Wendys

The answer is "it depends". As you noted, some posters are eating very rapidly, others not. The best thing is to see a speech pathologist/therapist to get the basic exercises:
forceful swallow etc.and then a Modified Barium Swallow test.
Very very few people go as long as I have without being able to eat, but I had surgery on radiated tissue, then even more radiation afterwards. A lot depends on what part of your tongue the surgery involved. Mine was base of tongue which is very bad for relearning swallowing. I would have killed to be at the "can't eat very well" stage after only one month. I am still not there. Both the speech and the eating will get better within the year.
Charm

Hello wendys and JojoFlores,

I had 40% of my tongue removed with no reconstruction. It is what it is. I began eating about two weeks after surgery then I started rad txs and basically was on a liquid diet for 5 or 6 months due to taste and swallowing issues.

I finished my tx 11-4-08 and I just got done eating pretzels dipped in peanut butter with nothing to drink, lol, it wasn't easy but it was very doable; although, I will be getting a tall glass of cold milk not because I have something to wash down but because it just seems logical to drink some milk after having peanut butter. I eat almost anything..always have and always will.

Practice, practice and practice and don't be afraid to try try and try again.

One more thing--it would be easier if you both create a signature (check mine out on the bottom of my response) and when you have a question start your own thread so your concerns and questions do not get lost. With your own thread you will get better undivided attention from a bunch of great people with great advice. And it alleviates someone else's thread from being hijacked.

stay strong

A milkshake might be an easy start when relearning to eat. Yogurt and pudding are also easy. Here is a link to a list of easy food I posted a while back. Hope it helps.

http://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=94621#Post94621

I make myself a milkshake every day with Ensure, a bannana and a scoop of ice cream. I also throw a liquid vitamin in the mix and sometimes a couple of spoonfuls of Ovaltine. I found that mashed potatoes kind of stick to my teeth, so haven't had much luck with those. I also have tried thinly sliced chipped ham. It just takes me so long to eat ANYTHING!