Spitting out meds

[AbbieB]

Help mamas!

DS has just learned the nifty trick of spitting out all of his oral meds. He will hold it in his mouth no matter how I get it in there (check pocket, under the tongue, willingly accepting it, super tiny amounts at a time), he will fake a swallow, and then pucker up and spit a beautiful arc of sticky, bright colored meds a few feet in the air. He's also fond of the slack jaw drool it out method too.

Any suggestions for getting around this?

More info: He's 3 and has Ds. He needs to take meds to treat his Leukemia.

At the moment he is spitting out the optional pain and nausea meds (I suspect he does not want to feel high or loopy), but he is gagging and grinding his teeth or whining from discomfort.  Soon he will be taking oral chemo again so I need to get around this issue in a week or 2

I wonder if it's OK to follow his lead and not force pain and nausea meds if he does not want them, even though he is experiencing some discomfort but otherwise behaving normally. Maybe that's a whole 'nother thread right there.

[Zan&Zav]

sorry you have to deal with this mama. i bribe with pepsi, if it is something he really really has to take i hold the pepsi in one hand and the meds in the other. once he swallows the meds he gets the pepsi. my son is 4 and has autism.

[anj_rn]

I have also resorted to bribing.  M&Ms and skittles are my choice since I can give just one per med DS takes.  Most meds he takes well, but if they taste bad, or make him feel funny, he does not want them.  I try not to give him anything he does not need.  It took us a while to figure out what to bribe with, and sometimes we have to up the bribe.  When it comes to those needed meds, I firmly beleive in whatever works.  DD has a g-tube, so that makes it easy.

[melmel2849]

Can they be mixed with something that tastes good?  DS used to take a really gritty medication that coated mouth like chalk.  Not taking it wasn't an option, so when it started becoming a battle, I started mixing it with a couple of tablespoons of fudge sauce.  Other parents used honey or those syrup mixes that coffee shops put in drinks.  DS was really slow to really understand the concept of bribery, so I needed another option.

I can't give you advice about whether you should give the meds.  It's tough, and I'm sorry you have to make a choice like this.  

[askew]

With my DD I used to hold her nose. I know it sounds horrible, but she was on seizure meds she needed, and that is what the neuro said to do. She was under 1 at the time though. With my 4 year old I bribe with chocolate chips, and I chase meds that taste bad with juice.