Hi all,

Hope all of you tonsillectomy sufferers are feeling a little better today. This message board has been great and it has helped to prepare me for my recovery. My op this week. I go in on Thursday morning.....Any last bits of recovery advise would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Hi everyone

I am new to this board - it's been great for getting info for recovery after op but am from the UK and wondering about how they do things over here compare to US - I am going in next Tues and am really nervous about things like pre-meds - will I get one to calm me down? What about after care? Painkillers? I had my pre - op today and it has scared the living daylights out of me! If anyone from the UK who reads these boards has a UK tonsillectomy experience to share can you let me know what to expect? Thanks and best wishes to all those either side of the pond going through recovery.

Foxy i'm from Scotland. I got mine done last monday. I won't lie to you you will be in pain. When you go into the hospital unless your first on the list you'll be waiting around - be warned if your near the end they may "run out of time" and you may get the "we don't have a bed for you" scenario. Luckily i never. You change into your gown on the ward then they take you down to the prep room. Prior to this your surgen and anaethnatist will have come and spoken to you about alergies etc in the ward. You'll then be given oxygen and put to sleep. The next thing you will know you're in recovery. Nothing to worry about at all. I hate needles and i managed...think of it this way...short term pain long term gain. They dope u up on Morphine during the operation as well as other stuff. Morphine is horrible stuff i vomitted with it, you probably will too it's common. You will be kept in overnight and you will not be discharged UNTIL you eat something. It's sore but get it eaten and you can see the back of the place. I forced cornflakes down my throat (and i dont even like them haha)...there were no fit doctors worth staying in for anyways. You won't be allowed to leave the hospital unless you have someone with you or someone is collecting you off your taxi at the other end becuase you've had anathstetic. The first few days are sore but cope-able its once everything has worn off you have the problem. I got given soluble paracetemol and ibuprofen as my meds to take home...don't accept this...it doesnt even touch the pain...i've had to go to my gp today to get stronger meds and i've been in agony for a week. You WILL need two weeks off work/uni etc. I didn't realise how much it takes out of you. Sorry if i'm not painting a pretty picture here.

Funny story: So yea i went back to my GP today for more meds and he was new to it so everything was being recorded etc. He was hot but that's besides the point. So he was looking in my mouth - even tho i can barely open it, and said: "it looks a little red!!!!" no joke he said that. I was like 'well DUH it's been attacked by a scalpel what else is it going to look like' i found it hard not to giggle on his assessment tape haha!

Thanks Jude for your quick reply - don't worry about painting a pretty picture - I'm already expecting the worst.

I was told today I won't even be in a ward while waiting for the op - you have to wait in chairs apparently! Wonderful. And I already know I'm last on the list cos I have a latex allergy. Even better.

One more question sorry - did you get a pre-med? My fear isn't the pain or sickness or needles but panicking as they put me under or just before - if I don't get pre-med I'll take my own diazepam with me!

Hope you're doing better - can't believe they only gave you aspirin and ibuprofen for your pain - I will take your advice and ask my own GP for stronger stuff when I get home. He's pretty good. Take care and good luck with the rest of your recovery.

My tonsillectomy was this past Tuesday, Mar. 20. I am now on what I'm calling day 7. I am SO happy to have the surgery out of the way and to finally be in the recovery process. Overall, it's not been fun, pretty miserable at times, but not at all the horror story I've often heard/read about.

I had the scalpel and cautery method. My doctor said that I had pus on both
sides of my mouth (I only knew that the right side was having this problem, both sides very cryptic, but only the right side was large and had daily tonsilloliths).

My experience: day 1 was horrible - I had a reaction to the anesthesia and
threw up 3 times - came close to spending the night at the hospital. Day 2 wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, then day 3 was hell. Fortunately, days 4-7 have been better - pain of course, but it's manageable with the worst pain upon waking during the night and in the morning. I am unable to take any pain medicine with narcotic (i.e., Lortab (hydrocodone) was too
strong) due to nausea and dizziness, but thankfully, the blue, liquid, Tylenol Sore Throat product has been working for me. I'm amazed that things are going as well as they are considering that I had the traditional method of surgery and cannot take the strong pain meds. Having a good doctor helps I'm sure.

Thanks so much to all here who shared their stories and gave advice. I have been drinking tons of fluids, using a humidifier, ice collar, etc. as recommended. My blender, food chopper, etc. have never been used so much.

****** One thing that I bought to use post-surgery is called the Hamilton Beach Snowman Ice Shaver. It was 19.99 at ***********. This has been my main source of fluids. It turns ice cubes into shavings, or you can freeze any drink you want in a mold and shave that. I've used it mostly for water and it's very soothing to the throat - easier for me to "eat/drink" then crushed or chopped ice. I spoon it into my mouth and it melts. If you plan to have a tonsillectomy, all I can say is get one of these ice shavers!!

I also bought the Crane cool-mist elephant humidifier from Amazon (it points upward so the mist doesn't all go to the floor) and have been using that all day.

The foods that have worked best for me are: scrambled eggs mixed in a food chopper, cream of wheat, soy pudding, baby food (except banana flavor which really burned for some reason), and jello.

I see my doctor for a post-op visit this Wednesday. My throat looks pretty good/like it's supposed to at this point. I think I can feel the scabs - looking forward to them coming off with hopefully minimal pain.

Good luck to all having surgery this week!

Foxy, you will not be offered pre-meds you will have to ask for them and it's up to your anaethnatist whether or not you can take them. Certain drugs interfere with what they give you so please ask before you take anything as if they dont like what you've taken they will reschedule you and you dont want that, i'm sure you've waited long enough.

The pre-op is long and boring i certainly had butterflies but the staff i had were so nice that it chilled me out. Try taking an mp3 player with music that chills you out, find ways to distract yourself. Hopefully you won't need your meds.

Hope all goes well

Jude x

Hello everyone, just wanted to thank you all. I had my tonsillectomy last fri 23/03/07. So its day 4. This board has helped me so much in preparing myself during the recovery. The doctors didnt really explain the post-op too much, just that it tends to get worse about 4-6th day before it gets better.

I was last on the list for my tonsillectomy, I was called into theatre about 4pm I believe. I was very ill days 2 and 3, I think mainly from the affects of the anesthetic. Not very pleasant, but I'm feeling much better today. Apprehensive about the next couple of days though, waiting for it to get worse again. Looking at the big picture, a few weeks of pain compared to the 15 or so years trouble I've had with my tonsils, I think I made the right decision.

I was discharged the following afternoon after I ate breakfast (rice krispies) and dinner (some attempt of a cooked dinner). As everyone keeps saying, drink, DRINK a lot. The more the better. When I left hospital I was given paracetamol and voltarol (absolutely disgusting stuff). The paracetamol was not doing much for me, so my doctor suggested co-codamol instead. Much better.

Good luck and best wishes to everyone recovering and awaiting surgery.
Im glad we are all here helping each other out :)
cheers all xxx

I had my tonsils out the 21st. But I still have very bed ear pain does anone know how long it will last, this is the worst part.Please any advice will help thank you

Thanks a lot Jude.

I spoke to hosp today and they said I can have pre med if I want - will see how I feel on the day but at least it's an option.

What's really bugging me now is that I know from reading on here and other people's stories that this is not an easy op but all my friends and family think it's going to be a doddle cos it is for kids - when I try to explain it's different for adults they just think I'm a hypochondriac!

Anyway, good luck with rest of your recovery x

spadew - my sister had severe pain in her right ear after surgery as well. It lasted a full week. She just iced it a lot and also put a heating pad on it. Sometimes cold would feel better than heat and sometimes heat would feel better than cold. It was fickle. I called her ENT twice to see if there were any numbing ear drops or anything he could give her and he said he didn't prescribe anything like that. Pretty much he said she would have to deal with it. So we did what we could. She also liked to get in the shower and just let the hot water hit her ear. It lasted a full week and once her scabs fell off that side, it was gone. You're almost there!! Hope this helps. Hang in there!

I had my tonsils out the 21st. But I still have very bed ear pain does anone know how long it will last, this is the worst part.Please any advice will help thank you
Spadnew: I dont know how long it lasts but I hope not too awful long. I had my op the same day as you (I think the same time too) and I got the ear pain yesterday. It hit me like a brick. I bought one of those microwavable heating gel pad things and that helps a little bit. I feel like I live my life in four hour increments from when I can take my pain meds.
Have you been able to eat much?

Hey everybody today is much better the ear pain is almost gone and i can go more than 4 hrs without pain meds still scared to try food don't want to over do it but I tickled pink for it not to be as bad, there is hope hang in there. Thank you for the advice

What's really bugging me now is that I know from reading on here and other people's stories that this is not an easy op but all my friends and family think it's going to be a doddle cos it is for kids - when I try to explain it's different for adults they just think I'm a hypochondriac!

What helped me get others to understand was printing out the LisaMP post and a few of the bleeding horror stories, for their enrichment. In addition keep a small flash light handy and make whoever is about look in and check for bleeding.

Remind them that your throat has been completely violated, now swallowing for any reason hurts. Swallowing causes your muscles to flex about the wound sites, you can have and iopen wound up to an inch deep in there.. If one had an equal sixe chunk cut out of their arm or leg, they are not going to want to move it either. Passage of air over the wounds may hurt as well, because it causes the scabs to dry out. Sometimes sharing this knowledge is enough, others will still refuse to think differently as well. But two can make a huge difference in the rest of you life. I would do it again if my tonsils grew back.

Do an exercise and count how many times you swallow an hour by reflex.. and when eating. You might suprise yourself. I am phlem girl especially with our given pollen counts right now, I am swallowing every one to two minutes right now.

The reason it is worse for adults is
1) We do not heal as fast as children, but we can take stronger pain meds.

2) The adult tonsils are fully embedded. This means the ENT must get much closer to your arteries during extraction. Increasing our chances for a severe bleed.

3) We require more fluid and sustance, thus we must swallow more.. and swallowing hurts. The more water you drink the better you are.

okay so i am on day 7. i am 18 (19 in 2 days) and i have 3 tattoos in painful places. i am in SOOO much pain i had to stop taking my vikodin because i had to drive to work one day. i just cant seem to drink anything it hurts. i have lost 15+lbs. And just tonight did i have my first bowl movement and it was SOOO pain full. i sleep ALL day and i get the worst headaches. i HAVE to go back to school on Wend. or i get dropped from the school and suggestions? i thought i was getting better but i am still in pain.

Hi, I am on my 6th day, and too much in pain, my scabs are coming out and I also was bleeding. I was very scared when I saw the blood, Can anyone tell me if they bled and if you have like a nasty smell or odor coming out? I started to drink cold icy water, and the bleeding stopped. I am not able to eat anything at all.

Please advice.

i have not had any bleeding. but i am unable to eat i just weighed myself i have lost 20lbs.
i also have this horrible taste in my mouth and even when i drink something it still tastes like it. when will this be over?

Day 1 - I went in to get some minor turbinate reduction to breathe better, and some cautorization of my septum to reduce nosebleeds. I came out with the most hellish experience of my life. The intubation tube, to help me breathe during surgery, severely scratched my throat and uvula to the point where i have had the same scarring, scabbing, and pain and all of you tonsilecomy patients. I woke up from surgery and immediately complained about my throat. Every swallow was like fire, drinking water was too. eating was impossible, so I had to take my vicotin on an empty stomach. was picked up from the hospital that night by my girlfriend. went to get prescription and look for foods that might work. on the way to the store was the first time i broke down crying from the pain.

Day 2 - vicotin vicotin vicotin. every swallow was still excruciating. i was ableto eat a small bit of soy ice cream every once in a while. I had not discovered what really worked yet, foodwise. just a really really crappy day. Noticed that the back of my throat was red, black, and blue.

Day 3 - more of the same as day 2. bought some regular soft food. lasagna, pudding, bananas. all felt like fire. I managed to eat the lasagna by the following process: scrape off all tomato sauce (it burns!!), take a lungful of nitrous oxide from a whipped cream charger (like "whippet" that people breathe from baloons). this made my whole body numb and allowed me to take one bite and swallow. after a few of these I figured i had enough food for some medicine, so I ate two vicotins and waited. after i felt the effect, i ate the rest of the lasagna. each swallow's pain cut through two vicotins easily, but i had to eat, so i dealt with it.

Day 4 - Still painful, mornings were the worst. My nose was completely clogged from the sinus surgery, so i had to breathe through my mouth all day and all night. taking vicotin, not eating much , drinking coffee, ginger ale, and water, but they hurt. Noticed the white substance covering the back of my throat, my tongue, and my discolored uvula. teeth, jaw, ears, and neack hurt. got scared and thought i was infected, so i made a doctor's appointment for the next day. The nurse reccomended gargling with salt water. I did and it felt good, suprisingly good. I keep some by the bed at much lower strength, so i can drink some when i wake up. i don't care about salt intake.

Day 5 - went to the doc, but got there early, so i went to a restaurant. ordered hot water and put honey in it, a lot, and then a some ice cubes to bring it down to body temperture. EUREKA!!! FINALLY SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T HURT! I have been drinking about 10 cups a day, and I HIGHLY RECCOMEND IT TO ANYONE READING THIS PAGE - HOT WATER WITH HONEY. I also ordered matzo ball soup and lo and behold, it felt good too! I ate the whole bowl. It is still one of the only things that goes down painlessly. After that I saw the doctor, who was surprised at the condition of my throat. My doctor said:

My throat would heal
the white substance on my uvula and throat is scabs
the pain in my ears, jaw, and neck was because the nerves in my throat are interconnected with the nerves in the rest of my head
I should take some antibiotic to be safe.
I asked for a refil of vicotin and got that too.

Day 6 - Waking up was horrible. Drinking salty water and a long hot shower helps. Swallowing was not really painful anymore, but eating most foods was. Breathing heavily dried out my throat and was very painful. I basically stuck to my new pattern of vicotin, antibiotic, honey water, matzo ball soup, and now croissants with butter (smnall bites chewed very well). Mid day I took a nap and when I got up realized that my throat hurt A LOT, just like when I slept over night. I realized that some of the pain may be from the blood making my throat swell when I lay flat. also, the pain changes when I lie on my side, so maybe parts of my throat are touching other parts differently when I lay down, and that may be a source of the extreme pain. In any case, the pain was almost worse in my ears and jaw, than the throat itself. bad bad bad day. breathing sucks.

Day 7 - I have only pooped twice in a week, and both were very small. I am taking a laxative and "smooth move" tea in my honey water, but to no avail yet. I have not really eaten that much in the last week, so that is part of it i'm sure. waking up sucked again. The scabs on my uvula were reduced, i suppose some fell off. I could eat soft bread with butter, matzo ball soup, and honey water all day, and did, just to try and get some energy. I even put small peices of smaked salmon in my soup. it's slimy, soft, saltly, and has good oil in it. it is also some much needed protein. by the end of the day, breathing starts to be the most painful thing, so i had to sip several times a minute until i went to sleep. I noticed, when brushing my teeth, that the scab at the tip of my uvula had fallen off, along with the tip itself. the doctor said that could happen, so i wasn't worried. actually i was glad, becasue it meant progress! I was also able to get some air channels open in my nose so i could breateh with my mouth closed. what a triumph. a good sleep for once.

Day 7.5 - woke up svery few hours in the middle of the night in extreme pain. writhing pain. i had to clamp my ears, press on my jaw, and do what i could to make it settle down. salt water was a godsend and i was able to get it under control enough to sleep again fora few more hours. it must have been the new tender throat flesh from under the scabs getting dried out in the middle of the night.

Day 8 - except for last night, and an equally painful morning. it is the best day yet. i may try some adventurous foods like white beans in my soup, or a taste of pudding. I bought more smoked salmon too, and am on my second container of honey. swallowing is painless without vicotin, and i feel like i have to go to the bathroom. I'll try and update again.

SUMMARY: DRINK HOT WATER WITH HONEY ALL DAY LONG, GARGLE WITH SALT WATER, DRINK LIGHTLY SALTED WATER WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, TAKE HOT STEAMY SHOWERS, AND EAT MATZO BALL SOUP.

We got our surgeries done on the same day, I guess we should both be on about day 5. How did things go for you? I am so grateful for this site, I felt like I was going crazy or that something was really wrong. I could only take the Roxicet for the first 2 days cause the nightmares and naseau were killing me. So I went to liquid children's tylenol and then my husband got me some extra strength liquid tylenol and today I broke down and asked my doctor for a prescription for Vicodin and I am so glad I did, it still hurts on the vicodin but at least it's bearable now, I felt like I was taking a turn for the worse today and I definitely did. I don't know why but I really thought I would recover easily and was not well prepared for the pain and challenges but now that I found this site things are better. It's nice to know I'm not alone and that in some cases it could be worse. I hope you are doing well and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

i was on vikodin for the first four days. the doctor prescribed the pills so my mom had to crush the pills put it in a drink it was HORRIBLE having to drink it down. i needed to drive on thursday night so i stopped taking it. FRIDAY was the worst day of my life. i was so ill.. i had to go to a corp. training but by the end of the day i felt like i could not drive. i was dizzy and i felt horrible. i am in so much pain and i am affraid of taking the pain pills again. not to mention it made me constipated. and suggestions? i have to go back to school on wend. and i need something that will help me sit in class for four hours and then get up on thursday and sit in class for 8 hours.

My 22 year old daughter is on day two and is pretty miserable. She tried to sip some ice water this morning and it came out her nose. I have read much about recovery here and appreciate the advice. I am praying it does not get much worse. Any words of encouragement and advice will be appreciated.

I am on my sixth day right now, and have been through some tough times in the last week. The first couple of days were about what I expected to be, but on saturday morning when I woke up my throat didn't work. I couldn't swallow or breathe, everytime I tried to take a drink it just went straight out my nose. Finally on sunday night after being dehydrated and cranky I made my way to the ER where the post op form said to go if I had any problems. Well, If anybody lives on a military post and your instructions are to go to the ER. Don't waste your time. I sat there for five hours with a piece of paper from my doctor saying that if what happened had occured, than they were to start IV therapy and give me anti-inflammatories. Well, the ER doc didn't think this was necassary. They sent me home without either one of those. Thankfully I'm a medic and one of my neighbors at the barracks had an extra IV bag and some tubing. So we got me hooked up. It wasn't until about the middle of monday that my throat started to open up a little. But since then it's been feeling great...except for last night. My scabs are starting to come off and last night I woke up in way too much pain. Luckily I had a bottle of chloraseptic in the bathroom just waiting to used. What a lifesaver! Not even the percocet worked as good as that. Anyways, I'm gonna try to eat something. If anyone has any advice on how to make the scab falling off stage go easier, I'd love to hear some ideas. Take care everybody and get well.

Hi all. I'm 25 yrs old and I just had my tonsils and adenoids removed exactly two weeks ago today. Without doubt the most miserable thing I have ever done in my entire life (no exaggeration). I like to consider myself a tough girl when it comes to pain but i'll admit i was an absolute baby for 2 weeks. My sympathy goes out to all who have to suffer through that recovery. As I will also be here to offer whatever advice that I can. My question is though, since i'm on day 14 i've noticed that i have no taste. I know this is fairly normal, i just wondered about how long it would last. Anyone my age that just had this experience? How long did it last?

To all others though who are healing...dont gargle, but swish salt water in your mouth, but make sure you drink lots of water or eat lots of freezy pops. i lived on those for a while. Day 2, 3 and 4 are by far the worst. Fever, earache, and mouth is just swelled. I vomitted on day 3. Then the scabs are dreadful around day 5-8. It seems very dry in your throat. So drink lots of water. My tongue burned because i must have rubbed mine raw, that killed. I woke up constantly throughout the night. Finally around day 10 i got a good nights sleep and the same from there on. I think it was day 8 i woke up at 2am spitting blood. must be a scab came off and it wasnt ready. i was kind of panicing. but you just need to keep your head elevated and try to stop any bleeding. Also, get a vaporizer if you have one, that helped me tremendously.

[QUOTE=joshno;2899308]I am on my sixth day right now, and have been through some tough times in the last week. The first couple of days were about what I expected to be, but on saturday morning when I woke up my throat didn't work. I couldn't swallow or breathe, everytime I tried to take a drink it just went straight out my nose.

Wow that sucks! I think we're on about the same day. I am also in the military but paid the extra bucks to have a civilian do it. I can't believe you are recovering in the barracks, my heart goes out to you. I hope things get better quicker for you. My scabs started coming off yesterday, not sure what to do to make them come off any quicker but I agree that it is a heck of a lot more painful, my ear is killing me. How long did they give you quarters for? I've read alot though that salt water rinses help them to come off quicker but that it could cause bleeding too. I try not to go to Madigan if I can ever help it, I would rather drive out of range and go to a civilian emergency room. Anyways take care and get well soon.

Oh my gosh. A page full of people who understand.

I am a 26yo female who had sinus surgery plus my tonsils and adenoids removed 11 days ago. I was warned that the surgery would be bad-- my doctor said up to 3 weeks off work. I also knew it must be pretty bad when my mom volunteered to come out and stay with me for the first week after the surgery.

Still, I had NO IDEA. I really thought I would be back to work about 8 days after the surgery. It's the weekend now, and I was hoping to be back on Monday, but unless I have an amazing day tomorrow, that isn't going to happen either.

The sinus part of the surgery has been almost nothing-- all the problem has been w/ the tonsils. I've had other adults who have had it tell me that it was worse than childbirth and even open heart surgery!! I've had extensive abdominal surgery as well from an accicent, and this has been MUCH worse. I guess b/c you can't avoid using the throat, no matter what you do.

Here's my saga--

Had surgery in the AM on a Wednesday. They had me out the door by the early PM before the anesthesia had even worn off! By 10pm or so, I'm in excruciating pain, despite whatever relatively strong pain meds they gave me. I tell my mom and husband I think I might need to go back to the hospital to help manage the pain. We call the doc, and he ups my dosages some, but it does NOTHING. I make it through most of a totally miserable night, and we head back to the ER in the early AM on Thursday.

We spend 12 HOURS in the ER. I am in excruciating pain the entire time. They get me on an IV, but I'm not getting proper pain meds. What I am getting (something "stronger than morphine") isn't helping squat.

I finally get admitted and getting the pain med more regularly. Thank God for the IV b/c I can't take anything down the throat. The next couple of days are spent trying to come up with something that will "work for me at home." I can eat almost nothing this entire time, yet some how they are going to send me home.

I go home Saturday afternoon. The pain is still quite extreme, but we are hoping to be able to manage it. Within the HOUR of getting home, I start itching all over my body. This is the worst itching I have ever experienced-- it is almost worse than the pain. I can't even describe it, but it would literally drive someone crazy.

We have known for a long time that strong pain meds make me itch. We had been controlling this as best as possible w/ Benadryl, but I guess my blood saturation got so high, the Benadryl just stops working. I go back in forth between trying to scratch the flesh off my body or lying in a pile on the sofa "concentrating" to not scratch. I can do this for awhile, but it takes every ounce of my strength. I am totally miserable, and my poor family is at a total loss.

After lots of calls to docs, I go off everything I am taking, and we start trying a whole bunch of different pain regimens (my mom's in medicine, so we have access to a mind-numbing amount of different drugs.) A narcotic addict would have been in Heaven.

On Sunday, I am doing ok. Pain is still awful (nothing but liquids and I can barely handle those), but energy is decent.

By Monday, my energy is WAY down. I go to bed very early, and they can't even get me out of bed by Tuesday. By this time, I'm not even taking liquids.

My mom has to go home!! Ahhhh!

By Tuesday afternoon, my poor husband is taking me to the ER yet again. We have another 10 HOURS in Hell. One ER doc comes by and looks at me. He declares that the throat is fine ("should be able to swallow") and counsels that I should "sit on a park bench and get some sun." He's lucky I didn't have enough strength to let him have it. I was RAGING in my mind. (After I finally got on an IV, some poor other doc got it in his place b/c my strength was up some then.)

We're finally admitted Wednesday morning, one week after my surgery. Morphine and even "stronger" drugs are doing NOTHING for me-- the pain is still extreme. Another doc comes in to talk about getting on meds that will "work at home" for me. I'm like-- nothing HERE is working yet either! This same punk doctor insinuates that my pain can't really be as bad as I am making it out to be and also that maybe I'm a narc addict. I am fuming since I am ALLERGIC to all these pain narcotics, which is part of the freaking problem. I am furious and can't stand this guy, BUT he does put me on something called Toradol (something they won't give post-surgery and don't really like to give much anyways for some reason unbeknownst to me). The Toradol is a MIRACLE! For the first time ever, I actually have real relief from the pain. I can start to eat again (mind you, still only liquids and super-soft foods like cream of wheat... even mashed potatoes are too sticky). I am the happiest person in the world at this point.

I end up being able to go home on Thursday morning, day 9. Since I've been home, we have been able to manage the pain with the meds they gave us. I am still (day 11) on a mostly liquid diet. I am DYING for some real food. One of the worst things is that nothing tastes right (or good). So, it's this textureless crap that doesn't taste good either. That might be the worst part right now. I've had a decent amount of ear pain w/ this too, and my tongue hurts alot. My energy is decent now, but I've got a ways to go on that too. I'm kinda bummed to hear it may be awhile still before things taste right.

I've got a job interview set for Friday of this week (16 days out), so I am hoping to see some good progress over the next couple of days! This thread has been super encouraging to me b/c I know I'm not alone (despite what that jerk doctor insinuated). My best to all of you struggling through this as well. I hope you have someone as wonderful as my dear husband helping take care of you too-- he has been my saving grace through much of this.

Here's to faster healing for all!
cmc

Hello everyone,

I am new here and my son is actually the one with the T&A from hell! He really isn't technically considered an adult yet but he is 14 so I thought I would see if anyone else has had these issues.

Well, we are at 3 weeks post op today and he is JUST now able to get liquid down fairly easily, but still not able to eat even pudding or soft ice cream. He is still in a ton of pain and is also having pain in the back of his neck. Has anyone else had or heard of this?

We go for a CT Scan tomorrow so hopefully that will enlighten us.

Thanks!

My son at 3.5, my brother at 16, my mother at 25, father at 26.. me at 31.. all had T&A's done. My aunts and uncles (13 in all) and many of there children as well have had this done.. We are an ENT's money making dream... Here is what I know from experience.

My son was a breeze.. had to fight to keep him inactive. (7 day recovery)

My brother had the electrocaurterization performed in England while we are there.. it took him a good three weeks plus to recover.

The pain is pretty intense, but should mostly be gone by now. It may be due to swelling pinching nerves. Was your son given a steriodal dose pack or shot for after the surgery? If not request one.

Age 31, surgery for me. At two weeks swelling and thrush had me in the same boat. It took a shot in the behind.. and eight hours later I was able to eat again. (Coablation method)

Hopefully you were given anti-biotics. If this is the case, it should not be infected wounds sites.

Each surgery method has a diferent healing curve. What method was performed on your son?

From personal and family experience on average.
Coablation laser extraction with a chemical pack (7-10 days for tonsil sites to close up, another week to recover from fatigue and lack of nuetriants) , electrocauterization (14-18 days for wound sites to seal.. have to deal with burnt tissue back there.. then another week to recover from fatigue and such), or the old hack and slash (14 days to four weeks depending on the individual and age)?

I hope this helps.. and lurk about frequently to offer my 2 cents worth.

Respectfully,
MG

My son had the laser procedure. He was on antibiotics for over a month up until the day of his surgery and then he was given antibiotics afterward as well. He has been through 3 different antibiotics at this point and also has Lortab for pain. I can still see the white scabs on the sides where the tonsils once were but they do not appear to be as big as they were in the beginning.

I am just having a hard time understand why after 3 1/2 weeks, he still is having trouble swallowing pudding, yogurt, ice cream, etc... He says he feels very weak and just feels bad in general. Oh, I hope this ends soon!!! OR they figure out what is going on.

I saw no mention of the steriods.. Ask about it.. it will do wonders and cause no harm. Go for the shot. Eight hours later, all better.

Good luck.

Sincerely,
MG

MkgBrook

Sounds like your brother was pretty unlucky. I am on day 8 of my tonsillectomy and it has been a breeze.

I had scoop removal and diathermy to seal the wound which is not the most painless procedure but on the advice of my surgeon I ate hard foods from day 1. In fact, they won't let you leave hospital here now until you've eaten toast!

wtxangel

I feel for your son and hope he's better soon. Really try to get him to eat proper food chewed up a lot obviously! All through my recovery I've eaten normal foods and am convinced this is why I and everyone I know here who have had this surgery have had an ok time of it.

The hard foods clear the debris on the wound site, keep it clean, prevent infection and minimize bleeding risk as they stop scabs from forming too thickly. Along with this I've drunk gallons of iced water and chewed gum which has also helped.

I hope your little boy feels better soon.

Kind regards.

Thanks everyone.

I am going to see if I can get him to eat something...anything at this point. He went for his CT Scan today and they had to stick him 4 times to get a vein. This is normally not a problem for him but today it was. He is drinking but they said he still seemed dehydrated. I have no idea.

We shall see!


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