Sadly after my husband’s stroke he cannot swallow, therefore suffers terribly from excessive saliva build up and runs the risk of aspirating. We have tried patches, but they don’t really work. Does anyone else suffer from this and how do you manage it. I’d be very grateful for any suggestions.
Hello JEB,
I had my stroke in August 2010 and was exactly like this. I started to regain my swallow within three weeks and was put onto progressively harder things to eat and swallow over a period of four months. Eight years later, my swallow is normal but my sneezes are like a sonic boom!
The chairman of our local Stroke group has a tube into his stomach for feeding and fluids. He spits into a sealed pot every ten minutes to get rid of the saliva and has been known to try a taste of whisky or brandy before spitting it out.
Are you getting support from a SALT (Speech and language therapist)? They gave me swallowing exercises which helped with the early recovery.
good luck,
Damian