Inability to swallow - timeframe

I have not been able to swallow even water and drinks and food about 2 years now.my. I finally went to an ent who found my right cord was clearly shut off. But i still have half of the left cord. I have had so
Many X-rays and scopes because vocal cords you breath trough as well as use them for breathing and talking.
I’m down to whispering because my breathing and swallowing hurts by dinner time.
Options like needles through your neck but a lot of people say it’s painful. The other option is a thyroplasty I don’t know how to spell it with a smaller scar that heals within a year but can come back

Hi Andy the an
I haven’t been able to swallow in 9 months again. This time it’s from radiation in 2013. My ENT just referred me to a specialist in larynx to check out my vocal cords. Won’t be until the 24th of June. I’ll let you know.
In the meantime I’m doing swallow therapy and exercises at home. Very frustrating. Hang in there.
Sue

Hi Andy,

I am all too familiar with breathing and swallowing causing pain, and myriad other issues. Have you faced a cancer diagnosis? Not sure what you mean by , " Shut Down." One of my two vocal folds is paralyzed from a cancerous tumor in my larynx. The Tumor killed my recurrent laryngeal nerve on the left side, this is what paralyzed the vocal cord/ fold. No innervation, no activity. This greatly effects my breathing, eating, speaking, sleeping,...pretty much everything. I underwent serious cancer treatment in late 2022 and into 2023. I am about fifteen months out from Radiation and Chemotherapy.
I believe, though I do not know as I do several things to alleviate the pain and discomfort, but breathing exercises have been HUGE for me. Nothing fancy really. For a while I would inhale for a two count, hold for two, exhale for a four count. Always exhaling longer than inhaling as this slows my heart rate also. I get anxious when I have a lot of trouble down there, which is more or less everyday. Working on the anxiety.
I digress....vocal chords open when you speak, and close when you swallow so food doesn't go down the wrong pipe and into your lungs. This is call aspiration. If you are getting fevers, this may well be the cause, it was for me many times post cancer treatments. That has subsided. Now, I focus on keeping my neck loose via exercises, and the breathing exercises I do all the time. Many times a day, it is ingrained in me now. However, now I inhale for a two count, and exhale for a four count for a few minutes. Somehow, this plus other undertakings has really started to help me. The other solid idea is you likely have a lot of inflammation in your larynx if you have a paralyzed fold/ chord. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy helped me also. Actually, that helped me quite a bit and I did a lot of sessions. 60, two hour sessions. Hellped heal some of the soft tissue in my neck.
Hopefully one or a few of these ideasa could be helpful for you. Good luck! All the favor goes to those who push and push, and push. Just like all areas of our lives. All my Best!