I can tell you from personal experience that the fear can be crippling, even though he IS 4 years out! (congrats on that by the way).

Pain of any kind is miserable, but chronic, ongoing, invisible pain can be especially troublesome.

Does he followup with his surgeon who may shed some light on the muscular makeup of his throat, etc and offer some suggestions?

I've used both the patches and the Neurontin. Both make me feel "cotton head" and I don't like the sensation.

Plus, medication is rarely a long term pain management solution. The acupuncture idea is a great start. He may need to see a different acupuncture specialist, or change the routine, sequence, etc.

Guided meditation and/or some light hypnotherapy is well worth trying too (in my opinion).

I also think herbal remedies are worth considering, and an herbalist/naturopath may be able to make some good suggestions.

I too have "constant" pain in some areas, and I notice it's worse when I am stressed and fatigued.

Maybe reducing stress and exhaustion are good ideas anyway?

I think the fear component is likely compounding an already painful situation, so being vigilant with Dr followup and being pro-active with the Drs may help somewhat.

I can recommend a topical product called Topricin. It has been a miracle for me and many of my spa guests with pain that is not too far into the body. Seems like superficial muscle and joint pains can be significantly impacted by this product, especially arthritic type pains. Might be worth a shot. Most health food stores carry this, and a quick google search will produce lots of results.

One other anecdotal item, I noticed my pains decreased considerably after getting a wireless headset for my office phone.

I was having SEVERE pain and discomfort in my Scapula area the first several months to a year + after tx. I started using a cordless headset which seems to help.

:-)