It is coming up to two months since my last treatment.

[alfredo]

I see improvement, but I still have a sore throat. I want to get back to eating solid food. I tried apple sauce again. Boy was that an ordeal. I can taste things, just can't swallow them. Tuna tasted like tuna flavored cardboard. I also tasted some pineapple from my wife's pizza. It was good, but alas I had to spit it out.

I get out to take photos, just for the exercise.

I'm still bothered with phlegm. I still get coughing jags.

So, I am progressing, though I've had some character building days recently. Nausea is not as much an issue as before, though I did yodel in the porcelain a couple days ago.

My weight is good.

I am a bit sad that I am missing the Pride Fest today. It's a wonderland for photographers. I just don't have the stamina needed for that event. It's too hot anyway.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Do you still have your feeding tube? Keep trying to get

some solid food down, so you don't become too dependent on the tube. It's a slow process.

[alfredo]

3. It hurts. I tried applesauce and a weak gravy, quite painful.

[Solly Mack]

2. sinkingfeeling is right. Slow process, keep trying with the solids because you can

become dependent on the tube, and you do not want that.

I still have problems with phlegm 2 years later, but it is ever so much better. It will get better for you, but it will take time. I was told recovery between 6 months and 2 years (tongue/throat/taste), and I was much closer to the 2 year mark for feeling more like myself.

Sorry you are missing Pride-Fest.

Congrats on the 2 month milestone!

[alfredo]

4. did you have difficulty talking? I can manage to croak a few words.

[Solly Mack]

5. Yes, I did.

After radiation ended my throat was so swollen that it was hard to talk and I used a lot of warm rinses and hot teas.

The more I tried to talk, the more strain I put on my throat, the more pain I caused. I got through that stage and talking got easier and the constant knot in my throat felt smaller. The knot and the phlegm didn't totally go away either. The phlegm can still build up and the knot comes back - everything gets aggravated. So I go back to warm rinses and hot drinks (and nasal sprays) to loosen it all up again.

The recovery can be the worst part of it all. The after, when treatment is over but the symptoms get worse. Your body is achieving a new normal and that takes time. And it blows - it really, really blows.

Take a small bite of soft food, and drink something very warm behind it - coffee or tea. I did that. Take a bite, drink. Take a bite, drink.

Throat sprays to numb and ease the way before meals and after? And practice swallowing. I don't care how silly it sounds. Every now and then, just swallow. Do it a few times a day. Use throat spray if you have to, but swallow.

The thing is, if something about your new normal doesn't feel normal - tell your doctor. You can hurt your healing process from coughing - the strain of it. Doc needs to help you find ways to reduce the coughing while still getting that phlegm up and out. That phlegm can actually help coat your throat to reduce strain, but it can also be so thick it becomes the problem.

[alfredo]

6. What types of tea do you drink?

Yeah, talking is a real pain.

I think I will try some tea.

The coughing comes after trying to drink, when my mouth is dry, when I slouch, and when I sit up. The worst time for a cough is when I open my peg for feeding. What a mess.

[Solly Mack]

7. Whatever was handy - Twinings, etc. Usually Irish breakfast or Darjeeling.

Sometimes Oolong. Lipton, Community, Luzianne. Truly, whatever was in one of the tea jars at the time. I wasn't picky.

I needed it hot. Hot was the main thing. It helped to soothe my throat and clear the phlegm.

I still take only small sips and swallow. Wait, then another small sip and swallow. I consciously swallow, if that makes sense. It helped with the phlegm/coughing/gagging - everything.

I was supine for tube feedings. Don't know if that makes a difference but it might.

Ask your doctor because peg tubes can cause issues with the tummy.

Sorry if I wasn't any help.

[alfredo]

8. I had some decaf green tea. I was able to have several good sips. I could taste it all through.

I'm going to try again.

I tried some throat spray. It made me throw up a bit. Oh well.