Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Mouthing Off

In the beginning I did mouth exercises to counter a drooping smile and slurred speech. Lying in my hospital bed that first week, I practiced my pucker with enthusiastic sucking noises. I filled my cheeks with air and pressed it out in tiny farting bursts. I pursed my lips "Oooohhhh" and stretched my lips "Eeeeeeee." I once practiced this last exercise with such vigor, a nurse checked to see if I was okay.

In rehab my speech therapist fed me crackers to see if I was "pocketing" food between my cheek and gums. I chewed the crackers and opened my mouth for inspection.

"Good," she said holding out another Saltine. "One more time."

"Bwwaack," I said. "Marcelle want a cracker."

I minimized chewing on my left side because my weakened tongue lacked the agility to scoop food out of the corners of my mouth. When chewing I often bit the inside of my lips and cheeks. I haven’t done that in awhile, I think. Then I bite my cheek again.

Swallowing poses hazards. The muscles on the left side of my neck are weak and sometimes food sticks in my throat. I never eat without a glass of water at hand.

Also food doesn't taste as good. For a long time I thought this might be my imagination, but last week the nerves along the left side of my tongue began to reawaken with an electric jolt. Then I realized that half my taste buds have been disconnected from my brain – so no wonder I'm not getting full flavor.

On the upside food doesn't taste as bad either. Guess that's why a few nights ago I was able to eat beets.

4 comments:

  1. You are so funny. Great you are getting some taste back. My Dietician told me about a stroke lady that thought everything tasted and felt like old popcorn in her mouth.

    I am finding my sense of smell with foods is off now. I do smell them but I can't figure out what they are. I like dill pickles for the first time in my life, but I also have tried to feed my family rancid cereal and not even been aware of it.

    Yeah, my left inside cheek is also a mess.. still.. and I am going to need a whole pile of dental work on the left side because of tooth damage because of biting with bad alignment and jaw spasms.

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  2. Oh, yes...same issues for me, but they have been getting better....slowly. I had PT specifically for my jaw, which was helpful, but not a "cure all". My left side was weak from the stroke, but my right side was tight from the surgery and the muscles they cut. I did the face exercises like crazy and then they added tongue and jaw exercises. Swallowing was kind of a risky venture...happy I didn't end up with pneumonia or really bad choking. I did lose a ton of weight at first as eating was very difficult. Congratulations on the taste coming back, mine's slowly returning too.

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  3. I'm starting to chew with both sides, finally. The inside of my right cheek is all bitten up now.

    Now about those beets...I've heard they're really good for brain development...

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  4. I can't handle liquids and solids at the same time so pills have ended up in my lungs when I take them with water. Now I take my pills with yogurt which slows things down enough to give my weak throat muscles time to react. When I eat out I take an individual container of apple sauce.

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