Hi Chris. Thank you for the suggestion, and spices have worked that way
with me, too, in the past. How I wish it were that simple now. Here is
information from one of the MG pamphlets provided from the Myasthenia Graves
Foundation of America on nutrition for us which explains it much better than
I can.
Nutrition and Myasthenia Gravis
A helpful guide for patients and their caregivers.
Good nutrition is important for everyone. This is especially true when you
have a chronic disorder like Myasthenia Gravis (MG) with which some, but not
all, patients will experience difficulty with chewing and swallowing. To
maintain normal body function, you need a balanced diet with adequate
nutrients.
Nutritional Problems in MG
There are some areas of nutritional concern for people with MG. First, be
aware that nutritional deficiencies frequently result from making poor food
choices. Fatigue and difficulty with chewing and swallowing may interfere
with nutrition and create safety issues. Diet modifications may be advisable
if you are taking certain medicines for MG.
Choose a Sensible Diet
Choose a healthful diet with a variety of foods containing the nutrients
that you need. Your age, gender, size and activity level determine the
number of calories that you require daily. A nutritious daily diet includes
foods from five food groups with 6-11 grain group servings, 3-5 vegetable
group servings, 2-4 fruit group servings, 2-3 milk/dairy group servings and
2-3 meat group servings. Limit fats, oils, sweets and salt. Choose sensible
portion sizes. Avoid empty calorie foods.
** I'm working at blending my diabetic and MG diets. We are looking at
running some foods through the blender, and looking into baby foods. **
Energy Conservation and Mealtime
Try to plan your meals when your strength is optimal. Eat slowly and rest
between bites if necessary. When fatigue is a problem later in the day, try
eating your main meal earlier. Instead of 3 larger meals, try eating 5 or 6
smaller meals. If you are taking anticholinergic drugs like Mestinon, eat
your meal about an hour after taking your medicine.
** I am taking a time span dose of the Mestinon now which keeps a more level
dosage of it in my body, but still find 3 larger meals too difficult still.
**
Chewing and Swallowing Difficulties
MG symptoms are highly variable. Not all people with MG will have difficulty
chewing and swallowing. However, weakness of the tongue, jaw, mouth and
throat muscles may make it difficult for some to chew or swallow food.
At times of weakness, you may get easily fatigued during meals and have
difficulty eating the kind or amount of food that you need to get adequate
nutrients and calories. This could result in malnutrition and unexpected
weight loss. You may at times experience a sensation of food sticking in
your throat or esophagus. Liquids may come back up your nose due to weakness
of the muscles that separate your throat and nose.
Throat weakness may allow partially chewed solid food to get lodged in your
airway and cause you to cough or choke while eating. If the airway becomes
blocked by a piece of food and coughing does not dislodge it, death could
result. For this reason, it is advisable that family members take a first
aid course that includes instruction on when and how to perform the Heimlich
maneuver.
In extreme times of weakness, you might have trouble swallowing your
medication or even your own saliva. Solid food, liquids or saliva could
enter the airway and then go into the lungs, causing “aspiration” pneumonia.
If you are having difficulty with chewing and swallowing, inform your MG
physician so that treatment modifications can be considered to better manage
MG weakness. If you are choking frequently or having trouble swallowing your
medication or saliva, call your doctor immediately.
** All of the above happens to me except I've not been unable to dislodge
the blocked food yet, nor have I had aspiration pneumonia even though I
*have* aspirated drink and saliva. I choke on my saliva for no apparent
reason whatsoever very often. When I am weak, I have difficulty controlling
the saliva, too, with it flowing from my mouth. I think Jim is considering
instructions about the Heimlich, especially since my choking is getting
worse, and the MG is worsening faster than we can get it under control. I
am considering a thymectomy, but even then, positive results will not begin
to show until about a year later. **
Easier Chewing and Swallowing
Modifying the consistency of food can make it feasible for you to get proper
nutrition when you are having difficulty with eating and drinking. Prepare
foods in a way that makes them soft, tender and easy to chew and swallow.
Chop, mash or puree foods. Moisten dry foods with liquid. While eating, take
sips of liquid to soften foods in your mouth and help prevent solids from
sticking in your throat. The thin consistency of fluids makes them more
likely to get aspirated into the lungs because they travel quickly down the
throat. Commercial thickeners can be added to thin liquids to give them a
more manageable consistency and reduce this risk.
Body position and your mealtime environment are important. When eating, sit
upright in a chair and tilt your head forward. Avoid distractions while you
eat. Don’t talk and eat at the same time. If you continue to have problems
with eating over an extended time period, evaluations by a nutritionist and
a speech language pathologist may be helpful.
The MGFA mission is to facilitate the timely diagnosis and optimal care of
individuals affected by Myasthenia Gravis and closely related disorders and
to improve their lives through programs of patient services, public
information, medical research, professional education, advocacy and patient
care.
Approved by the MGFA Medical/Scientific and Nurses Advisory Boards
© Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, Inc. 2001
** Hope this helps explain what I am dealing with, with Myasthenia Gravis.
This only covers the swallowing, and not the lung involvement where it can
get to the point that I am unable to cough, thereby "drowning in my own
phlegm," as was put by a previous poster. Thanks again for your suggestion.
Much appreciated. *s*
Billie
"Chris Malcolm" <cam@holyrood.ed.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:51ebj3F1jcd9mU1@mid.individual.net...
: Billie <mynewsaccount@swbell.net> wrote:
: > Some of us *do* have that possibility to look forward to because our
muscles
: > are too weak for us to have a strong enough cough to get the mucus out;
then
: > infection hits. It (Myasthenia Gravis - MG) has only recently
*attacked* my
: > neck and chest muscles; it is scary. Sometimes I inhale my saliva, and
have
: > a hard time coughing it back out of my windpipe; sometimes I can swallow
: > from my mouth, but difficulty getting it on down past the upper
esophageal
: > area, have to *hold* it there, rest, then try again. There is pain with
a
: > *good* swallow, but more so with a hard one like this.
:
: I don't know which of the hot spices it is, probably at least one of
: ginger, pepper, and cumin, but I always notice that after a dish
: spiced with these kinds of hot spices that I spontaneously do a mild
: bit of coughing or throat clearing which brings up more mucus a lot
: more easily than usual. Same thing happens to my wife.
:
: --
: Chris Malcolm
cam@infirmatics.ed.ac.uk DoD #205
: IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
: [
http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]
:
Staph bug causes new pneumonia 
. Then, she sat in front of me, and as long as my arm lasted, I
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