Hi Mica! Hey man, don't despair! Your'e right on track. Just keep going through the motions & you will find your way. Your throat will gradually feel better & if you keep trying different foods you will discover you can manage to get them down. I floundered around for a few weeks asking myself the same questions & I'm not sure if I found all the answers, but my outlook improved incrementally with each small improvement. One day I realized I was slouching & moping around & decided to stop. It was really that simple. Chin up, shoulders back, chest out, I walked proud! I know it sounds silly but I was so tired of feeling bad that I just tried it. It worked for that moment. I've had to tell myself the same thing & then do it many times since. It was one of those small improvements. For me it's the small stuff that eventually adds up. So much of our battle is mental! Of course the physical knocks us down too. I had thrush a few weeks ago, but luckily it cleared up with 10 days of drugs. Ae you doing physical therapy? That has been real good for both my physical & mental state. If you can stand it, get off the pain meds! For me they caused more problems than they helped, constipation, fatigue, sleepiness. I just plain felt better all around physically without the opiates. You have to force yourself to keep swallowing to keep those muscles in shape. The old saying of use it or lose it does apply! The longer you WAIT for it to get better the longer it take to get better. Hey, thats been my experience. I hope you can use something from my rambling. How old are you? Do you have kids? Do you have access to some ? Go hang out with them! Kids have special powers of healing if you'll let it in! Your post touched me today cause I felt exactly the same way you do nat long ago! Take care! Erik