Does he have the magic mouthwash? If he can swish and gargle that and then chug an Ensure or something at least he will keep the swallowing reflexes going. Having to learn to reswallow will not be fun. I do believe it is time for tough love. I remember telling Kevin that he was not the only one going through it and it was time to start being a little more mature about things. It worked. He got mad at me, but then he got better. I don't think more pain meds will help as they are probably what's making him feel yucky. I know we tried the patch and Kevin got down right nasty. After that we just used Lortab and the magic mouthwash. The Lortab made him very HAPPY!! Mellowed him right out. I'm pretty sure he took that at the same time as the patch too, so that might be able to be done. You can ask. Also what I did was ask for Xanax for Kevin. Just 1 25mg tablet helped him to relax and think clearer. Then he was willing to go out and walk a bit. Not much, but enough to help with the phlegm. If it would help Kevin could call him. If he wants to talk pm me the number and I know Kevin would be available.
This really is the HARD part.