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In a message dated 12/5/01 3:57:42 AM Pacific Standard Time,

writes:

> You all are making me appreciate Andy a lot! He's really good about

> taking his meds. Maybe too good?

too! He will get the medicine bottles, a cup of pudding, his special

spoon and come to me when I say, " time for med's!! " can easily swallow

anything in a cup of pudding or baby cereal, applesauce or yogurt. Even the

big antibiotic horse pills! Now, we tried liquid forms, but they just ran

down the sides of his mouth. Made me wish for a minute he had his G tube

again, where I NEVER had to struggle for to take ANYTHING!!!

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  • 1 month later...

I know we've been through this before, but I'll just remind you that

swallowing tiny M & Ms or Tic Tacs is great for learning to swallow pills. When

Annie was going through her crisis about not eating and wouldn't swallow

pills either, we tried M & Ms - for every one she swallowed with liquid, she

got to eat one.

Are Inositol pills cheaper than powder? If so, it might be worth a

try.

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I know we've been through this before, but I'll just remind you that

swallowing tiny M & Ms or Tic Tacs is great for learning to swallow pills. When

Annie was going through her crisis about not eating and wouldn't swallow

pills either, we tried M & Ms - for every one she swallowed with liquid, she

got to eat one.

Are Inositol pills cheaper than powder? If so, it might be worth a

try.

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I know we've been through this before, but I'll just remind you that

swallowing tiny M & Ms or Tic Tacs is great for learning to swallow pills. When

Annie was going through her crisis about not eating and wouldn't swallow

pills either, we tried M & Ms - for every one she swallowed with liquid, she

got to eat one.

Are Inositol pills cheaper than powder? If so, it might be worth a

try.

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my daughter who is 15 just learned how to take

pills at 14. She was having surgery and I wanted to

make sure she could swallow pills for the pain. I had

tried the M & Ms before at home but she just could not

swallow with out gagging.

I ended up making an appt. with the nurse in her

Drs office. I stayed out in the waiting room and after

3 minutes they called me back to witness her

swallowing the M & Ms. What the nurse had her do

differently was work up A LOT of spit in her mouth

before she put the " pill " in. It was easy for her to

get down and ever since then it has been a piece of

cake for her. For me, removing myself from the

situation helped too. :)

FWIW.

Vivian

--- xslav@... wrote:

> I know we've been through this before, but

> I'll just remind you that

> swallowing tiny M & Ms or Tic Tacs is great for

> learning to swallow pills. When

> Annie was going through her crisis about not eating

> and wouldn't swallow

> pills either, we tried M & Ms - for every one she

> swallowed with liquid, she

> got to eat one.

> Are Inositol pills cheaper than powder? If

> so, it might be worth a

> try.

>

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

__________________________________________________

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my daughter who is 15 just learned how to take

pills at 14. She was having surgery and I wanted to

make sure she could swallow pills for the pain. I had

tried the M & Ms before at home but she just could not

swallow with out gagging.

I ended up making an appt. with the nurse in her

Drs office. I stayed out in the waiting room and after

3 minutes they called me back to witness her

swallowing the M & Ms. What the nurse had her do

differently was work up A LOT of spit in her mouth

before she put the " pill " in. It was easy for her to

get down and ever since then it has been a piece of

cake for her. For me, removing myself from the

situation helped too. :)

FWIW.

Vivian

--- xslav@... wrote:

> I know we've been through this before, but

> I'll just remind you that

> swallowing tiny M & Ms or Tic Tacs is great for

> learning to swallow pills. When

> Annie was going through her crisis about not eating

> and wouldn't swallow

> pills either, we tried M & Ms - for every one she

> swallowed with liquid, she

> got to eat one.

> Are Inositol pills cheaper than powder? If

> so, it might be worth a

> try.

>

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

__________________________________________________

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my daughter who is 15 just learned how to take

pills at 14. She was having surgery and I wanted to

make sure she could swallow pills for the pain. I had

tried the M & Ms before at home but she just could not

swallow with out gagging.

I ended up making an appt. with the nurse in her

Drs office. I stayed out in the waiting room and after

3 minutes they called me back to witness her

swallowing the M & Ms. What the nurse had her do

differently was work up A LOT of spit in her mouth

before she put the " pill " in. It was easy for her to

get down and ever since then it has been a piece of

cake for her. For me, removing myself from the

situation helped too. :)

FWIW.

Vivian

--- xslav@... wrote:

> I know we've been through this before, but

> I'll just remind you that

> swallowing tiny M & Ms or Tic Tacs is great for

> learning to swallow pills. When

> Annie was going through her crisis about not eating

> and wouldn't swallow

> pills either, we tried M & Ms - for every one she

> swallowed with liquid, she

> got to eat one.

> Are Inositol pills cheaper than powder? If

> so, it might be worth a

> try.

>

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

__________________________________________________

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  • 1 month later...
Guest guest

In a message dated 3/11/02 5:59:39 AM Pacific Standard Time,

freewymon@... writes:

> mine daughter cannot

> swalllow pills and is very sensitive to different tastes, and she will not

> eat much to begin with and am trying to find ways to 'hide' some of

> supplements.

Dear List,

I wanted to share how we get Kayla to take pills. If the pills can be

crushed, we just crush them up and add about 1T. dry Jell-O to pills. Then

add a small amount of water to make a liquid. Mix well and down the hatch.

Pill crushers can be found at your pharmacy or at some discount stores in

the medical supply section.

Hope this will help you............

Beth

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest guest

Sam can swallow the small pills alone, but I put the big pills in thre

middle of a little peanut butter, or if I'm out of that I've used yogurt or

pudding. Has worked wonders, especially on the pills that taste bad.

Peanut butter works the best, I guess cause it's so thick and sticky (so

you don't want to get too much, I use about 1/2 tsp). I tried it after

hearing that was the way a friend gave her puppy his pills. It does the

trick for us, masks the taste and helps him get it to the back of his

throat to swallow. That has been the main problem, he has a hard time

getting it back there. I think that he's afraid he's going to choke, but

with the peanut butter, he swallows it normally and the pill sticks to it.

He learned to swallow the small pills on his own through this method, but

the big pills still kind of spook him.

Good luck,

Wenoka

At 09:54 PM 03/20/2002 -0600, you wrote:

>Ben has been sick and the Ped. gave him antibiotic pills (Vantin) just

like his younger sister took a couple of weeks ago. He was not able to

swallow the small pill the usual way without lots of gagging. I remembered

someone on this

>list suggesting placing the pill under the tongue and then taking a drink.

I bought some mini m & m's to practice

>( Thanks to Dale's suggestion about practicing with small candy!) and it

worked! He is pleased to be swallowing the pills and I love not measuring

out the liquid meds. He has a really strong gag reflex. I wish I could

remember who

>suggested placing the pill under the tongue. I want to thank you.

> Do you think larger capsules can be swallowed this way? He takes

Pancrease enzymes with all meals and most snacks and the capsules are

pretty big. Just wanted to share the good news.

> Praying for those who are ill.

> Jan

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  • 1 year later...

They also have a special cup that helps teach the kids how to swallow pills. I believe Wal-mart carries them, but not sure as I got mine at a smaller pharmacy. And the pharmasist even showed Whit how to take pills using an M & M. I have'nt had problems with her swallowing pills since.

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I have not been able to get Evan past the biting the pill before he swallows it. Then of course, a nasty tasting pill gets spit out.

I cannot even get him to open his mouth wide enough to put it on the back of his tongue. We have just in the last year got him to open his mouth wide enough to really brush his back teeth.

BETTY ANN-61 yo, possibly Bipolar but undx'd,Effexor, Buspar, Lorazepam as needed, Serenitygrandma and guardian toANDREW - 12 yo-- Bipolar/ADHD, HomeschooledDepakote 500 mg. 2 x daily, Adderall 30 mg daily, Abilify 7.5 mg 1 x dailyEVAN - 9 yo-- nonverbal autism Risperdal 2.5 cc daily, Abilify 15 mg 1x dailyDAVID 7 yo Bipolar/ADHD/PTSDAdderall 20 mg daily, 1 mg Risperdal 2 x dailyand mother to ANDREA -32 yo, their mom -Bipolar/ADHD, Topamax, Tegretol, Singular, Serenitywife to BOB - 72 yo, a very patient and tired grandpa

----- Original Message -----

From: BiloxiRobin2@...

They also have a special cup that helps teach the kids how to swallow pills. I believe Wal-mart carries them, but not sure as I got mine at a smaller pharmacy. And the pharmasist even showed Whit how to take pills using an M & M. I have'nt had problems with her swallowing pills since.

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  • 2 years later...

P & L wrote:

> Hi Dina,

>

> Here are a few tips to help your daughter with pills. I use them with my

> kids, and when I had an enlarged thyroid, I couldn't swallow pills, but

> needed to take many a day.

>

> Some things come in chewable form, such as fish oil. Also, some pills

> can

> be opened up or crushed. I have checked with the makers of the pills

> first

> to make sure that they are not supposed to be time released (some

> medications are), but so far I've been able to crush or open most. These

> can then be put in apple sauce or a yogurt smoothy to help with the taste.

>

> With pills that tasted awful when opened, I use a spoonful of

> applesauce or

> yogurt, put the pill on the spoon, then cover it with a bit more of

> whatever

> I am using. Then I swallow it. My almost 4 you was able to take

> pills that

> way, too. It helps coat them and they go down.

Thank you, !

Dina

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P & L wrote:

> Hi Dina,

>

> Here are a few tips to help your daughter with pills. I use them with my

> kids, and when I had an enlarged thyroid, I couldn't swallow pills, but

> needed to take many a day.

>

> Some things come in chewable form, such as fish oil. Also, some pills

> can

> be opened up or crushed. I have checked with the makers of the pills

> first

> to make sure that they are not supposed to be time released (some

> medications are), but so far I've been able to crush or open most. These

> can then be put in apple sauce or a yogurt smoothy to help with the taste.

>

> With pills that tasted awful when opened, I use a spoonful of

> applesauce or

> yogurt, put the pill on the spoon, then cover it with a bit more of

> whatever

> I am using. Then I swallow it. My almost 4 you was able to take

> pills that

> way, too. It helps coat them and they go down.

Thank you, !

Dina

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Kim, I'm opposite your teen. I find it hard with soda, have to use

water! On this subject, still can't swallow a pill and isn't

interested in learning. (I've brought it up a couple times recently)

, 16

>

> We tried all the tricks in the trade with my teenaged aspie, until

he hit on one that works: soda pop. Something about the fizziness, he

says, makes him gulp down the pill without thinking about it so much.

> kimz

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Kim, I'm opposite your teen. I find it hard with soda, have to use

water! On this subject, still can't swallow a pill and isn't

interested in learning. (I've brought it up a couple times recently)

, 16

>

> We tried all the tricks in the trade with my teenaged aspie, until

he hit on one that works: soda pop. Something about the fizziness, he

says, makes him gulp down the pill without thinking about it so much.

> kimz

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I could not swallow pills for a long time, probably until high school years if I

recall correctly. I have asthma and had to take them and my Mother crushed them

in apple sauce. I am 45 and to this day the smell of apple sauce makes me ill.

I am glad neither of my kids like it, I would buy the little cups for them to

try when they were preschool age.

I would try yogurt over apple sauce, because the effects can last a lifetime.

PS For those on the west coast at 8 pm tonight on ABC is the supernanny episode

that is on autism with Dr. Lynn Koegel.

Bonnie Sayers

http://autismspectrumdisorders.bellaonline.com

Dina <dina.n.jones@...> wrote:

P & L wrote:

> Hi Dina,

>

> Here are a few tips to help your daughter with pills. I use them with my

> kids, and when I had an enlarged thyroid, I couldn't swallow pills, but

> needed to take many a day.

>

> Some things come in chewable form, such as fish oil. Also, some pills

> can

> be opened up or crushed. I have checked with the makers of the pills

> first

> to make sure that they are not supposed to be time released (some

> medications are), but so far I've been able to crush or open most. These

> can then be put in apple sauce or a yogurt smoothy to help with the taste.

>

> With pills that tasted awful when opened, I use a spoonful of

> applesauce or

> yogurt, put the pill on the spoon, then cover it with a bit more of

> whatever

> I am using.

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I could not swallow pills for a long time, probably until high school years if I

recall correctly. I have asthma and had to take them and my Mother crushed them

in apple sauce. I am 45 and to this day the smell of apple sauce makes me ill.

I am glad neither of my kids like it, I would buy the little cups for them to

try when they were preschool age.

I would try yogurt over apple sauce, because the effects can last a lifetime.

PS For those on the west coast at 8 pm tonight on ABC is the supernanny episode

that is on autism with Dr. Lynn Koegel.

Bonnie Sayers

http://autismspectrumdisorders.bellaonline.com

Dina <dina.n.jones@...> wrote:

P & L wrote:

> Hi Dina,

>

> Here are a few tips to help your daughter with pills. I use them with my

> kids, and when I had an enlarged thyroid, I couldn't swallow pills, but

> needed to take many a day.

>

> Some things come in chewable form, such as fish oil. Also, some pills

> can

> be opened up or crushed. I have checked with the makers of the pills

> first

> to make sure that they are not supposed to be time released (some

> medications are), but so far I've been able to crush or open most. These

> can then be put in apple sauce or a yogurt smoothy to help with the taste.

>

> With pills that tasted awful when opened, I use a spoonful of

> applesauce or

> yogurt, put the pill on the spoon, then cover it with a bit more of

> whatever

> I am using.

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  • 1 year later...
Guest guest

Hi ,

thanks! After I read your post, I gave the pill to him in ice cream

and he swallowed right down. Much easier than crushing it up in

something (that is what dh was doing). My ds said it was easy, so

I'm sure we'll be good to swallow the pills as soon as the anxiety

subsides a bit.

Thanks to everyone who offered tips! I'm glad I'm not the only one

with this problem!

Gretchen

-- In , " bobcathshek " <Bobcath4@...>

wrote:

>

> My ds, 10 yrs, would never swallow pills. We started prozac in

October

> and gave it to him with a spoonful of sherbet every morning. The

first

> couple of days were tough, but he really wanted that sherbet!

After

> about two months he was able to take it with applesauce and now he

> takes it with water. I think as the dose increased, his anxiety

> decreased and he was just able to do it. I never dreamed that he

would

> be able to swallow a pill!

>

>

>

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  • 4 months later...

I know this might not be optimal, but what I do is put the pills at the back of

my daughter's throat. At first she wasn't very happy about it, but very quickly

understood that this is a necessity and it doesn't have to be unpleasant. We do

it very quickly and easily now, and she does not fight us.

There's also a pill swallowing cup that's supposed to help- just Google it.

Aliza

Swallowing pills

Hello all,

I need guidance in teaching my son who has

autism and epilepsy to swallow his meds and

supplements, he is 7 years old and he knows how to

swallow m & m's and he swallows his chewable vitamin c

tablets whole instead of chewing them, but all is

other meds and supplements he spits out. I have tried

doing it in an ABA style and also sitting for minutes

at a time, I really need some advice, it is exhausting

and he really needs to take up to 10 pills a day. I

also have tried hiding it applesauce, juices,pudding,

etc,,,,, he can taste it and smell it, I have crushed

everything and mixed it but it sooooo hard to make

sure he ges everything down since he spits it up or

doesn't finish eating the food item. Please help.

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  • 8 months later...
Guest guest

Another tip for swallowing pills, people tend to have an instinct to throw their

head back or tilt their head back to swallow a pill. THe problem with that is

the pill is swimming in water in your mouth, and when you tilt your head back,

the pill " floats " to the top of the liquid, which is then the front of your

mouth. Then they end up swallowing the water and the pill is left on their

tongue to melt into a bitter horror. Which they then spit out and waste!

So I tell to make sure her lips are tight and " look down " ?slightly, that

way the pill floats to the back of her mouth.

I think the biggest factor in pill swallowing is not being afraid of the pill

being too big. My big strong husband must have a huge windpipe, but to see him

gag down the tiniest pill is a joke. So right away I told that her throat

is the size of a toilet paper tube, imagine how much you can easily fit down it,

think about big mouthfuls of food that go down with no problem... some tiny pill

will be easy!! I?then took a giant vitamin and some calcium pills and anything

else I could think?of and threw the whole handful in my mouth and swallowed in

one shot, that showed her it was not a big deal.

She could then take those big ole Augmentin 650s with no problem!!

I've heard of people practicing with red hots, or the nonpareils for baking.

Make it fun, start with a nonpareil and move up to m & ms!!

(mom to , age 9, may be outgrowing polysaccharide ab def., previously

had multiple other defs)

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Guest guest

Good tips! My ph amazes us-he can swallow 11 pills at once.with an

Augmentin 1000 in there! My husband has trouble swallowing a Tylenol!

God bless you today. May He make you a blessing to others!

Pattie

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Guest guest

Hi everyone:

has to take about 30 pills a day and he is orally defensive. How I

get him to take pills is to place water in a medication syringe and get

him to open his mouth. I then squirt the water on the tongue and place

the pills at the same time. The vasal vagal reflex force both down the

throat, as the tongue lifts up and back, forcing a swallow.

This has worked since was 18 months old. I have taught others to

do it as well in case they have to give meds to may son. The hospital

personnel watches me do it when we are admitted every other week for

IVIG, because they cannot get to swallow any pills.

in CT Mom to 6 1/2 years old

________________________________

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf

Of bunneegirl@...

Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 3:05 PM

Subject: Re: swallowing pills

Another tip for swallowing pills, people tend to have an instinct to

throw their head back or tilt their head back to swallow a pill. THe

problem with that is the pill is swimming in water in your mouth, and

when you tilt your head back, the pill " floats " to the top of the

liquid, which is then the front of your mouth. Then they end up

swallowing the water and the pill is left on their tongue to melt into a

bitter horror. Which they then spit out and waste!

So I tell to make sure her lips are tight and " look

down " ?slightly, that way the pill floats to the back of her mouth.

I think the biggest factor in pill swallowing is not being afraid of the

pill being too big. My big strong husband must have a huge windpipe, but

to see him gag down the tiniest pill is a joke. So right away I told

that her throat is the size of a toilet paper tube, imagine how

much you can easily fit down it, think about big mouthfuls of food that

go down with no problem... some tiny pill will be easy!! I?then took a

giant vitamin and some calcium pills and anything else I could think?of

and threw the whole handful in my mouth and swallowed in one shot, that

showed her it was not a big deal.

She could then take those big ole Augmentin 650s with no problem!!

I've heard of people practicing with red hots, or the nonpareils for

baking. Make it fun, start with a nonpareil and move up to m & ms!!

(mom to , age 9, may be outgrowing polysaccharide ab def.,

previously had multiple other defs)

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