Although he seems to have no trouble swallowing solids, my husband is not doing thin liquids well. Not choking, just not swallowing. He'll just let it drool out of his mouth. I've been giving him water with a catheter-tip syringe because he is unable to effectively use a straw. I asked for a speech therapy evaluation for swallowing [he had one about 1 1/2 years ago and it was fine]. I honestly cannot tell if it is actual dysphagia or whether he just forgets to swallow liquids. But I know that, if they are thickened, it will better stimulate his swallowing reflex. At least I hope so.

Not sure thickening liquids will help. Do you think he's scared to swallow liquids and will become un-scared if he knows they are thickened? I'm unclear how the "swallow reflex" will engage if liquids are thickened.

As far as thickeners, I prefer SimplyThick. I suggest doing a taste test.

You may have to try to figure out other ways to introduce hydration -- Jell-O, some fruits, popsicles, etc.

A speech therapist once explained to me that patients who are dysphagic are far more apt to aspirate thin liquids than thick ones and demonstrated it by showing me some x-ray films of the same patient swallowing both. The thin liquid spread out into the trachea and the thickened 'bolus' went down smoothly. I don't yet know if he has dysphagia so I have asked for a swallowing study.

I need to ask for a swallowing study for my MIL. She is having more frequent coughing episodes after drinking thin liquids. She is also having some trouble chewing food now. Is it really necessary to do a swallowing study? What does it accomplish other than showing swallowing problems? I am already making adjustments as this disease progresses.

Pat,

We had really good luck with the thick it for a short while sadly it didn't wok too long, we did go through several aspirations for the remainder of the yr and we did the swallow study and they tried to train him but sadly it was not something that stayed in his memory , so as Robin pointed out we had to figure other means of getting liquids into him!

Good luck with this, it is a tough issue!

dagoetz asked:
"Is it really necessary to do a swallowing study? What does it accomplish other than showing swallowing problems?"

The key things it accomplishes is it tells you (a) whether thickened liquids are safe at all, (b) what consistency liquids have to be thickened to in order to be safe, and (c) whether silent aspiration is occurring. It can also tell you if a straw is helpful (or not), and if a double-swallow after each drink/chew is helpful (or not).

@Robin - Gotcha. Sounds beneficial. She sees doc later in January.