Re: Gagging problem

August 4, 2006

wendy,

i am not sure if the swallowing issues is actually PD or LBD, but i know it is a

serious issue. my dad had swallowing issues early on but they werent often, he

too put it off as eating too fast etc.

we found that we had to cut up dads food into bite size *toddler size bites* for

him to eat without choking and he also always tried to stuff as much as he could

in his mouth, it was like his eating skills were going backwards in time, he

would stuff his mouth so full he couldnt swallow any of, or he would swallow

whole pieces of carrots or meat or potatoes. sometimes he would choke on his

drink, again, claiming he drank too fast or inhaled it instead. the improper

swallowing of food and drink can be very dangerous as it causes aspiration

pnuemonia. you may have to start cutting up her food and eventually pureeing it,

and you may need to add Thick It to her beverages to make the consistency a

little thicker and easier for her to swallow it. we tried several brands and

yes i mean we tried as i tasted them as well, Thick It brand is what we like

the most, others tend to have a slimy feel to them thsi one didnt have that as

much.

i also will suggest teh Magic Bullet, you may have seen them advertised on tv,

they are the mini blender/food processor set that you put all your ingredients

in and count 10 and it is done. this set has a variety of sizes of containers

where you can fix a regualr meal for everyone and then take several containers

and put veggies in one, meat and gravy in another and potatoes in another and

have the meal ready for your lo in less than 1 extra minute.,

also avoid lettuce, spinach and leafy vegetables as they tend to stick to the

back of the throat which makes it even harder to swallow.

oh the magic bullet is on the resources links that victoria has set up.

good luck and hugs, sharon m

--

Daugher of Leonard, diag May 2004, had lbd since 1993, had hip surgery from fall

7/05, aspiration pneumonia 7/05 with pulmonary embolyis, had aspiration

pneumonia and uti 8/05, died of blood pressure drop on 9/25/05,

may he rest in peace with his mom and dad,

a smile a day keeps the meanies away

---- wmtpower wrote:

I may have already sent this post but it seems like it didn't go

through, some error message, so here goes again.

My Mom, 83, was recently diagnosed with LBD but there was no mention

of Parkinson's as she is spry and not having such physical symptoms.

However, several years ago she started having a gagging problem when

eating. Ever the woman who will blame someone or something else she

insisted that she just had phlegm or was eating too fast. Sometimes

it was so severe she could not finish eating. She eats very small

portions of food. She has dropped about 25 lbs in two years and she

was not overweight to begin with. Today I witnessed it again.

I mentioned this several years ago to the Dr wondering if it was

something to do with her acid reflux or hiatus hernia. He said that

sometimes the swallowing mechanism just doesn't work as well with

age. This comment was well before the LBD dx.

Now as I educate through this group I see alot of discussion about

swallowing problems with Parkinson's and I wonder....is this an early

symptom of Parkinson's? Should I mention it to the Dr again? Please

weigh in on this if you have some experience with this as an early

symptom as she seems to not have any other symptoms of PD. What are

the early symptoms of PD?

Thanks again everyone

August 4, 2006

Hi ,

There is a difference between the gagging problem and swallowing problems.

Swallowing problems can be just a problem with aging. Parkinson's can make

swallowing problems worse. My MIL (did not have LBD) but had swallowing

problems and aspiration pneumonia for over 3 years. She passed away in Jan. of

aspiration pneumonia. My dad (LBD) has a gagging problem at times. I think

what is going on with my dad is that sometimes he has so much mucus in his

sinuses and nose and it just slides down his throat and then he brings it up.

It seems to be worse when he eats. He is in an assisted living facility and

gets very embarassed when this happens. The other day he was having some major

problems with this and as he was trying to get the mucus out of his throat he

had just as much coming out his nose. (Sorry folks I know that this sounds

terrible) Did we ever think that we would have to deal with so many different

body functions with our LOs?

Most of dad's caregivers think that it is his stomach and I have to go through

a mini training that it is not his stomach but the amount of mucus. I have

small trash cans with plastic bag liners in his room. He is also constantly

blowing and wiping his nose but sometimes is worse. Dripping noses have been

discussed here from time to time and from what I've read is common with

Parkinson's. Does your mom have a runny nose or seem to have alot of mucus? I

am planning on asking his dr. about giving dad a plain decongestant or mucinex.

I don't know if it will help or not. Unfortunately his dr. is on vacation so I

will have to wait to ask him. Dad has had a swallow test but I haven't heard

the results yet. Your mom's doctor can order a swallow test if they think that

she is having a swallowing problem. This might rule out a swallowing problem.

By the way, when the congestion problem is brought up to drs. they don't really

think it is a symptom. Again trying to

educate. Hope some of this helped and that I didn't gross you out too much.

Gwen

wmtpower wrote: