Tonight we went out to dinner at a new restaurant that had a special for a dollar. 1/4 chicken, roll and side. Almost done and my husband started to choke on a piece of chicken. He made a quick exit outside while I cleaned up the remains. I hurried outside to make sure he was o.k. and still breathing. A good lesson learned for him to watch the size of bites since sometimes he has a little trouble swallowing. Glad we only had $3.00 invested in dinner since we all lost our appetite after the ordeal.

Hi , small bites and well chewed I would say. All washed down with glass of liquid.
Glad he's okay and managed to clear the blockage.
Tammy

Chicken is also a dry meat so it's harder than most meats to chew and swallow with our dry mouth condition.

It also should be noted that the person choking should NOT run away alone. Either they should stay in place or someone goes with them. If you think staying in place will bother the other diners, imagine how they would feel if the funeral home came for a body. Safety from first!

Glad everything worked out.

Donna

I have been having increased swallowing difificulty since my last occurrence. I am thinking of swearing off steak and chicken all together. Even with liquid I have had some difficulty with both. I have found that milk seems to be a better liquid to wash more difficult things down with. It is VERYscary though, and each time makes you a little more nervouse but bite size and a good liquid are your best bet.

Clark recently choked on a blob of cheese from French Onion soup. I did the Heimlich manuever and it worked! I got behind him, placed my clasped fists below his sternum, pulled my fists in and up, and out popped the nasty chunk! It was so scary. We both realized that with all the "normal" coughing and choking that accompanies a meal, this was different. He decided that he wouldn't eat alone ever again. Had I not been there, it could have resulted in a tragedy.

If you ever find yourself alone and you are choking, throw yourself against the arm or back of a sofa. Better to break a rib than stop breathing.

I highly encourage any patient having issues swallowing at any stage of treatment or recovery, to work with a licensed speech pathologist. On these boards we have JenSLP (SLP stands for Speech and Language Pathologist) who has given great advice and is a rockstar in the field that can answer questions you may have however seeing someone local to you will help immensely.

Personally I don't know where I'd be without my SLP, or Jen for that matter, as they both kick ass and have helped me in more ways than I can count....but I am from Idaho and counting isn't our strong suit so I'm not sure if that's high praise or not...

Oh yes- I have had my moments with this too. Small small bites always with lots of liquid. I have had moments of overconfidence too. Its hard- you get hungrey- you get excited that you are eating but just remember to take it REALLY SLOW and small bites. Chicken and steak and melted cheese and ravioli and certain lettuces can get stuck and block your breathing so BE CAREFUL!

Happy eating everyone.

Almost everything I eat is pureed in my little 2 cup blender...and it goes down very easily. I love Ranch dressing so I add a little of that since it makes most of my stuff slide down my throat easily. With cold cereal, I pulverize and then add a little milk and watch the consistency. It works great and for eating out, I have learned to love the soup (broth) or ice cream. I have done enough choking since 1999 that I learned to take it easy on myself and enjoy what I can eat. I even have pizza in my blender......Good luck all and please try it for more flavors to choose from....Flo Martin

We recently got a vitamix and it has been the best thing ever. Made switching to a more whole foods diet much easier, and it's mostly soft foods for me at home now. But to be honest I feel better than I have in a while.