Hi Everyone, Finished RADS about 7 weeks ago. It seems that my sore throat may have gotten a little worse since I finished treatment. I am also wondering if starting to eat too soon after treatment might have had something to do with this? Maybe I should have used the tube longer giving the throat more time to heal? It does hurt when i eat and swallow. Anyway, I was wondering how long it took for your throats to heal and any suggestions for speeeding up the healing process. Again thanking you in advance for the help. CIAO!

Deano,

From all the posts I've read and I know you're sick of hearing this but not everyone reacts the same to their Tx and not everyone recovers the same. That said, I started off eating solids in my 3rd week post Tx. I started with soft things like mashed potatoes, and slowly moved up the scale with fruit cocktail, mac n cheese, etc to build up my confidence. Before long I was trying hamburgers, steak and pizza. Tasted like crap but I was happy feeling more normal again. Sure my throat and swallowing was uncomfortable but I expected it after weeks of only swallowing liquids. I did not have the tube so I can imagine your throat would take longer to get back in the swing of things.

I am not a doc and he would be the one to answer your specific question but my docs encouraged me to eat anything and everything without any cautions.

The healing process we go through seems long and drawn out but I am just 4 months post Tx and the only physical side effects I am still dealing with is dry mouth (7 on a scale of 10 and ever so slowly improving) and taste issues (8.5 out of 10). Mentally I'm not the same but who ever would be after going through what we are put through?

Hang in there. You will see improvements. Just give your body time.

rose my husband finish treatment in august 2006 having headace and burning throat need medicaton al the time

Hi Deano,

I used my tube for all nourishment, but did start trying to eat things around 3 months. (I think) My first real success was oat meal. It is easy on the mouth and throat. I just did small amounts and ate every 2 or 3 hours. Jell-o, yogurt, cream of wheat & rice, soups.

Also keep an eye out for fungi infections. They can make your mouth sting and hurt more.

Congratulations on getting through treatment.

Not sure of any way of speeding up the process. I noticed big difference at 4 mo. and 6 mo. It all takes time. I am at a year and I have to be careful of eating meat. I do real well with Shrimp, Turkey,chicken dark meat. It is all trial and error. Everyone is different. I can not eat spicy foods yet. Some people can.

Take care,
Diane

Deano;
I'm right at 3 months out and still have the sore throat and swallowing difficulty (as most here). I do find that the better hydrated I stay the less the discomfort. (I call it discomfort at this point compared to what it was) As far as foods, experiment away. It's like everyone else here has said, we are all on the same path but in different size shoes.

I have visited a speech therapist twice now and she has been a big help with speaking, swallowing and positioning things to swallow. Very instrumental in showing me how the treatments have affected my mouth and throat. She scoped my throat and done a video strobe, then reviewed the film with my wife and I to show us what has happened and how to deal with it now.

As far as food, the first thing I could handle after surgery was jello, oatmeal, and eggs. Totally different story after radiation/chemo. Relied on the peg tube for over a month. Finally got eggs to work. Needless to say I had a lot of eggs once that started working. Then I learned that chiken & rice or stars soups worked, but any dairy or drinks (other than water) burnt terribly. It is all trial and error. I keep pushing and experimenting and you should as well. I had a cheeseburger with the family at dinner tonight and actually ate the entire bun which has been unheard of. Yes, it took about 50 ounces of water and everyone finished about a half hour ahead of me, but I enjoyed it just the same.

Keep pushing and trying new stuff.
Best of luck,
Steve