What a pill.

A few months ago, my son was prescribed a pill form of an antibiotic.  I didn't think anything of it as this was the first antibiotic he'd been prescribed since he was a toddler and at that age, they get the liquid form.  What a nightmare it turned out to be for him.

As I gave him the first pill to take that morning, he gagged, threw up a little and finally, after 20 minutes of this, got it down.  That night, we tried it again only to have him again gag and spit the water out of his mouth he was trying to take it with.  Again, after about 20 minutes, he finally got it down.  At this point I'm thinking that he's just over thinking this and psyching himself out.  He's taking a small pill for crying out loud. We continue doing this the rest of the weekend (with the same results) until it comes to Monday morning.  On this morning it's so bad that now the pill is starting to break down where it gets chalky and I know there is no way we are going to get much further now.  I kept chalking it up to him being stubborn and just not wanting to take it.

Not my son but the same look on  his face when I handed him the antibiotic.

Then I talked to some friends.  Apparently there are many people in the world that cannot take pills. I never knew this.  So my question is, what do teenagers and adults do that can't take pills?  Do doctor's prescribe liquid forms for headache relief, antibiotics, or any other medication that typically comes in pill form?  Is this problem something my 12 year old will grow out of?