 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,606 Likes: 2 | We are all born with pharyngeal pouches that develop into different anatomical parts in the head. As we naturally age and muscles weaken, the pouches develop to protect the aerodigestive tract from allowing things to get into the lungs. The natural muscle process is for the pharyngeal muscles to perform something like a "wave" to clear the throat of food and such. The pharyngeal muscles get beat up bad from treatment. That is most likely what you are experiencing. A good SLP can show you different strategies to help flush the area out with liquids.
As Cheryl says, swallowing exercises and stretching are lifetime events now,if you want to maintain swallowing.
Losing weight over this exacerbates the problems as you are losing lean muscle at this stage of your recovery if your weight is decreasing unless you are above your pretreatment weight.
SCC Stage IV, BOT, T2N2bM0
Cisplatin/5FU x 3, 40 days radiation
Diagnosis 07/21/03 tx completed 10/08/03
Post Radiation Lower Motor Neuron Syndrome 3/08.
Cervical Spinal Stenosis 01/11
Cervical Myelitis 09/12
Thoracic Paraplegia 10/12
Dysautonomia 11/12
Hospice care 09/12-01/13.
COPD 01/14
Intermittent CHF 6/15
Feeding tube NPO 03/16
VFI 12/2016
ORN 12/2017
Cardiac Event 06/2018
Bilateral VFI 01/2021
Thoracotomy Bilobectomy 01/2022
Bilateral VFI 05/2022
Total Laryngectomy 01/2023
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