Is this cough related to grandad’s dementia?

[LouBear]

Hi

My grandad is 94 and has had a diagnosis of vascular dementia for just over 2 years now.

In November last year he was in hospital for 3 weeks with pneumonia, sepsis and kidney failure. In early January he required a further round of antibiotics to clear infection in his chest and at the time had been coughing and having to clear his chest quite frequently. The doctor came out in March as I was worried grandad still had a cough but at that time the doctor said everything sounded clear so no medication was prescribed.

Fast forward to maybe the last couple of months - grandad has developed a cough (which to listen to at times sounds very forced) which continues sometimes to the point he gags. I have noticed he is now also much more frequently (a number of times a day) clearing his chest and has quite random bouts of sneezing.

After our experience with pneumonia etc last year I’m forever taking his temperature to check but that side of things is normal and his breathing doesn’t sound rattley like it did back then.

Im trying to get the balance between understanding what is part and parcel of the progression of his dementia and carting him off to the doctors!

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced this

Thank you

Clare

 

[Beate]

Doctors can also make house visits. If you are concerned, call them. Just because someone has dementia doesn't mean their coughs should go unchecked.

 

[LouBear]

Beate thank you for your message.
I am aware that doctors make home visits.
The purpose of my posting was to just ask if anyone had come across this type of thing as an associated progression - I’m very much still learning about dementia and am trying to just broaden my understanding of what can be ‘expected’ if you like, what is usual and indeed what may be unusual but still maybe someone is familiar.
I will keep an eye on him over the next couple of days and make the call.
Thanks again.
Clare

 

[Baby Bunty]

Hi..is he coughing whilst eating/ drinking..if so he will need urgent SALT assesment. As he might need to have thicken fliuds ect..sorry salt is speech and language therapy..xx

 

[LouBear]

Hi Baby Bunty
It is fairly frequent after drinking and in the half hour or so that follows that particular drink. After that it seems to settle down apart from the odd splutter every now and again. Nothing seems to be affecting / or be affected by eating for now which is good.
The doctor is going to come out on Wednesday to check him over.
Thanks for your reply - I really appreciate it.
C

 

[Baby Bunty]

My mum was like that..4 course of abx for chest infection..always coughing and sounding chest..deemed end off life 6 months ago..she still end off life but her chest is better as she now on stage 1 thicken fluids and coughing as stopped.xx

 

[collins35]

My mum was like that..4 course of abx for chest infection..always coughing and sounding chest..deemed end off life 6 months ago..she still end off life but her chest is better as she now on stage 1 thicken fluids and coughing as stopped.xx

Hi

My grandad is 94 and has had a diagnosis of vascular dementia for just over 2 years now.

In November last year he was in hospital for 3 weeks with pneumonia, sepsis and kidney failure. In early January he required a further round of antibiotics to clear infection in his chest and at the time had been coughing and having to clear his chest quite frequently. The doctor came out in March as I was worried grandad still had a cough but at that time the doctor said everything sounded clear so no medication was prescribed.

Fast forward to maybe the last couple of months - grandad has developed a cough (which to listen to at times sounds very forced) which continues sometimes to the point he gags. I have noticed he is now also much more frequently (a number of times a day) clearing his chest and has quite random bouts of sneezing.

After our experience with pneumonia etc last year I’m forever taking his temperature to check but that side of things is normal and his breathing doesn’t sound rattley like it did back then.

Im trying to get the balance between understanding what is part and parcel of the progression of his dementia and carting him off to the doctors!

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced this

Thank you

Clare

Am so sorry to hear about your grandad he is a lucky gentleman to have such a caring grand-daughter.

My husband is 77 diagnosed with Alzheimer's 2 years ago and had a repetitive cough which seemed to come on after a cold. After a year of GP appointments when we were also told that everything was clear he was finally referred for an endoscopy which revealed a hiatus hernia and Barretts Oesophagus (a bit like ulcers in the throat). However the real cause of the cough was finally revealed by a visit to the SALT team (Speech and Language therapy). His swallowing reflex was a fraction slow which means liquids such as water which move quite quickly were trickling down the throat into the windpipe before he had a chance to swallow. The cough was to bring it back up again. The big problem with this is that it can cause pneumonia and repeated episodes of this are an indication that something needs to be done before more damage is caused.

The therapist recommended that tablets be given with a spoon of yoghurt not water as the yoghurt remains in the mouth until the swallow reflex moves it down. He struggled with bottled drinks as well as sport bottles (we thought these would be better but the head appears to go back too far to access the fluid) and drinks are now served in a glass. This has helped a lot and the coughing is much reduced. The therapist gave me a sample of thickener to try for future use which does not appear to affect the flavour of the drink and can apparently be used in beer! I am bearing this in mind for the future.

I totally understand your desire to understand the journey that you and your grandad are taking and you are doing exactly the right thing. Sometimes GPs need a prod so that they do not dismiss something which can be helped. In the end you need the knowledge to have the confidence to say to the professionals 'I don't think this is right - what can be done? ' I wish you and your grandad well.

 

[Shedrech]

hello @collins35
I just noticed your helpful post and wanted to offer a warm welcome to TP
I'm sure you'll find TP supportive and full of useful info
now you've found us, keep posting

 

[LouBear]

Thank you for your messages.
Grandad is doing ok with swallowing at the moment and instead it seems things have moved on in other ways. As a result of the GP coming out, grandad has been sent for an X-ray, a round of blood tests, supplied with a subsequent set of antibiotics for some possible infection on his chest and referred to the heart failure consultant. He had another set of bloods on Friday and GP wants him to go for another X-ray tomorrow to see if the infection cleared. In my opinion the antibiotics have made no difference at all and grandad is coughing as much as ever.
On top of that, grandad took a bit of a tumble yesterday, well more like crumpled thankfully, and whilst he isn’t hurt, he doesn’t seem to have been great since. He’s had three toileting accidents in 24 hours which he describes as taking him by surprise and has been tearful this eve at the ‘state of affairs’ (as he refers to it) which isn’t like him. Calling GP again in the morning as I know something isn’t quite right :-( I hate seeing him struggle. It’s fair to say i’m finding it pretty tough tonight.
Take care everyone.

 

[la lucia]

Thank you for your messages.
Grandad is doing ok with swallowing at the moment and instead it seems things have moved on in other ways. As a result of the GP coming out, grandad has been sent for an X-ray, a round of blood tests, supplied with a subsequent set of antibiotics for some possible infection on his chest and referred to the heart failure consultant. He had another set of bloods on Friday and GP wants him to go for another X-ray tomorrow to see if the infection cleared. In my opinion the antibiotics have made no difference at all and grandad is coughing as much as ever.
On top of that, grandad took a bit of a tumble yesterday, well more like crumpled thankfully, and whilst he isn’t hurt, he doesn’t seem to have been great since. He’s had three toileting accidents in 24 hours which he describes as taking him by surprise and has been tearful this eve at the ‘state of affairs’ (as he refers to it) which isn’t like him. Calling GP again in the morning as I know something isn’t quite right :-( I hate seeing him struggle. It’s fair to say i’m finding it pretty tough tonight.
Take care everyone.

Did you get the swallowing checked by the SALT team or was it just observation? I ask because what you describe is how my mother was and yet she didn't appear to have a problem. But a SALT assessment said otherwise (it's a practical test) and thickened fluids really helped to stop the coughing. Sleeping with a raised head also helps a bit.

My mum had pneumonia last winter too it knocked the hell out of her for a while.

I hope your granddad is ok and you get some help. It's good you're going to get the doctor back because you know your granddad better than anyone and that suspicion of 'something is not quite right' is a good example of that.