my mother dusnt understand 1 of my biggest fears. how do i tell her?

Question

im absolutly terrifyed of swallowing tablets. Im in tears now because my mother tried 2 make me swallow 1. i went thru a phase where it took me 20 mins 2 phsych myself up, but now i cnt n e more. Mum is being 2 impatient with me and she dusnt seem 2 understand how scary this is 4 me. I know it probably wont happen but i cnt get it out of my head that u cud die by swallowing sumthing...
what do i do??????????

she is practically forcing me 2 oversum my biggest fears in teh space of 1 min and im not ready.
I told her its lyk trying 2 shove a tarantular on ur hand and not drop it but she just rolls her eyes

iv tried sitting down with her and telling her about how i feel, but she just says im being silly. im 14...does that help?

Answer 1

I have the same problem. I am a 2nd year College student and I still have that fear as if the capsule won't come down right? My uncle got mad at me but I tried and tried and my dad just boost up my energy i GUESS SO TRY IT. yOU CAN DO IT. Tell your mom don't worry and one day we'll both be able to swallow some. I can swallow the small and medium ones now but not yet the large. good luck

Answer 2

Okay a few things to do (coming from an old pro.) i found it so hard to swallow tablets and capsules - same thing i use to scream and cry and throw tantrums it was aweful, givin the choice i'd probably take the tarantula :)
the first thing you can do is to put it at the back of your throat like as far as you can (hold your head back so that your throat is parallel) ie so the tablet goes straight down - you can either put the water in first or second or put the smallest amount of honey on it so that it slides straight down. you actually dont have swallow it sorta does it itself.
one other way is to practice reguritation. i learnt this after developing bulima (not reccommended) but use spaghetti so you have control and swallow it and then bring it back - you actually (like any other muscle) train your muscles to work the other way. it helps to cure any fears because you gain more control over it and you know that you could if you need to bring it back again.
things like nurofen (not sure its ibrofuen is the chemical name) is covered with a sugary coating sort of like M & M's suck on them first and sorta roll around your mouth till finally swallowing it.
or you can swallow M & M's (preferably not the peanut ones) or mini M & M's cause you realise its not gonna kill ya (well obesity maybe ;)
talk to your phamracist - they are brillant resources, ask about alternative medication you could take instead like a syrup, smaller meds. there are alternatives of lots of different brands.
there is also the under the tongue trick. (only reccomended if it not vital to take!!! no suicides/ depression please) on movies where they check the patients mouth after takin meds (yes they actually do that in pysch wards.) because the patients "tongue the meds" meaning they put them under there tongue or the inside of cheeks, walking away and spitting them out. problem solved ur mum thinks shes winning and you arent taking the meds. but this is a last resort, try the above first!

*** Could always be worse - IT COULD BE A SUPPOSITARY*** (is inserted into the butt.)

Answer 3

Your mother is not being very understanding - you have to stand your ground and make her understand - I know this is easier said than done.

Also, consider this - if your mother is actually, physically forcing you to take these tablets then she could be Guilty of Child Abuse or Assult depending on your age.

You mother needs to talk to your Doctor - many drugs in tablet form are available as liquids. If these 'tablets' are capsules, you can open the capsules and empty the contents on food.

You can crush or chew some tablets but CHECK FIRST this is safe to do with your tablets.

Many people cant swallow tablets, it is very very frightening if a big tablet gets 'stuck' and you feel like you are choking - have you ever choked before and you are scared??

You have to sit down with your mum and explain again, if she wont listen speak to another family member.

Answer 4

You don't cure phobias by shouting and bullying.

Your body's survival instincts tell it to reject small hard unchewed items, and if that instinct is overwhelming, it doesn't matter how many pints of water you swallow, your body will refuse to accept the tablet and it will dissolve in disgusting tasting yuk onto your tongue.

Until you can teach your body to override its own survival instincts (and is that a good idea?) then you can either take large doses of Paracetamol Elixir Junior (the generic Calpol for older kids) and/or its Ibuprofen equivalent (there's no junior version for this - just infant). Most medicines are available in liquid form, but the pharmacist often has to send off for it specially. When the doctor prescribes something, ask if it is available in liquid form.

If you are in a position where a tablet is the only option, try burying it in a bitesize piece of banana, chew the banana only slightly then swallow and wash down with water.

Answer 5

Did you have a bad experience before with pills, such as choking before, vomiting, etc? Maybe thats why youre scared. But its ok. I didnt start swallowing pills until I was 11. I would just put the pill on the back part of my tongue, and take a nice big swallow of juice or something sweet. Not water though, because usually you can taste the medicine before it goes down. Also, I wouldnt break the pill down into powder if at all possible. Im a pharmacology student and the fact is that pills can lose their effectiveness when their crushed. Some pills HAVE to be taken WHOLE or they wont work. They're meant to be broken down by your stomach in a certain time frame in order for them to work. Mothers can be impatient sometimes, I know, but just ask her to help you. She probably feels like youre old enough to swallow pills and it may frustrate her that you aren't doing it. But don't do it for her, do it for yourself and your health. Just take it upon yourself to take the pills. Think positive and say, "This pill is small, I can swallow it. Its not going to kill me. I'm going to be alright." Positive thinking will get you places that seem impossible to get to. Good luck, I know you can do it.

Answer 6

I had the same problem when I was a young girl and also my mother didn't realise how traumatic being forced to take tablets can be.

Suggest crushing tablets onto spoon of jam or peanut butter then washing down with orange juice. Much easier to swallow and no risk of choking.

You don't say what the tablets are for but assuming they will help you and prescribed for your condition by the doctor

Answer 7

Tell her. I'm not sure how old you are but it's a common fear with children. I was 17 before I could swallow tablets. Just say to her and ask if she can crush the tablets and let you take them with water. They will taste horrible but at least that way you can take them.

Answer 8

I noticed some of the answer-ers think it is okay to crush the tablets and then take them. This is a definite NO-NO. Do not crush any kind of medicinal tablets to powder without consulting your doctor or a poison control center for advice. The reason for this is many tablets are supposed to dissolve slowly on down in the lower intestine for proper absorption. If they are crushed to powder they may be absorbed too quickly and give you a toxic affect, which would be a bad effect on your system. Please, please, NEVER crush or cut a medicine tablet unless you know specifically that it is not harmful to do so!

Answer 9

my son is terrified of swallowing pills so what i do is: i get a small amount of warm water and i dissolve the pill in the water and then he just drinks it real quick ( he is 10 so sometimes I'll add a tiny bit of sugar to the water). if the pill is a capsule i will open it up and sprinkle it on top of a spoonful of applesauce. it works. i use to fight with him to take medication. now if he needs it there is no fight. best of luck

Answer 10

chew the tablet then it will be rotten but at elast u have taken it .
best way to take a tablet is have water in your mouth and pop one in and then drink you dont even notice the tablet then do the same for the next tablet fill mouth up with water ,
you are going to have to take tablet during your life one might even be a difference in life or death if you cant take them its not going to help your mum is probably annoyed that if it came to that you wouldn't do it try the way above and see if it helps