David, LOL! I hope she beats you on eating pizza anyway.....

Liz, I'm so sorry to hear Mary is having problems with strictures. I hope the dilatation works the first time. Assuming there are no complications, it is not a bad procedure as procedures go, though she should be prepared for a really sore throat for a few days afterwards that may unfortunately make it even harder for her to eat --but in my experience that phase only lasts for a few days.

I found the easiest things to get down during that post-dilatation time were mild creamy soups or chicken broth. I should say, though, that by the time I had the first surgery for my stricture I was a year post-radiation (thanks to my local hospital messing up and not catching the stricture during my first modified barium swallow test 4 months out from radiation) so my sense of taste was not too badly damaged from radiation anymore. I say that because some people here have said that soups (at least canned soups) tasted really really salty post-radiation and I had found that to be true too earlier in my recovery.

Anyway, I'll keep Mary in my thoughts as she goes through the dilatation. She may find it MUCH easier to eat once she has it. Hope you let us know how it works out.

Nelie

AH-HA, we have found David's weakness..he doesn't like to be beat by a female! David, you do realize we are the stronger sex, right?? I think you are safe from Mary on your bike, but she does play a mean game of raquetball........

Nelie, thanks for your advice. She had the dilation done and does notice a big difference, so we'll just wait and see if it stays dilated for her. Like you said, mild to moderate sore throat for a couple of days. Things don't seem to be too salty for her, she describes more of an "altered texture" to most foods-I'm assuming that's the dry mouth.

Liz

I was, with emphasis on the WAS, a B rated male RB player in tournaments so I'll play her like Billy Jean with opposite results I hope.

Now what competitive man doesn't assume he's going to beat a female? Me for one and that's lead to some very frustrating moments in my life. My first wife was an A rated female RB tournament player and I HATED loosing to her even though she was the better player. There's a BIG difference between an A and B player. I would use any and all court tricks and unsportsmanlike tactics to win because that's the only way I could beat her. I would usually loose and then have to ride home with her and then catch family grief for the rest of the day. Humbling times, to be sure.

David, you crack me up!
First off, I can't imagine any woman giving you "family grief".
Second, if I could only beat my husband at one game of RB he would NEVER hear the end of it-he kills me every time!
Thirdly, Mary and I are so far from "rated" players, they should really put us on You Tube or possibly America's Funniest Video's-all we do is laugh! It has been our "therapy" sessions over the last year-we just beat the cr*p out of that ball!!!

Thanks for the laugh!

Liz

The ugly part of this whole thing is that my wife was a natural athlete and I wanted her to be able to play RB with me so I taught her the basics and then she took advanced lessons. I used to beat her to a pulp but she continued to get better until one black day she beat me. The rest was history.

The family grief came from her and the kids. It was brutal.