D+ on the Swallow Test

The results of yesterday's swallow test were about as I expected them to be.  I am able to swallow a bit better than the last time, but am still having some fluid go down my windpipe and into my lungs.  I have been given the OK to eat very soft foods like yogurt, pudding, ice cream, etc., and can drink more Boost during the day.

The Physician's Assistant who gave me the test was hesitant to give that OK, but said that I need to start using those muscles more for actually swallowing food, and not just with my exercises.  She also saw some anatomical issues in my throat that are causing the reduced efficiency  with my swallowing.  She was going to show the test video to Dr. Wadsworth to get his opinion.

We celebrated this bit of progress by going out for dinner last night.  I order the veggie soup--pureed, of course, and was able to eat a little of it.  The bigger challenge was not the thickness of the soup--it was the spiceyness of it--or at least what I thought was spicey.  When Terry tasted it, she said it was a bit peppery, but not at all spicey to her.  So, not only does my food need to be very soft, it needs to be very bland, for now.

At home after dinner I had a little bit of plain vanilla ice cream, which I enjoyed a lot--both for the taste and the coolness on my throat.  Rocky Road and Chery Garcia flavors are off-limits for sure.

So, I passed the test enough to be cleared for a bit of progress, but am a long way from being able to sustain myself with oral feedings.  But, it's a start, and that's all I can ask for today.

Mike

Next Swallow Test This Week -- Need Good Vibes

I have my next swallow test this Thursday.  I know I'll do better than the last one, but not sure if it will be good enough to get the OK to start on soft foods again.  I have been working on my swallowing with the exercises I was given, and by drinking some Boost and a pale ale every once in a while.  I know I can swallow liquids pretty well (I have lots of experience with pale ales)--it's a matter of none of the liquid going down my wind pipe to risk aspirating and a possible pneumonia.

So, while I'm practicing in the next few days with more pale ales, I need Team Mike to send some Good Vibes that I can pass this test well enough to start back on soft foods.  That would still put me many weeks away from being able to sustain myself enough to have the PEG tube taken out, but it's the first step in that direction.

I'll post as soon as I can after the test.

Mike

Seriously?

From time to time I am sure that some cosmic entity is just having a big joke at my expense.  Maybe it's Karma coming around to kick me in the ass, or maybe I'm now just fodder for someone's sick sense of humor.  Either way, if the joke is on me, I've been shown three more examples of it recently.

The last time we went to Dr. Roser's office, his head intern took a look into my mouth and commented that it's healing really well, and I have hair growing in there.  For a while I thought what I was feeling with my tongue were the remnants of stitches that had not fallen out yet.  Nope--the skin taken from my arm (now in my mouth) is producing a nice blanket of hair follicles.  To add more insult to this, the patch of skin that is now under my chin is from the arm area that did not have hair on it--so if I wanted to grow a beard to cover up my external stitches, that can't happen.

Seriously?

Two days ago Terry and I started my evening tube feeding, only to discover that my PEG tube was clogged, so I could not take in any water or liquid chicken.  We tried all evening to get it unclogged, but no luck.  So, yesterday we had to go into the clinic to have a nurse clear the tube, which took all of about 1 minute once she started.  I had not "eaten" in 24 hours by the time we got home to do a feeding with the cleared tube.

So, the cosmic entity that has fated me to the PEG tube for several months had to have one more joke on me to clog the thing so I could not even take in my daily doses of liquid chicken.

Seriously?

We've also discovered another "gift" from the PEG tube feedings.  Seems that my palate can pick up the little bit of aroma the liquid chicken has, causing me to salivate heavily like one of Pavlov's dogs as the food enters the tube. So, as the food goes in, the drool comes out.  I'm salivating now just thinking about it.

Seriously?

mike