Wouldn't it nice if one dose of medicine could be used over and over? The was the premise behind the everlasting cathartic pill. It was made of metal, and leeched out antimony as it passed through the digestive system, aiding in the elimination of parasites. It was billed as a cathartic, or laxative as we would say today. And the pill could be recycled! According to a 1907 pharmaceutical guide:
Some heirloom! Link
The bullet was passed out, recovered from the feces and used over and over again. This, as Dr. J. A. Paris says, was economy in right earnest, for a single pill would serve a whole family during their lives and might be transmitted as an heirloom to posterity.
Some heirloom! Link
Mother : "Hang on and I'll fetch the medicine, Father have you finished with it yet?"
Father : "Nearly, nearly, wait a moment. Got it"
Son :"Actually, you know what, I suddenly feel a lot better"
Wow.
I can just see the look on my kids faces as my last will and testament is read out!