Choking on mucous

[Bestfriends14]

Hello all,

My hubby and I are down in the U.S. from Canada, until the 6th of January. However, yesterday was a frightening day where first thing in the morning, my pALS started choking on mucous. It lasted for 6 hours and we needed his nose pillows on while we used the cough assist and the sip and puff back and forth. I could not figure out the suction machine, so I could not use that. Now, I am panicked to be down here with no health care. I booked a medical flight back to Canada for this Wednesday, but he seems to be fine now, so I am second guessing my hastiness. Calgary is so dark and cold that neither of us want to go back. I will note, that it was just Thanksgiving, so my husband had piles of junk all with butter and cream,. plus a huge amount of milk and dark chocolate. Could that have been the culprit? He has never had such a bad episode before. Am I hasty in my decision to go back?

Help, please?

 

[ThatsAmore]

When my husband received his cough assist and suction machines… it took a while to convince him to try them and of course by that time we had to search for instructions/ how to. On YT there is a short video called Suction Machine for ALS on the Your ALS Guide channel that was helpful. This info is also on their specific website - just takes some hunting. My husband is bulbar onset. He is unable to swallow (and has a PEG Which he uses exclusively). The act of spitting is now a challenge - so we don’t always wait for cough assist use to bring it out. I hope this helps with figuring out the machine at least.

 

[lgelb]

Yes, dairy can be a trigger, and chocolate, especially -- it can be an irritant. I would go full bore on hydration (and humidification if needed). And look for other possible contributors like dirty filters, scents, new products, etc.

Besides adding the suction if that helps, we found the most effective position was Larry leaning against me in his wheelchair in kind of a bear hug position, with my arms around him -- more upright than he would normally be. In bed, I would raise the head and do the same thing from the lower part of the bed, arms around his back. For those with lifts, some sling time might be helpful as well.

I am not sure what would be different in Canada from the point of view of daily care, but given what's going on, would make sure his wishes are documented and you are aligned on them.

 

[Bestfriends14]

Thank you Laurie and Amore. Good advice from bothh; much appreciated.

 

[affected]

Could be worth sitting down and figuring that suction machine out now while not in an emergency so that you feel more confident.
I hope you can find a way to enjoy being there where it is warmer.

 

[MJT]

ThatsAmore- The youtube link is invaluable. Thank you! Our RT is non-existent as the office is short-staffed.
Bestfriends14- I will be thinking of you today. 💚

(leaves to learn how to use the suction machine...)

 

[Bestfriends14]

@Tillie most definitely! @MJT I will be learning that, a well.

 

[Bestfriends14]

So, he had a other 3 hour episode of choking on mucous. That's now twice in three days. He doesn't eat junk food and he consumes 2 smoothies, made with water and fresh fruit, plus 3 250 ml cups of lemon water. If thus is going to be the new norm, how much longer can a body go through this. What can the prognosis be at this stage of the disease?

 

[affected]

so sorry, this disease is beyond cruel. the prognosis is always such an enigma.
the dairy he ate a couple of days ago could wreak some havoc for 2 -3 days, so this could still be related to what he ate.
I wish I could say something solid to comfort, but we do this an hour at a time really 💚

 

[lisa g]

Bestfriends, I'm sorry your husband is going through this. I have found pineapple juice works for me to thin the mucus. I drink it at room temperature and not straight from the refrigerator. I also use fresh papaya and pineapple in my smoothies. I hope you find something that gives him relief.

 

[Bestfriends14]

Thank you all for your replies. He does drink room temperature pineapple juice, along with the couple of glasses of lemon water. He also takes 600 mg of mucinex in the morning and at night. For whatever reason, these things have stopped being affective. I do hope it's like Tillie says and it's still the dairy from Saturday; he had an awful lot from Thursday until Saturday. I truly hope tomorrow is a better day for him and for me.

 

[affected]

oh if he had dairy (which has affected him before) intake for 3 days in a row, it really could take a while (as in days, not weeks) because the choking events themselves now may have caused some internal irritation that needs to settle as well.

 

[Bestfriends14]

Oh yeah, he had Thanksgiving goodies all around. Sooo much butter, milk, and processed junk. Ugh...

 

[lgelb]

Yes, I would definitely ratchet the diet down this week -- very simple foods, nothing spicy, greasy, dairy, or with hard bits -- a notch below the pre-Thanksgiving diet.

 

[Bestfriends14]

Thanks, Laurie and Tillie. You ladies are so helpful.

I made bison chili tonight, so I think that's OK. Bison is lean and it's not spicy at all. I'll also be making him another smoothie with organic dark berries, a bit of lemon juice, some water, plant based organic protein powder, red and green superfood powder, and a banana. Fingers crossed we can get over this hump soon.