[Dysphagia] crico-pharyngeal diet

[sorriso at adelphia.net (sorriso@adelphia.net)]

Hi kd, welcome to the list.  You will find it is indeed a forum for sharing 
information and problem-solving amongst professionals.  You have neither 
indicated if you are a speech-language pathologist or related professional nor 
provided your name, I hope I have addressed you correctly.  

You will find the dysphagia list's archives located at dysphagia.com to be 
another rich source of information.  In your research there you will find the 
VitalStim topic has been a frequent topic.  Maybe if you look back a little, you
will find that some responses are not so much "hostile" as plain old tired and 
frustrated.  Other hot topics are DPNS and thickening liquids.  You might want 
to research those in the archives as well because there's always a stir when 
those topics are reintroduced.  When I first started working in SNF/LTC (only 
six years ago), before I found this list, a nurse said something to me about her
concern for a patient on thickened liquids and the overall decreased hydration 
available to the patient secondary to thickening.  I had no idea what she was 
talking about.  I do now!

This is not a site for fluffy comments, we are serious professionals who 
actually are involved in life and death matters with our patients.  
Unfortunately the dysphagia training some of us received was minimal, inaccurate, antiquated or all of the above.  

In your post your frustration was obvious and you requested "research-based 
evidence that VitalStim therapy is not efficacious."  The list has been 
clamoring for someone to provide VitalStim therapy IS efficacious!  

My point in bringing the discussion about the cricopharyngeal diet to this forum was that there are professionals out there who are presenting the information 
as fact and there are no research-proven facts.  Inevitably someone will ask me 
about it.  I want to be as well-informed as possible in order to respond.

In the past many have pointed out  thoughts such as, "what if my MD practiced in  this manner?" or "remember the facilitated learning debacle?"  By contrast, the  Lee Silverman approach for voice (and dysphagia) has been recommended here 
frequently because it has been proven and reproven by research to have efficacy.

Hang with it kd, if you've got an open mind you'll learn a lot!

Linda A. Zanchi, MA CCC-SLP
 
---- k d <kltd50@yahoo.com> wrote: 
> I'm new to this mailing list.  I thought it was an opportunity for sharing of clinical information and experiences, not someone's particular hostile remarks, regardless of what information has been shared.  For instance, it would be good to provide research-based evidence that VitalStim therapy is not efficacious.  If this communication forum is just a forum for emotional comments and prejudices, than I think it is not very useful.
> 
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