2. There is no good way to prevent nasal regurgitation. You can tip your head back, tip it forward, take tiny sips, swallow multiple times--it doesn't matter. If the liquid feels like shooting out of your nose, it'll shoot out of your nose.
3. Even if you don't have the back of your throat any more, whatever is there will get very sore if you try to talk with your surgical obdurator in. I felt so good yesterday that I talked up a storm, then stretched my jaw muscles, then went off to bed. I woke up at 1 ack emma when I rolled onto my right side. Two doses of pain meds and a Benadryl-and-wine cocktail later, I'm almost comfortable.
4. Ramen, which would seem like a good thing to eat, is not. Neither are refried beans, strangely. Applesauce, yogurt, ice cream, and pita chips are good. And you're eventually going to sneeze, and everything that ended up on top of your obdurator is going to reappear, so just get used to it.
5. If you have no back-of-throat, you will not be able to sip from a cup or drink through a straw. There will be no suction there.
6. Pills are doable, but only with yogurt rather than a liquid.
7. Whatever you do, do NOT eat anything tomato-based for the first several days after surgery. Trust me when I say that even V-8 is startlingly acidic.