't have any personal tips Samantha but Twiggy posted a fab link a little while ago, not sure if you have seen it so...

http://research4kids.ucalgary.ca/pillswallowing

Hope it helps!

Dusty, :heart:

 

[Devynnsmom]

Thank you Dusty, I do have that link saved. I told her we will watch the videos in the link together. She's a mess right now. I am going to try to get her practicing over the next couple of days if she is too stressed. We are supposed to start tomorrow, but we have enough Pentasa to last another two weeks. I don't want to stress her out too much.

 

[Devynnsmom]

Haha you and I must think alike I just told her that when she is comfortable and gets the pills down, she will get a reward. Right now she is very upset and not at all in the mood to talk about rewards. I'm sure over the next few days of practicing she will come around... I hope! lol

 

[imaboveitall]

Have her practice swallowing whole grapes.
Lubricate the pills w/butter, have her place WAY back on tongue.

 

[ChampsMom]

Can the pills be cut or are they capsules? When Alex started Pentasa he had never swallowed a pill before - they initially allowed him to pour the pills over food and eat them (wierd that eh?).

When I was small I struggled to swallow pills so a friend taught me with pieces of bread. Took me about two slices to get it - but she started small (tic-tac size) and then kept pulling pieces off and making balls with them. Eventually I could swallow a "big" piece and pills became no problem!

Good luck!

 

[Devynnsmom]

imaboveitall- thank you, maybe we will try the butter idea.

Shell- Devynn was on Pentasa at first (the ones you can melt in water). We would melt them and she would swallow them in a spoon of apple sauce. I read the bread idea somewhere and told her about it. I also read to chew a piece of banana and then pop the pill in just before you swallow. She said she would NEVER swallow food that big lol I will let her read your post and try to get her to try the bread trick. Thank you

 

[Devynnsmom]

Shell- I forgot to reply, they can't be cut, they are time release

 

[ChampsMom]

Alex Pentasa was also a time released capsule (thousands of tiny beads inside) - funny thing was, we knew when they were going through and how well his body was digesting them when we saw them "come through" (laughs...) The doctor allowed him to do that for about a week, and then wanted him to swallow the hole pill - I can never understand why they don't make smaller pills when they know kids might take them - hmph!

Crossing my fingers for you!

 

[crohnicaly stinky]

When I started taking Lialda I would choke and nearly vomit, same with the multivitamin which was just as huge. I just rarely took pills before I was diagnosed. But now I can swallow two lialda at once or a multivitamin and a fish oil gel and a vitamin D at once. I just pop a few in my mouth and one swallow later all gone.

I don't have any good tips on how to do it, it took me about a week or so and I was doing fine. So I'm sure she can learn how to take them and make it seem really easy! Tell her not to be too scared cause I know she can do this!

Good luck!

 

[Sascot]

You may laugh but my son learnt to swallow tablets with me throwing it so far down his throat he had to swallow!!
He used to put his head back, open his mouth and I would aim for the back of the throat, throw it down and he would be ready with a glass of water!
After a week he could do it himself!

 

[DustyKat]

I am laughing! That is brilliant!

Dusty. :ybiggrin:

 

[Kelsey]

I too had trouble taking the huge tablets I was given so I found it easier if I ate some yoghurt first as it made it slide right on down

This was when I was about 12 now I'm 19 and have no problem at all so good luck it does get easier

 

[Devynnsmom]

Champsmom- Devynn's pentasa were the time release too. They just told us to put it in a spoon of water.

cronicallystinky- I'm sure she will be ok with some practice.. I hope! lol

sascot- that sounds like a good idea, but Devynn has a really strong gag reflex, so that just might backfire on me.

Kelsey- she is used to taking her Pentasa in a spoonful of applesauce. She holds it in her mouth so long before she *can* swallow that I think the pill may start to melt.. it will be worth a try though.