I usually take 5 pills at one time, some big, some little. no biggie for me so far

I use a pill splitter and cut them in half.

I use my pill cutter occasionally. My biggest pills are the calcium and can be iffy. As you posted, back of the tongue then big gulp of water works for me. I don’t drink any water first.

I don’t take many pills but have not been able to get my long time favorite vitamin capsules, so bought some tablets that are almost impossible to swallow. Luckily, I can break them in half, but that makes the edges rough and sometimes they scratch my throat. Note to self: only buy capsules and not tablets.

There's an area on the tongue, behind which one can swallow...in front of which, not. So no matter the size of the pill, I have to get it beyond that point and then it will go down. Taking a swig of water first to lubricate the throat always helps.

“…if you turn your head to the left when you are taking large pills…”

I think I remember hearing that and did some checking.

“Improves swallowing dynamics: Turning your head to the side increases the cricopharyngeal opening and decreases the upper esophageal sphincter (UES) pressure. This can help pills slide down more easily.”

Like buccos4vr, large pills don't bother me. I have to take seven pills every morning and I do it all in one go. When I was on chemo and had even more pills to take, I still did it in one go.

I also read somewhere that you should not tip your head back and the pills go down easier seems to work

Interesting. Olychick, a long while ago I tried the pill cutter, but had to switch to a wood ax. Then there were the sharp edges. I even dedicated a nail buffer file to smoothing them. Now I just use that hydroflask with the straw and it is like a powerwasher.

I often forget to take them, so gulp them down all in one go, sometimes combining the small ones.

Years ago, I had to pill a cat. It wasn’t hard, but one day one of the pills fell to the floor. She just went over, sniffed and ate it. Who knew.

My husband has had to take large pills as well. Some could be split, but not all. Some are time release pills and splitting them breaks the time-release "layers". We were told that vitamins are usually okay to split. I also have read that most large pills "float" momentarily, therefore holding the head facing down while swallowing with water will cause the pill to float to the back of the tongue making it easier to swallow. If this makes sense . . . .

“Then there were the sharp edges.”

Agree! I also have a pill crusher but rarely use it.

I'm glad I'm not alone. I take seven vitamins and three are small and easy and four are large and difficult. I get coated magnesium and calcium but the multivitamin and vitamin C often get stuck in my throat. I'll have to tilt my head and try that method.

I have no trouble swallowing large pills. I can usually even do so without water.

Somewhere I have the box of a clydalesized sized pill that would not go down. I was an inpatient and the nurses were warned I could not swallow pills easy. Finally Doc ordered for me to be knocked out to have pill administered. It had a camera inside to photo my innerds.

Drink with milk-should go down easier.

This is why I switched to vitamin gummies instead of monster pills. It was not only the size but also the powdery coating that made the pill cling to your tongue.

My tongue is swollen and sore from MM meds. When I had oral surgery on an infected tooth, the dental assistant had to go get some crackers to help me get four 500 MG amoxicillin down my throat. (Then, having to take the antibiotics for a week resulted in vaginal yeast -- la la!)

Centrum Over 50 for women comes as mini-vitamins.

I have sometimes opened capsules or smooshed pills to mix with applesauce.

On the other pill swallowing thread I suggested yogurt. Greek for choice as it is thick and smooth. Doctors have often suggested swallowing with food if you dont have to have an empty stomach. Yogurt works well for me and coats the ones that taste bad.

I put on my tongue, about half-way back, and then not try to swallow it. Salivary glands kick in and within 20 seconds it'll slide down when I swallow the saliva.

YMMV

Thanks, all. So many good suggestions.

I can swallow even the big pills, they go down easily. But I dread taking them. The cool water with thick tube delivery works well.

My father found large pills problematic.I wonder how many people would be more diligent about taking medication or vitamins if the pills were smaller. And why not, for a bit more money, offer a 2-Pill option, each one being half the dose of the huge one?

I happen to take a couple of small white similarly shaped pills. I’d prefer it if one was colored lavender, blue, pink…. Not a big concern. I’d greatly prefer M&Ms ;-)

As an example I used to swallow a 1000 vitamin C pill, now I take 2 500‘s, one at a time.