Nelie,

I too have wondered at times if where I am at is as good as it ever gets in the eating area. You are so right about the social impact - I have eaten out a few times but only with husband and kids. I still cough a lot when I am eating and I am very self-conscience about the whole thing and get anxious - and getting anxious leads to more difficulties trying to swallow. But I am so very grateful that I finally was able to go out again - I didn't eat out at all for 11 months. Although I have very limited food choices I can usually find some kind of fish that I can eat. The time issue is the thing, the servers keep coming back and asking if everything is OK - is something wrong with the food? My husband has gotten good about slowing his eating down or having another beer to try to finish up when I do, but a lot of times I just get a go box. Like you say, not as much fun as it used to be, but I have seen improvement and have to believe we will continue to improve as the months go by. We have to believe we will improve or we will get too depressed.

I was thinking about last year when I was at the same point as you post treatment. You mentioned trying scrambled eggs and having trouble - I remember that scrambled didn't work for me - the pieces of egg separated and it was like trying to swallow pieces of gravel. I tried them soft-fried in butter and left them runny (which I never liked before) and they were much easier to swallow. I recall eating quite a few eggs in the early days and still eat an omlette every morning. I have progressed to where I can have cheese and mild Pace salsa in them - breakfast is my favorite and easiest meal to eat.

Just hang in there and keep trying - it's all we can do.

Pam