Pill Gets Stuck

[Capan24]

I have been taking Alendronate once weekly for a month. The pill keeps getting stuck in my throat. I drink a full glass of water before taking the pill and another glass afterward. I am also standing. I was hesitant to start this med. Now I am afraid of doing damage to my esophagus and thinking about stopping this med. Have others had this problem?

[Met00]

I think you need to wash it down with a glass of water, so basically a full glass of water follows the pill, not prior to having it. That's to make sure it gets washed all the way down your oesophagus into your stomach. If it's getting stuck, in the long term it could damage your throat and/or oesophagus, so if drinking the glass of water with/after it doesn't do the trick, you should stop taking it and see your doctor. There's an effervescent form that might be better for you, but a lot of doctors don't know about it.

[raywood1 in reply to Met00]

That seems incorrect. The advice from medical sites seems to be, have some water before taking the pill.

[Capan24 in reply to raywood1]

I tried taking the pill with and without water. I decided to stop it because I didn't want to take it in the first place. I started taking vitamin K2 and doing more weight bearing exercises. Going to see how my next scan goes and take it from there.

[Met00 in reply to raywood1]

From the patient information leaflet: "You must drink a large glassful of plain water (not mineral water) as you take your dose. If you are taking tablets, swallow the tablet whole - you must not chew, break, or crush alendronic acid tablets"

[Fruitandnutcase]

That is one pill that you really do not want to get stuck in your throat. I took alendronic acid for a short time, it wasn’t a huge pill from what I remember but I used to take it standing beside the sink and drink it with a huge glass of tap water - I literally gulped the water down and the pill went with it.

If you really can’t take it easily then you should speak to the doctor who prescribed it and see what they can suggest but you don’t want it sticking in your throat on the way down.

[Capan24]

I am going to stop taking the Alendronate. I contacted my doctor. She wanted to know if I would be willing to do an infusion formulation if my insurance would cover it. It would be Reclast or Prolia. I don't like the idea of an infusion and all the side effects. I think for now I am going to stick with my supplements, exercise, and diet.