Mike,
I just asked Kevin about the thick saliva on and off and he said he still actually gets that sometimes. He said he just hacks it up and spits it out when it's really bad. He said to tell you that food will be nasty in the beginning, but it seemed for him the more he stimulated his taste buds the better it got. He drank a ton of water and tea in the beginning of recovery. I remember that. I can remember him eating dinner with us and saying "is this good?" The kids all told him it was delicious and he would just shake his head and eat it. Now he can taste things, but sweet is pretty much gone. He would also take the antinausea stuff before dinner sometimes.
So sorry. Hang in there. Plug your nose and eat!!! Just kidding!
Kathy