Swallowing Pills - Common Traits of Emets

[becca30]

Since I've been on these message boards, I've discovered that some of
the things that I do, or can't do, that I never thought were
emet-related are shared by other emets. Common traits of mine
that many of you seem to have are (1) a bad gag reflex, causing fear of
the dentist; (2) motion sickness; and (3) inability to burp. Now,
I'm wondering about another trait of mine: I'm not able to
swallow pills, other than a tiny pill like a Claritin, Sudafed, birth
control. Do you have this same problem?

[wing]

Me too. I can't swallow pills other than claritin. I'm afraid that I will choke on it or something. When I was seven I had to take a pill and after coughing a lot after that I haven't taken one bigger than claritin.

[65roses]

I can swallow entire mouthfuls with no problem. Have since I was a little kid.

[stephiewephie05]

i can't swallow pills even the tiny ones.

[crimgoddess]

Hmmmm....I wouldn't necessarily say that any of the traits you explored above are any more common to emets than they are to the non-emet population. This board has quite a few members- just because a few of them have posted similar fears/traits, it does not necessarily mean that it is common for all of us, or that there is a higher incidence for us as opposed to the 'normal' (haha) population.


For instance- I pretty much have a normal gag reflex, and while I don't fear going to the dentist, its not at the top of my list in terms of fun (and fear of the dentist is pretty common, even with non-emets). Also, true motionsickness is caused by the inner-ear. I don't think that we are especially prone to having this- but rather those who have travel-anxiety may find themselves with similar symptoms.


As for swallowing pills- I'm with Gina. I can take 'em by the mouthful if necessary. I'm a vegetarian, so when I'm not eating well I take a lot of vitamins to make sure that I stay healthy- and they are usually the size of horse tranquilizers.


*amber*

[neesy]

I can take pills of any size fine although I do gag - but I just know I wont be sick! But, I can't burp and I didnt realise that was a trait!

[tcsarah]

I too can take pills no problem. One of my herbal supplements is enormous and I take this along with my multi-vit (not small either), my anti-depressant and two anti-histamines all at the same time. I also have a good gag reflex which my doctor actually commented on when he took a swab test from my throat once. I don't mind going to the dentist and have never suffered from travel/motion sickness!

[spilled_milk]

I can't swallow pills for my life!! I really have to change that. Now, if I need to swallow them, I have to break up the capsules and put them in ice cream or something.


<3 Anya--

[jenny.preston]

I feel very different here as I CAN burp, I DO fear the dentist butNOt because of throwing up (P.S I'm 21 and have never had a cavity!! [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]) I CAN swallow pills and never gag and I DON'T get motion sick however do have panic attacks on buses or occasionally on long drives if my mind isn't occupied or if I am not by a window.


Jenny

[chicajojobe]

Nah, I definetly don't have that problem. I can handle 4 big horse pills on one mouthful of water.

[Galadriel]

Well I used to not
be able to take huge pills, but when I got my wisdom teeth out I had to
take these big antibiotic pills so I just did it. I have found it helps
to not think about it too much, just make yourself swallow it and it
tends to go down better. I am better about the pill thing, but I don't
know how some of you can swallow a mouthful at once! Lol!



I'm not afraid of the dentist per say I don't really enjoy going but its okay, just as long as they don't hurt me! [img]smileys/smilies_11.gif[/img]





</font></span>

[becca30]

Hmmmm....I wouldn't necessarily say that any of
the traits you explored above are any more common to emets than they
are to the non-emet population. This board has quite a few members-
just because a few of them have posted similar fears/traits, it does
not necessarily mean that it is common for all of us, or that there is
a higher incidence for us as opposed to the 'normal' (haha) population.

I completely disagree. I am 30 years old, and I have a big family
and circle of friends. None of them have a problem with motion
sickness - they all think it's funny when I ask to drive
everywhere. None of them have a problem swallowing pills.
None of them have a problem burping. None of them have a gag
reflex to my extent. In fact, I've never talked to anyone my age
who couldn't swallow pills or didn't grow out of their motion sickness
or can't burp or fears the dentist/ having their throat swabbed for
strep due to their gag reflex. But then I come on these boards,
and I repeatedly read about each of these problems. There's got
to be something to that. There's definitely a connection.
Obviously, not every emet has each of these problems, but these
problems seem to be very common among emets.

[becca30]

Here's a swallowing pills tip that has helped me swallow small to
medium sized pills: it sounds gross, but here goes: Get a
mouthful of bread and chew it up without swallowing. Then put the
pill in your mouth and wrap the chewed up bread around the pill, then
swallow. Dont' chew the pill, though! It fools your mind
into thinking you are just swallowing food. Start out on a very
small pill (like a Claritin) and work your way up. I just
couldn't break open or crush up pills and eat over ice cream or
applesauce any longer - gross. I hate ice cream now because when
I eat it, I can still taste that pill taste.

[crimgoddess]

Hmmmm....I wouldn't necessarily say that any of the traits you explored above are any more common to emets than they are to the non-emet population. This board has quite a few members- just because a few of them have posted similar fears/traits, it does not necessarily mean that it is common for all of us, or that there is a higher incidence for us as opposed to the 'normal' (haha) population.

I completely disagree. I am 30 years old, and I have a big family and circle of friends. None of them have a problem with motion sickness - they all think it's funny when I ask to drive everywhere. None of them have a problem swallowing pills. None of them have a problem burping. None of them have a gag reflex to my extent. In fact, I've never talked to anyone my age who couldn't swallow pills or didn't grow out of their motion sickness or can't burp or fears the dentist/ having their throat swabbed for strep due to their gag reflex. But then I come on these boards, and I repeatedly read about each of these problems. There's got to be something to that. There's definitely a connection. Obviously, not every emet has each of these problems, but these problems seem to be very common among emets.

"Very common" is all about perception. You have to be careful about assuming things that are based on what you perceive. Even though you may have not met many people who suffer from motionsickness, it is a common trait in my family- my mom, brother, and a few of my aunts on both sides of the family suffer frm it. And I am the only emet. I definitely know its not anxiety, because I have had it since birth (would projectile vomit from the carseat), and am generally more excited than nervous about travelling. I am also in a Prisoner's Rights group that drives 2 hours every 2 weeks to go into a specific prison- and we have a few members who get motionsick, and need window seats (lol, I usually try to be in another car- one sickie in the car is enough). So, if I were to take my experiences into account, I would assume that a large percentage of the population suffers from motionsickness, and that it is extremely common- but it more than likely isn't.


There are 3897 members registered here- if 30 of them reply that they can't burp (or don't burp normally),that is0.77% if this board's population. It is notan especially large amount, anddoesn't necessarily indicate a pattern. In order to definitively determine if traits such as motionsickness, heightened gag reflex, and problems swallowing pills are correlated with emetophobia, you would actually have to survey a decent amount of the emet population, and then surveythe same amount of the non-emet population and see if there is a statistically significant difference. You really can't rely on your own experience when it comes to seeing if there is acorrelation between 2 different phenomena.


Sorry, the class I am TAing this semester has a large research methods component. I pretty much have validity, reliability, correlation and causation coming out the wazoo at every given moment....


*amber*

[chicajojobe]

You know I'm kind of curious. Do a lot of us really get motion sick of
does emet anxiety just make us think we are getting motion sick?



I ask because I remember a dolphin spotting I went on while vacationing
in North Carolina a few years ago. I don't know how familiar you guys
are with the coastline along the outter banks but there's lots of reefs
and sandbars so even on perfect weather days the sound is rough water.
Plus the wake from a million boats contributes even more.



On the way out we were tossed all around. Pretty much the entire way
out you had to hold on to something to avoid falling down. I remember I
was pacing back and forth in the middle of the door way to the cockpit
shaking like a leaf (I hadn't taken any dramamine). At one point the
captain asked if I was scared and I knew it showed all over my face so
I just answered "yes". He tried to sort of console me by saying that
he'd been operating around there for years but he still gets scared
going out. I sort of just smiled back, because it was so ironic that I
didn't give a damn about the big swells I was just terrified I was
going to v*!



Once we got out to the spot it was a little choppy so he asked if
anyone gets seasick. No one really responded so he just said "over the
side". However, no one got sick and once we actually started seeing
some dolphins I forgot all about v*ing.



The on the way back in I was positively wired! I spent the time at the
front of the boat gulping down gatoraide and screaming with excitement
everytime we hit a big wave. Then afterward I convinced everyone to
stop at our favorite resturant for crab melts and cheesecake.



My point is that the ride hadn't changed any coming back but the way I
felt was completely different, so obviously the n* I felt on the way
out was in my head. Do you think that could be the case with a lot of
the motion sickness we feel?

[SimplyMe]

chicajojobe, I wonder the same thing. When I was a kid we would drive 2 1/2 hours to visit my grandparents every other w/e and my brother and I would take turns int he front and I never got sick. Also we took a 24 hr train ride to see my other grandma and I didn't get sick tho I felt a little woosy when we got off and had to drive to her house. Anyhow I don't remember ever feeling sick in the backseat (w/ the acception of anxiety) until my teens (when I knew people could get motion sickness?).


As for pills it took me forever to learn to swallow them but I can now (as long as they aren't too huge) Now I take a fairly large pill every morning and I noticed when it feels like it isn't going to go down if I keep drinking and relax it goes. Also I've felt like it wasn't going and have tried to push it up on my tongue well that must open my throat cuz then it goes down...weird.


Dentists I HATE! Not really emet related I mean I worry about them going too far back and when I've had oral surgery I worried about the meds making me sick but basically I hate going. Emet or no emet lol.


Burping lol my friends/family wish I couldn't lol!


I don't know whether it is emet related or not, I know that motion sickness is fairly common or dramamine wouldn't be invented and many hate the dentist and I had an ex who couldn't burp (not an emet) and neither could his mother. I think even tho non emets have these troubles as well I feel our emet complicates it.

[angel13]

Interesting traits! But yeah, I suppose they still differ for all of us!


ICAN swallow pills, but never used to be able to (only because I was too scared to try! If they were ordinary sized painkillers I'd have to crush them up in water, and that just tasted horrible!). I DO NOT get motion sickness, but only if I read in a car, and even then I just feel a bit sort of "blehhh", and not really n*, or anywhere near being close to v*ing. I've never been on a plane, but I really hope I'd be ok, if I don't get it in a car. I rarely ever burp, too! Its just strange...instead I get this weird hiccupy sort of thing in my throat. I can't describe it any better than that, lol.

[kylie_0607]

I have never been able to swallow pills even the tiny ones. I also fear the dentist becuase it makes me gag.

[dord]

I can take pills by the handful, I can burp, I don't mind going to the dentist at all, and luckily I've never experienced motion sickness. I'd much rather go to the dentist than the gynecologist (ha)!

[babygap5]

I too have great difficulty in swallowing pills. I spoke to my doctor about it and he told me it's got to do with how tight the throat muscles are and how "relaxed" they can become. My father had difficulty swallowing pills most of his life until he got to be around 70 or so. His muscles started to relax slightly when he got to be that old so he was able to swallow with less difficulty. I on the other hand, have the same problem he had when he was my age. I've gotten very used to the taste of aspirin, and vitamins.

[gumdropper1]

Dord,


Do you not like it when they tell you to open wide? [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]


Doug

[purpleteacher]

I can swallow pills just fine and I think that has to do with me taking lots of medications as a teenager --- I had to, even though I didn't want to. I now have a big aversion to medicine, but I can still swallow pills.


Some of my emet traits:
1. Gag reflex to new tastes or textured foods.
2. Cough syrup is almost IMPOSSIBLE to swallow!
3. I burp like a bull-frog ;-P
4. Motion sickness, but I also have vision problems that play a big role. Allergies do not help the motion sickness because of the problems with my ears.

Yet, I also do things that many emets "claim they cannot do" - the biggest one is to work with children all day long. Yes, it is a big mental struggle, but I sincerely L-O-V-E my job and the love I have for my job is bigger than my fear of V*.


Emets have things in common, but we also all have very different manifestations of things we share.

[*mandi*]

Sometimes I have trouble taking pills. Ones that arent coated usually get stuck in my throat and after it goes down I usually have a feeling that something is stuck in my throat for about an hour. I hate that feeling. I try to buy the coated pills or gel ones.


Ive always had motion sickness though.


And Im terrified to go to the dentist.....One b.c. I had a terrible expirience there the last time i was there...and b.c I cant have my mouth open that long without gagging.

[samara's on tv]

I have no problem taking pills. I don't LIKE taking big pills but I will take them if I have to. I remember this one time I had an infection and I had to take one pill 4 times a day and it was this BIG HONKIN Son of a Mother...and I had to do it four times a day for a WEEK and a HALF! Right now I'm on Anti-Depressants/Anti-Psychotics and I take them once a day...I take both of them and a Nexium all at the same time.


I hate the dentist, but that's probably because I've had more work done in my mouth then most of you will ever have in a life time. I've had gum surgery, a root canal, almost every tooth in my mouth has been filled. (I have Acid Reflux disease and that really messes up your teeth) My four bottom teeth are fake. And I'm really self concious about that. Anyway, I remember going to the dentist once where they didn't give me enough novicane and the pain was SO BAD that I almost V*ed.


The only times I've ever gotten motion sickness was when I was on a boat. The worst part about that is even though I would get sick when I was little my parents would still MAKE me go on the boats. See a lot of our family friends have boats and they thought a fun outing was to take me and my sisters on a boat...WHOOP-EE.SoI would be miserable the whole time. I've never gotten motion sickness from being in a car or on a train or on a bus though.


~Monica