Anxiety over taking pills

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-18-2004
Anxiety over taking pills
2
Tue, 05-03-2005 - 7:38pm

Hey,
Although the last few months have been semi-stressful and for a while brought back anxiety attacks, for the most part they've gone away and i can control them again. However there's one issue i can't shake- fear of taking pills! lol i know this isnt uncommon, but i need to overcome it.
Two years ago, when I was first going out with my BF, i had a really bad cold and he gave me some guefasin to help dry me out. The pill was huge and so i broke it in half. The first half was fine, then I tried his method of swallowing pills- to fill mouth with water, slip the pill in and then swallow, and choked. For a while after that I was okay again with swallowing pills, although scared and just made sure that someone else was in the room or vicinity when i took them. (it was comforting for me somehow). Now however, i'm scared to take pills again, for fear of choking.
I take ortho tri-lo every night, but those things are tiny and dont really count. My wrist is really hurting right now tho from extensive use (finals season) and i'd really like to be able to take someting and go back to work, rather than just sit here doing nothing to hope that the pain goes away. I really do want to overcome this and not let it take over, because i know that there will be so many times i'll need to take something in my lifetime, that i should not start this now. My mom always used to put it in her cottage cheese, but i dont like cottage cheese whatsoever and i know that it isnt good to chew up pills (Bf explained to me that it causes the medicine to be released faster, rather than at a steady rate)
Thank you guys for listening to this. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Liz

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 05-03-2005 - 11:57pm
Hi Liz!

Blessings, Suz   Posts in this Community   

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Wed, 05-04-2005 - 7:09am

I can so relate to this, Liz. I just hate to swallow pills & for the same reason. Fear of choking. I have to agree with, Suz. Check to see if the med comes in liquid form. For pain relief both acetaminophen(tylenol) & ibuprophen(many brand names) come in liquid & even an adult liquid that is more concentrated than children's. Just read the dosage label carefully.


I have 2 kids that won't swallow pills. I swear I never took pills in front of them or suggested they might choke, so I think it may be a hereditary thing. Both of them take kid's chewable vitamins everyday. They fight over who gets the elephants! LOL


In all seriousness, you may need to take pills as a life or death matter someday. You need to work on this fear & I believe it's doable. I am a shining example:) of someone who overcame the fear. I can take a handful of pills in all shapes & sizes & whip them down with a swig of water with the best of them. Just do a google, Liz & all sorts of articles & sites come up on how to swallow pills. You can get empty capsules of various sizes from the pharmacy, BTW. Let us know how you do. Good luck & GBU! jan