I'm a 56 year old male and went through this last fall. It was a long road, but my life is 95% normal now. I see many people on this forum advocating strongly for a feeding tube. In my case, that was something I wanted to avoid and was able to. Being a younger person that might be a path you'll want to take too...you can always get it if you start out without and decide you need it.

The scariest part of the whole deal is the long wait to start therapy. After that the therapy becomes your job and you just hang on and get through it. The main source of pain will be discomfort swallowing, and if you are like me you'll end up acquiring a taste for protein drinks...they sustained me for months! The pain isn't something yo be scared of though, you'll manage it with the pain killers and it will frustrate you, but it won't be anything you won't get through... I promise.