abiraterone crushed, can't have it whole.

Check with your pharmacist. It comes in more than one size. The 250mg may work better. I often choke on them myself but take 2 x 500mg every night. I find best to take it with the minimum water till it is down then flood my mouth with water.

My husband always took four 250 mg tablets in the morning, and he was able to swallow them easily. I don't know if there are any smaller abiraterone tablets available, or if you can get larger tables that are scored for cutting into smaller pieces. Check with your pharmacist and perhaps with the provider who prescribed them for you.

Thanks for your response. It's not easy for the ones who have problem swallowing. Also, as per the company, it says these tablets should not crushed before taking and needs to be swallowed whole. Spoke with the Urologist, he said there is no other way, hence thought of checking here if anyone has any suggestions or solutions.

@sbd
Do you have trouble taking other meds or supplements or just this medication ? Is it the size or the surface texture that is giving you trouble ?

Yes, any medicine. ENT had said a while back, this happens with age (77). So typically breaking or crushing has been one option, however . Size of the tablet poses a challenge, rather than surface..

Hi @sbd ,
Even in my twenties I had a problem swallowing pills and that issue has continued throughout my life. Here is a technique that I learned with practice that helps me immensely. Now I am able to take a half dozen pills at once with little problem.

Have a glass of water at hand. Put a pill or pills in your mouth. Tilt your head back about half way. If the pills don't move to the back of your mouth try to move them back there with your tongue. Now take a mouthful of water and with your head tilted back, let that wash the pills into your esophagus as you swallow. Follow up with a few more gulps of water as needed to be sure you don't feel like something is stuck farther down in your esophagus.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

@carter777
Thanks a lot. This is really helpful. Visited a gastroenterologist today, and he did a quick 15m endoscopy and dilation and that helped drastically! Probably something that was on the back burner until now...
This forum continues to be helpful!

@sbd
I understand it completely. My mother has trouble swallowing pills and I have strong gag reflex so we also use different tricks. My husband hates swallowing pills and he has his own "method".

I personally have easier time swallowing pills if it is not early morning and if I use lukewarm liquid ( not cold and not hot) and yes, I have to tilt head back and move pills back or it is just not going to happen. I also have to relax and not think about "pill".
For my husband the trick is to use liquid that is thick in consistency, like tomato juice. That way he feels like he is swallowing stew lol and believe me, vegetable chinks and meat chinks are FAR larger than a pill so I think that most of the "difficulty" for all of us is just "knowing" that we HAVE to swallow something that is not food. Early morning for me is hard since I do not have breakfast ( I never did since early adolescence, just do not have appetite in the morning) and my body is just not ready to make gulps - period.

I really hope that some of those tricks will help and that procedure that you did helped. I also wonder why manufacturer thinks that this particular pill could not be halved - it really looks like regular basic pill, no enteric coating or layering visible. I wish we have a real pharmacist here who would know more about fillers used inside this pill and about delivery mechanisms and absorption rates.

@surftohealth88
On endoscopy the Dr. showed what was blocking the food pipe...he said it was from years of reflux, acidity, etc. He has given some medicines for a few weeks, but just to give you a brief impact, my father managed to gulp down 4 medicines, of which 2 were fairly large capsules! (Something he wouldn't have imagined doing yesterday).
For Abiraterone/Enzalutamide, their websites / ai call out clearly, those pills should not be broken, crushed, etc. primarily because of the delivery and absorption as you mentioned. Pharmacists opinion would definitely help.

@sbd

Oh - I am so happy to hear that problem was solved and thanks for sharing the result of that procedure : ) !

Who would guess that we can develop real blockage over time in that way ?! That is very scary. Was the scar tissue close to upper "pipe" region or in lower parts ? Great that he went to see a doctor, I would have never guessed that there could be a true blockage forming O-o ! How did doctor remove it , if you do not mind me asking ?