eating -Reply

[Guest guest]

Your circumstances regarding eating are not unfamiliar to me. My wife had not

only the problems of facial paralysis causing the gaping mouth and drooling, but

her circumstance was greatly compounded as time went on with a swallowing

disorder as well. Like you she was extremely self conscious about eating in

public and also too a great deal of time to eat. She used to kid that no sooner

had she finished breakfast than it was time for lunch.

Now some ideas for assistance.

Both Occupational Therapists and Speech Pathologists receive training to provide

assistance to people with eating/swallowing disorders. You need to make sure

however that you use therapists who have specific training and experience.

They can guide you into how to hold your mouth shut with your hand when you

chew. How to position the food in your mouth to avoid " overflowing " . How to

chew and move the food in your mouth. Indentify which foods are easier to

handle and for those that are difficult to determine if accommodations are

possible to make them more pleasant to eat. Changing textures or presenting the

food in smaller pieces sometimes helps. Frequently altering the consistency

works. For example - Helen really liked steak (sorry all you vegaans!) In the

hospital the dieticians would frequently puree her food in a blender. Helen

really did not enjoy that both from a texture and presentation basis. However,

by experimenting we found if we " chopped " the cooked meet in the food processor

or cut it in very small pieces, she was able to eat and enjoy her steak.

This brings up another point. If you avoid eating foods because you are

uncomfortable with them, you may not be getting proper nutrition. There are a

variety of symptoms including weight changes, concentrated urine, constipation

(or the reverse), dehydration, infections, frequent colds or headaches among

others.

You may want to have your diet assessed for balance and any need for supplements

by a qualified dietician/nutritionist.

Most insurance plans including Medicare will pay for occupational therapists and

speech therapists to provide assistance with eating. Most frequently dieticians

are not directly reimbursed by insurance companies, but if you have a

relationship with a particular hospital, home health agency or other health care

provider, you can receive these services without additional cost. Frequently

your personal physician can assist you in identifying available dietician

services.

If all else fails under limited situations biofeedback to stimulate facial

nerves sometimes helps, but be careful as the insurance coverage for this form

of " alternative medicine " even when provided by a speech or occupational

therapists is extremely limited.

Hope this helps!