S/O @-related -- ADHD meds

[stephogirl]

For those of you with kids taking ADHD meds, how are they taking them? Swallowing pill? Mixing into food/drink and consuming? 

DS is 8 and newly diagnosed with ADHD inattentive. We've tried practicing swallowing tic tacs but it really flips him out. Says he feels like he's choking. We've tried breaking open the capsule and mixing it into juice but he doesn't like the gritty medicine taste/feel it has, so we've been mixing it into a yogurt.

The problem is that he doesn't love eating right when he gets up. Most weekends, if we aren't going anywhere, he doesn't eat anything until he's been up for 3 hours or so. Of course, with meds in the yogurt he needs to finish it every morning, which can be challenging. After a meltdown this morning, I think we need to revisit swallowing the pill. 

[lulu806]

My 7 year old daughter has ADHD combined type and also flips out about swallowing pills.  Our best method is to put some apple sauce on a spoon and then carefully open the capsule onto the single spoonful.  Then she swallows it in one mouthful.  She's pretty good about it now.  Hope that helps - I know how frustrating it can be!

[greeneggs]

DS takes Cotempla which is a quick dissolve tablet. I usually hand it to him while he's eating his breakfast so it's had time to kick in before he gets to school. A friend who's daughter takes Focalin opens up the capsule into a spoonful of yogurt and follows it with gummy vitamins as a reward for swallowing it all.

[jd15]

Dec 3, 2018 11:41:57 GMT -5 lulu806 said:

My 7 year old daughter has ADHD combined type and also flips out about swallowing pills.  Our best method is to put some apple sauce on a spoon and then carefully open the capsule onto the single spoonful.  Then she swallows it in one mouthful.  She's pretty good about it now.  Hope that helps - I know how frustrating it can be!

this. doesn't mean i still don't get the occassional push back (and have also resorted to one spoonful of pudding/ice cream to get through giving morning meds). we've also done liquid in the past, but that one is short acting and had to be retaken at lunch. 

[pitta12]

My kids both flipped out about it at first and the trick we used was the applesauce pouches. When they suck on those the pill would go right down without them noticing. Pretty soon they realized it was not a big deal and now just use water (or DS occasionally will just swallow it dry!).

[lilac05]

You can try practicing with mini M&Ms. They’re smaller and you can remind him that they will dissolve quickly if they get stuck.

If he can swallow but it feels like it gets stuck on the way down, have him tuck his chin to his chest when he swallows and swallow two times. I’ll spare you the anatomy details, but it’s not just a wives tale.

Since this is something he’ll be doing every day, the sooner he can learn how to swallow a whole pill with just a drink, the easier it’ll be for everyone.

[CurlyQ284]

My son takes Quillivant which is available in chewable and liquid form. Hes taking the chewable, he says it tastes like fruit lol.

[arch01]

My son also practiced with mini M&Ms-he liked it because he got more candy than he'd otherwise get (which is none). He has been taking meds since the first week of August and has been taking them without problems since September.

[raleighnc]

Dec 3, 2018 11:35:08 GMT -5 stephogirl said:

For those of you with kids taking ADHD meds, how are they taking them? Swallowing pill? Mixing into food/drink and consuming? 

DS is 8 and newly diagnosed with ADHD inattentive. We've tried practicing swallowing tic tacs but it really flips him out. Says he feels like he's choking. We've tried breaking open the capsule and mixing it into juice but he doesn't like the gritty medicine taste/feel it has, so we've been mixing it into a yogurt.

The problem is that he doesn't love eating right when he gets up. Most weekends, if we aren't going anywhere, he doesn't eat anything until he's been up for 3 hours or so. Of course, with meds in the yogurt he needs to finish it every morning, which can be challenging. After a meltdown this morning, I think we need to revisit swallowing the pill. 

There are a couple of special pill swallowing cups that basically balance the pill until the water flows past and carries it into their mouth. My daughter is on immediate release Ritalin, so it is too tiny for those. She fills her mouth with water, puts the pill in, and immediately takes another drink. We worked on this for a week or so because she needs to take it at school. She also likes to use the applesauce pouch trick at home (put the pill on top of the sauce and squeeze). I have refillable pouches.

[winecat]

I learned from Shanbrite's mom that there are therapists who help kids learn/relearn to swallow food, pills, etc.. (One of Shanbrite's good friends from grad school specialized in this so that's how we got on the subject.) Not sure if this is helpful or appropriate but I still have this problem and wish it had been an option for me as a kid.

[buffalogal]

in the beginning we gave DS his meds in applesauce- broke the caplet open and poured the actual meds into the sauce.
one day, after I had the discussion with DS about his ADHD and that we did give him meds, I asked him if he just wanted to swallow the caplet. I don't think he liked the taste/texture of the little balls in the applesauce and most days had to chase him around with a spoonful of sauce and meds, so he tried it and he's been swallowing the caplet ever since.
on that first day I explained how to take it this way: place the pill I the middle of your tongue, take a sip of water, let the pill float in the water in your mouth and then swallow all the water. that seemed to work and we have not had any issues since.

[esdreturns]

Dec 3, 2018 12:55:09 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

My son takes Quillivant which is available in chewable and liquid form. Hes taking the chewable, he says it tastes like fruit lol.

My son takes this too, although the liquid. Have you had any problems getting it? I have to call like 10 pharmacies every time we need a refill. I know their main production was in Puerto Rico, so I'm assuming they are still having issues.

[CurlyQ284]

Dec 3, 2018 14:53:29 GMT -5 esdreturns said:

Dec 3, 2018 12:55:09 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

My son takes Quillivant which is available in chewable and liquid form. Hes taking the chewable, he says it tastes like fruit lol.

My son takes this too, although the liquid. Have you had any problems getting it? I have to call like 10 pharmacies every time we need a refill. I know their main production was in Puerto Rico, so I'm assuming they are still having issues.

Not the chewable. When he was first prescribed it last December his doctor wrote it for the liquid but said to call him if I couldn't get it. I couldn't so he wrote it for the chewable. The first time it was a couple days but they said they have him in the system so they know to order it for him each month. We just changed doses and had another couple days wait but all the other times I've had no issues getting it.

[esdreturns]

Dec 3, 2018 14:57:38 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

Dec 3, 2018 14:53:29 GMT -5 esdreturns said:

My son takes this too, although the liquid. Have you had any problems getting it? I have to call like 10 pharmacies every time we need a refill. I know their main production was in Puerto Rico, so I'm assuming they are still having issues.

Not the chewable. When he was first prescribed it last December his doctor wrote it for the liquid but said to call him if I couldn't get it. I couldn't so he wrote it for the chewable. The first time it was a couple days but they said they have him in the system so they know to order it for him each month. We just changed doses and had another couple days wait but all the other times I've had no issues getting it.

Thanks! I'll ask his doctor about the chewable if I have an issue next month.

[akayf]

DS has to swallow his pill whole. It cannot be crushed. He hates applesauce and yogurt. He takes it with his breakfast. Big bite of cereal, chew it up, pop the pull in his mouth and as he says, it just slips down my throat nice and easy.

[whatthewhat]

My daughter has taken Dyanavel which is a liquid. She has a lot of anxiety about tasting medicine so I mixed it with just a splash of Coke.

She now takes Daytrana which is a patch. I love this one! I can put it on her before she wakes up and her doctor has us keeping it on until we get through homework and other evening responsibilities.

We have had success with both and only switched to the patch because we were having morning and evening issues.

[AJL]

DS hates to swallow pills. His medication comes in a capsule, so we just sprinkle the contents onto some apple sauce and he takes it that way. This is how he takes it at school, too. He'll be 11 at the end of the month.

[mscatra]

stephogirl, be careful with juice and ADHD medication. The absorbtion of some medications is affected by vitamin C and/or ascorbic acid and food, drink, or multivitamins containing lots of either should be spaced out at least an hour away on either side of a dose. I found out about this after my daughter went on an orange juice kick.

[lyssbobiss, Command, B613]

DS has trouble swallowing all sorts of different textures, and he takes 2 different meds - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I mix them up in some milk for him. The morning pill is a capsule so it’s easy to open it and pour it in, and the afternoon one is a tablet, so I have to crush it.

[dcrunnergirl52]

DS1 takes Concerta, and it cannot be crushed up because of the way the various chambers in the capsule release over extended time. Thankfully, he has always been really good about just taking them with water, and even now takes two capsules at once (to get the right dose). I didn't realize there were so many options that could be crushed up.