Does anyone know if it’s possible to strengthen swallowing to the point of moving on from PEG feeding to eating pureed/ level 1 food? And as a consequence been able to prevent aspiration? How was it achieved?
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I would say so as I had a stroke survivor friend who did just that. I’m not sure how he did it, or what happened to achieve that goal, but he went from PEG feeding to pureed and then the big day home from hospital, burger and chips, I think. Unfortunately, Dave is no longer with us, he was on this forum but passed away a few years back now.
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I had it in a minor form while in hospital and still occasionally inhale bits of food.
Many times the problem occurred when talking and eating at the same time. A strict rule of no talking at meal times helped a lot.
Concentrating on eating small amounts and swallowing carefully and methodically also make it work better, so does making an effort to eat slowly.
I first realised what was happening after coughing fits that brought up phlegm with odd bits of food in it. They still happen sometimes so it is still a problem though I feel I can control it to a degree.
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Hi @EMG72
There’s an overview at
There’s stuff on YouTube including from LOTS of health boards youtube recovering from dysphagia uk - Google Search
As well as guidance such as Dysphagia (swallowing problems) | NHS inform
The NHS SALT (speech& language team) should provide advice! That will help guide you & support through the recovery journey
Caio
Simon
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As Rups says It should be possible. I know of people who have but don’t know how they went about it.
Maybe something a Speech & Language Therapist can gelp with?
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Thanks for the encouraging and resources. Mums got severe dysphagia so we’ll need to work hard. Bases on what I’ve seen so far, SALT in hospital have been next to useless. Let’s hope the community team is better.
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Sadly what I’ve seen is that a lot of disciplines in the hospitals outside of the acute elements of maintaining life are just not fit for purpose.
I lay the challenges at the feet of the management who have responsibility for providing a service. Frontline management don’t know how to address topics with senior management and senior management are struggling with the system that they don’t know how to address the needs with funding bodies and politicians and rampant jobs worth and red tape gone crazy in the interests of not being liable for it any legal actions or compensations as get driven by sensationalist media - practice is developed in the pencil and paper ages of the past need to be replaced but nobody’s visionary enough to do it. Even suggesting that people should be held to account gets posts on here deleted
The shower that is up for election are not in any party equal to the challenges or even really addressing them. They just shout at each other in the interests of the ones who can land the most telling negative blow on the others & so might hoped to be elected from negativity - self-interested bunch of 's****g
In terms of mum’s dysphagia. Find a half decent salt person to explain the exercises etc that support the principles [which are basically small steps, exercises always at the edge of capability as it advances, gains from exercises periodically combine to give a new capability (often called a plateau but not really just a visible milestone on the journey)]. When you understand the book exercises and the gap from desired capability you will be able to adapt and exercise regime and daily living practises that will over time track evolving improvements, use motivation when it’s available, celebrate wins, don’t worry when fatigue is overwhelming just pause, be quietly relentless - you’ll win on average though not every day
A lot of us on here have developed sufficient understanding to be our own recovery directors because unfortunately it’s a missing role within much of the delivery of NHS services -occasionally you can be lucky and find a really good therapist but - based on my experiences there are few and far between - and then within one discipline and not across the many that need to come together
If you watch a few of those YouTube’s and read what can be found on the net you’ll find lots to help go a long way
3¢
Disclaimer: not medically trained, opinions are my own, the SA are not etc, I’m a rambling idiot, blahblah
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