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I have something I would like to present and get some opinions on in reference to swallowing. About 2 years ago, I was in pretty poor condition. I only had 2 or 3 hours of "up" time a day. I was wracked by dysatonias. Rigidity & Bradykinesia were my "middle name". My head was pulled down so close to my left shoulder that my ear would nearly touch it. I weighed only 115 pounds. I had a terrible problem with swallowing. About every couple of minutes, I needed to swallow. I have had a sinus drainage problem for years and before I was diagnosed with PD, it was only "bothersome". However, it became a nightmare for me because my swallowing mechanism just wouldn't work. I found by a trial and error method that if I bowed my head, it became a little easier to swallow. In time, that didn't work so I found that if I interlocked my fingers behind my neck and pulled down even farther, it helped me to swallow. Again though, as time progressed even that, no longer worked. Then I discovered something. It wasn't how hard I was pulling down on my neck but where I was pressing my fingers. There was a certain spot on the back of my neck that when I pressed on it, my swallowing mechanism was activated. I probably looked a bit odd reaching behind my head and pressing on the back of my neck with a finger but it did the trick for me. I also found out that when I pressed on that spot, it changed the sounds I made. The best way I can describe how to find that spot, is place a couple of fingers on the top center of your neck behind your head. Start humming and at the same time moving your fingers down your neck applying a moderate amount of pressure. When the pitch of your hum changes, you have found the spot. I have spoken to many people about this and have never found anyone else that this worked for. For me, it was a life saver. I'm now a lot better than I was 2 years ago (back to my usual 160 pounds). The PD marches on and I still do battle every day with the myriad of symptoms (swallowing is no longer one of them). The gist of all of this is hopefully some of you out there with swallowing problems, that this may help. Dave Robertson