Coughed up a pill????

[JohnHMich]

Today we had a new wrinkle. We generally do evening pills and then the cough assist box. Tonight she coughed or vomited up one of the pills she had swallowed earlier. I don't know whether it had not gone fully into the stomach. Has anybody had a similar experience where the cough box seemed to pull up stomach contents?

 

[Statius@]

I had that happen once--I'm pretty sure the pill had gotten stuck in my throat part the way down. I don't think it had reached my stomach.

Ed

 

[affected]

If it was stomach contents it would have been more than a pill on its own, it would have been a dissolved swill of acid and pill particles. Unless you mean she swallowed the pill and then you immediately did the cough assist. In that case the pill may not have dissolved much. Unless the pill is designed to be a slow release (and therefore it dissolves very slowly), pills normally break down fast in the stomach so that the substance they are delivering can be rapidly absorbed.
Sounds like it got stuck part way down - that seems like something to really keep an eye on. Does she have any swallowing issues? It could be worth checking if these pills can be crushed and give them in apple sauce or similar?

 

[lgelb]

I would do the CoughAssist and then the pills. If they are not listed in the Do Not Crush List, you could crush them in applesauce, non-dairy pudding, yogurt, etc. as Tillie noted. Or if swallowing is not the issue, just chase with enough liquid. Some PALS may find a large bore straw more comfortable than a cup at times.

 

[Peter Pan]

I would definitely take pills after using the cough assist and not the other way round. Food and pills often gets lodged in my throat or on the back of my tongue. Sometimes I’m totally unaware that they’re there.

 

[JohnHMich]

Cough assist then pills. Check!!

 

[JohnHMich]

The other achievement of the last few days is that we got two meals thru the g-tube.

 

[affected]

oh that's great news John, I hope you find this really helps you both.