One of my Pain Pills Sticks in my Throat - suggestions?

I had polio as a kid, the kind that affected my throat. Luckily it didn't do much to breathing. As a result I didn't learn to swallow any pills until in my '30s.

I chew up my tablet pills - hydrocodone, tramadol. I can swallow a bunch of coated pills together in milk but not water.

HYSINGLA ER is the problem. It's a smallish, thick, round, slightly coated, but not slippery hydrocodone I take at night. Not large as my calcium which I chew also, but the coating isn't slippery, and it gets stuck right below my tongue, every time where I can't cough it back up. Can't chew it as it's ER.

Fortunately I've learned not to panic, but it's scary as my trachea (breathing tube) branches off unusually close to that spot. It's been noted on swallowing test after ACDF. I'd eat a bit of dry bread and have to give a slight cough to clear my throat. Regular hard food doesn't all go down completely either unless I drink while eating.

I can get the Hysingla ER down if I butter it and take it with milk, again not with water. But that's messy. I saw my pain doc yesterday, but he had no suggestions, didn't want to change me to a patch.

Is it easier to swallow if I bend forward or tip head back? Which is safer? My sister, also post-polio patient, turns her head to the side to swallow. Post-polio syndrome is hardly seen anymore in USA, so docs are not trained in it. Of course, breaking my neck didn't help any either.

The older I get the more scared I get when choking, and I'm always alone.

I would take to heart Lynwood's suggestion to take the pill with a thicker based liquid - pudding, yogurt, applesauce, oatmeal, cream of wheat, nectar-thick juices. Anyone with dysphagia is usually advised to gear toward thick liquids.

Why was your MD opposed to a patch for transdermal absorption?

A fentanyl patch would ease your swallowing concerns. I have short bowel syndrome (loss of length of the small intestine) and the fentanyl patch is a good alternative for me. Transdermal medication delivery has advantages. I would discuss more fully with your pain mgm MD your swallowing concerns and discussion of a transdermal option. With post polio syndrome, your swallowing issues will likely not improve over time but will either stay the course/status quo or decline over time.

- Karen -

This happens to me all the time.

Have a small trachea so have to tell them to use pediatric breathing tubes if I have surgery.

Told my Doctor about this problem years ago and he suggested putting the pill in a little blob of butter first and then swallow.

It works like a charm for me.

Once in awhile I will get lazy and forgo the butter and about 9 times out of 10 it ends up sticking!!

It is a weird feeling to have that pill stuck in your throat.

Well best of luck!!

Cindy

Alice:
You asked whether to tilt your head forward or backward to assist swallowing.

The answer: Tuck your chin down toward your breastbone/sternum to facilitate the swallow reflex.

Do not arch your head backward. That's a no no. Head back, neck hyperextended, will make swallowing more difficult.

- Karen -

I double the suggestion of applesauce! Very, very rarely do I get a pill stuck, but it's an awful feeling when it happens! My wife suggested keeping a ziplock bag of crackers beside the chair where I usually take pills, but if it gets worse and I switch to applesauce, I'm going to keep one of those little plastic single-serving tubs of applesauce, that don't need refrigerated, beside where I take my pills, with a plastic spoon. An anti-stuck pill kit. Personally, I actually like room temperature better--cold makes my throat want to close up--but I don't know which would be your preference.