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She complains every day that food is stuck in her throat or stomach and believes she will help the food move faster through her body if she spends a lot of time on the toilet combined with unzipping her pants. while she is sitting in a chair in the family. Over the past two weeks, she will go to the bathroom after eating dinner and will take off all of her clothes. She burps excessively, but I feel like some of the burping is caused by anxiety about eating and some of it is psychosomatic. We have given her gas-X and Prilosec to help with the burping. She is convinced that her clothes, especially her bra, are somehow attached to her body and affect how she digests food. She cannot voice exactly what she is experiencing and is also confused and disoriented, which I know is an Alzheimer's symptom. I know that trouble swallowing can be difficult for later-stage Alzheimer's patients, but my Mom now refuses to eat some times because she says food is stuck in her throat and it affects her breathing.
Any other caregivers who have experienced this? If so, how did you deal with it?

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Yes, definitely sounds like she's having swallowing issues and could very easily aspirate her food and drink into her lungs and that could kill her.
While waiting for a swallowing exam, please only give her pureed foods and thickened drinks. I used the product Thick It to thicken my late husbands drinks and he ate pureed foods for months after he almost died from aspiration pneumonia.
This is a very serious matter and should not be taken lightly.
When my husband who had vascular dementia developed aspiration pneumonia, the doctor said that because of my husbands dementia, that his brain was no longer telling his throat to close when he ate or drank thus allowing his food and drink to go directly into his lungs.
Best wishes as you continue on this very hard journey with your mother.
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Reply to funkygrandma59
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Please do not feed your mother again until/unless swallow evaluation done by PT.

Also do not force feed or force food on someone in this advanced stage of dementia. Speak to the doctor about hospice care. The last stages include an inability to communicate often, and finally an inability to swallow.

I am so sorry you're going through this.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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Your mother needs a swallow study done immediately! Many elders with advanced dementia do develop swallowing issues which can lead to aspiration pneumonia and death. Call her doctor to get one scheduled. In the meantime, you may want to offer mom milkshakes or smoothies, yoghurt, puddings, and other very soft foods that don't require a lot of chewing. I would not consider any of this psychosomatic but real.....that food IS getting lodged in her throat. Offering her soft foods should help with that.

Do not hesitate to get her to the ER if she has trouble breathing after eating or starts choking. Call 911 right away.

Good luck.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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