Trouble swallowing pills

Mia H.
on 1/30/12 12:38 am - OH

I have been swallowing all my vitamins (except calcium) since a couple weeks after surgery. For the past week or so, I have been having trouble with the pills. They get caught in the back of my throat or feel like they are stuck. I am 7 mo's out and too far out for a stricture, right? I can eat and drink just fine. Not sure what's going on, I see the doctor on Thursday so I'll be sure to ask. Has anyone else had this happen?

poet_kelly
on 1/30/12 12:50 am - OH

RNY on 11/04/08

It would be unusual to have a stricture that far out, but it's possible. However, if they are getting stuck in the back of your throat, that's not a stricture - a stricture occurs between the pouch and small intestine. I don't have any ideas for you, other than to go back to chewable vitamins if those go down easier.

Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.

Keeves
on 1/30/12 12:57 am - Elizabeth, NJ

RNY on 12/12/11

I've NEVER been a good pill-swallower, but I'm noticeably worse since my surgery. I think I'm experiencing the same back-of-the-throat thing as Mia. At first I was worried, thinking it might be a stricture, but this is happening far too high -- it's in the back of my mouth, at the TOP of my throat, nowhere near my chest.

But it has to be SOMETHING, right? And I can't imagine what the problem is. For comparison, I have noticed it the most with Citrical Petites. Most of my other meds are smaller, longer, and slipperier. But I have problems with the Citrical more often than I'd like to admit.

JJ_
on 1/30/12 1:19 am

If my vitamin (used a pill splitter to make it smaller) gets stuck, I take another sip of water. It usually is enough to move it down.

Good luck in sorting this out.

Judy

Kallen27
on 1/30/12 1:23 am

I thought we would be on chewables for the rest of our lives. We can we start taking pills?

poet_kelly
on 1/30/12 1:27 am - OH

RNY on 11/04/08

There is no reason to be on chewables forever, unless you just prefer them. The ASMBS says we can swallow pills as soon as we are able to tolerate them. I was swallowing pills the same day I had surgery.

Kelly

Mia H.
on 1/30/12 1:41 am - OH

RNY on 06/21/11

Thank you everyone. I just have been doing fine until the last week or so which has me baffled. Yep, it's too high to be a stricture. Maybe the drier weather in the house from the furnace is just making it harder to swallow the pills. I don't have any chewables right now since I haven't used them in months, so I'll start to drink more first before taking the pills to see if that helps.

I was given pills as part of my prescription from my surgeon. She said to use chewables if we have to, but if you can swallow pills you were okay to do so.

Tri_harder
on 1/30/12 1:46 am

RNY on 10/03/06

At the pharmacy you can also buy a pill crusher. It is very easy to use. Just like any other alteration of a pill or capsule though, you need to talk to the pharmacist to make sure it doesn't screw up the way the pill or capsule dissolves. They are manufactured with different coatings sometimes to make them dissolve and absorb differently. Try putting a cheap aspirin and a Bayer aspirin in a glass of water and let them sit. You will notice the Bayer dissolves quicker. That is one reason that they are more gentle on a stomach. They disperse quicker. (Obviously we don't take aspirin anymore) Time release capsules have the tiny little bits within the capsule coated differently so they dissolve differently. Your pharmacist is the best person to talk to before altering a pill or capsule any way.

Tri

Kallen27
on 1/30/12 3:16 am

OK I thought they absorbed better. I have been taking this nasty liquid b12. I will have to get a pill form!

poet_kelly
on 1/30/12 3:20 am - OH

RNY on 11/04/08

No, chewables don't absorb better.

For B12, you will need a sublingual that dissolves under your tongue, though, not a pill you swallow. That's just for B12. For other vites, a pill is fine.

Kelly