Hello Goodpn,

Welcome to OCF and I am sorry to hear of your challenges. My experience was the tongue took a long time, many months, to come down to a manageable size. It was weeks before I could even touch my teeth back together. Everyone is different but I was able to get off my nasal feeding tube before radiation. But, eating was hard. I ate soft foods, like you have listed, for months and it would take me a long time to just manipulate and chew a bite of anything with structure. Radiation added a whole new challenge - some swelling, sores and funky flavors. Flavors were the hardest. By the end of rads, most foods tasted horrible. I focused hard on the ones that I could still stomach. Some tasted fairly normal like scrambled eggs and green beans (say whaaat? I know, green beans!). Sounds like you have a vitamix (or similar). I would blend all kinds of simple stuff together in there. Found adding avocados to almost anything, like vanilla ice cream, worked in the blender to add some healthier calories. Flavors come back after rads over the months and years. I am five years out now and still notice some improvement in spice levels. Spicy food ended up being the hardest/longest to come back. Today I order the least spiciest on the menu and still sometimes cannot manage it. Liquids were a different challenge. I just kept practicing in small sips all the time. Eventually, I learned how to drink fairly well. But, I still can not do a milkshake through a straw. I can do water or liquid through a straw now. That took awhile.

Upshot, I had to learn to be much more patient with myself than ever before in my life from an injury/physical challenge. I suggest journaling - both written and video. I would get frustrated thinking why hadn't I come further with my speech? food?. Then, I would go to my journal, watch an old video of myself speaking, etc. and realize I had improved more than I thought.

Please keep us up to date on your progress.

Blessings and peace,
Nels