Ginnie,
You are one of the few people I have seen with similar swallowing issues. I stumpled on this thread. So you may need to update me on your specific case. I had PEEK cages with BMP that caused excessive swelling where they needed to give me a 5 day dose of steroids to reduce in order for me to swallow without extreme pain. It helped. It too need alot of water to get the food down. There are many foods that are just not worth the lump in my throat feeling that the food is stuck. If this is permanent then I will have to deal with it, but still hoping that it will get better. Hope you have a good day.

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12/9/2010 ACDF C5-6 C6-7
severe DDD, arthritis, pinched nerves, disks herniated, slipped disk
6 week check no bone fusion
wearing bone stimulator 4 hours a day
starting PT at 10 weeks post op
Limited ROM and strength