Hi Bookaren,
I did have swallowing pain for a long time after radiation. I would just pop a morphine pill 15-30 minutes before eating and that helped. Also only one side of my throat was really in pain so I would direct the food to the "good" side, I was able to swallow most of the time. Abrasive foods like chicken that was too dry was the worst. I remember that the first real food I ate was a filet mignon cooked rare and it just slide right down and was it delicious! I have had setbacks it hasn't been a linear uphill trek by any means. I was just noticing all of the little differences between now (120days) and just a few short months ago. Like being able to chug a bottle of water - It would have choked me to death a month ago (everything had to be sipped carefully through a straw). Much of my post radiation pain was from ulcerations caused by thrush and not the mouth burns which seemed to heal fairly quickly. My mouth now develops a small amount of saliva during the day and swallowing it getting easier post rad. There are still some foods I can't eat yet like candy bars, cookies and crackers without lots of water. I lost 60 lbs because of my resistance to the feeding tube. Some have said that you relearn to eat faster without one, in my case I found that to be true. Today my eating patterns are almost the same as post "C". I am gaining about a lb a week, feel pretty good and have no tingling or numbness to speak of. I had IMRT to spare most of the salivary glands (and minimize radiation effects) and didn't have Amofostine or Salagen. I have days when I am just plain tired -usually my own doing from being too ambitious around the house or not monitoring my caloric intake. You must learn to be patient and to pace yourself. I have just recently tried singing again. I am a musician and lead and b/u vocalist but that's a little trickier. The dryness on the vocal cords can cause nodes. That's another thing I forget to mention (saliva is a vocal cord lubricant). In the beginning there were many mornings that I couldn't talk for hours after I got up. That's pretty much passed now. It REALLY does get better!

I do feel incredibly blessed. Even the rad techs were surprised how well I came through this (not that I didn't have my moments of intense suffering)