Not sure f i'm in the right place

[Moosey]

Hi

As you can see from my title, I'm not sure if anyone can help.

Over the last month or two, my father has suddenly been unable to swallow. Well, no that's a lie. He can swallow drinks, and soup. He can manage things like mash potato or wheetabix (but slowly), but anything else he just can't manage, and this is a man that as close as Christmas, was having 2-3-4 portions of dinner. He loves his food. He doesn't smoke or drink; he hasn't had any chest infections. He has asthma but that is kept under control by inhalers. He has high cholesterol and blood pressure which again are kept under control by medication.

He's got the hospital tomorrow but I'm really concerned. He never gets ill and yet sometimes i see him dribbling porridge down himself as he can't get it down and it's heartbreaking.

I'm not sure anyone can give us any advice yet as we don't know what it is, but any words of comfort or points in the right direction would be appreciated.

Thank you

[Amycaz]

Hi Moosey,

Sorry you find yourself here too.

What sort of tests are your Dad having at the hospital?

My Dad was referred for an endoscopy due to his swallowing issues. Hopefully if this is what they are doing for your Dad, they will get to the bottom of it.

Amy x

[rayw55]

For the moment you must wait and see what happens at the hospital. They will, I am sure, quickly identify the source of the problem and then start a plan to help. The positive is that regardless of what they find and what options are available to him he will be in a better position than he is now. You don't say how much weight he has lost in the last 6 weeks or so , but it's likely to be quite a lot if he has not been feeding, the sooner you know the quicker it can be dealt with. Try as best you can to keep taking in calories even if it letting chocolate melt in his mouth. Stay in touch and best wishes to you both.

[Spikey]

Hi Moosey,

You are definitely in the right place. Your father appears to be suffering from dysphagia, which can be caused by a number of things, including, but not necessarily, cancer of the oesophagus. The only way to find out, as Amy says, is to have an endoscopy. Hope all goes well.