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Beebo

getting son to take meds- HELP!!

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Please help me out, after waiting 7 years for a diagnosis my son is trialling Concerta 18mg, he was supposed to start yesterday but I just could NOT get him to take them, the minute he put the pill in his mouth he gagged and it was unpleasant and very stressfull, same today, it can't be broken or sprinkled...what to do???

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Concerta is the slow-release form of Ritalin, which is why it cannot be split.

 

Ritalin might be a better option if it can be split or crushed, and may even be available in a liquid form. The downside is that he may need to take it more often.

 

Your doctor is the best person to advise you, but there are other options.

Edited by Tally

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Concerta is the slow-release form of Ritalin, which is why it cannot be split.

 

Ritalin might be a better option if it can be split or crushed, and may even be available in a liquid form. The downside is that he may need to take it more often.

 

Your doctor is the best person to advise you, but there are other options.

 

Thanks Tally, I called him - his words were ' I wouldn't put my child on that drug'!!! great just what i needed, anyway had a bit of success tonight, I remembered that everything needs to be logical, so as my son ate his mammoth spoonfuls of pasta I showed him how small the pill was in comparison - two mins later he was having a go with jelly tots!!

 

Fingers crossed for tomorrow

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Well done for finding a solution - I've never managed to get my daughter, now 19, to swallow pills - she just finds it physically impossible. I've got really unpleasant memories of trying to force very bitter crushed up malaria tablets down her when we went to Zimbabwe (she was 2).

 

We've always had to ask for liquid versions of various medications - or resort to the cutting/squishing method. I think it's sometimes worth talking to pharmacists as they know what is available: often more than the GP's do. One friendly local pharmacist managed to get a particular drug made in liquid form especially for my daughter. I have to stress they were small and independent and customer service was important to them. They actually offered to do it - I wouldn't have thought to ask. A larger supermarket pharmacy was really offhand and didn't want to know.

 

Good luck with the jelly tot method!

 

K x

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Glad you found a way round it. I have been so lucky a R can swallow any kind of tablet, but someone told me to take the capsule with a big spoonful of yoghurt.

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i know personally how your son feels when first needed meds to help me along at 14 years old for depression i gagged and kept thinking too much about taking it i had real fear of choking but now after 5 years used to it but with tabs on now it jammed down ma throat and getting stuck half way sometimes even though take it with a drink as can't take it without! feels like sometimes i going to choke when i take it sounds strange and weird i know!

 

take care

good luck with him taking meds successfully! hope you find a right solution for him! igorn doctor you know what right and best for your son what he needs to cope and deal with things he oviously doesn't! that's his opinion!

 

XKLX

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This is something I have practised with my son for some time incase he ever needed to take pill medication. I just started by giving him the fish oil capsules. There was therefore no real pressure as it wasn't a necessary medication. He does have to hold his nose and drink something straight afterwards. But prior to that he gagged or vomitted very easily. Now he's relatively okay with most medication. Antibiotics are another story. We have to disguise that in chocolate milk. The first time he was prescribed it (prior diagnosis) he just kept vomitting it back. I phoned the surgery and was told by the doctor "you just have to persevere". Well, I never would have thought of that!!

Anyway, I'm glad you've found a way to do it. But I was going to say that if he was struggling, you might want to hold off for a while with the real stuff and practice with some vitamin tablets until he feels confident with it all.

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I will put my professional hat on for this.

First, you should never crush or cut up a tablet unless it says on the packet it is all right to do so as it can affect the way a the medication is absorbed by the body.

 

Second, if medication is disguised and given to someone without their knowledge it would be be considered abuse. Not really sure how a parent would stand with this one.

 

Other than that most if not all medications are available in liquid form but cost more.

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We played the 'baby bird' game. Most important part of this was that Ben wanted to take the tablets - he just couldn't overcome the gag reflex. So if the child's not cooperating this isn't going to work...

Anyhoo - Ben would stand looking up with his mouth wide open and his 'wings' out behind him... I as the parent bird would drop the tablet (worm) right into the back of his throat when he was 'mid-cheep'. A quick swallow followed up with a big swallow of juice would see it all the way down. :D:thumbs:

This was originally for little ol' eye-q tabs, but then we moved up to big ol' mother tesco one a day versions and now pretty much anything smaller than a golf ball! :lol:

Keep calm, keep it fun and to a mutually agreed agenda and you should get there after a few false starts. As a 'warm up' you could try getting the kid to swallow a bit of jelly baby or something cut to size.... if they can swallow that then you've established a baseline ;) ;) :whistle:

 

L&P

 

BD :D

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