Guest guest Posted August 20, 2011 Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 Hi, Judy. My mother doesn't get hiccups but she does have issues with coughing and excessive saliva. I may be wrong but I think when the saliva begins to get thick rather than watery, she also experiences difficulty with swallowing. Both may be connected to the Parkinsonism; I'm never certain where the LBD begins and ends once Parkinsons symptoms rise to the surface. Mom has muscular contractions (more like twitches) over her body but moreso on the type of day where swallowing is more of an issue. I do think it could be a matter of choking on the saliva because the swallow aspect is part of the Parkinsonism. Mom is on pureed foods and thickened liquids. On really difficult days for Mom, she will take food and liquid into her mouth but, unable to swallow, it just flows out. Mom can't take pain meds on a regular basis because it proved too much for her liver in the past. I now give her one teaspoon of children's Motrin liquid when these difficult days occur, as long as she is still able to swallow. You can almost watch her muscles relaxing as the liquid gets into her system. Within 20 minutes or so, she is soundly asleep and seemingly comfortable. More importantly, when she awakes, she is able to take food and water. Mom also has allergies of an undetermined source. I have been giving her a teaspoon of children's Claritin daily which seems to help cut a lot of excess saliva, too. Her nose doesn't run as much, either. To give perspective, Mom is in the late stage. She rarely talks and when she does, it's usually just an unintelligible word or two. She has been unable to walk since late in 2007 and has required total care since about mid-2008. The clear majority of the time, she is in her other world where she nods to unheard-by-me conversations. I'm not sure how much she sleeps now; she is mostly head down with her eyes closed. Not always sleeping, though. She still does understand simple requests although it takes a long time to process the information and physically respond. In spite of all of this, if she wants to move her arm (i.e., when taking her blood pressure), I am not able to keep it still. I'd definitely lose an arm-wrestling match with her! :-) Hope this helps a bit. Best wishes, Lynn in Florida ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` > > Hi e everyone > > I saw my mom yesterday and spent some hours with her- she is having hiccups and coughing - when she was coughing at one point she looked like she might be choking on her saliva - it didn't last long -and it was fine! <snip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 20, 2011 Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 The coughing could be a sign of dysphagia (swallowing difficulty). It might be prudent to get a modified barium swallow study ordered for your mother. (The neurologist can order this.) Hiccups are a form of myoclonus. Someone in our local support group who had hiccup attacks for years and years just died and the wife donated his brain plus had his body autopsied. The pathologist found no evidence of damage from hiccups. It's an interesting symptom because a fair number of people in our atypical parkinsonism support group report this symptom but it might be a symptom that is also prevalent in those without neurological disorders. I don't think the myoclonus is meaningful in terms of survival time but dysphagia certainly is. > > Hi e everyone > > I saw my mom yesterday and spent some hours with her- she is having hiccups and coughing - when she was coughing at one point she looked like she might be choking on her saliva - it didn't last long -and it was fine! > > Anyone know a about these symptoms and what they mean? Otherwise she is still severely cognitively impaired, and can barely walk - sleeping alot- > > Thanks for any and all comments !! > > Judy > > Judy R. Strauss LMSW PhD > > Lead Faculty > University of Phoenix > > Jersey City Campus > 100 Town Square Place > |Jersey City, NJ 07310 > Cell- > Email- Jrstr@... > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 20, 2011 Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 Thanks to shedding some light and linsight on the hiccups and the coughing - both new and strange - ww have home hospice care and I will be asking the team more about this - but as always I like to run it by the group first! Interestingly mom is still eating - she eats less and loves sweets - but even with the coughing there are no clear indications that she can't swallow- The biggest issue with the cognition is not the mute affect as much as complete breakdown of any cognitive understanding of anything being said- Thanks again, Best? Judy Judy R. Strauss LMSW PhD Lead Faculty University of Phoenix Jersey City Campus 100 Town Square Place |Jersey City, NJ 07310 Cell- Email- Jrstr@... On Aug 20, 2011, at 9:12 AM, " rriddle_travel " wrote: > The coughing could be a sign of dysphagia (swallowing difficulty). It might be prudent to get a modified barium swallow study ordered for your mother. (The neurologist can order this.) > > Hiccups are a form of myoclonus. Someone in our local support group who had hiccup attacks for years and years just died and the wife donated his brain plus had his body autopsied. The pathologist found no evidence of damage from hiccups. It's an interesting symptom because a fair number of people in our atypical parkinsonism support group report this symptom but it might be a symptom that is also prevalent in those without neurological disorders. > > I don't think the myoclonus is meaningful in terms of survival time but dysphagia certainly is. > > > > > > Hi e everyone > > > > I saw my mom yesterday and spent some hours with her- she is having hiccups and coughing - when she was coughing at one point she looked like she might be choking on her saliva - it didn't last long -and it was fine! > > > > Anyone know a about these symptoms and what they mean? Otherwise she is still severely cognitively impaired, and can barely walk - sleeping alot- > > > > Thanks for any and all comments !! > > > > Judy > > > > Judy R. Strauss LMSW PhD > > > > Lead Faculty > > University of Phoenix > > > > Jersey City Campus > > 100 Town Square Place > > |Jersey City, NJ 07310 > > Cell- > > Email- Jrstr@... > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 20, 2011 Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 Hi there Interesting research on the brains at autopsy about the hiccups - Judy R. Strauss LMSW PhD Lead Faculty University of Phoenix Jersey City Campus 100 Town Square Place |Jersey City, NJ 07310 Cell- Email- Jrstr@... On Aug 20, 2011, at 9:12 AM, " rriddle_travel " wrote: > The coughing could be a sign of dysphagia (swallowing difficulty). It might be prudent to get a modified barium swallow study ordered for your mother. (The neurologist can order this.) > > Hiccups are a form of myoclonus. Someone in our local support group who had hiccup attacks for years and years just died and the wife donated his brain plus had his body autopsied. The pathologist found no evidence of damage from hiccups. It's an interesting symptom because a fair number of people in our atypical parkinsonism support group report this symptom but it might be a symptom that is also prevalent in those without neurological disorders. > > I don't think the myoclonus is meaningful in terms of survival time but dysphagia certainly is. > > > > > > Hi e everyone > > > > I saw my mom yesterday and spent some hours with her- she is having hiccups and coughing - when she was coughing at one point she looked like she might be choking on her saliva - it didn't last long -and it was fine! > > > > Anyone know a about these symptoms and what they mean? Otherwise she is still severely cognitively impaired, and can barely walk - sleeping alot- > > > > Thanks for any and all comments !! > > > > Judy > > > > Judy R. Strauss LMSW PhD > > > > Lead Faculty > > University of Phoenix > > > > Jersey City Campus > > 100 Town Square Place > > |Jersey City, NJ 07310 > > Cell- > > Email- Jrstr@... > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Hi Judy and Lynn, My Mom has coughing spells occasionally. She hasn't had hiccups. Sometimes after coughing she sneezes, and lots of 'stuff' comes flying out. Then she is usually better. There are days that my Mom has no problems swallowing, and then there are days that swallowing even juice can be an issue. We just keep trying, and eventually she does drink and eat. I, too, think this may be related to the Parkinsonism. Sometimes I just lurk and read the posts... sometimes it is just too hard to write... Hoping for better days for us all, Helene (Mom 77 in the Bronx) > > > > Hi e everyone > > > > I saw my mom yesterday and spent some hours with her- she is having hiccups and coughing - when she was coughing at one point she looked like she might be choking on her saliva - it didn't last long -and it was fine! <snip > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Dear Judy, How frustrating. My Mom does understand when we talk to her. There have been days that she is 'away' and doesn't really respond... but most of the time, even if she doesn't talk, her eyes indicate that she understands. My Mom, too, loves sweets! Yesterday she ate well in the morning, and then not in the afternoon, but did enjoy ice cream later on in the evening. Go figure... Hang in there. Helene > > > > > > Hi e everyone > > > > > > I saw my mom yesterday and spent some hours with her- she is having hiccups and coughing - when she was coughing at one point she looked like she might be choking on her saliva - it didn't last long -and it was fine! > > > > > > Anyone know a about these symptoms and what they mean? Otherwise she is still severely cognitively impaired, and can barely walk - sleeping alot- > > > > > > Thanks for any and all comments !! > > > > > > Judy > > > > > > Judy R. Strauss LMSW PhD > > > > > > Lead Faculty > > > University of Phoenix > > > > > > Jersey City Campus > > > 100 Town Square Place > > > |Jersey City, NJ 07310 > > > Cell- > > > Email- Jrstr@ > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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