Dad w/ Parkinson's Difficulty Swallowing

[Sandy M]

Hi,

My 78 year old Dad has Parkinson's and is having a terrible time lately swallowing food.  Is this common?  Is there anything I can do to help him, other than giving him baby food?  He seems to choke even on small pieces of food.

Anyone having a similar problem?

Sandy

[BETTY65]

MY MOTHER WAS IN A NURSING HOME WITH PD THEY PUREED HER FOOD AND WE WOULD FEED HER EVERY MEAL. PLEASE NO DOT GO TO THE STOMACK TUBE WORST THING I EVER DID.

[KAT57]

My mother 78 has Parkinsonism her neurologist just gave us a referral for a swallowing evaluation. In reading on the web about swallowing difficulties with PD this evaluation helps determine if there are changes that can be made to help.
Also check out the PD article on swallowing chapter 2 offers advice on how to improve swallowing.
http://www.parkinson.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Document.Doc?&id=65
Good luck.
KAT57

[Lani230]

My father is currently fighting what is likely his last fight against Aspiration Pneumonia.
This type of pneumonia is caused by my father swallowing food and his saliva down the wrong pipe.

Please take a few minutes to read about this so that you can be aware of things that can be done to prevent it.  Among these include making sure your loved one has good dental health so that they will not build up dental bacteria in their mouth which they then swallow down into their longs.   It also suggests that tube feeding (nose/stomach) also can be a problem since mouth bacteria is not flushed out into the stomach through the process of eating.  In other words, NOT feeding your loved one through the mouth can also cause the buildup of bacteria which is then swallowed into the lungs.

Hope this helps.

[Liz50]

Sadly, by the time my sweet dad was at this point he was on pureed foods only and we were spoon feeding him. This progressed quickly to liquids only and then to NPO. He had much earlier requested that his life not be prolonged by naso-gastric feedings or IV's, so we just had to slowly watch him fade away. He was able, to the very end, to eat popsicles and frozen juice bars, if we kind of melted them and trickled them down the side of his mouth. This did keep him moderately hydrated.
In the end we were glad he had chosen to go the no-special measures way..he made that decision when he was in his sound mind and I know he didn't regret it. Maybe his "life" would have been prolonged a few weeks, or months, but he was miserable and ready to die. I am proud beyond words he took that responsibility of choice away from us and went on his own terms.
I'm sure others here have experineces they can share that will help you.
All the best,
Liz

[Liz50]

Sadly, by the time my sweet dad was at this point he was on pureed foods only and we were spoon feeding him. This progressed quickly to liquids only and then to NPO. He had much earlier requested that his life not be prolonged by naso-gastric feedings or IV's, so we just had to slowly watch him fade away. He was able, to the very end, to eat popsicles and frozen juice bars, if we kind of melted them and trickled them down the side of his mouth. This did keep him moderately hydrated.
In the end we were glad he had chosen to go the no-special measures way..he made that decision when he was in his sound mind and I know he didn't regret it. Maybe his "life" would have been prolonged a few weeks, or months, but he was miserable and ready to die. I am proud beyond words he took that responsibility of choice away from us and went on his own terms.
I'm sure others here have experineces they can share that will help you.
All the best,
Liz

[Liz50]

Sadly, by the time my sweet dad was at this point he was on pureed foods only and we were spoon feeding him. This progressed quickly to liquids only and then to NPO. He had much earlier requested that his life not be prolonged by naso-gastric feedings or IV's, so we just had to slowly watch him fade away. He was able, to the very end, to eat popsicles and frozen juice bars, if we kind of melted them and trickled them down the side of his mouth. This did keep him moderately hydrated.
In the end we were glad he had chosen to go the no-special measures way..he made that decision when he was in his sound mind and I know he didn't regret it. Maybe his "life" would have been prolonged a few weeks, or months, but he was miserable and ready to die. I am proud beyond words he took that responsibility of choice away from us and went on his own terms.
I'm sure others here have experineces they can share that will help you.
All the best,
Liz

[kimberly645]

Hello,
My mother has had Parkinson's since 2001.  She is slowly starving to death.  5' 7" and 98lbs.  She can no longer speak words, and it takes about 1 hour to eat a bowl of cream of wheat.  Other then the things I have mentioned she is healthy.  She drives, she exercises and goes to her support groups.  I have never ever seen anyone with PD who has these syptoms.
I just got a phone call that she has decided to get the feeding tube for her stomach.  Is there anyone out there that can enlighten me on this.
Thank you so much!
Kimberly