Hi Lorie,
I am 6 months from finishing radiation and I also had a tube during my treatment. From about the 4th week of treatment on I used only the tube other then lots of water by mouth. I ate nothing by mouth, it was just to painful and didn't taste good. I didn't lose all that much weight and have put most of it back on already. I started trying out food about one month-6 weeks after I finished treatment, soups only with some crackers in it. I would get sooooooooooo discouraged each time I tried to eat anything. I missed eating so very much and wanted to feel "normal" again. I cooked so much during that period that my poor husband put on about 15 pounds! I spent awhile using the tube AND eating by mouth so I would get the proper nutrition. Then it seemed like all of a sudden my saliva improved and the soreness in my mouth improved and I could add a few more things to my diet. The day I drank my first Pepsi was a GREAT day for me! Now, 6 months out, I meet my 22 year old for lunch every Thursday at Applebees and we both order French Onion soup and the Southwest Steak, light on the peppers and heavy on the cheese............I clean my plate and it's delicious. The only troubles I had when I first started eating more then a few bites was that I would get SOOOOOOOOOO hungry, my stomach would growl and act up for hours after I tested out some food.
I am not a patient person, hate to sit still and I'm always on the move. This health crisis puts the brakes on your life for a short amount of time and then you find yourself at the starting gate again but with a different perspective on what the race is all about. Don't try to measure his progress daily, try to do it weekly. I don't remember who posted that when I was still sick from radiation, but those words made such sense to me.
Patience is the treasured card in this game, kind of like the "get out of jail" card in Monopoly...........we all gotta have one to get past go!!!
Take care, soon you will be advising others on this board.
Minnie