Pain Pills: What's the difference? Tablets capsules, liqui-gels - how to choose

Pain Pills: What's the difference? Tablets capsules, liqui-gels - how to choose
by Dennis Bryan, R.Ph., M.B.A., FAPhA


Q -What’s the difference between all those pain-pill forms?

A -Really, not much. Here’s a general scorecard, from the pills that work fastest to the ones that work slowest.
Liquids

Liqui-gel caps (liquid in a gelatin coating)

Chew or rapid-release tablets

Capsules (powder in a gelatin coating)

Hard tablets

In the end, though, a medicine’s quickness depends more on the medication than the form in which it’s delivered. And certain medicines that are slower to kick in may also last longer.

Other things that affect how quickly it takes a pain pill to start working (around 30 to 60 minutes) include:

what and how much you’ve eaten. Usually, the fuller your stomach is, the slower a product works. (Take as directed; you need food with certain medicines.

brand versus generic. Though the active ingredients are about the same, the stuff that sticks them together and helps the medicine break down may be different.

So why are there so many forms of the same pain medicines out there? Well, some people find certain forms easier to swallow than others. But simple marketing is another reason. As patents run out, prices drop, but strangely, new, “improved” and more expensive delivery forms appear!

DENNIS BRYAN, R.Ph., M.B.A., FAPhA, is a pharmacist at WBC Pharmacies Inc. in Chicago.