I’ve always had trouble swallowing pills. I’m 77 and finally am able to do so with relative ease, in spite of a previous post that it becomes more difficult with age. When I did have a problem, I would swallow a large gulp of water and the pill would float down with the water.
I’ve been on a clinical trial called the “VITAL.” It’s an acronym for vitamin D and fish oil (EPA/DHA). I’ve been on it for years, and I was about to quit the study because the vitamin D (or placebo) is a real horse pill. I’ve been able to swallow it with a large gulp of water, but I read fairly recently a method that is almost foolproof, and that a prior post mentioned. Take a gulp of water and place the pill in your mouth (quickly, else the water will come out). Now close your lips. That creates a suction allowing the pill to be sucked down. The read also said to bend your head forward (not backward); however, I find it better just to keep your head level. On the rare occasion when I still do have trouble, a large gulp of water will do the trick. YMMV
Normal thing in throat a pill could get stuck in: piriform sinus- this is prob most likely, if symptoms are not recurrent
Abnormal thing in throat a pill could get stuck in: Zenker’s diverticulum
Esophageal stricture seems less likely, if other pills passed, pill could be regurgitated without vomiting, and if symptoms are not recurrent. You say you had a lower esophageal stricture in the past- this still may be considered, especially if there is any difficulty eating solid food, such as meat.
My wife can’t swallow medium to large sized pills at all regardless of type. I’m the complete opposite, I can swallow most any pill without water and it’s not too often pills get stuck in my throat.
If I drink water I can usually down several pills at the same time. Like those supplements that say take 3 twice a day or whatever, I can down all 3 at once with water.
Small comfort: you didn’t, like this one … person … I know, scarf his morning handful 'o pills, wash it down with a small gulp of ice coffee and ravenously cram some breakfast toast in his mouth, impeccably timing the food’s chewing and swallowing to follow even as the pills went clattering down the esophagus–or so he thought, only to find that that one gel capsule stuck around for a bit and got caught in the crunching teeth.
Biting into a fish oil pill is truly disgusting. I smooshed one once in my pill box and the house reeked for days.
On both sides of the back of the throat are small outpouchings called the piriform sinuses. This is where pills can get stuck, eventually dissolving or the pill can come back out. Everyone has these; a Zenker’s diverticulum is pretty rare.
This is another of those “What do you mean I’m weird? Isn’t everybody like this?”
I developed the habit of getting pills stuck half-way down about 4-5 years ago.
I can force them back up by constricting throat muscles.
The only help was a MD who commented that the opening at the back of my mouth was tiny by human standards.
I have an 80% full bottle of multi-vitamins - the “Horse Pill” variety. Just one day, they stopped going down.
Chugging a soda will (rarely) wash it down - either I choke it back up or wait for it to dissolve.
I take 2 magnesium pills - about 1/2" in diameter. I now break them into quarters before trying to swallow.
I started breaking pulls in half, which sometimes makes them worse because of the sharp edges. I eventually got a pill grinder. The trick with that, I learned, was to make a very, very course powder. Think gravel, not flour. I found that if I make it very course, I can put it in my mouth, take a sip of something and goes right down. When I grind it into a powder, it just turns into a chunk of goo…which sometimes gets caught. In the end the endoscopies/dilations fixed everything.
My sister, on the other hand, her issues are 100% in her head, but she still chews pills. To watch someone a Tylenol in their mouth, then hear them chomp down on it is a bit unsettling. It sounds like they’re breaking their teeth.
BTW, Mg pills, run through a pill grinder, taste exactly how you’d expect them to taste. But they taste a lot better than most other pills.
ETA, I remember now why I only kind of half grinded them. It was for the taste, that was it. If you grind pills to a powder, they taste much worse. If they’re just sort of like gravel, I could get them down much faster without all the powder sticking all over the inside of my mouth…or reforming and getting stuck.
But, really, any drug store will have a pill grinder, they only cost a few bucks and they work really well.
I have difficulty swallowing, and the method they suggested to try when having difficulty swallowing large pills is to take it with something like applesauce or pudding. Works everytime with me.
These are useful if you need to hide or smuggle small items:
[QUOTE=Tetrapod Zoology]
…people have learnt that they can create pouch-like structures in their throats by keeping lead discs inside their pyriform sinuses, thereby enlarging the sinuses over time (the pyriform sinuses are yet another set of paired pockets, this time positioned on either side of the opening to the larynx). These resulting pouches – termed ganahs – were said by Guthrie (in Anon. 1927) to be used by Indian criminals “as a safe hiding place for coins or precious stones”.
(source: http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/10/04/mammal-pockets-sacs-pt-i/)
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