Pill Swallowing Cup

I'm a 36 year old woman who has never been able to swallow a pill my entire life. Doesn't matter the size, I couldn't swallow it. On the rare occasion I have absolutely *had* to take a pill, I have used a pill crusher to crush it (but I know there are pills that cannot be crushed). I also cannot swallow many food items such as fruit and vegetables skins, small seeds (like the ones in "seedless" watermellon and the almost non-existent ones in "seedless" grapes). I have to use a child's toothbrush because of my tremendous gag reflex, and I still gag on it when brushing my teeth. I have avoided going to doctors and dentists for years out of sheer terror they would prescribe me a pill I *had* to take that couldn't be crushed, and I had no idea what I would do if that ever happened. Well I gave in and went to see a doctor and, of course, she prescribed me a couple pills - one I will have to take every day for the rest of my life. I had a complete meltdown about this of course. And then I ordered the Oralflo cup (which I have nicknamed my pill sippy cup). I seriously had my doubts when it came in the mail. It really looked ridiculous. But I tried it and...THE PILL WENT DOWN! I didn't even feel it. I have no idea how or why this device works but it does - it really does! You have to be very careful about not overfilling it (the directions clearly say this and they mean it cause otherwise you will end up with a face and nose full of water! But I can now swallow pills, and I don't have to dread some diagnosis someday where they tell me I have to take something that can't be crushed or I'll die. No, I'm not a company rep. I am the same skeptic many of you reading this probably are. Why it didn't work for some of the reviewers here I can't say for certain. But it worked for me when nothing ever did. It's a small investment to make for a truly life altering product. If I could give more than 5 stars I would.~~~~~~~~~~~~Update: I would still give this product more than 5 stars....perhaps 100...even though I don't need to use it anymore. This devise actually taught me how to swallow pills. I can now swallow them without the Oralflo cup - handfuls of pills, any size, doesn't matter. I no longer have issues swallowing certain foods either. All because this little sippy cup taught me how to swallow. I know that may sound ridiculous but it's true. My husband just told me how relieved he is that he now does not have to worry that I will not be able to take some necessary drug I need in life. I just sent him to the store to buy me some pills since I have a cold. I used to have to drink nasty liquid medicines - yuck. Yea for pills! Yea for Oralflo!

I've always had problems swallowing pills. But I have a couple of medical conditions and I'm on a pill I have to swallow whole. I'm not afraid to swallow pills whole, I can do it. I just have problems with getting them in a good position to do so and larger pills, especially capsules are my biggest enemy. My smaller pills I can generally choke down no problem. This new pill that I have to swallow whole? Giant capsule. I realized I needed tips and tricks or some kind of aide, so I began a search. Take with foods they said. I can sometimes make that work but sometimes it feels like an all day affair, I don't do well swallowing giant chunks o' food either. Imagine it's something else - rrriiigght.Then I found products like this. Oooh, a sippy cup for taking pills, let's try that. I don't mind looking like a giant baby if it makes taking giant horse pills easier.Verdict? I've followed the directions, right down to freezing the capsule for a few minutes to lessen the chance of it being wet when I put it in the cup. Hold the cup just as they say. Don't fill it full. And I'm actually less successful than just mushing it up in a cracker. In fact I came dangerously close to wasting a pill as I had such high hopes for this cup that I didn't think to have a backup, like a cracker ready, to try again, so I had a wet pill in my mouth that I couldn't swallow on its own that first time. But I'm no quitter, oh no, at least not that easily. I tried and tried. And got the same non-results and then, yeah, I quit.Total waste of money. Not sure who this is working on or what their magic trick is, but I haven't figured it out after multiple attempts.

Of course, children might have a problem, but for me, a senior with swallowing problems, it works like a charm.I take a nice solid swallow, and the pill seems to rush into my mouth and bounce up like on a wave, and then get washed right down my throat. I'm still amazed. It worked on my second try.The pill needs to be lying sideways in the lid. Before, I had been trying to angle the large pills in my mouth like a surfboard on a wave. It usually stuck in my throat sideways.Now, this sounds crazy, but a pill that falls out of the cup spout sideways gets turned the other way and surfs down my throat easily. Remember to take enough water into your mouth, but not too much to choke you.

Our pediatrician recommended the Oralflo pill swallowing cup to help our daughter learn to swallow pills, but unfortunately, it didn’t work as well as we hoped. The idea behind the design is solid, and I can see how it could help some kids, but in our case, the pills often got stuck in the straw area after getting wet, which just made things more frustrating.We tried a few different pill sizes, but the result was the same. It’s a clever tool, and it may work for others, but it didn’t make the process easier for us. I appreciate the intent behind the product, but it just didn’t meet our needs.