jrokay, does your mother choke only when she is trying to swallow food or liquids, or does she start choking at random times? There are many possible answers to what her problem is, so as others have said, it is important to take her to a doctor, preferably one specializing in geriatric issues.
There is one cause of choking that everyone should be aware of and which I learned about when I mentioned my problem to an acquaintance following a choking & coughing fit. I was experiencing bits of food & liquids going down the "wrong pipe" with increasing frequency and thought I would have to get medical attention. We've all had that experience, mostly when we try to talk or do other things while eating, but this was happening even when I was sitting quietly and not talking or eating or drinking anything. My epiglottis was not functioning properly and I would even choke on my own saliva. (I was not salivating excessively.)
My friend said simply "Chocolate or mint." She had the same problem and was told by her doctor that the cause was chocolate and/or mint. I said, "Well, for me it would probably be a different food allergy." "Nope. Chocolate or mint." I said, "Well, the mint goes first!" LOL. Turned out to be the cause in my case.
Then I found out how many products contain mint. The most problematic have been the creams and lotions that I use for muscle and joint pains. They all have some form of mint in them: spearmint, peppermint, wintergreen, lemon balm, etc. I didn't have an issue with mouth care, as I brush my teeth with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, and I make sure that any herb tea I drink doesn't include mint as an ingredient.
If you or anyone you know has a problem with the epiglottis not functioning properly, as opposed to difficulty swallowing, you ought to look into the chocolate and mint connection. (I would have been better off if I had been forced to give up chocolate, LOL!)
Saw the Dr. today. He ordered blood work to check for vit b12 and d deficiency, ordered gastrointestinal scope to check on the choking, gave her a quick memory test, which she missed a couple easy ones, and the paper he gave us stated possible early stage dementia. she is going with my sister to lake havasu for 10-12 days so I can get her mobile ready for someone to come live with her. She has an apt in July, to return, and the Dr was okay with that time period. Thanks everyone for pushing me to get this started. Maybe her tests will come back with good results. And she has other problems that just need attention and she is just getting a little older on her memory. Will update as soon as the test results come in. Thanks to every again! God Bless!
My mom has this issue with the swallowing. She been to several specialists and nothing is physically wrong. They say it is neurogenic. Been a problem for 4-5 years. Makes eating difficult. She can get disoriented when she first wakes up but then is fine once awake and getting ready.
MIL had the same problem and did choke - ended up with aspiration pneumonia -- speech therapist did swallowing test - they xray as she's swallowing. There was nothing antomically wrong. It was a symptom of Lewy body dementia.
Swallowing problems (dyphasia) is very common among elders and I have it myself. there can be multiple causes so it is important to get a proper diagnosis to rule out problems that can be adressed and include endoscopic evaluation, a barium swallow and food chalenge,a visit to a neurologist and possibly an ENT. Having ruled out all treatable problems the key is using a very soft diet .Foods can be purried and liquids thickened. it is a lot of trial and error and great care chewing properly and swallowing small mouthfulls. Liquids can be thickened but so far i find things go down fine if they are warm and i use a straw with liquids like soda at room temperature. Aspitation will cause coughing and can lead to pneumonia which will shorten the life of many. Nutritional drinks can be added and at the worst a gastric tube can be added for an other wise healthy person. A speach therapist will teach exercises and exercises to strengthen the neck muscles. Be sure to learn the Heimlich manouver in case your loved one does choke and call 911. This condition can be managed with care but it is not easy to make the changes when dealing with someone who has dementia. pills may be difficult to swallow and feel as though they are stuck in the throat which they may be. In this case they can usually be coughed back up. To prevent this many pills can be crushed and mixed with something like apple sauce. be sure to ask the pharmacist if the medication is safe to crush . Some meds are designed to be long acting so must be swallowed whole. if crushed those will not las tthe amount of time they are designed for. This is especially important with long acting narcotics. Always have a drink available when the patient is eating so they can wash things down. if having to feel your loved one use a small spoon, like the smoothe thick plastic onse like you would use for an infant.
This is a stage of Dementia unless she's has had damage to her esophagus especially waking and not remembering asperation and dysphasia are very much the same with dementia thickener sold in the drug store added to all her drinks and soups makes it a little easier doesn't make it taste different
Dear Jrokay - I didn't mean to imply that you were, in any way, at fault. I apologize if that's how it came across. If anything, I was confessing that I feel I may have taken too long at the mental adaptation process of becoming my mother's decision maker. I do hope you get some good, definitive information tomorrow. Then you'll know how to proceed.
Very first thing would have been to get to either a doctor the ER. As for swallowing, my dad had a minor stroke. He's almost 95. I noticed in the hospital that he coughed horribly. They changed his diet to chopped food, but let him drink regular soda, juice, etc. Now at rehab, the speech pathologist has him on a chopped diet and they put a thickening agent in his liquid. The problem is that the unthickened liquid would be aspirated, leading to more problems. Hopefully with the daily monitoring of the speech pathologist and perhaps a barium swallow test at a hospital, he can go back to regular liquid again. Please, take your mother to be evaluated by a physician immediately!
There is one cause of choking that everyone should be aware of and which I learned about when I mentioned my problem to an acquaintance following a choking & coughing fit. I was experiencing bits of food & liquids going down the "wrong pipe" with increasing frequency and thought I would have to get medical attention. We've all had that experience, mostly when we try to talk or do other things while eating, but this was happening even when I was sitting quietly and not talking or eating or drinking anything. My epiglottis was not functioning properly and I would even choke on my own saliva. (I was not salivating excessively.)
My friend said simply "Chocolate or mint." She had the same problem and was told by her doctor that the cause was chocolate and/or mint. I said, "Well, for me it would probably be a different food allergy." "Nope. Chocolate or mint." I said, "Well, the mint goes first!" LOL. Turned out to be the cause in my case.
Then I found out how many products contain mint. The most problematic have been the creams and lotions that I use for muscle and joint pains. They all have some form of mint in them: spearmint, peppermint, wintergreen, lemon balm, etc. I didn't have an issue with mouth care, as I brush my teeth with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, and I make sure that any herb tea I drink doesn't include mint as an ingredient.
If you or anyone you know has a problem with the epiglottis not functioning properly, as opposed to difficulty swallowing, you ought to look into the chocolate and mint connection. (I would have been better off if I had been forced to give up chocolate, LOL!)
Having ruled out all treatable problems the key is using a very soft diet .Foods can be purried and liquids thickened. it is a lot of trial and error and great care chewing properly and swallowing small mouthfulls. Liquids can be thickened but so far i find things go down fine if they are warm and i use a straw with liquids like soda at room temperature. Aspitation will cause coughing and can lead to pneumonia which will shorten the life of many. Nutritional drinks can be added and at the worst a gastric tube can be added for an other wise healthy person. A speach therapist will teach exercises and exercises to strengthen the neck muscles. Be sure to learn the Heimlich manouver in case your loved one does choke and call 911. This condition can be managed with care but it is not easy to make the changes when dealing with someone who has dementia. pills may be difficult to swallow and feel as though they are stuck in the throat which they may be. In this case they can usually be coughed back up. To prevent this many pills can be crushed and mixed with something like apple sauce. be sure to ask the pharmacist if the medication is safe to crush . Some meds are designed to be long acting so must be swallowed whole. if crushed those will not las tthe amount of time they are designed for. This is especially important with long acting narcotics. Always have a drink available when the patient is eating so they can wash things down. if having to feel your loved one use a small spoon, like the smoothe thick plastic onse like you would use for an infant.
See All Answers