A terrible choice to ponder

[bemildred]

The day after hip surgery, my father asked me to bring him a frozen coffee and something sweet the next morning. I returned to the hospital with a Frappuccino and a doughnut, one or both of which nearly killed him.

He began choking and then turned white on the way to blue. The fear of death was in his eyes. My mother and sister called for help and three or four nurses arrived along with a doctor.

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She stuck it down my father's throat and was able to vacuum up whatever was clogging his airway. But this wasn't the first time he'd nearly choked to death. My sister, Debbie, once had to use the Heimlich maneuver to save him when he began choking at home.

It's not uncommon, we learned, for chronically ill people who've had strokes — like my dad — to experience a deterioration of throat muscles. The condition is called dysphagia, which can make it hard to breathe and can turn the simple act of swallowing into a dangerous adventure. Aspirating even a tiny piece of food into the lungs can cause pneumonia and even death.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-me-1211-lopez-dad-20111211,0,7448973.column

[phylny]

1. It is common, and that's why people who have had strokes should have a bedside swallow evaluation,

followed by a modified barium swallow evaluation, if warranted.

Your friendly neighborhood speech-language pathologist can help with the diagnosis, and treatment if necessary.

[housewolf]

2. I have dysphagia

For more than a year, NOTHING has gone down my throat. It's frightening and it can be dangerous, as you are finding out. The cause of mine is different, but please understand that this is dangerous. You got some good advice about a barium swallow test and possibly working with a speech or swallowing therapist if warranted. Be open to the idea of putting him on a feeding tube as that may be necessary sooner or later.

[MineralMan]

3. It's quite common, but always alarming.

My father-in-law's dysphagia started in a minor way, but progressively got worse in the two years after his first stroke. There are thickening agents for liquids and other things that help. Get the best advice you can. Caregiving is hard work, indeed.