My son will be 7 in April and has been taking ADHD medicine for about a year. We have been opening the pill and putting the med on yogurt. We are needing to switch his medicine but we can't until he can swallow a pill. The new med he'll be taking doesn't open. We have tried getting him to swallow the small m&m's to start off with, and he can sometimes, but if we try moving up to anything bigger, he can't. I know that he is old enough to do it. The problem is that he is a very STRONG-WILLED child and if he doesn't want to do something he flat out wont!!! I am thinking that is a lot of the problem, he gets it in his head that he doesn't want to and then it becomes a battle, because he has made up his mind that he doesn't want to and can't do it! I have tried encourgagin him and telling him that I know he can do it and getting real excited when he does swallow the little m&m's. Nothing is working. I need some ideas!!
Thanks
Tell him to put a good amount of water in his mouth but don't swallow it... look up, drop in the pill... and swallow as he's straighten head back normally. I'm 28 and this is STILL how I have to take pills.
Crush it and put it in applesauce, yogurt, juice etc....
My 7 year old was very excited when the doctor told her that she was big enough to swollow a pill. I never thought she would be able to do it, but because the doctor said she was big enough and had confidence in her - she was excited about it. Maybe talk to your doctor and see if he/she can help boost his confidence in himself.
This is gonna sound weird and uneffective. But, if I have a vitamin or pill that is pretty big- i have to struggle or concentrate to get it down. And I have swallowed pills since I was very young with no problems. So.... what helps me is--- I put it to the back of tongue, take a big drink, AND BEFORE SWALLOWING.... i push up hard on my chin underneath- hold it-then swallow. Works for me. Hope it helps!
J.
I have a friend, who in her 20's can't swallow pills, so as L says, she gets liquid medication. If there are liquid forms there are some pharmacies that can compound your pills for you.
vitamin E capsules get slippery when they are wet, and are a little bigger that the tiny m&m's. they might go down easier and get him used to the slightly bigger pill. that's what my mom started us practicing on when we were his age. plus you maybe could tell him that they are good for his skin, hair, brain, etc and maybe help him be a little more willing if he knew why?
My daughter is seven and had trouble swalling pills. Finally, my husband said to get her to chew food up and not swallow it. Then have her place the pill in her mouth with her chewed up food then have her swallow. It works like a charm. We have no problems now. Hope this helps.
My grandson won't swallow a pill either and my daughter bought a pill crusher and then puts the crushed pill in a spoonful of chocolate syrup and mixes it well. Pill crushers are available at most pharmacys and places where you can get prescriptions, but he was spending the night with me and she didn't pack the pill crusher so I just took a 2nd spoon and crushed the pill between the bowls and the added the chocolate syrup,which worked fine.
My son, whose name is Pierce (ironic with such an unusual name), is ADHD and STILL can't swallow pills (he's now 13). We tried the small M & M's, too. Funny, he could do it for $5, but can't do it on his own, LOL. I think they just get it in their mind that they can't do it. I also have to remind our doctor of this problem whenever she writes him a script.
Please note: if your son is on a time released medication you can NOT crush the pills up. (Be sure to check with your doctor before ever crushing up a prescribed pill.) We have been very limited with what meds we can give him because of this. Perhaps your doctor can prescribe 2 doses (of what he's currently on) in order to increase the dosage, like a 20 mg pill + a 10 mg pill to get a 30 mg dose in him... good luck!
The only way we could get our boys to swallow pills at the beginning was with a water bottle- that way they didnt have to change the position of their mouth after putting the pill in the back. Have him take his shirt off first, or put a towel around his neck :) Have him put the pill on the back of his tongue, then you "pour" the water in until he tells you it is down. He needs to be looking up. The first couple of times it is very messy, but they actually get excited when it goes down. I can take many pills at once, and so it has helped for me to show them how to do it too.
One of our children is 18 and can STILL not swallow a pill. To have wisdom teeth out, I mentioned to the oral surgeon that we needed liquid pain meds and I was concerned if this was even available. They said it is not uncommon at all and we were prescribed the liquid meds. So far, we've not had any problems with requesting liquid, we just have to remember to do so or else you always get pills after some magical age. I fear this will never change because this child of ours has a very sensitive gag reflex. It has become one of the things we don't try to change any longer. Some friends say they also had children who never would swallow pills until very late teens. On the other hand, my sister has a child who could swallow a pill at 5 yrs. old! Just tell the dr. you need liquid meds. until further notice.
talk to his doctor on getting information on how to swallow the pills. i work in a dr office, and my son takes ADHD meds as well, but they were able to give me information on how to get your kids to swallow pills. if the office doesnt have the information, ask them to contact their drug rep and they would be happy to provide that information to them. Good lUck
