Don-
Have you checked for thrush? Early on in my treatment I got really discouraged because everything tasted gross, water was the worst - it was just "off" tasting." Turns out it was thrush and I got that cleared up right away and it was amazing how much better everything tasted! I still had my tastebuds after all! Now that I'm done I'm battling the mouth ulcers and the mucus (they hit full force at the end of week 6), but that's a whole different story. I have the Magic Mouthwash as well with the lidocaine but it is not so magic and I rarely use it - and it does burn until the lidocaine kicks in and then it burns again as the lidocaine is wearing off, at least for me. I stick to my Lortab and Morphine - they seem to do the trick for the pain. And definitely keep swallowing!!! I can't "eat" anything right now because of the ulcers but I try to drink as much water as I can every day to keep my throat open.