I had a tonsillectomy 3 weeks ago. They say it is harder for adults and I believe so. Right when I started to feel better, I developed a sinus infection. In the last few days, my left side started hurting bad. I have ear pain and I can see some blood vessels in the area where my tonsils were removed. I called my dr. and got a nurse and she said it was because of my sinus infection and it is causing the area to recover even slower. I know I am recovering very slow compared to most adults but has anyone else had this problem 3 weeks after a tonsillectomy?

Cheer up! I had a tonsillectomy November 26th and I am just now recooperating. I took a bad case of bronchittis, inner ear infection, sinus infection, and then I got plurasy on top of all that. So don't worry the doctor is right. It is worse on adults when you have your tonsils out. My doctors took my out when I still had alot of infection left in mine and it left my immune system really weakened. Well, I wish you a speedier recovery than mine and don't worry you will feel better once you get over everything!

Thanks,

My body is so run down. With all the medicine and not being able to eat right has really messed me up. Hopefully my second round of amoxicillin will clear everything up.

I'm 31, have chronic tonsillitis (tonsils are huge and constantly swallowing grotesque tonsil pus balls, lots of sinus infections, sore throats etc..) and due to have a tonsillectomy this Friday. I'm hoping the pain is not as horrific as some people have posted. I've noticed most of the female posters have commented on how painful it is. Whereas, the male posters have said it was a breeze. I just read an article in Prevention that spoke about how women experience more pain than men because of fluctuating estrogen levels. GREAT! Just what I needed to read before surgery.
My ENT has prescribed the following narcotic cocktail to ease the pain (I'm allergic to codeine): Dura-gesic pain patch and percocet. Additionally, he has prescribed Celebrex (which has show great results in reducing inflammation)and Amoxil to ward off any infection.
I'd be interested to hear from adult females who have had this procedure done. Do you feel better since getting this procedure? What level of pain did you feel throughout your recovery? What pain medications were you given? And, I guess any other helpful information you can provide.

I had my tonsils out when I was a junior in H.S.,
and thought I was going to die. It took an hour
and 45 min, just to do the tonsils, so he left my
adenoids. It definitely is true, the older you are
the harder it is. Although, I think you reach an
age where your tonsils just disappear. Your body
just absorbs them eventually. You wouldn't want to
get them out later in life. All the malarky about
wanting ice cream, etc., is not always true. I had
to write notes to my Mother for about 2 weeks as
I could not converse. I sympathize!

My daughter had a very bad dose of glandular fever, she was so dehydrated and sick she was in hospital for 5 days. After the gladular fever she started getting severe tonsilitis, she would become very ill quickly and vomit until dehydrated and end up back in hospital on drips. She was 16 and had a lot of time off school. After her 4th bout of tonsilitis we went to an ENT Surgeon. He said that in some people glandular fever can cause problem tonsils. She had the surgery and the Dr commented that her tonsils were huge and she had stitches. She was home on the 2nd day, had a soft diet for a week or so. Since the op I am pleased to say that her overall general health has improved. She rarely has a sick day and has even put on some weight, she is now 17. I consider the operation a success and in the long run it is a better than being on antibiotics continually. I equated having my tonsils out with having a tooth pulled - its hurts to begin with but gets better each day. Good Luck.

I had a friend (40 something) who had her tonsils out. I don't remember how long it took her to recover (and she is not around right now to ask) but I remember she said it was worse experience that you can possibly imagine. She said if her sister had not come to help her out, she never would have made it through.

My recollection was that she was out for a couple of weeks, so considering the sinus infection you developed, I wouldn't think 3 weeks is too out of line.

Hope you feel better soon.

Luckily, my mother will be handling my two children while I'm recovering. I hope this is worth the pain. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/confused.gif

Thanks for all the replys! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by RoyalPalm (edited 02-04-2003).]

OH GOD! I really, really don't want to get my tonsils out!

I've been suffering bouts with sore throats, upper respitory infections, and sinusitus for overe 2 year now. Right now I'm suffering through really bad strep throat, I think. Both doctors that I saw didn't even do throat cultures on me, just wrote out 'scripts for Amonicillin and Penicillin. I'm on Penicillin right now hoping this will clear up this infection.

I've got a swollen painful gland on the right side of my throat. My throat is sore, and painful, and yesterday I did see some red swelling, and eating spicy foods, or drinking soft drinks is very painful. Swallowing is terrible. I've talked off and on with my doctor about getting my tonsils out, I've had an infection like this before about a year ago, and he asked me if I wanted them taken out or not. Now I'm petrified....I also have been having problems with possible alleriges and asthma. I really would like my throat problems to stop.

I still have my tonsils and I'm wondering if I should call and schedule the surgery or not? Will this help me to clear up my problems, or will it make things worse, with my declining immune system and all? I stopped taking antidepressants about a year ago, and this is when I noticed most of my sinus and allergy problems beginnning. I was on Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft for over 3 years...Now I'm sick as a dog!

Help!

Upanova

I had mine out when i was 21 after being on antibiotics for 2 months it was horrid and the pain just aweful.But would do it again if i had to have had very little sinus problem since im now 49......best of luch with the tonsilectomy..........aslo the icecream dont work better to have sherbet italian ice popsicles .

If I had the choice to get my tonsils removed again, I would NEVER even consider it now that I have been through it. I was in the most pain I have ever felt in my entire life (I'm 21). I had strep throat 6 times within 5 months and that was the normal for me... so I decided to go and have the procedure done.. it was terrible. They make it sound so nice about eating ice cream and popsicles but I couldn't open my mouth enough to fit anything in except a straw. Ice water hurt more than anything to get down and I had so many complications. The 3rd day after my surgery, my throat was swollen shut and I had to go to the hospital because I couldn't breathe and I was choking on my own spit. A few days after, a vein burst in the back of my throat so blood was pouring out of my mouth for about 10 minutes until I could get it under control. Now, I still can't open my mouth to let a spoon in so I'm stuck still eating applesauce and things I can put on my lip then bring into my mouth. I give props to anyone who goes through with this surgery, I can't imagine anything worse.. better luck than me I hope!

Ahh no! Don't say that! Mine are coming out tommorow!

I'll post how it goes when i'm feeling well but you guys have FREAKED me out.

I had my tonsils out March 12th (on a Wed.) and went back to work the following Tues. It hurt really bad but it is bearable. It was mostly my ears that hurt due to referred pain esp. when I swallowed. But believe the Dr. when he says you have to keep drinking liquids b/c if you don't drink you throat dries out and that REALLY hurts!!!! My throat is still hurting a little but I feel pretty good and go back to the Dr. Monday for my last surgery follow-up. Hope this cures the yearly strep throats that I have had 5-6 times a yr. since jr. high school. (but I am glad that tonsils don't grow back cause I would never have this surgery again!!!!!!!!! LOL)

amy

Thanks amy I feel a little better knowing the pain is bareable. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Well, my tonsils are gone, and while I don't feel great, I don't feel too bad either. Surgery was on the 27th and I felt pretty yucky that day but as long as you keep up with your pain medication, keep drinking and resting, you should be fine. I've ben able to eat toast which has been good to scrape off all the stuff at the back of your throat. I find icecream and dairy really hard to eat as with freezing cold things but everything else is basically okay.

Chewing gum is good-makes more saliva which helps your throat heal faster i'm told.

Anyway just wanted to say if anyone has the procedure done it's not too bad-you will be a bit sore and tried but nothing too horendous.

Originally posted by amyleigh28:
(but I am glad that tonsils don't grow back cause I would never have this surgery again!!!!!!!!! LOL)

amy


Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but tonsils CAN grow back. Mine did.

From a website: "If even a small bud of tonsil or adenoid tissue is left behind by the surgeon, the tonsil or adenoid may regrow. With regard to tonsillectomy, the risk of regrowth depends greatly on technique. At one time, some surgeons performed subcapsular tonsillectomies, in which the outermost shell of the tonsil was left behind. I am told this operation was less painful than a regular tonsillectomy, in which the entire tonsil is removed. Unfortunately, incompletely removed tonsils have a nasty tendency to regenerate."

I had my tonsils remove just 8 days ago. i'm 28, great shape and no other health issues. I was released from the hospital 1h after my surgery since i was able to drink and swallow. First 2 days we ok, pain here and there. Following morrning i woke up with 104 fever and was rushed to the ER. Was given some steroids and sent back home. Since that day, i'm in constant pain, head, ears. Lost almost 8lbs. I try to eat as much as i can. Ice cram and all that never helped me, it just hurt more after. Warm milk, sups have been my diet for the past 8 days. If i had to go throught this again i would say NO WAY. I was told my my doctor and the surgen him self that this procedure is not easy. I just hope i get throught this fast. Good Luck to all of you out there with the same problem waiting to be cut open.

I had my tonsils removed when i was 28 (am now 36) and i have to be honest and say after the medication wore off i was in the most awful pain. I can't believe how some of you went home so early, maybe they do things differently in the states. There is no way they would send you home here right after surgery like that. You would stay in over night at the very least.

I was supposed to have a 3 day stay in hospital but one of the doctors thought i looked too healthy and sent me home on the second day and i wish i had refused. The take home medication i was given was not strong enough for the pain i was in, felt like i had razor blades stuck in my throat and i have a very high pain threshold too!!!

My husband went overboard and bought every type of ice cream, pudding, yogurt, jelly etc so long as it was cold but the cold just emphasised the pain. So he ended up eating most of it!! I ended up ditching the pain killers the doctor prescribed and my husband got something else from the pharmacy and ground down the tablets himself, gave me double what was recommended, mixed it with orange juice and after 15 mins it would kick in, allowing me about 15 mins of pain free time to actually be able to eat/drink. It took me a week to be able to cope and a further week off work.

I have no regrets now and am hardly if ever sick anymore and there isn't any sign of them growing back either. What a relief!!!

ps: if they do grow back, how soon would you see the signs??

I had my tonsils out when I was 19 and don't remember it being that big of an issue afterward. But I was glad I did because my sore throats when from 1 every 3 months to 1 every other year!

My 9 year old daughter recently got her tonsils out too. If you want read about that, see topic "ADD caused by sleep disorders? Cure?"

[This message has been edited by caltripp (edited 05-19-2003).]

[This message has been edited by caltripp (edited 05-19-2003).]

Had my tonsils and adnoids out when I was around twelve. Just remember being in the hospital with a very sore throat, but don't remember it being excruciating pain. I liked having ginger ale. I don't recall being at home afterwards, or having any trauma associated with it. This operation was very common when I had it done and people seemed to think nothing of having it done. I would imagine it to be more difficult for adults since they are slower to heal.

Its possible that it varies from person to person, as to how it goes. Do you heal well? Are you a 'bleeder'? Do you have a low pain tolerance? Do you have bad reactions to medications? A lot of things play into it. And, then there's the surgeon; is he very experienced? Skillful? Does he have a good record? Things to consider there, too.

At any rate, 'hope all you having surgery have a quick recovery!

I had my tonsils and adnoids removed when I was 8. It was a breeze. However, at 25 my tonsils are now growing back. I have been in and out of the doctor's office twice a month since December. I am allergic to penicillin, amoxicillin, etc. I have been given avalox for strep throat which clears it up for 2 weeks then I am right back. I have an appointment next week with ENT surgeon to discuss the possibility of having my tonsils re removed.

An alternative for strep throat is the homeopathic remedy BELLADONNA. This will get rid of it in 2 days, never mind the 2 weeks of antibiotics. The thing is that your tonsillitis will always come back when using antibiotics, as you are not getting rid of the infection, but just suppressing it, so it will keep recurring. Also, antibiotics lower your immunity and if you have taken a lot recently, which it sounds as if you have, then this is another reason why you keep getting it, as your immunity is so low.

I would suggest that rather than consulting an ENT surgeon, that you consult an ND (Naturopathic doctor) instead. He will be able to give you a full assessment and treat you naturally with homeopathy or herbal medicine. If you have homeopathic treatment, then this will remove your suceptibility to tonsillitis in the first place and you should not get it again.

Good luck

This is to RoyalPalm;Listen,I just had my tonsils taken out too,the 17th of may was month ago,and let me tell you,just in the first week I lost 27 pounds,because I could not eat or drink anything,the only thing I could drink was cold water out of the fridgartor.I called my dr,several times during that first week 1/2 and told him I was begining to get really week and was hurting so bad,and I couldn't eat or drink anything other than water,and at first he was telling me,"Its going to take some time for you to heal because of your age,"and everyone kept telling me,you should be eatting by now!So finally when I called back to the dr office they said maybe you should come in,(mind you,this was 11 days later when they told me to come in.)I went to see the dr and he told me,(hmmm,your not healing quite like I had thought,well duh!)And needless to say,he gave me some Celabrex to take and had me take two at one time then one a day after that or as needed for pain,but after I took the first two,about an hour after I was eatting everything in site!! I was starving!!I was even eating chips!But,still to this day,I still have some problems with some foods,but I am not taking any pain pills anymore though...Even if this helps me in the long run,I told the dr,I wish I hadn't done it.I don't wish that pain on any adult!The pain I had was horrible,the ear pain,no sleep,etc...If you have any other question just email ok,and I will get back with you ok? Take care and get well soon!!! Chell...P.S...Just something for future refence,I was told that once you are out of your teen years,you do not have Adnoids anymore,they desolve when your a teen,because he checked to make sure I didn't have mine and I didn't so...

Well, I'm glad I found this place. It makes me realize my situation is not too abnormal.

I'm 28 years old and had my tonsils removed Thursday the 15th, 8 days ago. Here I sit still in severe pain, living percocet to percocet, and having eaten nothing but chicken broth and cream of wheat in the last week. I'm about to run out of percocet, and the military is unlikely to give me anymore because of the fear of addiction.

Basically, the pain is BARELY tolerable during the day while I'm on percocet. In the morning when I wake up, it is UNBEARABLE. I know the reason for this is that I am a mouth breather and I no doubt dry out the op area in my sleep. I have bought a Vicks cold air humidifier, and it didn't help one bit. In the hospital, they had a mask on me which sprayed mist directly into my mouth to keep it moist and that seemed to work like a charm. Does anyone know where I can find one of these? Does anyone have any tips to soothe pain?

I'm starting to think I'm never going to heal....

Oh Mark. My heart bleeds for you. Been right there, buddy. It's 4 weeks today since my tonsillectomy and it still seems surreal. Please take some comfort that in the next 2 days you should begin to see some improvement. The earaches used to kill me but it was about day 10 - day 11 that I didn't have to go from pain killer to pain killer every 4 hours to the second. It's a slow healing process. It's only in the last few days that I can swallow without any feeling at all. I'm still aware of the scar tissue at the back of my throat and I get hoarse very easily if I've been talking a lot the day before.

Hope the pain killers help. Mine didn't. Morphine or Percocet did nothing. I found that ice packs helped me a lot, moreso probably because it took my mind off my throat. I, like you, am also a mouth breather. Swallowing in the middle of the night was excruciating and would wake me up. I know this has seemed like the longest 8 days of your life but soon you will see improvement.

Best wishes,
Audrey

Audrey, one would think you were clairvoiant. About 45 minutes ago, it's like someone flipped a switch in my throat. The earaches went away and although swallowing isn't 100% smooth, it feels a LOT better all of a sudden. I just took the opportunity and scarfed down 2 BOXES of jello.

I'm hope this is the beginning of the true healing process, because I'm down to my last 5 percocet!

This might come to an end after all....

Mark,

Yep - that's it. You're now on the road back to a normal life. There is still a wee bit to go but you've now passed the worst of it.

I remember being SOOOO happy when I turned that corner. The will to live began to return and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

You'll start needing the pain killers less and less now until you are on Advil and then nothing. Definitely try to eat something a bit more substantial if you can. At this point, you really need the nutrition. Make sure to take a multivitamin because after not eating for so long, you are way run down.

Best of luck to you!
Audrey

I just went through a tonsillectomy on May 19, 2003. I am 30 years old. The management of the pain is horrible and I ended up back in the ER with dehydration and poor pain control with my mouth very swollen. I wasn't hardly getting anything in fluid or nutrition wise. I'm still not eating very good. My tongue is still numb on one side and bruised on the under side. I'm able to eat better now than I have been - but the potatoes, jello, pudding, and gatorade are getting very old. I tried macaroni and cheese last night - that was ok.

My bowels have been screwed up since the surgery. My husband can't wait til I get to a normal diet because the gas is gagging him! My stomach sounds like a noisy car motor at times...you'd think I had a bunch of backfiring happening in the intestines and stomach. Of course the reflux/heartburn isn't helping any!

I'm glad to hear that I am really experiencing the same as a lot of others...I started to wonder if it was just me and if there was some more problems that I wasn't reporting accurately.

Good luck to everyone!

Well, this is day 10 for me. I am off Percocet and on Motrin 800. I had mac and cheese with hot dogs and baked beans tonight. Life is good.

The hot fudge sunday I tried to do killed me though...too cold I guess?

Well I just had my tonsils removed via laser(no adnoidectomy though) on May 20th, 2003- I am 29 years old. I have battled tonsilitis, throat infections as a youth and recurrent throat infections in my adult years. It seems my tonsils had very large (especially my Left one) voids or holes that trapped food particles and bacteria and broke down saliva. I chose to seek two opinions. The tonsils up until the time of removal caused very tempermental sore throats and bad taste and breath from the food and bacteria lodged in them. Very, very gross. I would have to dig the parts of white nugget type material out every other day with a Q-Tip. I felt myself being bothered by them.

My parents did seek to remove them when I was little. A specialist told them I would outgrow it.
Not so...it seems in my later years now they are so scarred from many years of tonsilitis and their supposed battle wounds are now trapping food and causing me sore throats and voice loss again. For my Wedding shower last year I was afflicted with a bout where I could visibly see a huge clump of white stuff coming from my left tonsil and I was unable to speak due to voice loss at my bridal shower. My fiance had to speak on my behalf. It was another throat infection.

Post Surgical Pain: I would equate the post pain to the worst sore throat you can every recall multiplied by 25. There is external pain to the throat area like someone has your throat in a death grip or vice--which an ice pack does help me. There is also feverish sensations at times. Fever has not went above the norm to be concerned about however.

I have been just eating jello, shaved ice (thank Heavens for a shaved ice machine!-they are the best!), apple sauce, pudding. I tried mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs--but hurts way too much to swallow. The pain is bad -but I am glad they are gone. I was told 12 day recovery time. I do not see that happening though completely.

I cannot speak above a whisper, there is congestion, which I must clear ever so carefully and I only feel some relief right after I take my Lortab syrup (codeine liquid). (As pills cannot be consumed.) That numbs it enough for me to rest. Tonight I noticed white bumps above the left tonsil removal site. This was the larger more problematic tonsil. If this does not clear I will be getting a hold of my Doctor on Monday.

Other than that I am okay. Honestly I would rather take this surgery over back surgery I had 5 years ago. That was a lot worse in pain magnitude.

I'm an adult (33) and I had my tonsilectomy 6 weeks ago. Note that my adenoids were not taken out.

I can say that it was very painful and that painkillers did not help all the time--there were half-hour periods here and there when there was a lot of pain because it wasn't time for my next pill.

I stayed one week in the hospital, which is standard over there, and a week at home recuperating. I still have a little swelling near the sinuses, and if I eat the wrong foods I get a little pain. I have a complicating factor of having mono, so I'm recovering more slowly.

If I eat the right foods however my throat feels totally fine.

I am 33 years old and just had my tonsillectomy on May 21, 2003. Just for background info.... I have had 5 MAJOR surgeries and have also given birth twice... once with an epidural at 9cm and once without any drugs. With that having been said, I just need to say that this tonsillectomy has been MUCH more painful than I had expected. Until I read these postings, (Thank you to each and every one of you for your postings) I was starting to think that I was losing my mind. I was feeling like a HUGE baby because I am really in pain. I stayed one night in the hospital with pain medication every 4 hours. I have faithfully been on Lortab (1 tablespoon or 3 teaspoons every 4 hours) ever since. I can tell you without looking at the clock when my fourth hour is nearing. I have, on my own, upped my dose to 4.5 teaspoons every 3.5 hours. I suppose I'm building up a tolerance? As another posted, my insides are all messed up - making all kinds of disgusting sounds. I think that I have spent more money on toilet paper that my 20% for surgery!!! (just kidding) I have had diarhea and gas ever since I got home from the hospital. I had my 6-day follow-up appointment and the Dr. said that I'm healing very well so I could quit the Augmentin. I was assuming that the diarhea would cease at that time. Not so lucky. I have had horrible ear pain... OK REALLY horrible ear pain. I have lost about 7 pounds that I didn't need to lose. I'm 5'7" and now I weigh 108.5. I read the postings that around the 10th to 12th day post-op things take a sudden turn for the better. Thanks for giving me an optimistic goal. Come on 10th day! I'm currently on my 8th. I also have had some sinus issues. Did I mention that my husband said that he's pretty sure he's been sharing a bed with a Grizzly Bear? Oh yeah, I've been snoring like crazy... which hurts like Hell whenever I wake up with a dry throat that has been irritated with snoring for the 3 hours since my last pain medication dose. Would I do it again? - surgery, that is. I'll have to answer that later. I'm hoping I can say, "Yes" after my 10th day. Until then, I'll be eating Apricot Jello and Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup (the Goldfish kind).

Wow, my tonsilectomy mustn't have been too bad then. My pain was under control quite well. I had paracetomol every 4 hours, vioxx every 12, and codeine every 6. And the atibiotics. If your just on paracetomol, I think your quite brave.

But I did have the terrible stomach problems. I think it was just the antibiotic. Yogurt is great-keep that up and your stomach might calm down a bit (it had good bacteria in it).

i can't thank ya'll for this site! i'm 20 years old and just had my tonsils out 4 days ago (May 30th)... GIVE THEM BACK! this has been the most horrible experience of my entire life. the first day wasn't too bad, and the second day was fine, i was eating and drinking with realatively little pain, but the 3rd day i woke up so sick to my stomach that i couldn't eat or drink a thing. by the end of the 3rd day i was throwing up, which absolutly did not help matters. i'm off my pain meds (tylox and some miracle mixture that tastes horrible) and am only able to eat ice chips and ice pops... TELL ME THIS GETS BETTER!!! i'm not sure i can wait another 4 to 6 days to turn the corner here... i just wanna jump off a cliff!

It has been such a relief for me to find this site and realize I have not been going crazy with the incredible pain I've had to go thru since my surgery.

I had my tonsils and adenoids removed just this last Friday, May 30th, and since then I've been experiencing the worst days of my life. The pain has been unbearable. I have vomitted countless times, hardly been able to sleep, woken up with such a dry throat that it has made me wanna die, not been able to eat the slightest thing, had terrible earaches, headache, and fever, and swallowing has just been one MOFO biatch and a half.

I've been taking meds, but have had to be careful with them for they were making me nauseous. It's only the fourth day after my surgery and I feel like I can't take this for another day. And I really need a speedy recovery as I'm due back at work next Monday.

Can anyone suggest me something I can do to sleep better at night? I've been having such difficulty sleeping and can only manage in 2 hrs max without waking up crying in pain. Eating has also been a hardship. I can't put anything in my mouth without having it irritate my throat. Even drinking water seems to hurt. And eating ice cream is just crap.. it just makes it worse. Any suggestions on food?

How long did it take for most of you for the pain to go away? If anyone could help me out with these questions, it'd be greatly appreciated.

oh honey i feel you there! you would think water would be the easiest thing in the world to handle... NOT SO! i found ice chips are about the only thing i can stand as far as liquid goes... i had some warm tea last night, but that didn't do too much good. so try some ice chips if you can, and remember what all these people have said... day 8-10 start our turn-around, believe me, they can't come soon enough! i had my surgery the same day as you, may 30th, and i agree, one more day of this seems like its going to kill me! but its got to get better one of these days...

I have questions:
-What if you are allergic to painkillers? (Can not take any it seems)
-How long untill you are allowed to work out again? (I am a trainer)
-Do they use fully narcotic (is that the right word?) or just local in your throat?

Ok, so today is day 6... though this morning and tonight have been tough, its been a lot better than the past few days! to all you out there that have been suffering through tons of ice pops, jello, and pudding... the hell with it! if you have a chance to eat, eat what you want. i've been eating crackers and chips and even some chicken, you need your energy and nutrition to feel better. hopefully tomorrow will be just a little better than today... i have some hope now!

ah.. day 6. I went in to the doc's today cuz I could no longer take another sleepless night and another day without eating, I was only getting weaker by the minute. I'm on new medicines now to help numb the pain and even on steroid pills to reduce the swelling in my throat. If this doesn't work, I'm going straight to the ER.

With the numbing mouth wash I took, I was able to actually sleep for a couple of hours, something I haven't done in a week. Oh, how I look forward to the day I'll be able to get a full night's sleep again with no complications.

Although I still have been unable to eat except maybe some soup, I force myself to cuz I know I need the nutrients if I ever wanna get better. And the mouth odor? Ugh! It's so terrible! Day 6... Tomorrow will be day Day 7.. one week. Let's see how much longer this will last. We're in this together.

================

For the girl who asked the questions, I would discuss those with your ENT doctor. He'd be able to provide you with some answers.

mai_mai... we had our surgeries the same day... but it seems you're having a worse time of it than me, which is hard for me to imagine since mine has been so bad! i'm glad to hear you were put on new meds... I'm on tylox, let me tell you, its worth jack****... http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif anyway... i have to say, today has been a MUCH better day. though it still hurts every time i try to eat or swallow, i actually got dressed, put makeup on, and went out for an hour or so today, its the first time i've felt like doing anything like that in a week! maybe you and i are finally coming towards the end of this miserable mess... GOOD LUCK!!! FEEL BETTER! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Just to recap, I'm female 33 years old. I had my tonsillectomy on May 21st. I am finally better, not completely back to normal by any means, but certainly better. I was only able to eat noodles and chicken noodle soup for the most part. This sounds disgusting, but I put my milk in the microwave just to knock the chill off. Anything cold hurt so I don't know why they suggest ice cream and other cold stuff. Although ice chips weren't so bad - go figure.

I hate to tell those of you that just had your surgery that my "corner" of noticable pain improvement was 13.5 days.

Now I'm going through my self-imposed detox. I had been on Hydrocodone (Vicodin) for 2 weeks straight. I decided to try cold turkey - don't do it!!! I had the worst headache and I was even more tired than when I was taking them every 3.5 to 4 hours (Even though my prescription was 2 500mg every 4-6 hours). My doctor told me to step down gradually when I went to my 2 week post-op check-up. Maybe I should call Matthew Perry and check myself into the Betty Ford Clinic.

My doctor prescribed Mucofen 1000mg for the extra drainage I was experiencing. He thought that that extra drainage might be causing the excessive ear pain in my right ear. Either I'm just improving with time or the Mucofen is helping a bit. I've had quite a bit of sinus pressure especially since I am unable to really clear my throat.

Last night wasn't so great. I had a dry tickle in my throat that was extremely annoying and since I can't really clear my throat, it just got worse. A little Robitussin every time I woke up seemed to coat my throat enough to get me back to sleep.

For those of you that are into this just a few days, you should really get some Chloraseptic Sore Throat GARGLE. It is not the spray (we all know that doesn't really do anything). Get the GARGLE formula. Even though you aren't really allowed to gargle just let it sit as far back in your mouth/throat without swallowing. It REALLY helped me through the past week plus. As a matter of fact, I would gargle and then eat something. Sure, it made the food taste totally different but as you know, it becomes quite a desperate situation when you need to get some food in you - especially so you can take the pain medications. I even ate a Taco Bell Beef Burrito (they are really soft) with the Choloraseptic Sore Throat Gargle close by. I didn't add any hot sauce thought!!! Without food or at least milk in your stomach, those pain medications can really upset your system.

I'm seeing a dim light at the end of the tunnel. It's dim, but it is there. Just hang on and know that you're not a big fat baby - this surgery, as an adult, is really painful. I've been told that, as an adult, there are two surgeries that you really don't want to have to experience - adult tonsillectomy and circumcision.

Good luck to all of you and thanks again for all of the postings. It's nice to know that I'm not nuts!
Best Wishes from Texas.

Today has been Day 8 for me and thankfully every day I get a little better, pain wise. My pain was unbearable until the 6th day when I finally decided to back to my doctor's office and tell him "Look! If you don't put me on something that will ease my pain and WORK in the next 24 hrs, I'm going to just about die." I was literally in tears. It's the worst pain ever.

Since then the meds have seemed to work-- Magic Mouth Wash and Steroid Pills. Anyone else been prescibed these?

Although the pain has FINALLY started to lessen, I still cannot sleep for more than two hours at night before waking up in pain and with saliva coming out of my mouth. Maybe it's cuz I'm still breathing through my mouth, so that's where the pain is focused when I go to sleep. Anyone had this problem? That's another thing. I've been producing a whole lot more more saliva than before my surgery. Don't know why. And I still have to constantly blow my nose to clear out the buildup that is still in there from my surgery ( I also had my adenoids removed at the same time)

Eating has been another pain in my ass. Even after eight days, my throat can only manage certain soups and pudding. I can't even eat mashed potatoes. Oh, and NOTHING, I mean NOTHING, not even liquids can be cold. I've had to heat up my milk as well to drink it.

The mouth odor has been another thing I haven't been able to handle. It's just disgusting. It's there all the time and my doc said it will stay there for a month. I really need some suggestions for the mouth odor. I hate not being able to kiss my fiancee. But I shall give this gargle thing a try..

Other than not being able to sleep or eat normally and the mouth odor, I have been doing ok. The most important thing is that my pain has died down and I can deal with it now (except not as much when I wake up in the middle of the night)

When it comes down to it, Is this surgery worth it? That's up for you to decide. Initially, I was only going to have my adenoids removed cuz I've had trouble breathing all my life (mainly breathed thru my mouth) and had probs snoring. But the doc recommended I have my tonsils removed as well cuz it's rare to have your adenoids removed w/o your tonsils. Cuz they were enlarged and I also did have quite a few bad sore throats in my life I decided to go along with it. With my adenoids now gone, I do feel a difference. I am starting to breathe much better. As for the tonsillectomy.. it is painful.

Remember the older you get the HARDER it gets, the more painful and the longer your recovery will be. As for me, I'm 19. Also, think about it like this... are two/three weeks of pain worth a lifetime of having hardly any sore throats and being able to breathe better? like my fiancee asked me. If your answer to this is yes, then the tonsillectomy is def worth it.

It is up to the individual. But I guess like they say when you're down, the only way you can go is up.

Today is my 10th day... and i'm GREAT! i still have somewhat of a sore throat and waking up in the morning is still the most painful time of my day, but things have def. improved! Eating still hurts a bit, and God help me if i have to cough or burp or sneeze, but thanfully the pain is a lot better. my new challenge? getting off my meds! i tried to go cold turkey today and it was like PMS times 100... it was horrible. any suggestions? for those of you just getting your's taken out, or still recovering, good luck and feel better... we all feel your pain http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif it was a rough week, but it has gotten better and my will to live is back! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wink.gif this message board has been great... just reading everyone elses experiences has made mine a little easier. i'll tell you if it was worth it in a few months!!!!!

Day 14. Two weeks exactly.

I've been eating much, much better. Was able to even eat some Pollo Tropical the other day! I've also lost 9 lbs since the surgery. My energy seems to be back up. My only complaint is that even after two weeks I still wake up in lots and lots of pain in my throat. Is this normal? Did anyone experience this even after two weeks post-op? Or has anyone still been experiencing this?

I'm off all my meds. Have only been taking Chloraseptic from time to time to try to ease the pain, but lately it hasn't been helping as much as it did earlier this week.

Another thing is I still have the foul odor from my nose, but that's not from the tonsillectomy. It's from having my adenoids removed. Doc said it should last 3-4 weeks.. but saline solution and Afrin should make it go away faster.

Other than that, I'm doing okie and can say I have been a survivor. Thanks to all of you who have been hanging in there with me. Please continue to post msgs on how your recovery has been. It always helps me especially when I know there's someone out there I can relate to.

Hi. I'm new to this BBS, so I thought I would introduce myself. My name is Tiffany, I'm 18 and I had my tonsills out on June 3, more than two weeks ago. I'm still in awful amounts of pain, most mornings I feel under siege from my body. All my saliva has turned to mucus and is trying to choke me, I just know it! As the day goes on I feel a little bit better. But the pain is still there, and the worse part is it's day 15 and i havent even begun to loose my scabs.

The reason I had the surgery was because over the past three months I had developed chronic tonsillitis after having a peritonsillur abcess. Getting that drained was awful *shudder* they don't give you anything to knock you out!

If anyone could offer advice on how to feel better, home remidies or even just let me know how long it took you to get better I would appreciate it. Both my parents had their tonsills out when they were kids so they can't do anything but feel sorry for me, and as a child I never had so much as a sore throat. This is all so new, scary and painful!

Thanks!
-Tiffany

Hi everyone, I'm Pamela (23 years old)!

I had my tonsils out on June 9th (7 days ago). The pain is bearable with the meds. I'm still taking 2 Percocets every 4 hours, although I've cut down to 1 and a half pills every 4 hours. (I dont know many mgs are in each pill)

I usually time my meals with taking my meds too because the least pain I feel is about 1 hour after taking them. I have about 10 pills left so I'm trying to stretch them out as loooong as I can http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif I think the military doctors here are reluctant to prescribe them but of it's addiction? I thought it odd that I didnt get any antibiotics either.

Anyhow, does anyone know what I can take when I do run out of the Percocet? I've read elsewhere on the boards people have been taking advil or motrin? But I thought you were supposed to stay away from them for a while (before AND after the surgery).

Any input would be greatly appreciated! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

I hope everyone feels better and gets well soon!

Tiffany - I found running a cold humidifier all day long helped a lot especially at night to keep the throat moist.

[This message has been edited by jammocah (edited 06-16-2003).]

I had my tonsils out June 10th, so this is 6th day out of surgery for me. The first two days were a breeze, I was having very little pain and I could eat anything that wasn't solid without pain. I even ate some scrambled eggs. Then on day 3 and 4, the pain started to get worse and now I have referred pain in my ears and teeth. Even that isn't terrible with the medication during the day. I had the elixir with hydrocodone and tylenol as well as pills with oxycodone and tylenol. But sleeping is horrible, the pain gets so much worse when I sleep that I wake up and I am shaking. It feels like there is a knife in my throat dragging up and down every time i swallow. The pain medication doesn't really help that, I just have to wake up and drink a little (which really hurts) and kind of lie still for a little while. It must be the way I swallow and breathe that hurts so much when I'm sleeping. I'm also almost out of the elixir and I have about 3 days of pills left at the max. If I would've known how much worse it would have gotten, I wouldn't have used the pain meds much at first. I figured it would hurt worse at the beginning. Can you get more pain meds? The bottles both say no refills, but I haven't been using more than the prescription indicated and I'm almost out. In the end, even though it is a bit more painful than I expected, I think it is worth it. Hopefully I will start to see improvement soon. I've always had big, swollen tonsils and they are usually red and get food stuck in them. My parents tried to get them out when I was younger but the doctor wouldn't do it. I am a sophomore in college now and I have 5 friends my age that have had this surgery in the past 3 months so it seems like a pretty common problem at this age.

Hi Will..

I have to agree.. It's worse at night. I have to sleep on my side. If I sleep on my back.. it hurts too much.. My doc told me to set the alarm every four hours just to take the pain meds.. I always wake up 30 minutes before my alarm though!

Yes I think you're able to get more refills. Just ask your doctor. I got 30 more Percocets today!

Having Lasagna for lunch now.. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Pamela (Day 9 for me!)

ok, until I found this message board I thought I was going to die! I had my tonsils out on Friday, June 13th and all the information we got from the doctor was like "your child may play outside on the third day if the weather is nice". And after day 2 to continue on a diet of "fresh meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, etc." Yeah, right! I'm still struggling with the water! I have to microwave my jell-o so I can drink it! Well, I just wanted to say that everyone's posts have been very helpful and reasurring and I now know I'm not the only one who has ever been in this much pain. One question...the end of my tounge is numb. It has been ever since I woke up from surgery. It feels like when you go to the dentist and they numb you up. The dr's office didn't think this was any big deal but it seems a little odd to me. Has anyone had this problem? And just reassure me that I will get to feeling better soon and the urge to slit open the sides of my throat to relieve the pressure and pain will go away!!

Hi Jennbunny79,

Yes I had that numbing tongue thing too. It's from the surgery when they used a clamp to hold it off to the side or hold it up or something. I just know they used it clamp on your tongue. If you look carefully you might just see exactly where too!

Hang in there.. it'll get better soon..

I'm on day 11 and I feel great.. Still cant eat everything I want but I'm definitely eating a lot..
Yesterday I had beed stew with rice for lunch and dinner, mash potatoes and gravy, beans, coffee cake, and bread rolls!

I'm definitely gaining the 7 pounds I lost the first week.. hehe...

Pamela

Hi Jennbunny79,

Yes I had that numbing tongue thing too. It's from the surgery when they used a clamp to hold it off to the side or hold it up or something. I just know they used it clamp on your tongue. If you look carefully you might just see exactly where too!

Hang in there.. it'll get better soon..

I'm on day 11 and I feel great.. Still cant eat everything I want but I'm definitely eating a lot..
Yesterday I had beed stew with rice for lunch and dinner, mash potatoes and gravy, beans, coffee cake, and bread rolls!

I'm definitely gaining the 7 pounds I lost the first week.. hehe...

Pamela

Ok, I'm on day 21 and theres barely any relief. Sorry all of you people that are just starting! Hopefully it will be easier for you then it has been for me. I've lost almost 15 lbs because i can barely get down soups and boost. And swallowing just my spit is painful enough. I have to agree with the other people that have said it, ive noticed that it is always SO much worse in the mornings. Is there anyone else who has felt sick this long? I'm starting to consider visiting my ENT, because everyone I'd talked to has said that it should only last about 2 weeks. Please let me know, its great that this is here, I don't feel so alone!

All my sympathies - Tiffany

Reading these posts brought it all back. I had my tonsils out at 21 and now I'm 49. Before they came out, I had had strep and staph infections in my throat for 2 years straight. Yes, the pain is bad, but there are worse things--try getting a C-section and then having the afterbirth yanked out of you. The point is not what's worse,though, it's that this pain is the problem here and now for those experiencing it, and you do have my sympathy. It's not fun, but it is temporary and things will get better. To this day, I have never again had any type of throat infection, despite even being around people with strep many, many times. My immune system became so much stronger, the fatigue went away, and I didn't have to deal with yeast infections from all those antibiotics.

Did you know that people can die from strep and staph germs making their way into the heart? It can and does happen. My cousin had heart surgery twice from having this happen, has come close to death several times, and still is not completely out of the woods. No matter how bad it is now, you are literally saving your life by having this done. It is worth it.

Hang in there and know you have just done the best possible thing for your health in the long run.

I've just found this site. I had a tonsillectomy just 2 days ago. Even though i don't feel like sitting here looking for info on the computer, I had too see if what I was feeling was normal. And from the sound of you guys, it is. I'm miserable! I'll check back in a couple of days to let you know if I'm improving or just whatever I'm feeling. I'm not looking forward to the next couple of weeks.

I just found this site as well. I'm glad I did, I had my tonsils done last Thursday (today is day 8). I'm having most of the same symptoms that y'all have.
The first couple days were easy, then on day three through 6 I was miserable. The pain had gotten significantly worse, along with occasional bleeding, the coughing/phlegm, and ear pain.
The way I get through the pain is with the Vicodin's every 3 hours and liquid tylenol with Codeine at night (for sleep and coughing).
I cannot wait for day 10! I feel like I spend every day wishing the day would pass. I feel for everyone going through this.

Sean




[This message has been edited by Sean25 (edited 06-28-2003).]

Well I saw my doctor today, and the surgery is officially scheduled for August 12th.... but I am TERRIFIED! I'm starting an internship on September 1st.... what are the odds of my feeling better by then? I'm also concerned about weight loss.... did anyone find that they gained back even more when they were finally able to start eating again? Any input would be appreciated... this bulletin board is SO helpful!!

Caribbea,
I lost weight (I think it was about 8 pounds) and it all came back rather quickly but I don't weigh any more now than I did before my surgery. Since you won't be able to eat well for a few days, your stomach will shrink (it won't take as much food to make you feel full, that is). I actually lost my appetite for a week or so after I was able to eat without pain. You won't feel like working out for at least a couple of weeks so expect to take a break from the gym if you are on a regular work-out schedule.

My son is 6 and he's having his tonsils and adenoids removed on August 5, 2003. He remembers how miserable I was so he's a little nervous but he's a brave little guy. Apparently it is not nearly the painful surgery that adults endure. My biggest problem was the constant ear pain. It felt like someone was shoving ice picks in my ears. I hate to tell you this pre-op but at least you'll be well-informed.

Another bit of information - I hated the taste of the liquid pain medication so I found that I could swallow a pill a couple of days after surgery. I was able to get those down much easier. Lortab liquid became a chore to swallow every 3.5 to 4 hours because of the taste. My doctor prescribed Vicodin tablets - he told me that they would work better for the pain anyway.

As I stated in a previous posting... cold anything hurt my ears horribly. I found warmed food and drinks were much more tolerable.

Just for the "glass half FULL" side of this... My two boys, ages 3 & 6 came down with strep throat AGAIN (just 2 weeks after my surgery) and I DID NOT catch it. Maybe this tonsillectomy thing does work!!! Time will tell, I suppose.

Pending any unforeseen complications, you'll be well enough for your September 1st internship, not to worry.

Good luck to you.

I just had my tonsills out two days ago, I was in the hospital in March for 4 days with an abcess behind my right tonsill. The pain I am experiencing right now is equal to the pain I had when my ENT removed my abcess. All of the above comments are scarring me about sinus infections and such, anybody know any good ways of avoiding this? Also as I am sure many of you know your tonsills are or were not really the source of your illnesses in the firsy place, your tonsills simply tell you that your immunity it down, by romoving your tonislls you have only removed what tells you that you have a problem. Anyone with a low immunity should look into "pro-biotics", you can find these at your nearest health food/vitamin store. Has everyone else experienced this horrible taste in their mouth, I can't even sleep it's so bad!!! Any reply would be much appreciated, thanks!!!

My name is Melissa and I am 22 y/o and I got my tonsils out 7 days ago. Honestly the surgery was a piece of cake along with the following 2 days. I was drinking plenty and not having much pain at first. Days 3 and 4 brought quite a bit of pain within my neck, throat, and ears and frankly I was far from happy. I started to recover a little more on day 5 up until now but I am not in the best of spirits. I have a medium build and I have already lost 15 lbs in 7 days and I am miserable. I still can't really talk either. I was wondering when I can finally eat solid foods again and start to be able to talk without the constant pain? Ugh...

hi melissa (and anyone else interested in my little tonsil experience....)
i just got my tonsils out on Tuesday (6 days ago i think?) so i'm right around where you are... and so far, it seems i've had a really similar experience. my first 2 days were a breeze, relatively speaking... i had the surgery at 8 and was home by noon.... then spent the rest of the day waiting for the pain to set in but other than the grogginess of the anesthesia, ended up feeling pretty well. i drank a fair amount of water and even tried some applesauce without too much of a problem. day 2 was pretty much the same... again, no nausea, no intense pain... definitely uncomfortable but bearable. i kept reading (i did LOTS of online research beforehand) about days 3-5 being much worse, and it ended up being true for me, only in that when i woke up on day 3 my head was pounding and grew steadily worse all day long. from what i've heard, that could have been the effects of the general anesthesia, but whatever it was, it was the worst pain i've had so far and i spent most of day 4 just being glad my head wasn't throbbing anymore. my boyfriend also came to visit day 4 so i talked a LOT, didn't nap as much, etc.... basically just overdid it in general... which made day 5 (yesterday) pretty rough. today (day 6) hasn't been too bad... i'm still having a lot of pain when i wake up from naps/in the morning... but i think my pain regimen (oxycontin 2X a day, tylenol w/codeine as needed) is working well. i've also been going through boxes of sore throat lozenges... i've found they sort of hold me over while i'm waiting for the real stuff to kick in. ice packs on my throat have been helping a lot too. i've found that ice-cold things go down the best for me... iced tea especially (real kind, not from a bottle).... although no dairy products really (milkshakes, etc). baby food applesauce (its thinner), cream of wheat, thin mashed potatoes, and even soft mac and cheese have all been good. oh and scrambled eggs with cheese, done very soft... almost undercooked. i've just been trying to get down as many calories as possible.... i'm a medium build also, but i don't think i've lost a ton of weight as of yet. drinking slim-fast and ensure are other good ways to keep your weight up... and they go down very easily too. anyway, i'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.... just hoping there are no more downs from here on out.... just ups!! hope everything goes well for you too!
sandy

Pain- Something I thought would never hurt me. I broke bones before and never knew until weeks after. I am 26 years old recently had my tonsils removed and learned what pain is. I had the operation exactly two weeks ago in Israel. The surgeon did something with the tongue clamps which resulted in four huge open wounds on my tongue. So bad I didn't care about the pain in my throat. For the first five days I had to put some medical glue on my tongue to fill in the wounds in order to eat. Fortunately for me I have a uncontrollable hunger and I live in the desert where drinking is a matter of life and death. So I forced myself to drink at leat 4 litres/day and I ate food like eggs by breaking it up into pill size pieces and swallowing it just like the pain killers. Plus I took two different kinds of Pain killers (pills and drops) and only stopped using them today. Sleeping was the worse. I woke up every 3hrs from the pain- and would immediately down the liquid pain killer and run into the shower with the water on the hottest possible setting to burn my back and take my mind off the pain in my throat until the pain killer would begin to work.

After two weeks I am still talking funny, but talking. I have pain, but I can tolerate it without the meds (especially after I read that the meds I was using are only legal here and in russia and have been banned everywhere else because they are life threatning- thats another story). The last two nights I have slept all the way until the early morning- but 12 days of almost no sleep was not fun. I eat more and more everyday (Jello is the best). The more you eat and drink the faster you heal- so I suggest to eat through the pain- more pain now- less pain sooner! Also drink lots and swallow to retrain the muscles. Good luck to all those who are about to do it.
If you can avoid it- I suggest you avoid it- If you can't - I hope it passes quickly- but plan on it taking a while.

Peace in the middle east PLEASE

Wow, after listening to many of you after your tonsilectomies, I choose to try to live with tonsil stones. I can't stand having tonsil stones, but the surgery and the after effects sound like just too much to bear. The person from Israel had a super hard time, and I wonder what the reason for taking them out was? I'm getting use to the fact that I'll be living the rest of my life with these stones. Oh well, things could be much much worse.

i had my tonsils out 2 weeks ago (i'm 32). the pain isn't/wasn't so bad. i was released after a few hours and ended up in an ambulance after bleeding out & losing consciousness... but that's beside the point. recovering now but here's my question: i'm a marijuana smoker. how long should i wait to smoke again? (and don't say forever). i know the longer the better (ahem) but any opinions on when it's going to be "safe" enough to not run the risk of infection? i'd really appreciate any input. thanks.

I am scheduled to have my tonsils taken out in a week. I am terrified because of the 10 days of "profound pain" my doctor has promised. My question: Does anyone out there know what it is like to have this procedure done if you smoke. I suppose I could quit during the recovery, because I do not want to smoke if it will hurt or slow my recovery. Also, is it common to become nauseated with all the meds. The thought of that, and any subsequent vomiting combined with the pain, makes me want to cancel the surgery and live with my tonsils.

Hi Everyone,

Well here's my background. I'm now on Day 13 after my surgery. First some background, I'm 26 years old and my tonsil problems started 4 years ago when I was hospitalized for a week with an absess of my right tonsil. Since then I've dealt with all sorts of problems - things got caught in my tonsils all the time and every night I would push food particles out with a q-tip for fear of another infection. My ENT warned me this surgery was bad so 6 months ago we tried another procedure where, using a laser, he "shaved down" some of the crypts in my tonsils. Unfortunately, my tonils where just too screwed up for this surgery to be effective but it was worth a shot because recovery from that surgery was not bad at all - I recommend trying this as a last resort for anyone who is considering a tonsilectomy now. Unofrtunately, only a few doctors are doing it I thing (my ENT is one of the leading docs in NYC so I was fortunately that he tried it first).

So, back to the surgery. 13 days ago. I was able to drink ice water right after surgery (I was home about 5 hours after surgery). I was administered steroids during srugery to reduce swelling. I can honestly say that things haven't been horriffic (compared to what I've been reading on this board) so maybe the steroids helped. Anyway, I was definitely feeling a lot of pain but the percocette helped and I was living on them until day 11. On day 4, my ear started killing me and the Dr. perscripbed prednisone, it seemed to help.

So here's my question for everyone. After I've turned the "pain corner" and now things are just uncomfortable, I notice that everything tastes terrible. How long does this last for?

Also, the things I can eat now (bread, pasta, mushy things), get cought in big clumps in the holes in my throat with I then have to clear my throat (sometimes semi-violently) to get out. In general, my throat seems misshaped - my uvula touches my toungue which it never did before. How long does this whole thing last for. When will everything be back to normal and when can I enjoy life without screwed up tonsils.

Thanks again everyone, you posts have made me feel alot less alone and a lot better about surgery..

[This message has been edited by dazex4 (edited 09-15-2003).]

Jasong,
To quickly answer your "uvula" question.... My throat, post-surgery was asymetrical and my uvula touched my tongue. It looked like my doctor cut more out of one side of the back of my throat that the other, too. He had no explanation for me. My uvula took quite a while to go back to normal but it did. I can't remember when it was normal again - I had my tonsils out in May and now it is September. I've been back to normal for a couple of months at least, maybe more. It is all like a bad dream now. It is a long road to COMPLETE recovery. Things still feel differently when they hit the back of my throat. I haven't had any infections since surgery. Maybe this does work?!?

I had my tonsils out yesterday morning. after surgery I felt like I was going to die because of bad reaction to the narcotics today has been good I still have a catheter with dolac (a poweful painkiller which does not give me nausea) I had a nose job the same day a plastic functional nose surgery so I can't breathe through my nose and my throat hurts so much I just ate avocado and it got stuck http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif aaaah what can I do now?

I am 35 years old and finally went to see the ENT about my tonsils which have been bothering me for a year. They are swollen and have pockets which as you all know collect food which is gross. He has me on prednisone and ABT to try to help decrease their size but he doesn't hold out much hope that it will work and surgery is probably going to happen. I have to admit I'm pretty terrified after reading all the messages. I thought it would be like 2 days and I'd be back to normal but it's not looking that way. If anyone out there can offer some words of encouragement I'd apprciate it.

Just dont get a nose job on the same day :S.
I'm taking only a cold pill now because my heart rate was arrithmic with the narcotics I can handle pain very well but I hate sleeping on a chair. I also hate the fact that I can't drink and that avocado got stuck on my throat other than that its feeling better. First day was the worst I must say... oh yeah GO GURT helps http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/biggrin.gif lol also a drink called yakult. I hope i can get some sleep today.

I'm having my tonsils out in 2 days--and I'm getting really scared! My work is only giving me thursday through sunday off, do you think I will be able to function at my job on Monday? I have a desk job, but I spend about 75% of my day talking to people.

I went for my pre-op appt. yesterday and the nurse couldnt answer that question for me. Your input would greatly help.

I'm having my left tonsil ( has a lump on it so the doc says it has to come outta there ) removed tomorrow morning so I'll be thinking of you the following day. From what I've read on the board here I doubt you'll feel much like working or talking much for quite some time. I don't see how 4 days off will be nearly enough recovery time, try closer to two weeks. I'm 50 years old and plan on taking it easy for at least a couple of weeks. And yes, I'm also apprehensive after reading all the posts here about the pain and discomfort but I'm going to try and have as positive an approach to it as possible and just muddle through as best I can. I've had quite a bit of pain from surgeries and injuries,including jaw surgery which left my face swollen for close to a month and being unable to open my mouth wider than a half inch. I used to sit and cradle my face and chin in my hands and cry until the pain meds kicked in, so I'm hoping this won't be any worse. We'll see, eh? ;-)

Regards to all who have taken this path before me. Finding this board has been a godsend. I appreciate your candor and honesty.

Kindest regards, Sarah

I'm having my tonsils out in 2 days--and I'm getting really scared! My work is only giving me thursday through sunday off, do you think I will be able to function at my job on Monday? I have a desk job, but I spend about 75% of my day talking to people.

I went for my pre-op appt. yesterday and the nurse couldnt answer that question for me. Your input would greatly help.[/QUOTE]

Its now 3 weeks after surgery and I'm doing worlds better. No more pain, very little discomfort. I can east pretty much anything. I was concerned because as of last week, I had this terrible taste in my mouth. Now, things just don't taste "right." Diet coke tastes like water and sweetened iced tea tastes sour. Has anyone else experienced this? When does it go away?

You will definitely need more than 4 days off from work. Doctors strongly recommend two weeks. I only took one week off from work, but I definately could have used two weeks.

Remember tonsilectomy is one of the worst operations you can have as an adult.

You will need plenty of time to recover from the pain. Try asking for more days off. GOOD LUCK!

The bad taste in your mouth will eventually go away and so will the food tasting weird. But it will take a while. The "bad breath" I experienced lasted a month and I thought it would never go away, but the doctor reassured me it would in due time.

Do not worry. Little by little you will go back to normal and feel better than ever.

Thanks for your suggestions, I'm going to try to get some more time off of work.

5 day no pain at all... ^_^ I also got my nose cleared out and can finally breathe, Friday I'll go get the stitches out of my throat since the doctor also fixed the back of my mouth. Oh yeah but I'm still on the lots of ello and shakes diet.

Day 6, today I had the courage to open my mouth and stare at my throat I discovered that the source of my pain the first 4 days was huge canker sores where my tonsils used to be... ouchy!!! I gave my throat a sun bath and I am happy that the canker sores no longer hurt.

Hey peeps, i am a 17 yr old male. i am going through.. something mabye glandular fever i think... but...
on my left tonsil is a load of white ****, its not even white spots, itsjust covered simply, now i am guessing that it may have to be removed, as it is only one side.

since i am 17 and male (child and male, not the apparen pain zone of adult and female) will it still hurt as absolute hell?
Also anyone her have it done in england so they can share how our treatments ar done?

peace
Kez

Greetings Everyone,

To recap - I'm 50 years old and had my left tonsil removed on Wednesday and so far I've been fine. After surgery I ate about a dozen popsicles, drank some ginger ale and then had mashed potatoes with baby food for dinner. Yummy! I've cut back on my pain meds from 1 325 mg percocet every 3 hrs to 1 every 4 hours. What has helped me considerably has been using Adult Extra Strength Tylenol to coat the back of my throat. My doctor said to use it as a gargle if necessary but I just sip it slowly and it works wonders at numbing my throat. I think the amount of liquid and the cold popsicles I consumed the first day helped me a lot. I also kept an ice bag on my neck 24/7 for the first two days. I have had no ear pain but I made sure I exercised my jaw and neck muscles each day. The exercise along with the ice pack may have helped with the neck, ear, teeth pain , I don't know. I don't seem to have a preference for either warm or cold foods/liquids. Last night I tried some scrambled egg for dinner but I didn't like the taste. I guess I'll stick with the potatoes. Just wanted to give you all an update. I'm also resting ALOT which I think is important as well. Ok, so am I going to hit a wall? Have I just been very lucky??? Kindest regards, Sarah

Sarah,

I don't think you're alone. While I am very uncomfortable at times, the pain isn't unbearable, and I've been able to eat. The biggest problem I'm having is nasal congestion. My doctor gave me tylenol-3 w/codine and its ok. I just don't know what I will use when I go back to work?

Oh fabulous.

I was so looking forward to having my tonsils out until I stumbled on to this website!

I am 22 years and and I am due to have them out on Thursday (September 18).

A few questions:
Does the size of the tonsils have any impact on the pain experienced? I have enormous tonsils and I hope this won't equate to enormous amounts of pain!

What is the maintenance like? I had all of my wisdom teeth surgically removed 18 months ago and one of the worst aspects was having to rinse every 3 hours - even if it meant disrupting sleep at night.

For those of you who have been prescribed Prednisone and Celebrex - did they really work? If so that is great news as I already take large doses of them for another condition!

I will let you know how it goes. At the moment I am very positive and excited about having the wretched things taken out. But only time will tell how much pain it will take to lessen my enthusiasm!

Well, it's been about 48 hours since I had my tonsillectomy and I have to say, I seem to have had a relatively successful operation.

Pain has not been my greatest concern - nausea has. I have spent much of the last two days being sick and am no longer on any form of pain relief due to the nausea it causes me.

Recovery was probably the worst ordeal. They were worried about my vital signs so had to pump oxygen into me. I kept telling them that it was only making me feel worse but none of the nurses seemed to listen. I sure showed them though!! Two buckets later, I was returned to my room and the intravenous anti-nausea medication commenced! No more morphine for me.

Other than that, I have found it essential to keep drinking water at all costs as having a moist throat seems to lessen the pain. I also started to suffer lock-jaw but this was alleviated by chewing gum.

As for food, my mother (who has been preparing my meals since I arrived home) has discovered that shredded tuna can be mixed with almost anything.... mashed avocado, cheese sauce, carbonara sauce...the possibilities are endless!

As it is only the second day and I am not taking any pain meds I realize that things may get worse. But, I have made a conscious decision to get on with it no matter what and I hope that helps!

I am on my 6th day of recovery and I am not happy.
I have note been able to eat or drink much of anytime. Like a lot of people I to had food caught in m tonsils. As bad as I am feeling I never want to have food in my tonsils again.

Finally have a surgery date but its not until Oct 31, Happy Halloween! I was actually hoping it could be sooner so I can just get it over with but I'm sure the time will go quickly. I have a very good doctor and I have confidence in him so I'm sure the surgery will go smoothly. It's the afterwards I'm worried about. At least once its all done I won't have to worry about cleaning out my tonsils everyday and the constant swelling. Wish me luck. I'll update when it finally happens.

Well after gaging on my uvla I called the doctor who prescribed me steriods that has made me throw up last night and this morning. For the most part I am feeling a lot better it is just my uvla is swollen it touches my tounge. It has been over a week and I am now able to eat only spoonsfuls but that is a start.

Okay question...
I am going for my first ENT visit on Sept. 30th b/c my tonsils are driving me crazy, too. I have the crypts as well with the nasty, white tonsil stones that I have to dig out because they stink and irritate me. However, my main question for everyone is...
Have you had problems with coughing? I experience these terrible "coughing attacks". If I eat anything dry (i.e, a cookie, cracker, hard, crusty bread) and it touches either of my tonsils, I start coughing uncontrollably to the point that I vomit. These attacks are so violent that I pop the blood vessels in my eyes! I won't even go out to eat, and if I do, I order soft food out of fear of having one of these coughing spells!
I have been to my regular doctor who said it was possibly asthma (?) and put me on all kinds of asthma meds (that didn't help), then I went to a pulmonologist who did find scar tissue in my lungs (from all the coughing?)and said it could be a mix of asthma and acid reflux, so now I'm on meds for that and it's not helping. So, finally, I have taken it upon myself to make an appt. with an ENT to get my tonsils checked out. I had strep a bunch in college, but haven't had it since. I am 28 now. I am just curious if anyone else has experienced this crazy coughing. HELP-am I a total freak?

Well, finally have a surgery date. At 36 years old I get to have my tonsils out on Halloween and spend the night in the pediatric ward of the hospital. How strange is that? I guess I'm looking forward to it because I can finally stop the daily cleaning out the stones in my tonsils and the ensuing bleeding. The only other positives are being out of work for 2 weeks and losing some weight. I would suggest to Miss Melody to really consider the surgery. I think its going to be worth it to have a couple of weeks of pain to not have to deal with the rest anymore. Good luck and keep you updated.

Y'all aren't going to believe this!!!
I went to the ENT today to have everything checked out-the coughing, the tonsil stones, etc. Well, it turns out that my tonsils are on the large side and cryptic, but fine. She said that I could continue to irrigate and remove the stones myself, but if that became too bothersome, then it was up to me to have my tonsils out. Luckily, she is a great ENT and said that this was my decision since I don't TECHNICALLY have any infections anymore.
HOWEVER, my coughing attacks are due to my larynx. It is double the size that it should be because I have severe acid reflux! I have been on Nexium once a day, but she is doubling my meds now and completely changing my diet. This is totally insane. I thought the whole time that my tonsils were causing me to cough every time I ate. So, if any of you are experiencing this, I think I may start a new message board about it to see if others may have suggestions about foods and lifestyle changes,etc.
I'll still be visiting here, though, to see how everyone's doing with their tonsils and to see about any new "tonsil stone removing" techniques!=)
Thanks for your input and good luck to all of you having your tonsils removed-I'll be praying for your speedy recoveries!!!

I had my tonisls out the 29th, Yesterday my "patches" came off and it was disgusting and it hurt. The first patch came off at 11 in the morning on my left side and I felt a gush of fluid in my mouth and ran to the sink and it was blood, naturally I panicked my dad called the Dr and he said this is normal if it doesn't stop in ten minutes to call him back, it stopped in 5. Of course that blood tatse is in your mouth and it sucks and i was scared to swallow etc but then i drank lukewarm water and it burned a little bit but was alright then, just drink all the time as much as you can. I've been drinking mostly water but i have had some iced tea and hi-c juice boxes. Last night the right patch came off of course it woke me up I was choking on my blood and huge clots will come out and I threw up old blood as well and then this horrible odor escaped my mouth and made me more sick so all night i have been drinking water and hi-c juice boxes, the juice gets the bad flavor and breath out. I must say I do feel good today, the only thing that hurts is my uvula, I still can't speak. My mouth tastes like metal and I've had some pain in my teeth and gums, also my ears which I hear is normal. Also after surgery the first few days my tongue was very swollen, I couldn't eat at all just drinking was very difficult and it hurt. I am feeling better now and can't wait to have a real meal again.

To Anybody Facing Tonsillectomy: DO NOT LET THIS MESSAGE BOARD DISCOURAGE YOU. It's not nearly as bad as these people say.

After reading the messages here two weeks ago, I went into my tonsillectomy fearful and discouraged, convinced it would be an awful experience. It was not. These are the facts:

1. If you take the prescribed pain killers, the pain is no worse than a case of strep throat.

2. The pain and swelling are inconvenient, but far from disabling. I went out for some light shopping the day after my surgery.

3. You must drink lots of liquids and eat a reasonable amount. Every time you take your pain medication, wait a half hour until the effect is at its fullest, then EAT SOMETHING. The foods that worked best for me included Jello, applesauce, thin mashed potatoes, baby food (with added salt), and pureed soup.

4. Just make up your mind to spend 4 to 6 days dealing with some pain and taking it easy, but know that from that point on, you'll feel better each day. I am now at Day Eleven, and I'm nearly back to normal. Don't need drugs for pain anymore and can eat almost anything.

5. Do be sensible about eating, of course, because trying to down large bites, or anything with rough texture, could start bleeding, but you'll feel immeasurably better and heal much faster if you eat regularly. And lots of liquids. Tea is good because it has an antibacterial quality.

6. Don't think I'm dealing with the surgery exceptionally well because I'm a young athlete used to dealing with pain and full of bountiful good health. I'm 60 years old and an actor, not in top physical shape.

Don't worry. You'll be fine. Just do it!
Dave

I am having my tonsillectomy on the 21st of october and I am really freaked out by the messages posted here. The last message however seems a little comforting.
I want to know what would be my main source of nutrition if i just keep having iced water and tea.

[This message has been edited by Dont_freak _me_out (edited 10-08-2003).]

To those of you who are awaiting tonsillectomies and are starting to worry because of other messages on this board, please don't worry!

I had mine removed a few weeks ago (see posts above) and it was the best thing I have ever done.

Right from the beginning I decided to get on with it and try to drink no matter what as I had heard it really helps. And, it really really does!

For some background, I had severe throat infections and enormous pus-producing tonsils (charming, I know). It was so severe that it caused another condition for which I require chemotherapy (and I am only 22 and very fit and healthy).

Naturally, I was very excited about getting my tonils out but quite nervous after reading this board. Particularly because of the potential complications from the chemo and other medication.

Despite the nausea and vomitting (reactions to the medication) I only suffered slight discomfort. And no bleeding. Because of this reaction, I could not take the pain killers so had to go without - and it was fine! When earaches began to develop, I would have some chewing gum which helped a lot.

When I went to see the Doctor again a week later he was very surprised to see me walk into the room smiling. When I told him that I wasn't too bad at all his reply was "After what I did to you? You had the biggest tonsils I have ever seen." Looking in my mouth surprised him even more - I was healing amazingly well.

And, I put it all down to water. I was sipping on it constantly from the moment I was returned to my room, night and day. And I didn't go anywhere without a bottle of water. Even through the nausea and vomitting I didn't stop sipping at water. This enabled me to retrain my throat muscles (and it is a VERY different experience after having such big tonsils for for long) and ensured my throat was always moist (it becomes painful when it dries out).

So, my advice to everyone is no matter what the complication, try to just get on with it. You will be amazed by the results and you will agree that it is the best thing you have ever done!

Oh no "Don't freak me out" - not iced water at all!! It makes the earaches worse. Try water at room temperature.

Other good sources of nutrition are chocolate mousse, mashed avocado with a bit of mayo so it doesn't stick, cheese sauce with a little tuna, shredded chicken with some mayo, scrambled eggs, fruit puree, custard and banana and strawberry smoothies with a generous dollop of honey!

Don't be surprised of you eat some things in the first few days and then you don't want to touch them again. I had fruit puree in my first few days and never want to see it again.

Also, the acid in yoghurt may sting and definitely do not try any citrus juices.

My Doctor is supposed to be one of the leading surgeons in Australia and also told me not to have any spicy foods for at least 2 weeks and nothing hot for 2 weeks either (warm is fine though).

My healing is going badly, Saturday night I had to go to the hospital because I wouldn't stop bleeding, this is the thrid time in two weeks. I have the white patches again and I am still stuck on the clear fluids diet again. Has anyone else had this much difficutly? I wish I would've just kept them, the only thing good so far is I no longer snore.

I had my tonsils and adenoids removed a week ago. Also, I had my spetum straightened, and endoscopic sinus surgery at the same time. I have been on Roxicet(syrup), cefizil(antibiotic syrup, that tastes like candy) and liquid motrin OTC and I have been doing great! I have liquid demerol if the pain gets too bad between roxicet times but havent touched it. The first 2 days were ok but thats because I was out of it! The only time I have had a sore throat is when I over slept 2 hours for my medicine and that was because I hadn't drank any water for 8 hrs. Otherwise Today is day 7 and last nigth I ate Pizza!!! Granted it hurt a little but was worth it! I am 24 and all the Dr told me was how much pain i was going to be in but It hasnt been that bad. I have drank TONS of water (ice cold) and eaten lots of popsicles and have had really no problems. However, I have this nasty film on my toungue that is DISGUSTING!!! and the Dr. said it will go away in a about another week! That is by far the worst thing I have gone through!

[This message has been edited by john1178 (edited 10-14-2003).]

I have a 4 year old who had her tonsils and adnoids removed 10 days ago, she had the occasional pain in the first few days, but now she is having awful pain on the left side just under her ear, it only lasts about 1 minute and tends to happen more when she is eating!! kids obvioulsy have it easier, she was up running around the ward and ordering pizza for tea 2 hours after surgery.... but she has had 4 years of contant tonsilitis....

Hello all-- I'm 38 and had my tonsils out on 10/9. Thanks to all the posts here I really knew what to expect, and it has been pretty horrible! But I have a question about my tongue-- it has been numb on the left side and towards the bottom and back ever since the surgery. It kind of feels like it was burned with hot soup. It gets worse if I use my tongue for eating (pudding, etc.). Will this go away, or might I have some kind of nerve damage? Please let me know if any of you have had this, too. Hopefully this goes away???

You are ok mine was numb too partly due to the surgery and pain meds. I am just now getting my taste back a little and it has been 10 days! No nerve damage to worry about its normal...You also might have a nasty film on your toungue and that is normal too!

john1178, Thanks so much for responding. I hope my tongue does get better-- it really hurts! I am off all pain meds now because I don't really need them for my throat anymore and they were making me nauseous, but I can't wait for my tongue to feel normal again.
BTW, everyone, it turns out what my doc thought was a possibly cancerous tonsil was actually Eagle's Syndrome. This is an extra-long bony protrusion that made my tonsil feel hard, i.e. possibly cancerous, and look larger than the other one. Please check into this if you're not sure what's wrong with your tonsil. It's somewhat rare so you may have to be the one bring it up to your doc-- could save you from a tonsillectomy!

Well, I am off for my tonsillectomy tomorrow at noon. I'm having mine done for obstructive sleep apnea (139 events, 87% average oxygen saturation). Luckily it is not going to be a full UPPP as I already have a fairly high palate and my uvula is small. I'm 240lbs and 32 years old so I'm expecting it to take awhile to heal.

When I asked my ENT if my tonsils were larger than normal after having my sleep study he replied that out of 100 other folks my age who still have their tonsils, only about 1 would have larger tonsils. Ah-Hah ... I new my breathing couldn't be normal. Of course, I'm guessing that 1 percent is posting here http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

I found this board while searching about how the healing process is after an adult tonsillectomy. Needless to say I'm a bit more nervous now than I was (finding pictures of a throat after electrocautery didn't help, either ... don't go looking for them). I had hoped to find someone locally who did the harmonic scalpel procedure, but the closest was an hour away and couldn't see me on the schedule I needed for work.

I'm hoping a couple of things will help me through ...

1) I have a humidified CPAP, so I'm hoping that will help me keep my throat moisturized at night as otherwise I'm a night breather.

2) Due to back pain (which is my next surgery in a month or so ... enlargement and possible fusion of L3-S1 for spinal stenosis and herniations) I have a perscription to Actiq, which is an orally absorbed form of Fentanyl. My hope is that is will help kill the extra pain that the percocet doesn't so that I can eat a bit faster (though a little weight loss won't hurt, I don't want to lose my immune system with a back surgery on the horizon).

Even though it's normally only for cancer patients and women in delivery, it has helped my back pain a LOT and since it is aborbed in the mouth (think of it as a narcotic lolly-pop) I won't have to swallow a pill to get the effect. It also works fast ... 10 minutes for initial effect, 20-30 for full benefit ... lasts for 4-5 hours (max). Maybe this will open a new market for Actiq. It's expensive stuff though, so you'll want insurance before you ask for it (I think it was over $10/dose before insurance).

3) Lots of Slimfast (for vitamins) and Benefiber (to mix in the Slimfast to avoid dieter's constipation). I don't like the stuff, but it seems to be good nutritionally so that I'm not just drinking broth.

If I feel good enough I'll try and keep a log of my progress and especially results on the Actiq. It isn't a medicine meant for 24/7 usage, only for pain spikes, but maybe it will accent the percocet enough to make meals more tolerable.

I'm just giving LOTS of thanks that my job has a good short term disability policy in that they provide 100% pay during leave ... I will probably only be working 1 week between now and the end of January, the rest is going to be healing from surgeries. But it -very- relieving to know that I won't lose pay or vacation for it.

/Geoff

I am very happy to have come across this messageboard. At the same time, I am dreading this surgery. I am 22 years old having my tonsillectomy on Nov. 18. I have never had strep, nor chronic tonisillitis, I do not snore, have sleep apnea, or even large tonsills. So I really have nothing to look forward to as far as being relieved as so many of you are...but it is great to hear how great the outcomes of this are for some.

I had a very rare illness in September where bacteria gets into the tonisll and then proceeds into your neck tissues and blood vessels- usually your jugular vein. When it gets there, it forms emboli blood clots and causes a septic infection throughout your blood stream, while shooting blood clots around (i had in my lungs and neck)- all in all this equals very bad to have. I ended up near a coma after only about 36 hours of pain after being COMPLETLEY normal. I was fine one day and woke up the next unable to swallow my own saliva because of the immense pain in my troat that I can't even describe...although I am sure it will be beat in a few weeks http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif Went right to the doctor that a.m. and she said my throat was not read and I had post-nasal drip.

well, at 8 pm that night, when I had a 105 degree fever, extremely fast hearbeat, and could not walk around....I knew something was not right. I ended up in the hospital the next day and the nurses and doctors were baffled with my heart, fever, and the fact that i was delusional from being so dehydrated adn admitted me. To my fortune, the head of infectious diseases wanted to see me and he saved my life. This bacteria called "nerco" something, which means death in latin- is so dangerous. Luckily i went right on IV penicillin, but I was in the hospital for over a week and had cat scans, mris ect all the time and am still on antibiotics today. But, considering this illness is extremely underdiagnosed- causing a huge death rate and almost always permanent damage (none of which I suffered), I guess I am glad to be getting the little culprits out in case it ever happened again. The only thing is, they do not know if this illness could ever reacur, but there is no study on it, so its the only precaution to take. The illness- called Lemeirre's syndrom is very rare and odd and almost every case is in a perfectly heathly 20-25 year old. I have tried to find info, but its pretty hard and I seem to be one of the only ones who did not die, have a coma, permanent damage, removal of jugular vein ect.

So I am going into this with no previous problems- and I guess that makes it seem "sensless" to me, but I do not want to be in that hospital again- ever!!

My main concern is to do with painkillers. I cannot take them without getting pretty much violently ill- I just dont vomit once, but continuosly until there is nothing left to throw up. I realized this when i got my wisdom teeth out at 18 and starting throwing up off the vicodin - and that is what I am thinking of....the pain of post surgery in the mouth and vomit. Yuck. I also took percocet in the hospital once I was off IV pain medicine, about the 3rd day. I took 2 of them and basically, I was contemplating ending my life...ok not really. But I was so so sick from it and still weak ect... They gave me toradol, a nausau med because I had to go get a cat scan. It helped a bit- but not enough to think about feeling like that for a few weeks.

My ENT said she is going to give me liquid percocet and liquid codeine, along with the toradol. I am just praying this works, becasue I cannot think of being sick the day of my surgery or any other day- it is misery and I am sure all you can understand.

I am wondering if anyone has had their tonsills out for any odd reason like me?

I also want to know if anyone is sensitive to pain meds and what they did? And not taking medicine is not an option- I am not a bad pain person, but I also am not up for 2 weeks of hellish pain. I will need to be knocked out as much as possible :-) I know there are pain patches out there. Has anyone had one that was strong enough? IV meds are ok, my tummy just cannot handle them....and thinking about them with no food. No thanks.

I am glad to have read all your experiences- there is hope and even if its miserable, it will end....right?

Thanks for sharing this board- atleast we will all be prepared!

Robyn

Hi--I had my tonsils out on Oct. 22nd and had my 1 week follow up with Dr. today. I don't want to scare anyone, just want to help those of you waiting for this surgery to be prepared.

I am female, white, 35 years old. I had a big cyst show up on one of my tonsils which was the reason for my surgery. They had to be sure it was not lymphoma. (Which it wasn't--thank god.) There WAS also a cyst in the other tonsil which wasn't showing yet, so if you are only having one out--insist on both being removed, you will NOT want to do this again.

I have had 2 children, 5 surgeries (in my lifetime) including a hysterectomy this past August, chronic headaches and back pain. This was ABSOLUTELY the worse pain I have ever had.

What to expect: I was given a medication (also took it the night before surgery)for nausea prevention. I usually get sick with general anest. and pain meds. I can't remember the name of the med. but you can buy it over the counter under the name "Bonine"-motion sickness medicine. I was surprised that I didn't feel worse right after surgery, there was pain but not what I was expecting. That is because they also use a topical anest. during surgery which gives you a couple of hours of pain relief. I was swallowing and eating ice chips within a couple of hours and went home about 3 hrs. after my surgery.

The day AFTER surgery was terrible. All I can say is take your pain med. as often as you can. I took liquid Vicodin which I tolerated pretty well. DON'T WORRY ABOUT EATING. You will only aggrivate things and just drink, drink, drink. Nothing citrus or carbonated. Iced tea has natural healing qualities and settled well in my stomach.

As I said, I am at day 8 post op and still taking the liquid vicodin. The pain is unbelievable at times and you just have to hang in there. Today is a little better and he said within 3-4 days I should be remarkably better. The other thing is it can better and then worse. Around day 5-6 the scabs will start to fall off in pieces and maybe bleed A LITTLE and this is painful again. Be very careful what you eat, only soft, slippery foods and lots of drinks. Start drinking right away after surgery. Don't look at your throat until you are prepared not to pass out, it looks terrible and will for some time. Plan on 2 weeks of not working and just plain miserableness, and then it's over. That was the other thing, I planned to be back at work 5 days post op and that that did NOT happen.

Other tips-if you don't have a good blender, invest in one. My husband made slushies out of gatorade that were great and gatorade has electrolytes that you'll need since you aren't eating. Sherbert is great--I ate a gallon myself in one week. Ice cream causes excess phlem which you don't need. I didn't find popsicles all that helpful, by the time it gets to your throat it isn't really cold anymore. Pudding, jello, mashed potatoes with mild gravy. I was surprised but rice and applesauce caused aggrivation. I think the particles are too small and get caught back there. Oh yeah, my hospital had me brush 4x a day and rinse with diluted mouth wash 3x a day to help prevent thrush and other infections. I did this religiously--I also never had the "bad breath" problem that can come with this surgery.

If anyone has any questions, I'll try hard to answer them. GOOD LUCK!!

NotHappy--but made it thru my surgery!

Only a few hours before surgery time now and I'm scared and happy at the same time. I'm looking forward to not having to do the daily cleanout of the debris in my tonsils but afraid of how I'll feel afterwards. I've had some pretty severe infections with sore throats that would kill me just by breathing. I coined a term I call "Freddy Fingers" which means like Freddy Krueger fingers going down my throat. I hope it won't be too much worse than that but you never know. I feel the same way about the ice cream too. I know how dairy products will build up mucus and phlegm so I've stocked up on Edy's Fruit Bars, jello, pudding and instant mashed potatoes. I have 2 weeks off of work and I hope I won't need more than that. Everyone wish me luck and anyonelse who reads this and is having the surgery coming up, Good Luck to you too.

Oh Meowmix-I feel so sorry for you. I do think 2 weeks off work will probably be enough. A few other things-Tie a flexible ice bag to your throat. You'll be amazed at how much this will help. Get someone to buy you a couple of bags of ice if you don't have an ice machine, you'll go thru a lot. Also, mornings are the worst for pain, your throat dries out when you sleep. Take sips of water everytime you wake up during the night. Good luck and I do feel bad for you, I know what your going thru!

Here are my results so far ...

Summary:

* Yes, it hurts, and I can definitely see why it would be the worst pain some people have experienced, but not -everyone- goes through the massive amounts of hell that some of the people here have had.

* I would say that this was the 2nd worst pain of my life, but given that the worst pain I've had included 2nd degree burns over about 10% of my body and a tiny 3rd degree on my hand, well ... that's pretty damned painful.

* I have had constipation problems like never before ... no details needed

* I could not imagine this without the percocet ... tylenol 3? HAH!

* ADVICE: Yes, it hurts to swallow, but keep drinking water, it will lessen the pain more than it hurts. Whenever I forget to hydrate my pain level doubles. Sip water constantly.

* ADVICE: Push your limits on eating foods and stretching out your tongue ... don't injure yourself, but as your swelling goes down make sure you stretch in little bits ... It hurt badly but seemed to speed my recovery. Besides, even pushing my limits I still lost 10 pounds in 5 days. Make sure you get vitamins and protein whenever you can.

* My biggest annoyance is mucous ... especially at night when it starts to get into my lungs. I've always had a problem with this anyway, but right now coughing it up or blowing it out is the worst pain I can get.

* The swelling went down by day 4 ... I definitely have a marked improvement in my airway ... I can sleep on my back without waking up in a panic and my wife hasn't noticed me snore at all for the last couple of days ... that is all I could have asked for out of this.

Day 1: Surgery went quickly ... post-op I was in intense pain and my uvula was so swollen I could barely breath. Spent most of the night in the hospital in agony. I wasn't able to take the first couple of percocets they offered but about 3am I tried one crushed up in ice cream. Helped but not alot. Doc's exam said that I had a picture perfect result ... I can only imagine what complications must do to this.

Day 2: Anxious to be discharged from the hospital so that I could lay down in my own bed ... the hospital bed and my spinal problems just didn't mix. LOTS of pain. Only able to eat percocet crushed in ice cream.

Days 3 & 4: Able to eat extremely mushy foods (slimfast for nutrients, mashed potatoes with lots of extra milk, chicken broth, yogurt for the good bacteria ... all with extra benefiber mixed in to help with constipation). Able to move around ... able to talk for short bursts. Still alot of pain but getting better. Tried some steamed broccoli ... mistake ... little bits got lodged and scraped alot. Stretching my throat hurt badly but seemed to help just like stretching out a sore muscle.

Day 5 (today): Pain was better, but started migrating to my ears. Almost was able to skip the pain killer this morning ... almost ... Able to eat some solid foods ... chopped up spaghetti ... tried to eat a McDonald's burger but gave up 1/2 way through. Talking some but talking seems to be getting harder, not easier. From the way I feel today I am thinking of going shopping with my wife tomorrow. Except for the pain in my throat when I swallow or talk I am quite well off with the pain killers. I will probably reduce down to tylenol over the next couple of days. At this point it is to the "severe strep throat" level pain.

I feel bad for people who have had such a worse experience than mine (so far, knock wood) and I definitely wondered the first few days if it was worth it. However, I can definitely see myself getting better within the first week and given my improvement in breathing I'm feeling much more positive about this. If you have a medical need, especially a life threatening one like severe apnea, definitely consider this. You will hurt ... but it is not guaranteed you'll be in agony for weeks or months on end. I think the more you have to have done (ie, UPPP being more than a tonsillectomy) the harder it