Hi Roxanne,

My 12 year old has the same problem. He won't even practice with tic tacs. He starts to gag even before he puts it in his mouth. His doctor had to prescribe a capsule that can be opened up and then sprinkled on yogurt. It works best with apple sauce because of the texture but my picky son does not like applesauce. Adderall, Ritalin and Vyvanse all come in these capsules. My son says the Vyvanse taste the best and it is a powder form that can be stirred into any drink. My husband gets a shot class with orange juice and adds the Vyvanse to it. My son says he can not taste it. It is very frustrating but some day they will outgrow the fear of swallowing pills, I hope!!!

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My child found it easier to take the pill if it was in applesauce. No disrespect intended, but when I couldn't get my dogs to take pills even when I mixed it in with their food, I tried putting it in peanut butter,and that did the trick.

Aside from that, I would talk to his doctor who may have some suggestions.

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thanks for the replies. My son is on Straterra and it has a VERY bitter taste to it. I guess I could ask the doctor about Vyvanse, I have not heard of this medicine. Thanks again everyone for your input.

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My parents had the hardest times getting me to take pills when I was younger. Like probably starting around 5. They eventually crushed them and mixed them with jelly and put the jelly mixture on a spoon then shoveled it in my mouth. Sometimes it took them forcing me, not abusively, but i eventually took it. :-) Now that I think back, it would have prolly worked to crush the meds and then make popsicles out of them. Homemade popsicles were always good. It would probably hide the taste best if you used a yogurt popsicle. Well....let me know if this works! I am sure I can come up with more ideas...they may not work. But its worth a try. GOOD LUCK

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I had a hard time swallowing pills as a child and when my son started taking meds, he had a hard time to. You are not alone. I would be careful about crushing the tablets (ask your doctor first), if it is an extended release you could have issue with to much being release when you crush them (I remember reading this somewhere). My son is on Adderall now and we can sprinkle it on applesauce which is great. But when he was on a tablet med, it was a battle with crying and all (my crying probably). It sounds strange, but the only way we could get it to work was to have him open wide and stick his tongue out, then I just pushed it down with my finger. It made me feel like giving a pill to a dog, but it worked with less stress to all. Then once a week we would try to do it the regular way, pill in, follow with liquid. If he couldn’t do it still, we just keep going as usually. He just keep trying to do it himself, and it was less stressful. With the Adderall, we don’t have to keep trying…so he still can’t swallow, but there are worse things than that!

Good Luck to you!

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My son has been on many different medications since March, some we could sprinkle, some crush, we even tried the patch. Vyvanse turned him into a zombie so that didn't work. Unfortunately (for him and us) the only one that seems to be effective is a pill that has to be swallowed whole. He also seems to have a psychological block, he has been able to swallow the pills by himself 4 times in the past 5 1/2 months. We even tried buying him a cup we found online that was supposed to help ADHD kids swallow medicine. That didn't work. We, too, resorted to the pushing it down with our finger method. Then, we had the bright idea of jello. We put the pill in a clump of jello and as long as he/we can get the jello in his mouth, it slides right down, pill and all.

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Instead of taking pills, there is another option that my step-son is on. He uses the Daytrana Patch. It is a patch that sticks to his hip. This way there were no pills to swallow. But, becareful, there are other side effects. Check with your doctor.

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My 10-year-old has been taking Adderall XR for about 3 years. We tried everything at first, and finally got him to swallow it by sprinkling it a small amount of yogurt (and of course it has to be a specific brand and flavor), which he swallows down with a small bit of apple juice. But it works, at least.

Now we have new health insurance and they want us to pay a "non-formulary" price for Adderall XR (just generic) of $60 a month. I know it's much cheaper than no insurance at all, but we're paying lots in premiums each month. The least they should do is pay for our prescriptions. Any ideas?

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OK...I know this idea sounds a bit over the top, but this comes from one desperate parent to get her child to take his meds! My child was diagnosed at age 5/12; he's now 10 1/2. Since my son also has sensory integration dysfunction, his ability to handle textures and tastes made it extremely difficult for him to take a crushed pill or a sprinkled capsule, and there is no chance to even bother with trying to get him to swallow a pill!!

So...I came up with this...why not bake it in a cookie! I took the pre-made seasonal cookies and either broke or sliced it in half, sprinkled in the meds, pressed it back together, baked it as directed and- tada "here is your pill Jimmy!" "Sure you can have a cooke for breakfast!" What kid doesn't love that! It worked like a charm.

Is there a problem with heating the meds to that temp? Well to be perfectly honest, I was lectured by a pharmacist how wrong it was. I told him this was the only way I could get his meds down my kids throat other than holding him down and literally shoving it down his throat! No way I'm doing that!!! Anyway, I never saw any side-affects other than what was part of the perscription.

My son will turn 11 in April...about 6 months ago he started swallowing pills! He still complains about swallowing them, but we finally passed that hurdle.

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Abigail848 said: My child found it easier to take the pill if it was in applesauce. No disrespect intended, but when I couldn't get my dogs to take pills even when I mixed it in with their food, I tried putting it in peanut butter,and that did the trick.

Aside from that, I would talk to his doctor who may have some suggestions.

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I, too, used to be one of those kids who couldn't swallow a pill. Everything was tried: crushing it and mizing with pudding, freezing it into the end of a popsicle, peanut butter, brute force, etc. They all worked for a little while..but no more. One day my mother and I noticed that I have no problem swallowing whole ice-cubes...obviously significantly larger than even the largest pill. The solution we came up with to swallow pills was absurdly simple...and the way I still do it today.

The "normal" way is to put the pill in your mouth, then add liquid and swallow. MY WAY is to put the liquid in my mouth, tilt my head back (so it doesn't spill out), and drop the pill in. Close my mouth, and swallow. It works like a charm.

Using this method I'm able to swallow the whole cocktail I'm prescribed. (3 x 300mg Gabapentin...big pills. 1 x 60mg Strattera...avg size. 2 x Ativan...small size.) I swallow all of those in one "gulp" by simply adding the liquid first. 13 years later and I still use this method. Try it! There are no texture issues to work with, as the pills mainly float in the liquid until the swallowing begins...texture was one of the big reasons I couldn't do it before.

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Both of my children are ADHD - my 9-year old daughter was diagnosed when she was 7, we'd tried concerta, adderall and focalin - with each pill, it took two to get one down, the first time she'd try to take it, she'd be so upset, she'd throw it right back up. I tried applesauce, peanut butter, wrapping it in bread, rolls, literally cutting out a hole in a cube of cheese to try to get her to take it that way. Nothing worked. I talked to the doctor and he switched her to the Daytrana patch and although they had to fiddle with the dosage (because it works so differently than the pills). But finally we're at a good dose and a good behavior level.

My son was just diagnosed this year and although he doesn't like taking the pills (Vyvanse) and he gives me a hard time, he does take them and doesn't have any actual problems in taking them. Since he's only 5, the doctor said that we should wait a while before trying to switch him over to the patch because he won't understand that he HAS to keep it on.

There is a chewable and a liquid ADHD medication available as well, one is called Methylin. The only downside is that it has to be taken several times a day, but if your child really can't take pills or like my daughter gets herself worked up and makes herself vomit, then it's a good alternative - I wish it had been around a few years ago. Good Luck.

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My son is 8 and a half and has been taking Ritalin for his ADHD since he was 5 and a half. I never wanted to go wtih medications, but when your child is on the verge of being kicked out of school (in Kindergarden no less) you try just about anything. Once I saw how well the meds worked we kept him on them, and three years later he is still working effectively on the lowest possible dose....which brings me to swallowing pills.

I have no idea why he can't swallow that pill, it's SO TINY! He chews his Ritalin, always has. He has never once complained about the taste either. I don't know if the Ritalin is always going to work for him, but he knows that since he won't swallow pills we can't try anything else like the extended release Ritalin. The pharmacist said we could open the capsule and sprinkle it on applesause, but the doctor insisted I shouldn't do that. He says the meds are made to be absorbed in certain parts of his body and if we open the capsule and let him take it that way the meds are being absorbed in the wrong part of the body. We wanted to try the extended release because his meds wear off at 3pm and after school homework and home life is extrememly chaotic with him...but until he can swallow a pill I guess we will just keep letting him chew up his Ritalin.

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I am a pediatric RN. About 10 years ago I learned this trick and it works great!! Do NOT put a pill ON the tongue or toward the back of the mouth. Place the pill or capsule UNDER the tongue off to one side then drink with a straw. The natural flow of swallowing is like a wave. it washes it down. I have been able to get some 3 year olds to swallow pills this way and both of my own children from age of 5. If your child has had a bad experience in the past practice with tic tacs or skittles or similiar (give them the choice and the choice of what to drink) and tell him you found a NEW way. It may take a bit to get them to try, depending on their past experience. For bad tasting meds---you should be able to buy EMPTY gel caps. Put the tablet in the empty capsule. We do this in the hospital-I imagine your pharmacy would need to special order it. Crushing always seems to make things worse, but if you try it, don't use ice cream as it tends to stick to the spoon. Also, layer it. so that the med is completely covered not just sitting on top. I hope this helps

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A "must-have" for my kids to meds is a spoonful of yogurt & sprinkles (non-pareils) on the top. Any store has the sprinkles in the cake decorating/baking section. The small, dot-sized ones are easiest to work with. I've used this for giving everything from chewable Amoxicillin to Ritalin LA in a capsule. I have heard you aren't supposed to open the capsule, but it WORKS! My son is a much better student when he takes his Ritalin. Good luck!

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My 8 year old has been on various meds since he was 5. We are currently taking Focalin XR. We practiced swallowing the pills with mini M&Ms. It took a little work to get him to just swallow, but now it's down in 3 seconds.

Be very careful about crushing or cutting pills. Not all work if that's done.

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I had the same trouble with my son until my friend told me about the oralflo cup. I ordered it online, it arrived two days later. My son, husband and I all looked at it thinking this is not going to work........I am happy to say we were all wrong it works like a charm. Everyone adult/child who dislikes swallowing pills should have one. You can find it at www.oralflo.com. Good Luck

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My almost 6 year old son has been diagnosed with adhd since he was 5 and we have been on 5 different meds because nothing was working, well they worked but turned him into adepressed kid who just cried. finally we may have found the solution which is concerta but I can't get him to swallow his pill. He trys to chew it but its not effective when he chews it and I can't get him to swallow it whole. It's about the size of tictac but he thinks he's gonna choke or throw up. At first he was doing okay and the medicine worked but now he refuses to swallow the minute it hits his mouth he starts chewing. All the other pills I was able to crush or open to get the powder but they didn't work and yes he tried the daytrana patch but he was crying and depressed and now that we found a good med for him I can't get him to take it properly. I've tried ice cream nope he chewed ity to find the pill. I've tried so much I am so fustrated I don't know whatr to do any ideas?

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I remember my mother pushing pills down my throat--almost choked to death when it went in my windpipe! This can be dangerous if aspirate into lungs. But I survived and have some suggestions for other parents. The child's age is major decision maker on how to help take their meds. Jello, pudding, applesauce, peanut butter, pb and jelly, cottage cheese, soy shakes, cream cheese (flavored if desired), melted cheese with salsa mixed in, macaroni & cheese, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes mashed, no bake cookies, mashed banana or other fruit of choice, etc. Cannot crush time released tablets, etc. But if type of tablet that can be crushed--crush and mix with juice or smoothie. I mixed my son's pills crushed with a little juice or water--then used syringe (without needle!), put inside of cheek about 2/3 back (past taste buds which are on sides/front of tongue) and squirted in--then gave drink of juice. Eventually with age and ability to swallow improved, they will learn. Feeling inadequate/stress only tightens muscles and worsens ability to swallow. Patience and faith helps most.

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Many try to chew if feel bite is too large and they will choke. Although the taste may not be as good tasting with less flavor of food---some of my elderly patients that I give meds, like cinnamon applesauce or rice pudding with cinnamon--as cinnamon helps disguise bitteriness of med. Also I have used jelly preserves--not jelly as they can pick out med right off! Teaspoon of crunchy peanut butter is also good disguise if small pill. Pharmacies have flavorings you can buy also to flavor medicines--these are not expensive and available in a lot of flavors. Also note that when you put a liquid in your mouth and tilt your chin down--liquid floats toward back of throat along with pill and then just need to swallow naturally, not big gulp. As person swallows trachea/windpipe flap temporarily shuts off airway to lungs, so food goes to stomach and not aspirated into lung. Big gulping swallow pushs tongue to roof of mouth and holds pill there if not far enough into throat--then child might panic thinking he or she is going to choke, throw up, etc. Some children take longer to grow past gag reflex it seems--matter of muscle development in each child is different. Hope I have been of some help and encouragement for you. Doctors and pharmacists may also have ideas to help your child and you with taking their medication.

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My son seems to have no trouble swallowing his pills, and he has a ton of them. However, I have a terrible time. I've found that if I bend forward to take them, it's much easier. You're forced to swallow. Try it yourself!

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My second grader just started meds last fall. He would not even attempt to swallow a pill. He would not attempt practicing on tic tacs. We tried everything...yogurt, dissolving it in a drink, I even put it in his cereal just so he could get some of it. He got to where he would refuse to eat or drink anything for breakfast because he thought there was medicine hidden in it. Then we tried the patch. The side effects were horrible. We recently started the new liquid grape flavored Methylin. It has worked wonderfully...much less side effects than the patch. Down side---it's not control released so he has to have a dose at school. This is also a plus because he has a little dip when he's actually now hungry at lunch. So he eats, then gets the mid day dose. It's been great! No more fights over pills.

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Someone (I can't remember who now) suggested that my daughter take her pills with a carbonated beverage. They said the bubbles would carry the pill right down her throat. She tried it and it worked!! She is now an adult and can usually swallow pills with no problem, but if it is a large pill, she will still get out the soda pop & take a drink to get the larger pills down. Don't know if it will help, but it might be worth a try! Good luck!

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My son had trouble getting the Adderall capsule down---it would always roll to the front of his tongue because he wasn't used to swallowing anything like that. To make it easier, I spray whipped cream (out of a can) in his mouth after he puts the capsule on his tongue. The whipped cream creates a barrier so the capsule doesn't roll out and it gives him something "definate" to swallow. Plus, he LOVES whipped cream and he always gets a kick out of having it sprayed in his mouth. Works like a charm for us. Good luck!

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my 9 year old daughter recently switched from the "patch" to strattera. we also struggled with getting her to swallow a pill. because strattera is a very bitter powder, she would gag regardless of what food we tried to mask it in. then my husband noticed that she would swallow fruit gushers whole. he had the brilliant idea of cutting open the fruit gusher and sticking the capsule inside. she now swallows her pill with no problem.

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