Nelie,
I finished my rad/chemo just before you did. I also had concerns about my throat being sore and my tongue feeling funny. I had lost my sense of smell which was good in a way but as it came back I would smell the food people would cook and would try to eat it painfully. I wanted off the tube so bad and wanted to eat regular food that I think when I ate food it made my throat worse.
I would talk to my ent about this and he would tell me that it will get better with time. I have heard that so much that I can't stand it much more. My ENT's office assistant suggested that I see the swallowing specialist to see if there was a problem.

She was real nice and explained that she was going to film my throat and it wouldn't hurt. I was sceptical but she was right it didn't hurt. The worse part was that she had to hold my tongue which was still sore.

By her filming my throat, I was able to see what it looked like. It was still swollen inside. (I told her that when I would try to eat it seemed food would get caught on a ledge and could be there for a while and it would come back up if I coughed.) She showed me this possible ledge and how red and swollen it was.

She told me that I needed to concentrate on real soft foods and to swallow, swallow, swallow drinks to help build back my muscles. I have been tube feeding since mid March til about 3 weeks ago. I am not eating enough real food that I drink the nourishment supplements. My daughter saw me yesterday drinking it and made the comment that she couldn't believe that I was drinking it! I told her I had to get it in me some how because I cannot eat enough real food to keep me healthy. I am still losing weight.. a little slower.

I to recently would cough up blood and particles and from what the doctors tell me it is from the radiation and it just takes time to heal.

Everyone talks of ice cream I use to love ice cream but am afraid because that is what I had last before I got thrush and mucusitous and since my tongue gets a coating on it when I drink the supplement I am still afraid of the thrush and mucusitous.

If it makes you feel any better I also am having the phlem stuff and sometimes cough them up and spit it out to get rid of it. And yes the heaves. In the middle of the night especially. My mouth so dry and having this gunk stuck in the gag reflux and the gunk just wont go anywhere.

It amazes me how one day things go great and you feel good and the next day it just seems like no matter what you do you just can't get comfortable. Maybe because on the day we feel good we do to much and then we have to pay the price.

I did feel a lot better after seeing the swallowing therapist as far as it would get better and everything looked good and nothing to be concerned about. I think that sometimes I bug my doctors to much but that is what they are there for. We have been through hell and need reassurance that we do not have to go through this again soon.

Let me know how things go.
Love
Terry