Dad suffered a stroke on May 1st. He's 95 and has dementia. I noticed he choked on his liquids in the hospital, but they continued to give them to him, but they had him on a chopped diet. At rehab, they put Thick It in his beverages and continue with the chopped diet. Had a modified barium swallow test done today at the hospital and the speech therapist told me that it will probably be this way the rest of his life. She gave me some recommendations on what to drink like V8 Juice, Naked Juice, etc. He's been refusing to drink water and anything with Thick It in it, therefore he was dehydrated and they had to give him an IV to rehydrate him. He's coming home on Tuesday and will have a live in aide. Suggestions on what to give him to eat would be appreciated. I was thinking maybe chunky soup, with most of the juice removed and the meat and veggies cut up may be an option. The hard part is his diet was awful before the stroke. He existed on Nestle Crunch Bars and tuna salad sandwiches for dinner. I know dad can't be the only one with this problem after a stroke. Like I said, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!!
For hydration think foods with a high water content, for example pureed fruits can make wonderful sorbet or popsicles, soups are good as well. Some swear by smoothies, and we like ensure drinks to add calories as well as fluids. Nectar thick fluids are really not too bad, what specifically is his objection to them? I think that drinking through a straw if he is able bypasses the lips and front of the tongue and may get past the "ick factor".
There are other threads on this topic with some great ideas, try searching the site for more ideas.
These are some of the exercises, of which the Head Lifting Maneuver is the only one with which I'm familiar. There's another one which involves making guttural sounds of two consonants together, something like "ungh" which is repeated a specific number of times. We joked that there were Neanderthal exercises.
I reference these only for descriptive purposes; they're obviously not to be done w/o medical instruction, and as advised by our speech therapist, definitely not for anyone who isn't medically indicated. But perhaps they might help, or perhaps you could even ask your father's physician to script for home care, including a speech therapist.
On the food issue, I've never had V-8 and can't guess at the thickness, but I do know that there are specially prepared liquids for dysphagia, if that's what he has.
I like the idea of a blender or food processor.
The other ideas about pureeing foods with a blender or giving him softer foods are good too. I'd be giving him different kinds of beans (excellent source of protein and fiber) and peas.
And just an off-topic FYI, my dad had a paralyzed vocal cord, which made his talking sound like a whisper. It also hurt his ability to swallow effectively. He had a little silicone piece put in (outpatient by an Ear/Nose/Throat doc) that helped him a lot with speaking and I believe swallowing (if I remember correctly).
Good luck, it can be nerve-wracking trying to make sure they eat enough and don't choke while doing it.
A minced diet is a relatively easy one compared to pureed, almost anything you would normally eat can be finely chopped. While slow cooker stews and casseroles are good, offering him regular meals with separate entrees and sides occasionally will make his food seem more appealing. Unleash your inner chef and have fun experimenting!
I wasn't aware that antidepressants (if that's what the NH gave him) and sleeping pills, or a combination of them, could cause swallowing difficulty. Would you mind telling us the name of these meds? I'd like to make note of it....just in case.
You must feel so relieved - I'm so glad this worked out well and is still improving.