Stroke Support Group
A stroke is an acute neurologic injury where the blood supply to a part of the brain is interrupted, either by a clot in the artery or if the artery bursts. The brain perfused by that artery no longer receiving oxygen carried by the blood and dying with cessation of function from that part of the brain.
Hello - wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this re: post-stroke involuntary biting of tongue while unconscious.
- My mom is recovering from a massive right hemisphere ischemic stroke
- She's made significant progress but still mostly unconscious (able to open her eyes and follow simple commands like blinking, opening her mouth, and squeezing at times) but this has been inconsistent
- One recent complication is she's started biting her tongue to where she's cutting into it with her teeth
- Her partial dentures are not in so she tends to have her tongue rest between the spaced out teeth in her mouth and on top of another jagged tooth.
- Nurses/Drs have offered no solutions so far and have been unable to fit any kind of mouth guard or apparatus to prevent this due to obstruction and aspiration risks (she has not demonstrated 100% the ability to control her swallowing yet). We've also contacted her dentist to no avail
- Nurses are physically moving her tongue away that side of her mouth when possible. We're told putting in the dentures would still result in her biting down and the teeth aren't any less sharp
- The one elongated bite guard they tried she has a tendency to push out of her mouth or it comes out when coughing
- Today Drs have prescribed starting her on gabapentin (anticonvulsant) - no details yet
She currently has a tracheostomy tube and a gastrointestinal tube fyi so feeding is not occurring from her mouth at this time.
This is causing her pain and stress no doubt, as well as her family and the hospital staff treating her. Any advice, help, suggestions, or solutions would be appreciated so much.
Tired
You might find help at agingcare.com.
Brandie1970
So sorry Your mother is going through this. I had similar issues from time to time. I'm quadriplegic. With progressive MS and 2 strokes. Semi ventilator dependent as well as a feeding tube. Have You noticed the positioning of Her head. When its worse? I had some similar issues when I was still recovering from one of My strokes. It was worse mostly when I was fully reclined. My husband and caregivers noticed and used a mouth guard. When I was sleeping and using the vent. And checking on Me several times through the night. As I had to be turned and repositioned and other needs through the night. I had and occasionally continue to have some problems. Especially in the mornings. When I try to eat some foods with My mouth. My caregivers help the best they can. As I struggle with chewing and swallowing. So feeding Me is a slow process. And I have to be careful not to bite My tongue.
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