Applesauce or Pudding for pilling

[Kim C]

We use applesauce to put mom's pills in since she can't swallow them otherwise. Lately the pills have been getting "lost" in her mouth requiring us to "fish" them out and try again. Her tongue and chewing action doesn't work much anymore and most things she eats or drinks come right back out. I would consider crushing the pills but I now she would lose some of them in the applesauce that comes back out. Wondering if something thicker, like pudding, or perhaps putting thickener in the applesauce would help. Things are getting a lot tougher, especially getting liquids in her.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Kim

 

[CGARS]

I just took mine with yogurt. My chair was tilted back slightly.
Remember to use smooth yogurt not the fruit kind.
Good luck,
Casey

 

[Atsugi]

We cut our pills open--and crushed others--and put the ingredients into whatever food or drink she could take.

By the way, keep the mouth clean. We bought tiny sponges on sticks at a local medical supply store and used them to get the smelly crud out of my wife's mouth. Mush more effective than brushing teeth.

 

[pearshoot]

yogurt for me also...it seems that the pill stays in it.....chin tucked down

 

[MaxEidswick]

>By the way, keep the mouth clean. We bought tiny sponges on sticks at a local medical supply store and used them to get the smelly crud out of my wife's mouth. Mush more effective than brushing teeth.

I have recently started brushing with mouthwash. stick the toothbrush in the bottle picks up enough, but then my right hand can still hold it ...

 

[Kim C]

We have some yogurt. I'll try that tonight.

 

[affected]

Mush more effective than brushing teeth.

LOL was that pun intended? Even if not I had a great giggle!

 

[TGB1]

Hi Kim,
My mom could do the applesauce pill-thing for a while but then it got too difficult. Now they just go thru the tube. I know your mom doesn't have a peg tube. Just wondering what meds are so important that she even still has to take them? Do you mean morphine or pain meds? I had cut out a lot of my moms meds even before she got the tube.

Trina

 

[Kim C]

Mom takes: Ativan, Hydrocodone/APAP, Tizanidine in pills and Morphine liquid under the tongue. She gets very anxious if she doesn't get her meds. Her legs hurt a lot at night.

 

[Barbie]

we use pudding or yogurt. crushing makes them so bitter they can not be taken sometimes, but we do cut in half sometimes. have you talked to the docs about liquid form of any of her other meds?

 

[lgelb]

We went through the applesauce stage (single-serve variety for maximum freshness/room temp) but are now using the following procedure:
Put pills (2-4 at a time depending on height/width) into twist mechanism pulverizer/crusher ($7.99).
Twist until fine (though some pills come out coarser than others).
Pour into a finger or so of VitaminWater Zero (or non-Zero for those of you who are not diabetic). Use a cup or glass that is easy to see residue in (e.g. clear or black).
Stir with a thin bendable straw, let sit a few minutes, re-stir and serve through the thin straw. If significant residue remains (we do not take "the last sip" as it will be residue w/o enough liquid), throw in a little [diet in our case] Coke or other carbonated beverage, swirl/stir and finish.
For someone who cannot retain food/liquids in her mouth well, like your mom, Kim, you can still mix the liquid w/ the pills in whatever food she does best. But dissolving as much as possible avoids the "inconsistent consistency" issue that someone with impaired mouth/throat function does less well with.
As a reminder, those of us crushing and dissolving meds should heed the "do not crush" list of the ISMP and adjust meds accordingly. Many are, as noted above, available in liquid form (check on line) but since liquid thickness/stickiness/taste varies, sometimes the dissolve-a-solid still works better.

 

[cukita99]

i take hhydrocorndon at night inside a Twinkies or snack

 

[affected]

It was a real issue for a while, though when he could swallow well my PALS took hardly any meds.

He did find something slightly thick and sweet like stewed fruit worked best.

Now thankfully it all goes through the peg and all but one of our meds are liquid, and we use panadol rapid.