Hi Rip,
I too know exactly how you feel.Back in November of 2013 I had a larger than golf ball size brain tumor removed. In the process cranial nerves 7-12 were either damaged or destroyed.Up until that point I was,for all practical purposes normal.That of course changed,not only did I lose the total ability to swallow,I also lost my ability to stand and walk, talk normal,hear out of my right ear, and my entire right side is weakened with Bells palsy on my face. One of the biggest challenges for me to deal with or try to overcome is(in general)people have absolutely no idea how life altering chronic dysphagia is to a person. I get tired of hearing, “don’t give up”,”keep a positive attitude”, all the time they have just had a fattening and/or big meal or they’re going out to eat & drink,not thinking for a moment IF it was them in this situation would they be so positive. It is now 2016 and 12 operations,and 8 procedures later I’m still fighting to swallow. I have recently begun to swallow small amounts (3oz-5oz) of water because of a surgery that I had back in December 2015. Dr Peter Balefsky and his team at UC Davis were a GODSEND.I cant say enough about him, he has given me real hope for the near future and beyond. Good luck to you on your future IF there is any question you have for me please feel free to ask.