Tuesday, August 7, 2007

A Question About Doxy

I'm hoping for a magic answer here. ^__^

This is the deal. I can't swallow a pill. I've tried; inside out, upside down, through straws, through water bottles, hidden in yogurt, etc.

I rarely get any kind of prescription drug (see "lack of quality health insurance" or, perhaps, "modified healthy diet"), so it hasn't been an issue before this.

But with the doxy, it might be.

Previously, when I've had to take a pill, I've just chomped the thing down. Chewed it up and ignored the taste. But I can't do that with the doxy because it's supposed to dissolve into the bloodstream over time, rather than be munched all at once.

So I am looking for two kinds of advice.

First, is there a magic solution to my pill-swallowing inability?

Second, if there isn't a magic solution, would it be clinically feasible for me to cut the doxy tablets into smaller tablets and chew up a chunk every three hours instead of an entire pill every twelve? (I'd create my own "time release" this way, natch.)

Thanks, team. Y'all rock, as always. ^__^

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

When I had to learn to swallow pills, my mother "taught" me on cheerios. Of course, that didn't work, as they dissolved in my throat. So, here's my suggestion. Get a potato, cut it up in tiny, pill sized pieces, and practice swallowing them. Put it on the tip of your tongue, take a sip of water, and swallow. It'll feel weird, but it's not too bad. Once you can swallow a potato (no, no chewing's necessary), you can swallow a pill. The other option is chew up other food, and right as you're about to swallow, pop the pill inside the "bolus" (the thing you've chewed up) and then swallow away just like it's normal food.

I'd ask my doctor before cutting up a pill and taking it every 3 hours. While there's probably no problem there, it might be difficult to cut, or there might be some weird biochemical thing I don't know about that's going on.

But that's just my 2 cents.