Swallowing Update

So far the results from the dilation procedure have been positive. I am not eating solid food yet but drinking is definitely easier and and I am able to eat things like soup with some small solids in them. Right now I am testing out different foods being careful that none of them have anything larger than 8 mm in them. I also did try a silver of a chocolate chip cookie yesterday. One thing I noticed is that it feels strange to chew anything. It makes sense seeing as the last time my mouth had to chew anything was around 8 and a half months ago. (Ahh... how the time flies when you are having fun. :-))

One thing that has become more apparent is dry mouth. Now that the esophagus is opened up a bit more the saliva I do generate goes down the esophagus when I swallow. Also my saliva production has been damaged by the radiation. At this point it is impossible to tell where I will end up. I am still in recovery mode and will be for several more months. I also am still wearing the scopolomine ear patch and the pain patch. Both of these contribute to dry mouth. For the moment it is only a problem when I talk for more than a few minutes, eating of course and sleeping at night. I have started to carry a water bottle with me during the day to help with dry mouth when talking. That seems to work. Also at night there are some products I can use that will help with dry mouth at night. As for eating I am going to have to learn how to eat using sips of water between bites.

I did meet with the GI doctor yesterday and the next procedure is scheduled for the second week in August. Unfortunately between his schedule, my schedule and being on blood thinners there wasn't any other earlier time that would work. I could have had it done this Thursday but I need to be off of the blood thinners for at least 5 days prior to the procedure. Unfortunately that means Thursday was out. Big time bummer.

All in things are moving forward. I think after the next procedure I will start to get a bit more adventuresome in the food that I try and see if I can eat some "normal" food.