Swallowing After Rad Tx

On 5/12/2008 Defjoeb wrote:

Yes, rad is radiation. Where were you radiated? Everybody reacts differently to it and it may not be so bad in most parts of the body but in the head and neck area it's absolutely terrible. 2nd and 3rd degree burns in the throat, mucositis (it's much worse than it sounds), constant pain, the inability to swallow even saliva, damage to the mouth and gums (blisters, thrush), permanent damage to salivary glands (saliva is a very underrated fluid, you don't know how much you need it until you lose it), etc... Many people (myself included) lose the ability to swallow and have to relearn it. Thankfully most ill effects are temporary and the permanent ones can be dealt with.

I hope I didn't scare any newbies. It's always good to hear someone who goes through it easily. It gives the newly diagnosed some hope that it won't be so terrible for them.

Good luck.

Joe 

Joe

How did you relearn to swallow?

I've been on a g-tube for a year and a half and it's getting old.

I needed a feeding tube for about 6 months following chemo/radiation treatment for tonsilar cancer.  While I didn't forget how to swallow, swallowing remains a challenge.  You feel like food is going to go down your wind pipe.

I did go in for a "swallowing x-ray" where the radiologist takes a video x-ray of barium laced food (thin liquid, thick liquid, pudding, cookies, and a pill) to see how your throat handles different types of foods.  The information I got from that x-ray has given me confidence in eating and swallowing. 

Functionally my throat is working fine.  The radiation has made the epiglottis more fibrous and stiff so thin liquids and crumbly foods will not make the epiglottis move the food to my stomach and they stick near the wind pipe.  Instead of coughing to clear, I need to swallow which isn't a natural response.  Now that I know this, I'm able to continue swallowing even though I feel like I need to cough.

Maybe this will help.  I also know they have treatment programs to teach swallowing.  A good Otolaryngologist will have this capability as part of their practice.