Pill Swallowing Cup

I bought this product because of my difficulty swallowing pills. It was initially frustrating as I was only able to successfully swallow a small percentage of my pills using this cup. I realized that only using it when I needed to take pills was a recipe for disaster as the stress of that situation would not allow me to get sufficiently relaxed for me to actually get used to the process. Instead, I began to practice using small candies and even though it took several months of daily work, I am now basically one hundred percent successful in swallowing pills using the cup. My takeaway is that it is not an instant fix and it will not work for everyone, but I think that it can be a useful aid for those willing and able to practice. Obviously, practice may not make the cup work for everyone, but it worked for me. At this price, it is worth trying if you have difficulty swallowing pills.

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.

We have a 6 y/o boy with autism and ADHD and we're just starting on our medication journey. I bought this cup to help him learn to swallow Concerta (a small stimulant medication). We tried several times with no success. The thing is you have to actually tilt your head back quite far, put your whole mouth over the large spout and get the pill down on the first try or it will not work. This is a very unnatural way of drinking and therefore was not something my son was able to do successfully. The cup and its contents ended up being flung across the room in frustration almost every time, and this after I had to dry off the pill grate and the pill itself to try again (because if either get wet then the pill just sticks to the cup and won't go down). We ended up having much more success with me physically putting the pill in his mouth after coaching him that he could not bite or chew it and immediately putting his normal cup to his mouth to drink. I find if I do this first thing in the morning when he's thirsty for milk, he chugs and chugs and it goes down without a hitch. The first week it required a LOT of bribery (much like potty training) of surprises and rewards for big boys who swallow their pills, and within a week he had it down. He still doesn't like to do it but it goes down on the first try every time! That little cup hasn't been touched since. I think it is very thoughtfully and well designed and definitely could help adults and children who can be coached on how to do it properly (which is why I gave it 3 stars), but for our son it was just too unnatural and made the whole thing more stressful and difficult. I also think it's a little overpriced. For those of you in our situation, we practiced swallowing fruity tic tacs without chewing them first and then moved on to the pill. We always use whole milk as the thick texture and creamy taste help mask the feel and texture of the pill itself. I'm so relieved that we're finally swallowing pills now as I was worried it would never happen! I really hope this helps someone else as we were pretty desperate too!

This works for us. I think some of the reviewers who gave it a low rating are misusing it. The point is to place the pill into the nozzle sticking out of the cover while both at DRY. A dry pill does no stick to dry plastic. Then you separately fill the cup itself with water, and encourage the pill-taker to take a GULP of water - the more water and the faster the better. The water flow through the nozzle, taking the pill with it. Note for VERY small pills, or if you crush/break the pills into very small pieces, this will not work - the pill has to be bigg than the openings in the grid at the bottom of the nozzle. We are using this with round pills with a diameter of 6 mm (millimeter) and they work OK, but seem to be a lower bound. The only reason I am not giving this 5 stars is the way-too-high-price. I appreciate the clever idea, but $15 for this cup is ridiculous. I woul be amazed if producing this costs more than a Quarter ($0.25).

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'm an adult who has had lifelong struggles swallowing pills. After reading so many great reviews of this product, I was optimistic. $20 seemed like a lot for a plastic cup, but I figured if it worked as advertised, it would be worth more than that amount in spared aggravation. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I followed the included directions precisely. I made sure the pill and the cup were dry. I only put a small amount of water in the cup. The problem for me is that it shoots WAY too much water into my mouth - more than I can possibly swallow in one gulp. So I end up having to take a few small swallows to reduce the amount of water in my mouth, and then I am left with a reasonable amount of water and the pill still sitting in my mouth waiting to be swallowed... which is no different than if I had just used a regular cup. Bottom line is that if you are someone who has as much trouble swallowing a large gulp of water as you do swallowing pills, then my bet is that this cup won't work for you either - save yourself the $20.

Did not work as intended for child