Dad has been 'pocketing' food for a while. Today at lunch he got food caught in his throat and choked. Is this the beginning of a new stage?

Oh, honey, I recently went through this with my Mom.... I requested a move to pureed food with Think-It in her juices.... it's heartbreaking, I know. Blend his regular meals into a puree (I see you care for him at home). You need to thicken his drinks as well.

It is a new stage. Off and on, he will eat regular food fine. But he will increasingly keep choking. Mom used to keep the food in her mouth and not swallow. We had to spoon feed her since she no longer could do it herself. Then we went to pureed food. I hated this stage. I could never get used to the choking. Take it one day at a time. HUGS!!!

ihad no idea this could be a sign of dementia. My mom choked while swallowing a pill the other day. Is this progression to purreed foods something to be concerned with? or is this a parkinsons thing?

Unfortunately with dementia (at least with Alzheimer's), they need to have their food pureed. I don't know if it is because they forget to chew the food properly before swallowing but I do know that in end stage, they do forget how to swallow and this is where your parent needs to have a health directive on what their wishes are regarding feeding tubes, etc to keep them alive or whether they want no measures of that kind for themselves.

Thanks for all of your kind answers. Dad is still at home with Mom, but I go over at least twice a day to check on them. He does have a living will and Mom has durable power of attorney, including medical, so thank you for mentioning that sharynmarie. He still eats mostly regular food, but does get mashed potatoes, soft veggies such as boiled squash, ice cream, pudding, etc. Lately he has been refusing to eat some of the foods he used to love, such as bacon for breakfast. Perhaps even with his AD he has discovered there are things he can't eat anymore more quickly than those of us caring for him!