Still having trouble swallowing 4 months after completing radiation treatment. Pain worse in middle of day. Makes no sense.

Good evening Lsmith, i would have thought that the radiotherapy effects would have died down by now but we are all different during recovery. Is the pain because what you are eating or drinking during the day, i,e acidy drinks, spicy foods. I would say by six months when the symptoms decrease.If it gets worse speak to your consultant as it could be an area that has been zapped quite heavily by the radio. I must admit I find it strange in what you are explaining. Hope you manage to get something sorted by your consultant. All the best , take care.

                                                           Chris .

Hi. I’m just over a year post RT and still have a really prickly throat that is always there but the severity comes and goes. At your stage I was still quite sore, having had bad mucositis during treatment. Radiation fries the salivary glands in your throat do it helps to keep mouth saliva going somehow. Have a look at your uvula ( the dangly thing at the back of your throat). If it’s shrunken then you know your throat has had a hefty dose. Plenty of sips of water even if you feel you don’t need it might help. I have had great help from acupuncture directed at salivary glands function and from chewing gum. 
Try sticking to soft foods for a while?

It goes without saying that you should contact your doctors if you are concerned. 

I definitely never eat foods that are spicy or rough on my throat.  But it has been very difficult to figure out what triggers the pain/Mucositis flare ups.  Even things like potatoes (or anything starchy) will set it off sometimes.  There are SO MANY things I cannot eat.  It’s not just as easy as bland vs spicy or soft vs hard foods.  

I don’t even know what to eat any more.  It doesn’t seem to be as simple as just soft foods.  Starchy foods like potatoes irritate it, even certain meal replacement shakes bother me.  I can’t put a finger on what causes the problem.  Like I said, I could eat the same foods at lunch and dinner and they would react in a different way at different times of the day. And the doctors are NO HELP.  They just say,., hmm well we don’t know why.  

It’s a difficult one. Quite a few people here complain that foods that were perfectly ok suddenly are not. As for potatoes, I’m only just about ok with them now. Mashed spuds are made better for me if I make them 50/50 with sweet potato. It will get better. I know that’s little comfort though, sorry. 

I have had radiation years ago  and my mouth has still not improved and I dont think ever will. I put it to my doctor that since  my cancer was in my voicebox which is not near the mouth why did I have my mouth given such a hefty dose of radiation which has ruined the muscles in it. I read it needs 20 muscles to work. She answered everyone gets the same dose. But I said people are different the cancer is in different places. She said you dont want it to come back do you. I think they always over do it to stop it coming  back, whatever the cost to how one will carry on with life. So with teeth taken out, my food pipe down to  only 10mm (I dont know why they dont put in a larger, wider one like many things I dont know, read my posts), I am stuck on what to eat and have to rely on my peg. I wish I was rid of it. I am costing the NHS a fortune with it, but it seems so simple not to be needing it if only I had less radiation and a wider food pipe.