Mom has been doing a lot of pocketing of her food lately, then spitting it out. We serve her soft food -- fish, mashed potatoes, spaghetti, mac n cheese, etc... She doesn't have a large quantity of food on her plate, but she shovels it in her. We try to tell her to slow down, but that doesn't last long. She chews a long time. This seems to go on at dinner time. Today, she finished eating, but I knew she has some in her cheek. Ten minutes later, she spit it out. It was chewed up. She has not choked on food, thank goodness, but she does choke on liquid, mainly water. (She will not drink it with Thick-it). Does anyone have experience with this? Is this a frontotemporal dementia symptom? What can I expect?
If she won't drink water with Thik-it, try juice. Dad had thickened water with lemon (stimulates the swallowing muscles), or orange or cranberry juice. The rehab facility bought the juices already thickened.
My father didn't have any dementia, just dysphagia. Everything you're describing is an aspect of dysphagia.
Unfortunately, you can't expect that it will get better, although it might if she's able to do swallowing exercises. It might stay the same, but eventually it'll be harder and harder for her to swallow, but everyone is different and she might stay the same for quite a while. My father deteriorated as he became weaker and closer to death, and the swallowing muscles deteriorated as well. Eventually, he could only take less than 1/4 cup of water in an entire day.
You can ask for the"stims", little foam squares on a lollipop type stick. Wet them, wet her lips and her tongue. There's not much water on them, but it helps allay the thirst.
Dysphagia is challenging for the patient as well as the family. I wish I could offer some hope, but I didn't much once Dad began to deteriorate. I hope your mother isn't that far along.
How thick are you making her fluids and have you tried xanthan gum formulas ( like thicken up clear)? Mom found them more palatable with a straw. And as GardenArtist has mentioned, some beverages seem more natural than others, I found the pre made fruit juice smoothies were often thick enough right out of the carton.
Mashed potatoes, mac -n- cheese, and spaghetti may be too thick for her.
She may need a swallowing test. Contact her primary doctor and make an appointment, get the ball rolling.
It's impossible for us to determine if she has dementia but discuss it with her doctor.
Any kind of tests are out of the question, I think. She really can't follow commands, if that is what it takes. But, the doctor won't do anything anyway because of her age (94).
This has been a journey, for sure.
And now I understand why the friend of mine didn't have any bedding on her bed, even though she's got lots of bedding.
And she suffers from GERD so she must sit up after every meal, which is always a big deal between her and I.
I have no answers for you, just know you're not alone in this journey and every person with this awful disease is at different stages.
Mom seems to only pocket dinner. She eats sandwiches for lunch and has no problem. She is eating slower at those times than she used to (at dinner she shovels in the food)... She does refuse her pills at dinner, but hasn't done that much in the morning. Putting the pills in pudding helps, but she only has 2 small pills, plus Senna Plus. (The Senna won't dissolve.) I am just at the mindset now to not force her to take her meds. My brother, on the other hand thinks it is worth it...
The hospice folks can provide a swallowing evaluation by a speech therapist -- which might at least tell you what she can manage most easily. Some folks have more trouble with 'smooth' and others with 'chunky' and so on. Lots of people have trouble drinking something that was familiar but is now 'the wrong thickness' because of a thickening agent. It's often easier to offer them a new drink, already thickened, because it won't taste 'wrong', just 'different.'
Lynina, smoothies are a great option. Thanks.
Llamalover, thanks. The doctor knows, as does hospice. They won't do anything at her age....