I have Parkinson's disease and some food allergies. I have found quite a few supplements to be very helpful - magnesium, ginger, green tea, curcumin, and now under a naturopath's direction for a leaky gut: digestive enzymes, Vit. C, Omega 3 oil, flaxseed oil, Vit B complex.

I have felt a definite benefit from each but lately it has felt like the capsules are all clogging up at the end of my esophagus. I have been breaking open the capsules and sprinkling the powders and oils on food, but some of them are either so gritty or so bitter that it's tough to get them down. I can't swallow oils straight, I just gag.

Any suggestions? Thanks for your help.

What a good question. I take one before breakfast, a few with breakfast and a few at bedtime. I have made adjustments based on information I hear or read about and personal experience. For example, I heard for better absorption to split my calcium/magnesium dosage into two. So, I take that divided in two dosages; one with breakfast and one at bedtime.

Well, since you possibly have difficulty swallowing with the Parkinson's, I'd try to find supplements in a liquid form. Hopefully someone will have some info on this. I have a hard time with the HORSE pills & try to always know how big the pill is (most packages have a sign on them to indicate the size).

If that's not possible I'd ask your doc for injections,especially for the B12.

I take about 30 pills per day so I have to divide them up. I can take the COQ10 along with my garlic cause they are small & smooth. I have several of those pill containers,one for am,lunch & pm-otherwise I'd never keep them all straight!

Another thought, I know very little about "compound pharmacies" but perhaps you could enquire about having your supplements made for you? Just an idea....I'm sure you are not alone with this problem!

Good question!

I take Km as a multi vitamin and then add some others like Omeg 6 & 3.

Km is a not so good tasting supplement but I got used to it. Anything in liquid form is more absorbable so I stick with it.

Hope this helps.

To take a handful of pills at once. Also you need to swallow some water
first, to lubricate the area.

Anyone who has trouble swallowing should see a doctor, and see if there
is esophageal disease. Narrowing of the area is a warning sign of
Barrett's esophagus.

Most supplements can be taken with food. This helps.

Ginger especially can reflux back, if you lie down after swallowing it.
It can burn.

It is best to swallow tabs/caps in small amounts..or separately if possible, with plenty of
fluids.

Excellent point. When you take many supplements it can be an issue to swallow down so many tablets or capsules.

One thing is to find other forms. I have this magnesium supplement I use that comes in a powder form (you add to water or juice) to avoid more pills to swallow. Some products come in sublingual form, some come in cream-based form (magnesium oil, for example). I try to find these alternatives to help reduce the overall number of pills I have to swallow.

There are a few supplements you can find in other forms beside pills.

I find that my gag reflex can be more responsive at some times and not so responsive at others. And I do sometimes put in my mouth several capsules at once that will make me almost gag. You have to pace yourself and know what may trigger that response in you. And sometimes you have to get the smaller size capsules if the large 00 size are hard to swallow by themselves.

when kids struggle with swallowing pills, it is recommended that they have the liquid to swallow their pills through a straw rather than straight from the glass. When my son was younger, he found that really helpful.

Some also find that applesauce and yoghurt and also honey help to get the pills down, followed immediately by some liquid

lol..you posted just what i was going to chemar.

my dad has pd also. at times swallowing pill after pill gets rough. one of the side effects can be a dry throat and the loss of muscle control to swallow. not being able to swallow can happen on the first pill. making the throat slippery works wonders. even just small amount of applesauce or bit of banana helps.

I have Sjogrens Syndrome which leaves you with a dry mouth, dry throat and dry everything all the way down. I have started taking a small amount of yogurt and putting it in a cup. I use about a half cup of plain yogurt. (You could use any kind of yogurt) I then mix the breakfast pills & capsules in it (don't break them up or open them). Take a drink of water first then you can spoon the mix of yogurt, pills and capsules into your mouth and swallow them pretty easy. Just be sure not to chew. Sometimes I have to chase one or two mouthfuls of the mix with water. But not often. I do the same thing at lunch and again at dinner. The yogurt is good for your stomach and digestion too.

Billye