# Can You Swallow Pills **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 25, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-swallow-pills/533805 "2010-03-25T22:09:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-swallow-pills/533805/61 "2010-10-04T00:48:31Z")
I know this is near zombie status, but I have a success story. I followed matt and Infovore’s advice. Since I had a terrible time swallowing pills, I started practicing with mini-M&Ms until I could handle them. Now I’ve haven’t missed a an actual pill. Still can’t do 2 at a time and I haven’t tried monster horse pills, but it’s a great feeling knowing that I can reliably take prescribed medicine now. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-swallow-pills/533805/62 "2010-10-04T01:03:16Z")
I’m guessing I could do it from a very young age as I cannot remember learning. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-swallow-pills/533805/63 "2010-10-04T01:15:05Z")
You bet I can! What’ve you got? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-swallow-pills/533805/64 "2010-10-04T01:38:37Z")
Alas, I have way too many to take on a daily basis, so yep, I sure can. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-swallow-pills/533805/65 "2010-10-04T02:37:44Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I’m guessing I could do it from a very young age as I cannot remember learning. +1 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-swallow-pills/533805/66 "2010-10-04T04:38:31Z")
I’m still not sure what causes people to not be able to do it. The throat opening certainly is large enough. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-swallow-pills/533805/67 "2010-10-04T04:49:41Z")
> [@Wolverine](#): > > I know this is near zombie status, but I have a success story. I followed matt and Infovore’s advice. Since I had a terrible time swallowing pills, I started practicing with mini-M&Ms until I could handle them. Now I’ve haven’t missed a an actual pill. Still can’t do 2 at a time and I haven’t tried monster horse pills, but it’s a great feeling knowing that I can reliably take prescribed medicine now. Congratulations. Overcoming any type fear or aversion is a great accomplishment. I can still remember being only 4 or 5 years old and having my mom essentially force some medication down my throat. She did first try to reason with me though - silly woman. Keep practicing. I started taking supplements in college and would have to take them one at a time. After a while, it became so routine that I could swallow, literally, a handful of pills with no problem. One thing that really helps is being thirsty. If you think about it, when you’re very thirsty, you swallow a lot more liquid in a single gulp than even the most monstrous of pills. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-swallow-pills/533805/68 "2010-10-04T04:52:04Z")
Easily. The store-brand Mucinex knock-offs come as big as pills can, and I can swallow them without water (though I prefer to have a beverage handy). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-swallow-pills/533805/69 "2010-10-04T04:59:10Z")
I see this is a zombie and I just repeated myself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-swallow-pills/533805.md?page=3)