For Leisha and Dorothy

[Guest guest]

Hi Leisha and Dorothy -

Thank you both for the information - I guess I didn't think speech

pathologist when worrying about the food issues.

I will certainly look for one to guide us now.

God bless,

Judy

> **

>

>

> Hi Judy,

>

> Was the puree diet recommended by a speech pathologist that evaluated her?

> If so I’d ask for another visit and evaluation for where she is at this

> point. If not, I would be sure to have her evaluated by a qualified SP for

> her swallowing abilities. A mechanical soft diet might be easier for her

> to manage than total puree. There are many mechanisms involved that have

> to work properly together to effect a swallow and often it’s a matter of

> getting the right consistency that fits where the person is. If she can’t

> swallow puree she might do better with a modified soft diet or something

> else entirely. I would recommend seeing a qualified speech pathologist who

> has some experience with Parkinson’s swallowing issues and have an

> evaluation done and enough visits following up that your mother’s

> swallowing

> issues are addressed as much as possible and everyone who has anything to

> do

> with her feeding is properly “trained” and educated. We had to do this

> three times with my mil and all three times it worked wonderfully. Insist

> on a in person visit – not some phone consultation. It also helped with my

> mil that we prepared food that was tasty and matched what she had liked as

> much as could be possibly done. For instance she liked cooked sticky rice

> but couldn’t manage it anymore so we did the cauliflower puree to make a

> sauce, twice cooked the rice so it was much softer and easy to eat and

> added

> a little of the cauliflower puree so it acted as a soft binding agent to

> hold it together so she could chew and swallow. I made batches of

> cauliflower puree and kept a jar in the fridge and the rest in the freezer.

> I melted cheese in it to put with her mashed potato which she enjoyed a

> lot.

> I still have a video we made of one of the part time caregivers feeding my

> mil – with the SP explaining the steps. We made it as a guideline for other

> caregivers that came. I used it many times.

>

> Once you have a good evaluation from a speech pathologist they should

> provide you with detailed guidelines of what kind of diet to have her on

> and

> suggestions of types of foods and methods to prepare them. They can also

> refer you to a registered dietician who will help make sure she gets proper

> nutritional support with the change of diet.

>

> We were cautioned against changing to puree diet by her doctor without this

> consult and very glad we followed his advice.

>

> The speech pathologist my mil had was wonderful – she explained everything

> about how a swallow happens etc. She also had us sing with her because it

> strengthens the muscles that are needed for swallowing. My mil was able to

> chew just a little but swallow a soft diet (not pureed or liquid) up until

> she stopped eating and passed peacefully.

>

> Good luck, I hope you are able to get a good SP to help! J

>

> -Dorothy

>

> From: LBDcaregivers <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',

> 'LBDcaregivers%40yahoogroups.com');>

[mailto:LBDcaregivers <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',

'LBDcaregivers%40yahoogroups.com');>

> ]

> On Behalf Of care12345

> Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 7:02 AM

> To: LBDcaregivers <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',

> 'LBDcaregivers%40yahoogroups.com');>

> Subject: Keeping food in the mouth

>

> Hi friends,

> My mom has started to keep food in her mouth for quite a while before

> swallowing. She can no longer feed herself and is on a purée diet.

> Is this a prelude to swallowing issues ?

> Any guidance or thoughts are appreciated.

> Thanks,

> Judy

>

> --

> Sent from Gmail Mobile

>

>