Hi @jimfitz and welcome to the Head and Neck group. The pain moments you are having on your tongue is typical after radiation for several months if not a few years. Sorry to tell you that but at least it’s just the tongue, not neck, shoulders, jaw, arm or ears which seems to be more common.
I think if the doctors told you what to expect, you might have jumped off a cliff rather than go through this fun house.
It will get better, I promise. The recovery from radiation is the slowest wound recovery imaginable unfortunately.
Chart your improvement on a week to week basis and you will probably see improvement better that way. The eating issues are just something you will have to work out over time. It is rare for any of us to ever return to pre-cancer normal. Hopefully you will find some positives from this experience as most of us have as time goes by. In the meantime, this is a great place for coping ideas and questions to be answered. Courage.