Parkinson's and swallowing
Last Saturday the research team went to a scientific meeting held by the Parkinson’s Disease Non-Motor Group at The Royal Society of Medicine in London.
We spent the day with scientists and clinicians from the UK and Europe, who presented recent results on Parkinson’s to health professionals and researchers. One topic we found interesting was problems with swallowing, which can mean people’s medication isn’t absorbed properly.
Almost everyone with Parkinson’s will have trouble swallowing food or liquid at some point. Advice given to doctors on the day suggested that liquid levodopa may be more effective than pills or capsules.
What we don’t yet know is why swallowing becomes difficult with Parkinson’s, but we’re currently funding a study to find out. Swallowing can happen about 1,000 times a day so it’s vital we understand it.
If you have Parkinson’s, have you found swallowing difficult? Is it a symptom you expected? How do you find that it affects your every day life?
Let us know by leaving a comment, and if you’re in the Manchester area you might actually be able to be involved in the study. Email research@parkinsons.org.uk if you’re interested in taking part.
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6 comments:
Did i read this report correctly? You sent a team of experts to a all day meeting to discover swallowing problems can affect the medication performance if your taking pills!!!! How much did it cost to find out this golden nugget of info? Because i could of told you this years ago FOR FREE! Its also becomes an even bigger issue if your taking pills every 2 or 3 hours because you then not getting a smooth on/off cycle.
Thanks for your comment. The meeting was a full-day event covering a range of topics - we've selected swallowing as one example of recent research. Although you and many others are acutely aware of it, there are other people - including some health professionals - who don't realise that this is such an issue for many people with Parkinson's.
It didn't cost us anything to attend the meeting - it was a free event based in London.
I occaisionally have minor problems swallowing and since one of the drugs I take is quite large (Requip XL) it can be quite a problem swallowing it.
I did not expect problems with swallowing when I was diagnosed, but I attended a local group meeting where it was discussed, plus people on the forum have mentioned it.
I have only been diagnosed for 2 years but already swallowing is becoming an issue. I nearly choked this morning on my requip xl tablets. These are quite large and must not be broken up as they are extended release. I also can not eat fruit skins and avoid chewy meat.
I find that chewing gum helps as it releases more saliva and thick saliva is part of the problem.
Difficulty with swallowing rice and bread was one of the first symptoms of PD for me, a year before it was diagnosed. I have no difficulty taking medication but swallowing is a problem at night, especially if I have a cold.
hi im Phil from Shrewsbury i`v had PD for 13 years & had trouble swallowing for most of it, taking tab`s 4 times a day can be a nightmare,just having a drink can be tricky, but we cope .
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