fluffyfeet Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Hi All I know somebody out there will be able to help me crack this. My son has to take medication for ADHD with his breakfast each morning, which up until now hasn't been a problem as we were using tablets which we could crush into some juice and he would drink in a second. We have now changed medication to one which will last for more of the school day, which has presented us with a problem - swallowing the capsule whole. We've been told that we can open the capsule and sprinkle it on apple sauce but my son is tactile defensive about things he puts in his mouth, especially anything sloppy. This morning was an absolute nightmare, with my son ended up getting into class at 9.15 - not good. I have opened the capsule and tipped them straight onto his tongue and then swilled them down with a drink, but some of the little 'balls' stay in his mouth and he always bites anything he can feel in his mouth, which destroys the time delay. Any ideas/advice gratefully received. Dawn x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffyfeet Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 Forgot to say he also has Aspergers which makes explaining things a little more difficult too. Dawn x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Would it work going on his breakfast or cant you mix it with food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 would offering some sort of reward work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pullusleggus Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I don't envy you the task of getting it down him. One trick worth trying is to get him to chew up a mouthful of bread until he is ready to swallow it. At that point any pill can be pushed into the centre of the bread and swallowing it will be easy as he should not even feel it is there - if you get it just right. The important parts are - large piece of bread, well chewed but not too soggy, pill well surrounded with the bread. It can be washed down with a drink of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyhole kate Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 The granules buried in the orange bit of a jaffa cake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Does he like honey? Or something else that's sticky and can't be spat out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffyfeet Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 Liking the bread and the jaffa cake ideas - he likes both of those as long as the bread is dry. Honey gets classed as sauce by him as it is runny like sauce. Mixing with breakfast would be brill if he ate Ready Brek or something like that so that he would clear the bowl but breakfast has to be cereal, the milk can't be cold and you're never sure how much will end up in him. Have tried the reward route - and the blackmail route - and the threat route (PS2 will go in the bin etc) Think I'll def give the Jaffa cake and bread options a whirl. Will let you know what happens. Many thanks Dawn x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackiepoppies Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Does he like fruit Buried in a grape, slice of tangerine, banana How about cheese spread on a biscuit? Roast potatoes? Sorry, not being much help. I hope you come up with a solution. Jx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I think these capsules need to be swallowed whole so splitting them may defeat the object of the delayed release as the capsule breaks down slowly (not the little balls of medication) Is there any chance the meds might be available in another form? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scary Mary Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Many moons ago, I used fizzy drinks to help my young son learn to take quite large pills. The bubbles seem to stop the pill getting stuck on the way down, and the exceptionally unusal treat of a small glass of lemonade or ginger ale, made him much more willing to try. Good luck though - 15 years on, and I can still remember the frustration of trying to get those wretched pills down my son! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pullusleggus Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 The capsules are not needed whole, unusually. They are just a package for the 'grains' within, each of which releases the methylphenidate at different rates. And unfortunately, being a gradual release form of the medication, there are no other preparations. If you could invent some you could make a small fortune! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyhen Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 My son too has always had problems swallowing pills. We put them inside a banana, first bite no pill second or third bite pill in. It worked for us anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Licken Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 what about mixed in a smoothie - with a straw - he would never know it was there - or milk shake I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 my mum used to put mine in a small lump of banana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pullusleggus Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 How has it gone fluffyfeet? What works? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Licken Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 If none of this works- is there any reason he can't just take a second tablet at school at lunchtime - we have a little lad who turns up like clockwork every day demanding his one! Swallows it down with a glass of water and then pootles off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drcara Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Hi I'm a child psychiatrist I recommend to my young people and families to empty the capsule onto a spoonful of something. Ideally cereal. The key is it has to go down in one mouth-ful, therefore all the capsule on one spoon not just sprinkled over breakfast; yogurt, spoonful of smoothie, honey and mashed banana are good. Give it with the first spoonful of breakfast. don't worry about the odd granule going astray! Hope it's getting better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
