I can't get my 10 yr old to take medicine

[bookbard]

My 10 year old daughter needs antibiotics for the second time. This is because the first time, a few weeks' back, she really struggled taking them. Firstly they gave us capsules and she simply couldn't swallow them. OK, so I opened them and put them in stuff, eg applesauce (I tried it myself, it's very bitter). She really struggled, gagged, could barely take the amount. I went back to the chemist and he made it up into a sweet liquid. Same result, crying, gagging, mixing it with stuff not helping.

I can't physically force her to take it. She's technically gifted so she 'understands' she needs the medicine, that the recurrence is because she didn't take the full amount last time. So now she hates herself, feels shame etc - ugh. 

My son also doesn't like medicine, but I give him time to think of a solution, and generally something works, he develops a strategy. He's younger and not as gifted, but not as emotionally unstable.

Any ideas? I feel like at 10 she needs to take control of it herself, so thinking of different options and working through them and deciding which one will work could help? I struggle to understand why taking 5ml of an overly sweet medicine could cause hysterics, but there you go. Oh, and bribing/punishing doesn't do it - she 'wants' to take it, she's just struggling to literally swallow it down. 

[Junie]

Are you using a syringe-type device to give her the medicine?  Maybe giving it to her (or her doing it herself) either really quickly or really, really slowly would help.  Maybe putting the medicine in juice?  Offering her chocolate or whatever afterward?

[Katy]

Call the doctor and ask for a different drug in a liquid form. 

[athena1277]

Have you tried teaching her to swallow pills by using something small like TicTacs?  They don’t taste nasty, so if it doesn’t go down and starts to dissolve, it’s ok.  And she can practice with several until she’s comfortable with it.  Then try the pill again.  That’s how I taught my oldest who absolutely did not want to swallow pills, but was past the age of liquid everything.

[fairfarmhand]

Mini m and ms are how my kids learned to swallow pills.

And for liquid meds, we found the orange was the least offensive flavor. Bubble gum was vile as was the cherry. And giving the kid the med in a little medicine cup and allowing them to either sip it, following each sip with something strong flavored (hot chocolate works) helped. Or others of my kids preferred to slug it back like they were gunfighters in a saloon.

 

[prairiewindmomma]

First, try using a syringe and have her shoot it to the back pocket of her cheek to immediately swallow. (Back molar area). It will bypass the most tastebuds that way. We usually have our sensory kids then swallow with something sweet like diet root beer. If that doesn’t work, Call the prescriber and see if there are other options. Often you can do a rocephin shot or something else.

Then, outside of this crisis point, work on the sensory stuff so that she can swallow pills. We trained with tic-tacs, then m&ms. Managing The anxiety and the throat relaxing are the two things we have focused on. 
 

Meds keep people alive in my house. It is absolutely worth the time and effort for her to learn this skill in case she needs it. Lots of people struggle with this, but it can be learnt.

[bookbard]

Thanks, everyone. We will get past this crisis, and I think I will make it a goal for this year to learn how to swallow pills. As you say, it's a long term life skill. 

[J-rap]

How about if you put it in something like a strawberry milkshake?  (Either the powder or the liquid) It seems like it would be easier to hide it in that.  One of my dd's never could stand syrupy medicine (still can't!) so she'd do almost anything to swallow a pill.  Do you think your dd could tolerate a pill of it were smaller?  I agree that practicing with something smaller might help (like a tiny gel vitamin D tablet or something), and might give her a little more confidence in swallowing a bigger one.  I can't stand pills myself, and sometimes I wonder what I'll do when I'm old and have to take lots of pills!  😏  But what I do is I put the pill in my mouth, and I wash it down with several big gulps of water all in a row.  I don't stop in-between gulps, otherwise it might get stuck.  In fact, I'll often drink a whole glass of water (with big gulps though, that's key!) before I check to make sure it's down.  I also find that I need to tilt my head back a little with each gulp.  Maybe I have a small throat or something?

 

[happi duck]

If gagging in an issue squeezing the left thumb can help.  (Thumb inside left fist)

[itsheresomewhere]

For liquid-  mix it with chocolate syrup or in a small glass of rootbeer ( we use a shot glass).  This is what we have done for years for DS who can’t swallow pills and hates the taste of liquid medicines. 
 

We have tried all the techniques for swallowing pills with him and nothing has worked so far.  I completely get what you are going through.

Edited January 5, 2021 by itsheresomewhere

[Terabith]

My 17 year old can swallow small pills (which took years and years of training) but still cannot swallow the gigantic antibiotic capsules.  It's a major issue.  They can make themselves take the liquid antibiotic, but their gag reflex is just triggered by large capsules.  

[prairiewindmomma]

Right---I still have one that can't do large capsules.  We usually look for formulations that can be pill cut, or we choose an alternate delivery like injection.  The key is you have to be upfront with the prescriber that this is a major issue, based in a larger sensory pattern in the patient, and not just some whiny kid who can't grow up and manage things.

And, you still want to work at the skill because there are some medications that just don't cut well or aren't sold in a lot of alternative options.

[Tanaqui]

32 minutes ago, bookbard said:

Thanks, everyone. We will get past this crisis, and I think I will make it a goal for this year to learn how to swallow pills. As you say, it's a long term life skill. 

One note: When we did this, we didn't start with tictacs. We started with sprinkles, then Nerds, then mini m and ms, and THEN tictacs. There's lots of smaller candies we did first.

[Kassia]

My DH still can't swallow the large antibiotic capsules or vitamins.  I think he has a very narrow esophagus or some kind of structural issue that causes them to get stuck.  He usually remembers to tell the doctor/dentist so they don't prescribe large pills.  

When my kids were teens, one (ASD) couldn't swallow pills and all of them needed antibiotics.  The pill form was super cheap, but I had to get liquid for my ASD ds and it was really expensive!  After that, we kept working with him and he can now swallow any pills.  

[wathe]

We started pill-training our kids quite young (around 4).  We had them practice with frozen peas.

Small tricks to make pill swallowing easier:  1) Try using a straw to take the liquid she uses to swallow the pill with.  Pursing the lips to suck through the straw helps open up the back of the throat.  (obviously, place the pill in the mouth first - don't try to suck the pill up the straw!). 2) Try scraping the pill through butter to make it nice and slippery.  Sounds gross, but it helps.

Most antibiotics come in a liquid form.  You'll just end up with larger volumes as she grows.

[wendyroo]

3 minutes ago, wathe said:

We started pill-training our kids quite young (around 4).  We had them practice with frozen peas.

Yep, this is what we did. All of my kiddos were on daily medications starting at 4, so taking pills made all our lives much, much easier.

I think with some kids, starting very young can make things a lot easier. It never occurred to my kiddos at that age that they couldn't swallow a frozen pea...which is, of course, perfectly true - peas are nowhere near choking diameter even for toddlers.

So, somewhere around 4, I sat each kiddo down for a "special snack" of frozen peas and chocolate chips. The game was simple, for every pea they swallowed without chewing it, they got a chocolate chip. I demonstrated how to do it, showed them my empty mouth, and savored my chocolate chip. Then we just took turns. It took them a couple tries, but within 15 minutes they were good to go.

At this point, my 9 year old takes 9 pills every morning...and he just swallows them all down at once!

[City Mouse]

I had the same difficulty with my now adult DD. Our previous house had kitchen cabinets stained pink because she spit out medicine. I don’t have any helpful suggestions though. I tried all the tricks with both of my kids, and it eventually worked for DS but not for her. Luckily she was relatively healthy. She is an adult now, and still won’t take pills straight.  She was diagnosed with autism in college.

Edited January 6, 2021 by City Mouse

[Bootsie]

I remember being much older than that before I could swallow pills or capsules.  I have a really bad gag reflex, so I don't know if that is part of it. I was in high school and would have to ask the doctor to give me either chewable or liquid medicine.  One of my kids had difficulty swallowing medication and we found that putting it in a little applesauce, pudding, or yogurt would help--something that would slide down but had a little substance.

[Kassia]

15 minutes ago, City Mouse said:

I had the same difficulty with my now adult DD. Our previous house had kitchen cabinets stained pink because she spit out medicine. I don’t even any helpful suggestions though. I tried all the tricks with both of my kids, and it eventually worked for you DS but not for her. Luckily she was relatively healthy. She is an adult now, and still won’t take pills straight.  She was diagnosed with autism in college.

We have stains on our carpet from our ASD ds vomiting meds back up after we tried to get them down by mixing them with chocolate syrup, applesauce, pudding, etc.  

[Tanaqui]

Also, I gotta say - reading your first post, it sounds like you're being pretty harsh on a ten year old who is sick and having trouble with medicine. No, your "technically" gifted child (who is, idk, "emotionally unstable"?) is "having hysterics" (which you would never have, clearly).

If any of this is leaking out in your interactions with her, it's probably not helping her with her feelings of shame etc. I know that kids are frustrating, especially when they're sick - but just make sure your thoughts are staying inside your head.

Quote

Any ideas? I feel like at 10 she needs to take control of it herself, so thinking of different options and working through them and deciding which one will work could help?

Yeah, sometimes that's the right call. Sometimes your ten year old would rather you be the grown-up and not ask them, when they're sick and struggling, to do the hard work of thinking of options and working through them.

I bet that would've helped you as a ten year old, and it sounds like it helps your son. That doesn't mean it's going to be helpful to her.

[bookbard]

Yeah, that sounded kind of harsh, I admit. I put in the 'gifted' thing to explain it's not that she doesn't understand - she does - it's more an anxiety thing. And yes, her anxiety triggers mine (plus all the parent guilt - why can't my kid just do what they're told?)

We got a different formulation and have had success today, yay. But I will work on the pill swallowing thing this year, for both kids. 

[Farrar]

My kids had this issue for ages. Taking medicine was always a struggle. I once found my own self in hysterics over it with a pharmacist who hadn't put any flavoring into the antibiotics at all and refused to remix it. Like, who does that? Thinks a 5 yo is going to be able to happily drink that stuff down with no flavoring? It's hard enough with. Jerks.

We had to get them to learn to swallow pills during a trip to Africa. Once they had it as a skill, though, they had it. The last time someone tried to get one of them to take the liquid stuff, I was like, no, I spent too long teaching them to swallow the pills. Ds was at Children's with the first stages of Lyme and sick as all get out. They insisted he take the first dose before we left. They were a children's hospital so they had to send out for pills to swallow. But I was like, nope, otherwise this will be a battlefield.

Definitely do the mini-M&M's. Definitely try to ease off on the frustration over it. Hugs.

[Ottakee]

4 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

 

Meds keep people alive in my house. It is absolutely worth the time and effort for her to learn this skill in case she needs it. Lots of people struggle with this, but it can be learnt.

Yes   important skill to work on once you get past this crisis stage 

[Starr]

My dd had a difficult time as well. You brought back all the memories. haha. Good luck, glad she's doing better with it today. 

[KungFuPanda]

Chocolate is much better at hiding bitter flavors than applesauce.  Have you tried putting it in a spoonful of chocolate syrup? This was how we managed predisone before my son learned to swallow a pill.

[PeterPan]

5 hours ago, bookbard said:

she simply couldn't swallow them.

My ds couldn't swallow pills because he has apraxia and difficulty with the motor planning. Looked at different articles and explanations, but basically what worked for us was *nerds*, the little candies. They didn't hurt and were tiny so he could practice. From there you can progress to cheerios if you want.

Can the antibiotic be a capsule that you open or a pill you grind? 

Does this dc have other sensory issues/aversions?

42 minutes ago, bookbard said:

I put in the 'gifted' thing to explain it's not that she doesn't understand - she does - it's more an anxiety thing. And yes, her anxiety triggers mine (plus all the parent guilt - why can't my kid just do what they're told?)

Do you want suggestions on this? When my dd was that age, I still had not picked up the clue phone on her sensory issues, etc. Over the next two years, we got all kinds of stuff diagnosed. As you're finding, IQ isn't really the issue. So if you want some free advice, that's the stuff to look into, the anxiety, sensory, etc. There are some really good cognitive based options, self awareness based options, etc., and of course there are meds. But you might find going down this road would get you some good help.

[bookbard]

Yeah, we've had assessments etc, so we know where both kids are up to in terms of extras, and we're searching for the right person to go with next. I have found with my daughter that the "explosive child book" has been very helpful - taking things out of her hands doesn't work so well, but giving her a chance to think of ways to overcome challenges is often very effective. 

[SKL]

Could you try mixing it into a smoothie or other thick drink she normally drinks?  That was how I got certain supplements into my kids in the past.

Otherwise, I think she just needs to keep trying different things until she learns how to swallow the capsule.  It's hard for many of us, but it's kind of a life skill.  Maybe just set aside time 3x per day for her to try.  Could her brother try articulating how he makes it work?

[horsellian]

Are you able to take this medication with food, or is it supposed to be on an empty stomach?

We taught my little sister to swallow pills starting with ones you could take at meal time, and she would chew up a mouthful of cookie, then pop the pill in and swallow the lot.  Might be worth trying?