Margaret,

You definitely have my sympathy, but hang in there and try very hard to be patient. It will get better. Have you tried Phenergan or it's generic for the nausea? I had to take it with every food attempt for quite a while.

The tenderness/burning rawness of my tongue lasted about 3 months I think, but that's me. I had other issues going on at the same time so maybe you can't go by me. It did improve during that time, though, and I can't really say when it was gone. I just didn't have much choice but to keep on keepin' on. I didn't fair well with the tube - 5 tubes in 5 months, replaced due to infection, one fell out, one my body sucked in and tried to digest, and clogs from meds that didn't mix well with any liquids I tried to dissolve them in.

Just keep trying different things, sticking to soft and bland for now. Of course there's ice cream, but for a while that burned too much for me (too cold). Chocolate pudding with milk went down pretty well, though. I know we're all pretty tired of Ensure, but that or Instant Breakfast in a shake with ice cream would help with your nutrition. You can throw a banana in the blender for that shake, too. Try using a straw for liquids. I found it easier to swallow and the liquid doesn't touch as much of your tongue.

I also spent some time living on mashed potatoes with milk & butter. I called it my comfort food. I still have mashed potatoes and applesauce with almost every meal. (Idahoan Instants are good, and it's just 4 minutes in the microwave.) The soreness left a long time ago, but other issues with swallowing came up and I need them, along with lots of butter, in order to get other foods like veggies (overcooked to soft) and meats (cut up very small) down.

If you still have your teeth (I don't) and you don't have swallowing problems creep up on you (mine started over a year after treatment stopped but they don't happen to everyone) then you should be eating a lot better with a lot more variety in time for Thanksgiving.

Good luck,

Lani