Swallowing

[dougs]

I am 9 weeks post op from a retrosigmoid removal.  It has been only about 2 weeks since I have been able to swallow.  Still have not got my voice back.  I am still on a g-tube but going to therapy 3 times a week and doing exercises daily.  I am curious if this is norm and if anyone has any thoughts.

Thanks

[Tod]

Hi Dougs, It is not the norm to have swallowing problems. Nor is it unheard of. I am now about 20 months post from a very long surgery and two weeks in ICU with six days intubation - this is all uncommon. It has been a long road to get my voice back and I still have ways to go.

 If you can swallow without difficulty, I would think you might not have the long road I have had. In order to swallow thin liquids, I had three laryngoplasties over the course of year where material was injected into my paralyzed vocal cord to plump it up and move it over to the center. This is also gave me a little bit of voice, but it required a lot of effort to speak in just a weak voice.

However, this all may have absolutely no application to you. Do you have vocal cord paralysis or general weakness? Were swallowing problems limited to just voluntary swallowing processes, or are the autonomic processes affected as well? The vagus nerve is involved in these processes and it also wonders down into the abdomen and drives other processes.

I still have very weak autonomic swallowing processes, so people very rarely see without soda or water. Early on, through trial and choking, I learned what I could and couldn't eat, and became very deliberate in how I eat.

The good news is that few people are likely to ever notice today that I have speech difficulties, unless I try to sing or yell. Enven those are improving now.

So, long and short, and not being a doctor, I think if you can swallow now, you will enjoy a quicker recovery than I.

I hope this is helpful. There are few of us here that have had vocal cord problems.

-Tod

[chelsmom]

Hi Dougs,

Sorry to hear about you situation.  I also think this is uncommon but a small percentage have multiple complications.  My daughter (17 at the time - 2006) has had her share.  After her first surgery she was left with a paralyzed right vocal cord.  She had a lot of issues and was a mess, but I won't go there now.  She couldn't swallow or could not speak (no voice).  At first the doctors were going to inject her vocal cord area with botox to plump it up but they decided to do a surgery where the surgeon cut and moved her right vocal cord to the midline so the left cord could meet it and give her a voice. 

She had an NG tube in her nose for nourishment for most of her 3 month hospital stay and then a feeding tube for another 5 months.  She was able to eat and swallow after having the feeding tube for 31/2 months but kept the tube while doing 6 weeks of radiation.  She started getting her voice back around month 9.  Her surgeon said he was sure it would come back within a year and he was right.  She can be heard loud and clear now. 

She still has some problems swallowing things like breads unless she takes small bites and washes it down with liquid.  She had another surgery in 2009 for regrowth and could not swallow for about 3 weeks.  She was not going to let them put in another feeding tube so she insisted that she have the foods she wanted and thought she could swallow during her swallowing test and she passed.  One of her surgeons in 2006 told her that a lot of people fail the swallow test even though there are some foods that they can swallow.  So, he told her, go eat and if you feel like you can't swallow it... cough it up and try something else.  That is what she did and eventually she was able to eat anything she wanted.

I hope your reflex returns soon.  I remember how terrible it was for Chelsea.

All my best,
Michelle



 

[LakeErie]

My throat difficulties have not been anywhere as severe as those mentioned on this thread, but I do have them. I am 11 weeks after surgery for a large tumor that involved the 10th cranial nerve (Vagus.) The dissection of the tumor from the nerve was difficult and the surgeon said it is rare for tumors to reach the lower cranial nerves. After some improvement I can now swallow many foods  and my voice has improved so I can at least be understood. At my 2nd follow up appointment the surgeon was optimistic about an eventual full recovery of my larynx and ability to swallow, but offered no time frame for it. I had no concerns about these complications pre-surgery, and was surprised when they occured. One other factor complicating this was a misplacement of the breathing tube during anesthesia, so my problem resulted from two factors. I hope everyone improves.

[Meagan]

I am 5 years post op, wow!  time flies and I had a feeding tube as I couldn't swallow.  I still have some issues with swallowing but it all came back three months post op.  I had a 5 cm tumor so my recovery is stretched.  Hang in there and stay positive!!!  You are alive and each day will get a bit stronger.

Meagan