A quick update on the swallowing and eating saga. At this point I can drink liquids in a more normal manner than I was in the past. Also drinks like the yogurt smoothies you can by in the store with bits of fruit in them are also OK. I can feel the fruit going down but it isn't a problem.
Eating solids on the other hand is still not there at this time. After the dilation procedure I esophagus was widened to 8 mm. That is about the size of a cherry bit. However I think it has shrunk a bit based on how drinking liquids feel and 8 mm is the max opening. As I learned trying a very watery pork and beans eating anything that is near that size just doesn't work. Jello on the other hand seems to go down OK. Its slippery enough and when you chew it it breaks into small pieces and doesn't stick together. That helps it go down. Outside of that non liquids are not possible at this point.
The next dilation procedure is scheduled for the second week in August. Hopefully after that procedure I will be able to try to eat some solids. From what I understand 3-5 dilation procedures may be required to get my esophagus to be wide enough to eat "normal" foods and not have the opening close back down.
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Tom, I just happened onto your blog and wanted to assure you that you're not alone. I had two rounds of radiation (71 treatments total) for oral cancer (and spreading to the neck nodes) in 2005. I used a feeding tube for about a year before the doctors figured out that my swallowing problem wasn't just weak muscles but a stricture as well. I'll have my 11th dilation August 8. After getting open to 45 Fr. in November of last year, I've closed up to 33 after this month's dilation, about where I was a year ago in May -- but that was a great improvement over where I was. Mine is just below the sphincter at the top of the esophagus, which is why it fooled us for awhile. I eat a lot of creamed soups -- add brocolli, squash, black beans for more nutrition. I rely on Boost Plus for the bulk of my calories though. Here's a tip as you start to eat more. I too have severe dry mouth, and I use yoghurt for "spit." I cut up small pieces of tomato, cucumber, and green pepper and top it with a bunch of plain yoghurt. Then I take a bit of veggie with yoghurt, chew well, and swallow. I've also done that with Amy's Indian dinner -- the one that isn't too spicey for me. My sense of taste was altered a little by the radiation, and tart things taste salty, and spice is amplified.
I hope that your stricture cooperates and that once it's open, it stays that way. My surgeon says that he has a patient who has to self-dilate every morning in order to eat. I'm afraid that my gag reflex would never let me do that. Best of luck to you.
Sandy
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