Hello, I have a grandmother who is in her 80s with severe Parkinson’s disease. She can no longer move on her own and has a lot of trouble eating. It has gotten to the point where she can no longer swallow any of the foods we give her (she can only take a few sips of Ensure). I have no idea what else to do, she says she’s hungry but can’t swallow anything. I am desperate for any sort of advice/tips/suggestions, I just can’t bear seeing her in this state.
I am hopeful that my experience in taking care of my mother who was 93 at the time may be of some value. She had severe dementia and was recovering from a series of mini strokes at the time.
At one point my mother refused to drink even a sip of water from a cup after she choked making several earlier attempts. As time passed she only seemed to become more resolute in her decision. In her mind I'm sure that cup looked like an ocean and one sip felt like she was drowning in it. Who wouldn't rather sit on the shoreline? But with the clock ticking we knew we had to do something.
To bridge the gap we decided to try a small baby bottle that is used to feed small birds, etc. and holds about an ounce of fluid. These are readily available at almost all pet stores. Starting with just a few drops at a time it truly was just like feeding a baby bird. But with a lot of patience (3 hours worth), a few drops turned into a kitten suckling a bottle. Water was quickly exchanged for milk.
With time, the increased intake meant enlarging the tiny hole in the bottle which reduced the feeding times. The one ounce bottle became a four ounce bottle and finally an eight ounce bottle. It should be noted that the hole size should lag behind the persons ability to swallow as a safety margin.
Since my mother was also bedridden, it was also necessary to elevate her bed at an angle and turn her head/body to the side to prevent aspiration. I hypothesized that she lost her fear of drinking because she could control the volume (albeit slightly restricted) and had to have confidence only in herself. Over time, my mothers swallowing ability improved to the point where she could even eat pureed foods but she never regained the confidence to drink from a glass. She simply refused.
I am not going to speculate on how many others this may or may not be able to help. But I do know that one of the happiest days of my life was when my mother began to drink from that one ounce bottle that led to another five years of life. Yes it is a lot of work, time consuming, etc., but if you can get through the first six months I would have gladly done it forever. As to whether my mother appreciated the effort I can only leave you with this one last thought:
My mother told me she loved me more in the last year of her life than in the first 97 years put together.
Try to work on her swallowing.
Sorry for her and you.
This all depends on the choices made by her and your family.
After my mom stroke she couldn’t swallow and had to have a feeding tube put in until she regained hers while working with a speech therapist.
You need to call her doctor and get a swallow study done to see if she is at risk of aspiration and have them evaluate. They can clear her for certain safer foods as well as suggest products to thicken things that helps with swallowing issue. I took my mom for her swallow study but I did hear of a mobile swallow study in my area (you could ask her doctor or home health about a mobile one) in your area. Speech may be able to help strength her swallow with exercises and teach the family etc.
But you need to make sure she is sitting up properly while eating or drinking (water is best right now as if she has signs of aspiration as it’s less harmful) and call her drs first thing in the morning. Praying for you and your family.
There are many conditions that can cause dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing foods and liquids, such as Parkinson’s Disease, etc. These difficulties in swallowing can cause coughing/choking during eating and drinking, unintentional weight loss, reduced quality of life, and possible respiratory infections, such as aspiration pneumonia.
I had treatment (86 years old) because I have trouble swallowing certain foods. The physical therapist was excellent. not only did she help to get the muscles stronger, but tips on swallowing, like jello, mashed potato etc. I would give it a try.
Best of luck
Enurse
Milk
Juice
Aplease sauce
Yogurt
Masked Avocado
Masked Bananas
Mash Potatoes
Masked Sweet Potatoes
Soup
Ritz soft Crackers
Ice Cream
Pudding
Shakes
Mare everything soft and no chewing
Best wishes in this difficult time.
She can be fed and given water, and medications via tube, it's fanatastic!!
Wish we had done it sooner!
We had to do it or she would have starved to death, she also could not swallow.
Once the tube is placed, the only trick is take your time feeding, inject the food slowly ..we started at 2ml ever 5 seconds, and now we're up to 10ml/10sec....these patients with esophageal motility issues frequently have lax esophageal sphinctures so going slow allows the stomach to expand easier, and helps to keep the food from travelling up the esophagus. Also start with smaller feedings more frequently, we feed mom every 2-3 hrs, 5x per day, but she is a tiny woman 89lbs, 5ft2in, we originally began with 6x day.
We have been using an excellent product, called Kate's Milk, it is a complete meal, with REAL ingredients, NOT just chemicals, also importantly for us it is vegan.
We have gone to vegan diet to help with her cholesterol and it has worked amazingly!
Good luck!
My mom had one in her early 80s, with no dementia, She still passed less then 2 months of having it.
All it was was a money maker for the GI doc, since he still billed for his services, even when she was in ICU and the tube feeding had been stopped.
If this is the case your question is now for family and doctor who will have decisions to make. If she is hungry she should be fed. That would mean the placement of a PEG, the insertion of a tube and tube feedings UNLESS your grandmother has stipulated that she will not accept the administration of any feedings by NG, PEG or total parenteral nutrition (as I myself have). This would mean a transfer to Hospice care with the acceptance that your grandmother now is looking at end of life care and comfort care. If none of these decisions were made by your grandmother prior to this inevitability, and she is expressing hunger, then she should have feedings. Any attempts to feed by mouth could and almost certain would result in choking, and of food entering the lungs and causing pneumonia, which is deadly.
I hope the your grandmother's doctor, and her POA are in contact now with one another as to deciding next step decisions. Wishing you good luck.
They have lots of tips and tricks they can show you and advise on the correct texture of her food.