I believe William Olsen remarks before me are spot on. It will take months for the salvia glands to start functioning , Throat pain to ease, and swallowing to become somewhat normal . I took pain meds or Tylenol BEFORE I ate and timed them with my meal. I lost about 25 pounds before I started putting weight back on roughly 2 months after radiation finished. The first month was rough trying to eat. My guess is it was 8 weeks before I could eat fairly well without some pain although it still was soft items. Hang in there and keep eating what you can even if it is soft eggs, soups, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese , etc. It will SLOWLY get better and then no need for the pain meds. Today 18 months out I am about 90% back to my normal swallowing without any pain. Good luck . It does slowly get better.