Thank you Nels,
I know what you mean about trying to eat and speak. During meal times I have a habit of correcting my boys' table manners. This comes from having worked as an au pair years ago in France. I was so impressed by how well French children behaved at the table that I decided if I ever had children of my own I would make sure they knew how to behave during meal times. I have to be very careful now that I've fully swallowed my food so as not to bite my tongue when I'm speaking to them at the table. I'm steering clear of spicy foods too like you mentioned. I'm not a Guinness drinker but I've had small amounts of wine since the operation.
At the moment I'm run down and generally unwell from stress and lack of sleep since the diagnosis. As soon as I can though I want to get back to living life fully again. It's great to know that after all you've been through you are thriving and active. I want to be that way too.