son refuses to take meds because of taste | ADHD Information

I can sympathize with you as my son 9, is refusing meds now partially because he won't take a pill. He has taunted us by swallowing tic tacs 3 at a time, but when it comes to other pills he won't go near them he just spits them out or gags them up. I have no answers just know that you are not alone.Have your child hold their nose then make them take the pill with milk, because it's thicker it kinda masks the pill i guess, you could also blow in their nose like you do a baby, see if that works too. This all worked for me this morning, it's been hard for my son to swallow too, what a nightmare huh? It's like OK, if it's not one thing it's another. It will get better right?....LOLOh yeah my little guy is also six.....Strattera has a website (www.strattera.com) and has instructions as to how to take it. I copied the following from the website...

How To Take Strattera

Take Strattera exactly as directed by your physician. Strattera offers flexible dosing, once or twice daily. Discuss a convenient schedule for taking Strattera with your doctor.

Strattera may be taken with or without food.

If you miss a dose, take it as soon as possible, but do not take more than the total daily dose in any 24-hour period.

If possible, take Strattera at the same time every day to keep on schedule.

Strattera capsules should never be broken and sprinkled on food. They must be taken whole.

Breaking open the capsule can cause eye irritation.
The medication does taste awful.  We compounded it to a chocolate flavor which my son said was better than the tutti fruity but still nasty.  We got him to start swallowing the pills whole by putting the pill on a spoonful of pudding.  Because you can't chew pudding, just slurp it, it's a good way to take pills.  We gave him a spoonful of pudding and got him to put the WHOLE SPOON in his mouth when he ate it.  After doing that several times, we put the pill on top of the pudding and voila!

While I really like strattera, perhaps there is something that would work better for your son (as in, work because he would actually take it).  We have opened other capsules and crushed tablets and my son never complained about the taste.  The strattera is just incredibly bitter.

Thank you all so much for your advice.  I tried the pudding and it was horrible.  He refused it.  I called the dr office, and they wouldnt give me any advice on what to do, just said to be creative in putting it in his food.  I went today and they gave me a type of cup that is supposed to help with swallowing pills.  Well see if that works.

The reason he was given Strattera before a stimulant was because in the past he has had a eye tic and if given a stimulant it would cause it to become worse.  We were going to place him on the adderall until the dr found out he had eye tics in the past.  I spoke to the nurse about changing his medication and she said no, that he needs to learn to swallow.  So, guess Im not getting as much assistance from them as I hoped I would.  But thank you all.  Im being positive and hoping tomorrow morning will be a better day!

[QUOTE=camerongregory]I have a 6 year old son, who has recently been diagnosed with ADHD.  We were given Strattera for the meds and started off at 10 mg.[/QUOTE]
I don't know if you feel comfortable sharing this, but can you tell us why the doctor started your boy on Strat? (Don't get me wrong... I'm NOT questioning your doctor's decision, but IMO I think "most" doctors start kids on a stimulant type drugs before switching to Strat.) Do you remember if the doctor explained to you why Strat was his first choice and not something like Metadate, Concerta, Adderall XR, or other stims?

I did not know that edbson, thank you for the information!

 We used tic tacs to learn to swallow and it worked great! if it is a capsule, put head FOREWARDS AND THE CAPSULE WILL FLOAT UP AND BACK TO THE THROAT IT IS EASIER THAT WAY. Now that he can swallow pills he just refuses to take them for other reasons. Mine would not take strattera due to the taste as well if compounded.

You are not alone.

spamula39438.3179166667Hi, Im new at this and need some help!  I have a 6 year old son, who has recently been diagnosed with ADHD.  We were given Strattera for the meds and started off at 10 mg.  Then raised to 18, now 25 mg.  They were initially given in pill form, which he refused to take.  He was able to swallow the pill twice, then refused it after holding it in his mouth for too long, and the pill busted open.  I then started opening it up and putting it in his food, drinks, desserts, anything to get him to take it.  He noticed the flavor and refused it.  I then took it to the pharmacy to get compounded, and chose tangerine flavor, as urged by pharmacist since it was the best flavor.  Well, that was even worse.  The taste is absolutely horrible.  I have tried to put it in pudding, yogurt, jelly, peanut butter, coke, ice cream, and oatmeal.  I dont know what else to do.  I have called the dr and they said to keep trying to come up with creative ways to put it in the food.  I have tried all I can possibly think of.  The medication is so strong it overpowers anything I put it in.  This morning, I thought I would try the couple extra pills I had left, and put a whole pill in a cup of pudding.  He was eating it fine, then found the pill inside it, and spit it out.  Hes not getting the whole dosage daily, and I know there has got to be other parents who have had this problem.  My son is a very picky eater, and tastes everything with his tongue before sticking it all in his mouth.  I dont know what to do, and the dr doesnt seem too helpful.  Please, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

we practiced pill swallowing first with tic tacs. Pudding is great, thats the best idea. Start with a tic tac as it is smaller, but harder. Soemtimes if they know they're swlaoowing candy not medicine it takes the anxiety away. Plus if they chew it by mistake it doesnt taste bad.

If he is just not able to do it, I'd take a break and maybe try Daytrana or something for now (Daytrana is a patch so they dont have to swallow a pill). I'd continue to work on the pill swallowing though as your med options are limited without this.

 We used mini m&ms to start with.  Then I would give him 2 or 3 at a time to swallow.  Then we went on to putting the sprinkles in a very small bite of ice cream.  He often refused to take it saying that it tasted terrible.  So I got him to swallow the pill in a small bite of ice cream.  Every morning was a struggle (and still is to be honest) but he's graduated to just taking the pill without ice cream now.  I tried explaining to my son that he had to take the medicine one way or another but that I would let him decide how he wanted to take it.  I felt like that gave him a little bit of control.  Hope this helps.

You cannot open Stratters, it is dangerous to open it. Can cause burns to the esophagus and lungs.

I would ask the pharmacist to compiound it into a liquid, which tastes horrible also.

Are you seeing a Psychiatrist? They would know that the med cannot be opened. If not you need to see one for meds.

Edbson is right--strattera is not supposed to be broken open.

It's strange to think we ingest something that caustic. But then stomach acid can peel the paint off a car

The different between a capsule and a pill [including tic tacs] that doesn't seem to get noticed around here is the gravity factor.

When you take a solid pill it's easier if you lean your head back.

A capsule FLOATS on saliva or drinks and won't go down easily with the head tilted back.

BEND FORWARD to take capsules.
They will float to the back of the throat atop the liquid and slide down.
MetisRebel39433.4247569444thats why we suggest the pudding it holds either a tablet or a capsule. The point is getting them used to swallowing a solid. Great suggestion for once they get that part though.You know they can also develop tics on Strat? DD developed a terrible tic after 2 1/2 years on Strat, one of the reasons we stopped it.