Hi Nelie. Are you able to swallow any food? Do I understand correctly that you still have a peg tube? I fought that peg all the way through radiation & demanded it out the day I finished 35 IMRT sessions. I lost 50 lbs over 4 or 5 months & over the last 1 1/2 years have put back on 20. I still cough sometimes when I eat if I lose focus like you describe, but can eat anything I put my mind to for the most part. I definately choose my foods for ease of swallowing characteristics & mix bites of harder to manage foods with sauces, dressings or whatever. For example, I love chicken teriyaki. The plate with 2 scoops of rice, green salad w/ranch dressing & the grilled chicken. I eat it a couple times a week cause I get extra dressing for the lettuce & also put it on the rice. The teri sauce helps the chicken go down. I put hot sauce on also & I think the spiciness makes my throat create mucous which helps! I find that I hold my breath while eating or should I say swallowing. Eating does take a lot of time & effort & sometimes I just skip it altogether cause I'm too busy. I seem to have learned to adapt & I do mean adapt. When I drink water, I chug a whole glass without breathing until I have swallowed completely & swallowed again to make sure & clear the throat & then I breathe. I feel very fortunate. I know a lot of people have a lot more trouble than I do. I'm extremely bullheaded & would not let go of trying to be normal, ever. I drove my wife crazy. I was sipping water 2 weeks after my trach was out & coughing a lung out even when the doc's told me not to. I put clam chowder through the blender & drank it instead of using that frikin' peg. I forced myself to do alot of things the doc's told me not to as far as swallowing. Anyway, I'm ranting. My work involves lots of physical activity & I force myself to push my neck everyday & still have to stretch all the time & it still feels tight & uncomfortable. I'm self employed & sell & install custom home audio & home theater systems & do light construction, so I stay pretty active. Like I said I find that I skip meals alot because of all the extra effort it takes. Maybe that's why I haven't put all 50 lbs back on! Keep yer chin up Nelie! Maybe don't think so much about it & just do it & it will become less tasking. Erik