What makes that guy think that his opinion would be of any solace to those who are weighing the decision of whether or not to take meds?

He spends his whole letter saying that he's glad he overcame his fear of the meds and their possible side effects, and then he actually concludes the letter by asking the doctor what the side effects are!

if he didn't already know that answer, what on earth was he basing his decision on? What fear did he actually overcome to conclude that taking meds is the right thing?

people aren't scared of the physical act of swallowing a pill, they are scared of what adverse effect the pills will have on the body in both the short and long term. The guy didn't know that answer yet he felt he was doing some type of service by allowing us to know how 'easy' it is to take pills. No one ever said it was hard.

There are differences between the fears of taking pills (the act of swallowing a pill, as you well point out), and then there are patients that have fears about either "tolerability issues" and/or "long term adverse effects". The question you are referring to was posted by a person that was initially afraid about the "tolerability issues", and then he realized that his fears about tolerability were not a big deal, so he wanted to share his experience with us. He then asked about "long term adverse effects". I personally feel his experience was enlighten and although it may has not helped you, it probably helped someone else. Thanks for expressing your concerns.