I was about 2-3 months out of treatment before I even had my first swallow test. I was told my epiglottis was frozen, disfigured and showed little to no inversion. I was advised it was dangerous to take any food or liquid by mouth, even water. After 2 months of doing the standard excercises, I had a 2nd swallow test. I again failed, but showed slight improvement(enough for my PT to allow thickened water and purre'd food). At that point my speech therapist said I would probably see minimul additional benefit from continuing to do excercises alone, and recommended seeking out VitalStim therapy. She gave the standard caveat... that it was expirimental, not proven and benfefit may only be attributed to the 2-3 times weekly sessions of rigorous exercise with a therapist.
After 2-3 weeks of VitalStim, I noticed a marked improvement in my ability to swallow. After 2 months, I was eating 100% by mouth. I took a 3rd and final swallow test where I was told I still had some slight silent aspiration, but I did well enough for them to recommened removing the PEG tube. I had my tube removed this February, 8 months after completing treatment.