Much smaller portions served. If he finishes then serve more. I found small portions served throughout the day was better for my Husband. You may have also reached a point where his food should be minced or maybe even pureed. Also it may also be to a point where some foods should not be served. Anything "slippery" Peaches, Nectarines, can easily slide down the wrong way into the trachea. This also includes hard candy, popsicles. Just like with a child round things should be cut in half. Hotdogs, sausages, carrots. Grapes fall into both categories of slippery and round. So have them but be careful and supervise. My Husband was a fast eater as well and I would try to distract him while he was eating so that he would slow down.
My CNA'S didn't help me do much at all. They delivered the meals nothing else. If I asked for anything outside meal time they said the kitchen was closed. A favorite reply was "that's not in my contract".
Were you living in a Memory Care ALF? If so, and you needed help with your meals, that ridiculous CNA behavior should have been reported immediately. My mother lived in Memory Care AL for 3 years and had help with everything she needed help with, 24/7. Not to mention, Memory Care ALs do not 'deliver meals' to residents rooms, as a rule, but serve them in a common dining room setting where residents can get help and be monitored for choking issues.
Nobody can enter into the mind of another to get such a question answered, especially when a broken brain is at the core of the behavior! Feed your husband very small meals every few hours rather than 3 larger meals a day and see if that helps. Make sure his food is chopped up into VERY small bits so he doesn't choke while swallowing, and avoid foods like:
Hot dogs (especially cut into a coin shape), meats, sausages, and fish with bones Popcorn, chips, pretzel nuggets, and snack foods Candy (especially hard or sticky candy), cough drops, gum marshmallows, caramels, hard candies, and jelly beans Whole grapes, raw vegetables, raw peas, fruits, fruits with skins, seeds, carrots, celery, and cherries Dried fruits, sunflower seeds, all nuts, including peanuts Peanut butter, (especially in spoonfuls or with soft white bread) Ice cubes and cheese cubes Foods that clump, are sticky or slippery, or dry and hard textured Food size and shape, especially round or a shape that could conform to the shape and size of the trachea (windpipe).
Your husband should have a swallow study test ordered by his PCP and performed to see if he has dysphagia, a swallowing disorder which may require a pureed diet from now on.
Here is a link to an article about choking in elders and dysphagia, and signs to watch out for:
Perhaps because his brain is now broken and he doesn't know any better. Why don't you just take the time to feed him yourself? That way he will eat only as fast as you feed him. To me that's such a simple solution and a no brainer. And if he's in a facility and you're not there to feed him every meal, the CNA's will do that for him. You will NEVER be able to figure out why folks with any of the dementias do what they do, and will drive yourself crazy trying to. Again his brain is broken and it will never get better, only worse.
I found small portions served throughout the day was better for my Husband.
You may have also reached a point where his food should be minced or maybe even pureed.
Also it may also be to a point where some foods should not be served.
Anything "slippery" Peaches, Nectarines, can easily slide down the wrong way into the trachea. This also includes hard candy, popsicles.
Just like with a child round things should be cut in half. Hotdogs, sausages, carrots.
Grapes fall into both categories of slippery and round. So have them but be careful and supervise.
My Husband was a fast eater as well and I would try to distract him while he was eating so that he would slow down.
Hot dogs (especially cut into a coin shape), meats, sausages, and fish with bones
Popcorn, chips, pretzel nuggets, and snack foods
Candy (especially hard or sticky candy), cough drops, gum
marshmallows, caramels, hard candies, and jelly beans
Whole grapes, raw vegetables, raw peas, fruits, fruits with skins, seeds, carrots, celery, and cherries
Dried fruits, sunflower seeds, all nuts, including peanuts
Peanut butter, (especially in spoonfuls or with soft white bread)
Ice cubes and cheese cubes
Foods that clump, are sticky or slippery, or dry and hard textured
Food size and shape, especially round or a shape that could conform to the shape and size of the trachea (windpipe).
Your husband should have a swallow study test ordered by his PCP and performed to see if he has dysphagia, a swallowing disorder which may require a pureed diet from now on.
Here is a link to an article about choking in elders and dysphagia, and signs to watch out for:
https://www.moranelderlaw.com/choking-in-the-elderly/
Best of luck
And if he's in a facility and you're not there to feed him every meal, the CNA's will do that for him.
You will NEVER be able to figure out why folks with any of the dementias do what they do, and will drive yourself crazy trying to. Again his brain is broken and it will never get better, only worse.