X-Post - Pills

Hi guys,
I am a patient of Dr. Houston and he insists that we crush pills.  I spoke with the nut and told her how much I can't stand the taste/texture of the crushed pills and she said I could try to swallow small pills.

I tried to swallow a VERY small pill yesterday and it got stuck.  It finally went down after a few swigs of water and a lot of stress.

Does anyone have any advice on making taking crushed pills easier?

Thanks!

I have the same problem. You can buy a pill crusher/spliter at Walmart for just a few dollars. I found that if I split them they go down alot eaiser. I have even split pills into fourths before and just take them one at a time and slow. This works for me, but I have had the LapBand and not the RNY. Hope this helps.

Cheryl

Did they suggest either putting it inside a tsp of sugar free/no sugar added applesauce, OR witih a tsp of sf chocolate syrup like Hershey or the Great value brand?  I had surgery 2 1/2 yrs ago, and that was their recommendations then. They might have changed.

Take the meds though!  I didn't take the Actigall.  It tasted so bad.  My comment was "That's why I have insurance."  8 months later, I was in the ER with a gallbladder attack, emergency surgery to get it removed, ERCP to remove a stone, and can you say a terrible one week hospital stay!?  Point is:  take your pills! lol

OK I never want to give wrong info, so I checked with the nutritionist at Centennial... she said:

"I would leave the applesauce up to the individual's surgeon (case by case) but we do tell them SF chocolate syrup or I recommend any of the Walden Farms products (caramel dip, choc dip/syrup, etc.). Those should all mask the taste if they are bitter. Otherwise, they can hide them in Carbmasters yogurt or crushing SF popsicles."

So you should ask Dr. H if you can use a tsp of sugar free applesauce (Walmart has a good one).

Dr. Houston is my surgeon, too.  I have been crushing pills since surgery....I have finally found what works for me & I don't have any problem getting my pills down now.

Carb Master Yogurt......the first benefit is that you can crush your pills, pour the crushed pill into the yogurt, fold over a little more yogurt on top of what you just poured in & swallow it in one gulp in a teaspoon.....even my largest pills (the Ursidol--the gallbladder med), folds easily into the yogurt (I don't stir the pills in the yogurt because it tastes yucky---there is nothing worse than the taste of a crushed pill....ug!).......

I would start with the cherry or the strawberry-pomegranate or the blueberry/blackberry flavors because they really hide the taste.  The peach is great, but it has chunks of peaches in it & can sometimes be hard to swallow.  I even really like the vanilla, but it's not as strong & doesn't hide the pill taste as much.  But, any of the fruit flavors work great.

I usually open one Carb Master Yogurt in the morning &, first thing when I wake up, crush & take my 1st Ursidol, B-6 & D in 1/2 of the yogurt (then I take my multivitamin & two hours later start taking my calcium chewables every two hours).  I cover the 2nd half/unused portion of the yogurt & then in the evening I use the second half of the yogurt to take the rest of my meds/vitamins that need to be crushed.  I rarely even taste the meds in the yogurt & it makes it easy to get them down & you get 12gm of protein for one Carb Master & only 80-ish calories.....so, that's a plus, too!!! 

I hope that helps....I tried no sugar added applesauce & SF jello & SF popsicles, but none of them worked for me....I could still taste the meds....(I didn't try the SF chocolate syrup because I was a sweets/sugar addict before surgery & now that I have kicked any desire for sweets I stay away from anything like that.....)..... nothing masks the medicine taste for me & makes the pills as easy to take as the Carb Master Yogurt (I think it is still on sale at Kroger right now, too.....).

Good luck!! xo, Micheala.

Hi sorry so late but I just wanted to let you know that when I crush my pills I crush them with a small amount of my calcium- which is mint flavored- and take them that way. Just passing it on.