I had my tonsils removed last Tuesday, 10/26. Here's a diary of my experience.

I was so nervous because when it comes to pain, I'm a big 32 year old baby. From everything I had been reading, I was getting pretty scared.

Day 1, Surgery. Everyone was so nice, it sure helped. When I woke up I was spitting up a lot of thick saliva with some blood. After a few minutes I got some liquids down and a popsicle, and things were on the mend. I kept feeling better and eventually went home about 3 hours after surgery. I could talk, somewhat, and move around almost like normal, until the Percocet kicked in. I spend the rest of the day in bed, sleeping mostly while I tried to watch some DVDs.

Day 2, the pills were still knocking me down, but I could swallow and talk some.

Day 3 was hell. My jaw was so tight that I could barely open it enough to get a popsicle in there! And my ears were throbbing. I called the nurse and got a prescription for Auralgan drops, which worked on the ears, mostly.

Day 4, a little better than day 3. I just took my pills and drops and zoned out. I had to go out to the car for a while while the house was shown (we're selling & moving).

Day 5, same as day 4. Spent about 5 hours out in the car, mostly sleeping.

Day 6, I stopped taking the Percocet because it was giving me migraines at this point. I had to change to Aleve, the only thing I can take over the counter for pain that won't give me migraines. What a change! No more side effects from the percocet. That stuff had been knocking me out so bad. I finally felt like myself again. My ears were still a problem. Icing my jaw was helping it open up more.

Day 7, nobody warned me that as the scabs in my throat began to come out a little, it would be THE most disgusting taste. It's bad enough that my swolen uvula nearly gags me as it is, but now this stuff coming off makes that worse, and the taste is worse than your breath has been since surgery. My ears are STILL bothering me.

Day 8, I went back to work, 1/2 day. But, since this is my last week at this job, I really do nothing more than sit here and surf the Internet. It is SO nice to get out and drive too. I had felt so confined! My ears are still bothering me. In fact, when I ate some mashed potatos for dinner, the hard swallowing made my ears go NUTS! The nurse said I could try sudafed since the decongestant would help the sinuses which are causing the pain. I have to be careful because sudafed elevates my BP after 2 or 3 days and causes migraines. But, it works for a while.

Day 9, today. 1/2 day of work again. I still talk with a mushmouth voice. Damned this thick saliva! The ears are still an issue and the pain comes & goes. The more I swallow, the more they hurt. But today I ate some refried beans for lunch and there was not nearly as much pain as last night's dinner. The ear pain subsided about 15 min after eating with no medicine.

All I can say is that this is definitely a horrible experience as an adult, but probably not the worst you could go through! 7 years ago I had my gall bladder removed. Even though they only made a few tiny incisions, that hurt far worse. But as I told my wife, I would rather have pain when I move around than every time I talked, ate, drank or swallowed.

dbaum- yes i have been drinking all sorts of fluids even started drinking boost energy shakes yesterday to try and get some energy back. The part of my tonsils you could see in the back of the throat were each the size of quarters!! I have been chewing gum on and off my jaw is not sore anymore just everything i try to eat gets stuck at the back of my throat. Any ideas on food? I've tried mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and the only thing that goes down kinda is applesauce and i am sick of it allready. Does eating get easer after the scabs are gone? Thanks for the support.

Try following every bite with a drink of lukewarm water. Also, I ate a bunch of mushed up saltine crackers with lukewarm soup. After awhile I really started to crave salt and was sick of ice cream, freezy pops, canned pears...

Greg31--Some folks have highly recommended the Lipton Noodle dishes. They say they are very easy to go down. I also read a post that someone has tried baby food. I haven't had my surgery yet so I am always interested in what works and what doesn't. As for mac and cheese and the potatoes I think they are too thick right now. I would look for stuff that is thinner in consistency. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

it's now 8 hours after my surgery. here's a summary of what happened thus far:

700am: get into gown, take vitals, get IV drip going
730am: wheel into OR. get strapped down to table (apparently so that i don't jump out of it while knocked out or something)
731am: anesthesiologist says he's gonna give me something so i'm not so nauseous, etc etc and tells me to breathe some 'oxygen'
732am: i pass the out.
732am - 800am?: my ENT does her tonsillectomy magic with the coblation insturment.
900am: i wake up in another room and some nurse is asks 'how are you feeling?'
my reply: i'm cool. call my girlfriend, i'm ready to go home.
915am: she gives me a little shot of liquid vicodin or something like that.
930am: she gives me a cup of ice which i down pretty quickly. i'm feeling pretty good and talking a lot.
1000am: girlfriend comes in.
1015am: go home.
1030am: walk into apt on my own will. throat feels real weird but it doesn't exactly hurt. i'm talking just fine. have some water. kinda hurts when i drink but not bad really. more than anything, it's just kinda tough to swallow. i looked at my throat and it doesn't look too bad. definitely see the white spots but overall it's not as destroyed looking as i thought it'd be.
1100am: take a nap.
100pm: wake up. try and take a sip of water. hurts more than previously. guess the air dried them out some. after a couple of sips it's not so bad anymore. now i know what they mean about keeping the fluid intake as steady as possible. i eat two popsicles and that's fine. also, time to start up the vaporizer. i take another look and seems like my uvula has swollen some. also looks like she accidentally hit it a couple of times with the coblation probe but it's not bad at all really.
300pm: take my next dose of liquid hydrocodeine (i think that's what it says). decide i should have some ensure before taking the antibiotics. halfway through the ensure i get pretty damn nauseous and run to the toilet and ralph a tiny bit. that was over and done with and not painful to me. but i figure i should maybe stay off the ensure for the moment. also, i go ahead and take the 'anti nausea' suppository that the dr prescribed. i guess the painkiller made me nauseous. it was either that or reading the news about Bush winning another 4 years. this country sucks.
315pm: pass out in bed again.
430pm: i'm now awake. just popped my antibiotic pill. felt kinda weird but it didn't hurt. i think i'll have some jello now.

anyway, overall this isn't that bad at all. i have seen zero blood and i felt great after the procedure at the hospital. now i'm laid out and ready for some PS2 action. i'll keep everyone posted with another update tomorrow.

- mvtonsilhater

Day 20 for me. I am fully back into the swing of things. I started working out again and found that 30 minutes on the treadmill is all I can do for now. Forget the weights...I am so weak. Guess I lost alot over the past 3 weeks. I'm still predominantly eating soup. I can eat chicken but, it takes time. Beans and rice go down really well. And yes...I still have water coming out my nose! Thicker liquids are fine, it's just water...go figure.

Greg31...jello worked for me. But that's all I had up to day 8. I could manage scrambled eggs to some extent. I found it was easier to swallow food if I took a sip of water with it and not after it. This made the food more fluid, therefore easier to swallow. So experiment...take a bite and a sip and see how it goes.

In case you haven't seen it yet, I have made a separate thread that focuses on your own individual symptoms/problems/concerns/reasons for you to go ahead and get a tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy. I encourage you to post in it, as it may help others in discovering whether or not they need tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy.

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Dave J

Here it is http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=221701

what follows is just a continuation of my daily log of post coblation-tonsillectomy trials and tribulations....

yesterday evening after the first post i was able to have some more stuff to eat. i had a ton of jello, three snack pack apple sauces and an ensure. i didn't feel queasy or anything. all felt pretty good going down actually and it was nice to have something in my stomach. compared to the other accounts i've read, this isn't so bad for the same day of surgery!

i went to bed at a decent hour. my uvula was a little swollen and it felt funny when i lied flat. so i chose to sleep kinda sitting up. imagine yourself sleeping in business class and that's about how i slept. i took someone's advice and bought a vaporizer and had that on all night so i guess it helped. i woke up twice and both times was due to a sudden small coughing fit. i coughed up a small bloody lougie (sp?) during one of the episodes but i wasn't actively bleeding. just over and done with so i went right back to sleep. i didn't sleep continuously for more than 4 hours but that wasn't so bad considering i had to wake up to take my lortab anyway.

after more than 10 hours of total sleep, i woke up just fine. the throat was just a little dry and it took a few gulps of water to get it feeling as it did last night. i had a push up sherbert pop for breakfast followed by an ensure. kept drinking water all morning long while i played video games and watched DVDs. i'm drinking a lot of water but not tons and tons of it. it's kind of uncomfortable drinking it but doesn't hurt. actually seems more soothing to down a sherbert push pop or some apple sauce than water.

anyway, i ate gummy worms, jello and another sherbert for a late afternoon lunch. at about 7pm i had another dose of lortab and half an hour later realized i was pretty hungry. tired of sweets, i figured i'd try something salty. so i heated up a can of campbells chicken and rice soup. i made it as the can instructed (1 can soup + 1 can water heated in a sauce pan). i poured it all in a bowl while it was still hot then sprinked some grated cheddar cheese on top of it all. i let it sit in the bowl while it cooled off to a warm-lukewarm temperature then had my first big spoonful. now THAT, was tasty. mmm mmm. 5 minutes later it was all gone. i killed the whole 2.5 servings of soup that was supposedly in the can. i probably could have had another but i didn't wanna push it. for dessert i had another push up sherbert pop followed by some applesauce. my throat doesn't feel perfect but i wouldn't exactly say i was in pain. maybe it's the lortab, i don't know. i'm guessing it's the lortab combined with the 'coblation' method but i feel pretty good considering i just had a tonsillectomy.

i've been on the phone for about 10 minutes w/my mom (who lives in another state and feels bad she couldn't be here to help) and also had conversations with my roommates. they are all surprised that i'm not laid out. they kinda freaked that i ate a whole can of soup on day 2.

so that's about it. to summarize, no bleeding, no fever and not a lot of pain. ate some semi hearty food today and i'm only on day 2. so far so good. the only downside so far is that i may not lose any weight after all! i'll give another update tomorrow.

mvtonsilhater
It sounds like the coblation method that you had is 100 times better than the surgery we have all had. You don't seem to be experiencing half the problems that you would do through 'normal' tonsillectomies. I only wish that i could have had the coblation surgery, the recovery sounds excellent. You seem to be doing really well, even at this early stage. I'll make sure i keep this method of surgery in mind just incase my tonsils grow back for the 3rd time(that would be my worst nightmare)! :eek:
Hope the rest of your recovery carries on the same way.

Hey All You Tonsillar Challenged People (and those soon to be!)

I've been gone (not that anyone missed me) for a while. Dbaum knows why ;)
Anyway, I'm now on day...gotta count... 19, I think. I'm doing great! I have no pain during the day, just a little soreness at night. I'm totally back to normal, although I never did get weak and lose my energy. I can eat anything, but I haven't tried anything really spicy. I am so glad I had this surgery. My problems are gone. My throat ached on a daily basis from my swollen tonsils and that is gone! Woo Hoo! I also haven't had any of my headaches, which I always suspected were from my throat. I waited 7 years to do this and now I'm kicking myself for being such a chicken about it. Even if the surgery had been worse, the outcome is worth it. I don't know if my doctor is a genius or I just followed instructions well because I was petrified, but I never saw even the smallest bit of blood, I never ran a fever, and I never got even a little bit weak. I drank like crazy and my doctor prescribed antibiotics after the surgery (which I'm sure most do). By day 10-12 I could eat just about anything. I found anything can be chewed to oblivion if given the time and washed down with a big swig of water. The only problem that remains seems to be par for the course. I can't swallow without things going up my nose. I can be so thirsty, but I can't drink fast enough! I was at the mall yesterday and my eyes kept watering from the coke going back up. Thank goodness I've been married for 11 years and my husbands seen way worse than that!

Well, I just wanted to check in. :)

Greg31 ~ I hope you're doing better today. I'm sorry your recovery is difficult, to say the least.

By the way, I saw the adenoids discussion. I had mine out, too. Don't know that they were a problem, but my doctor didn't see any reason to go the trouble of surgery and not remove them while he's there.

Jeff's Girl--So glad you stopped back in to say Hi and the best news of all that you are doing wonderfully. I just got an additional 3 days off work approved with pay so I won't have to go back to work until day 15. That is great news.

I am going to see the ENT tomorrow and I have a list of questions to ask. Thanks to all of you for the info. I have ordered my humidifier so that's taken care of. I have a list of things to get, especially gum and water. And not to forget the Starbucks Frappucino so I don't get any caffeine headaches.

The 23rd is not that far away and I am still very apprehensive. But, thanks the great advice, tips and tricks I hope to have a recovery just like you, Jeff's Girl. :bouncing:

I'll be back to report on what the ENT is planning to do and what he's going to do for me to help in recovery.

It's been two days since my last post (4 day since surgery) and everything is still A-OK. On day 3 I had all the usual tonsillectomy food like ice cream, applesauce, lots of water and gum. I also had a whole other can of chicken and rice campbells soup for lunch as well as a can of cream of broccoli soup for dinner. I had no problems eating either of them. Yesterday (3 days after surgery) I had cream of potato soup with cut up corn tortillas in it for lunch and that also went down just fine. Dinner came around and I was starving. My girlfriend came over and really wanted mexican food so I said screw it and we went to our favorite little Mexican place down the street. I had a breakfast dish (for dinner) called Chilaquiles. It basically consists of lightly fried corn tortillas (not crunchy) that are coated in a very very mild spicy tomato sauce served with two sunny side up eggs, rice and refried beans. I didn't finish it all as I usually do but I did have more than half of every item and it was extremely tasty compared to everything else I've been eating. I'm not gonna say it was as easy to eat as applesauce is but it wasn't painful so I was happy with my choice.

Anyway, overall the recovery seems to be moving along quickly and I'm very happy I went and found an ENT who could use the coblation instrument. :) Still no bleeding or vomiting or head or earaches. I am staying on top of the pain medication but I've already cut my dosage in half as of yesterday. I ran a very very low fever for about 2 hours on Friday but I took a nap and it went away. I've watched lots of DVDs and played a lot of PS2. Overall, this hasn't been so bad at all! :D

Hi Folks, I hope everyone is doing well. Things are back to normal for the most part for me. I still have a little swelling remaining. It's really prevelant first thing in the morning and then subsides after a couple of hours. I almost back to normal with my daily workout routine. Food is not much of a challenge anymore. I am still having a problem with bread...too dry. That's okay...bread has always been one of those foods I could do with less of. :D I'm not having the problem with drinking water anymore. I started singing again...not too much as to not strain things. I can't believe how much easier it is to sing and how clear my voice is!!! I should have had this surgery a long time ago...I could kick myself for avoiding it all these years.

Anyway for all of those recovering, chin up...there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And dbaum...glad to see you got the extra 3 days. I went back to work this past Monday and put in close to a 60 hour week. I'm glad I had the extra time home. I think we are in a similar line of work and my users are very demanding. There was no way I could have gone back to work in 10 days. Good Luck!!

Hey guys hope every one is well. Glad to hear your doing so good jeffsgirl and hope you do good with yours dbaum. I am on day 10 and things are looking up. I am able to eat quit a bit now and that helps alot and thank god the ear pain is going away!!! Doc says the reason for all the pain was the depth of the tissue was alot and had to be removed to get it all. I am sure the sticthes did not help any either but now there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Hi, I'm 27 yrs. old and I'm at my 12 day post op. I never want to go through this again - the pain was awful. I was out of work for 7 days. I'm finally feeling like I can go out and do things. My throat still feels tight at times, especially if I talk too much. Still uncomfortable to swallow but not nearly as painful. I still can't eat any solid foods yet though. Nothing tastes right. Excited that I have lost 12 lbs.! Has anyone had any problems with tongue numbness? After I woke up from my surgery, I had probably about 4 cuts on my tongue. All have pretty much healed up but I still have a little bit of numbness on one side of my tongue (almost feels like when novcaine wears off). The numbness isn't nearly as bad as it was a few days ago but it's still annoying me. Didn't know if anyone has experienced that before? To be honest, its starting to freak me out. It might help if I quit playing with it.

5 1/2 days from my surgery and everything is still going fine. the pain is minimal or non existent depending on how long it's been since i took the pain meds. the pain meds have been cut in half and i now take them every 6 hours as opposed to every 4 hours. for lunch today i had some mexican chicken soup w/fresh onions, avocado, and tomato as well as refriend beans and corn tortillas. i even managed to sneak in some tortilla chips (given i did make sure to mash them down) for dinner i had scrambled eggs and whole pinto beans.

anyway, still 100% happy about the coblation method and i may go back to work later this week. probably thursday but we'll see. that'll be a total of 5 days plus the weekend off of work. truth be told i could probably go back tomorrow but it's real nice sleeping in in the morning and the rest is probably good for the healing process.

there's not much else to report. i'm just sleeping, reading, watching DVDs and playing PS2.

As promised I have a report from my ENT. Surgery is still scheduled for the 23rd and after my talk with him, I am not going to back out.

He confirmed everything that you guys have been saying. But, I knew he would. He agreed wholeheartedly with the water and gum usage. He also said my worst pain will usually start around day 4 and, being an adult, I probably will not be eating any solids until day 10. He also said the humidifier was great idea.

I asked him what method he would be using and I forget the name (should have wrote it down) but it's a wire with electricity. He places a pad on his thigh for one connection point and then he says he holds the tonsil away from the throat and touches it with the wire. At this point there are two connection points and it will slice and cauterize at the same time. He says since the area is very blood-rich he lets the tonsil fall away naturally while he is cutting.

He does not use coblation because in adults he says it tends to not seal as well and there could be problems with bleeding. He also doesn't use laser because he says you cannot gauge the penetration depth and the carotid artery is very close and it could be very bloody.

I also asked him the specific reason I needed this surgery. He told me with tonsils that are constantly swollen and in my case, asymmetrical he wants to rule out lymphoma. He has done 1,350 tonsillectomies and only 3 came back with lymphoma. He said, most likely I have a bacterial or viral infection that has just taken up residence in my tonsil and will never go away. He also said with each flare up of tonsillitis and/or strep throat the infection can go deeper and it can become systemtic because of the amount of blood vessels in the area.

He said to remind the anesthesiologist about the Zofran. He also will be giving me liquid antibiotics. I asked him about liquid pain meds if I was unable to swallow. He said the liquids are not strong enough and if I had a problem to crush up the pill and mix it in applesauce. He said to make sure I take the pain meds because if I don't the pain will be so bad that the meds will not help. He said he was going to give me plenty of them so I shouldn't play tough guy. He said taking the meds regularly will help tremendously.

So, am I afraid? You bet? Do I think it's worth it? I think he convinced me and I do trust him. He's been very honest with me and he answered all of my questions with as much information as he could. :eek: :eek:

Kudos to everyone who has shared their tips and tricks.

Jeff's Girl--My Doctor says you are doing everything correctly and that's why you are having a good recovery. But I forgot to ask him about the water coming out the nose. ;)

Dbaum ~ I'm sure you will be so happy you had this done. You are like me since you have researched so much to find the do's and don'ts of recovery so you will probably have a much easier time than some. I was ready for the worst and pleasantly surprised by my recovery. Of course, my biggest fear was vomiting after surgery and the Zofran helped that. Hopefully it will work for you too. It's pretty strong stuff.

I had the same method of surgery you will, electrocautery I think. Right? Anyway, I almost feel like I had the coblation method because I felt so good (really. not just okay, good) through most of my recovery. So if you follow all the tips people have talked about on this board, like I know you will, you'll be fine. I'll be checking in on you. :)

Tara27
We don't mean to ignore you. I'm not sure that any of us who have been posting most recently have had any tongue trouble. I think that maybe someone talked about it further back in this thread, but I'm not sure. I know I've heard of problems before, but I didn't pay a lot of attention since this wasn't a problem for me. I know it's a long thread, but when you have time go back and I'm almost positive there is some talk about it. Sorry I can't help you more. :confused:

I had my surgery back in august, but i keep checking back every so often to see what people are posting...DBAUM, your post caught my attention, and i thought i should reply. I also had asymetrical tonsils, one was perfectly normal, the other quite huge,... even though i was worried about cancer, i let it go for a year, and worried constantly, until the stress became too much to bear......... my mom died of cancer when i was 13 (not lymphoma) so ANY LUMP ANYWHERE sends me into a tailspin. My ENT said he did not think it was lymphoma and to just leave it alone, but i couldnt do that. I insisted on surgery... well, the biopsy came back normal. and i am still glad it is gone as i had numerous throat complaints because of it's size. So, yes, lymphoma is rare....i wouldnt worry too much, as one tonsil does often get chronically infected and become enlarged. i am proof. :rolleyes: I have read a few other posts of people who had asymetrical tonsils, apparently it is fairly common.

I never mentioned it before, but one of my tonsils was much larger than the other. They had been that way so long that my ent wasn't too worried about that though. If it's lymphoma, you would know fairly quickly whether you had your tonsils out or not. It is not something that goes on for years undetected like some conditions.

Jeff's Girl--Very true, and my ENT even confirmed that since he's only encountered 3 cases of lymphoma in all the tonsillectomies he's done. What I've read says it's pretty invasive and you are 100% correct in saying that someone would know it. I have had tonsil issues for many years. The asymmetry is new. This just developed within the last 6 months.

I suspect I have some garden variety of bacterial or viral infection that's decided to take up residence. ;)

I've been busy getting some smoothie ideas together and making sure I have lots of water in the house. Not tap water. :nono: Something with a bit of flavor to it. It's coming together and I think I will be ready.

Dbaum, the key is making sure you have variety, too 'cuz you're not going to feel like going to the store, it's going to take a LOT of energy to explain to someone verbally what you want to eat, though I suppose you can write it down.

I bought tons of popscicles, pudding, canned pears, apple juice and I got sooooo incredibly sick of all that sweet stuff! Shifted to mashed potatoes, soup, mushy saltine crackers and soft serve ice cream.

Zahav--Yes the idea of cancer really scared me but I know the odds are in my favor and I think the pathology report will be just fine.

Ratatosk--Your list of edible goodies will come in handy. I'm in the process of making a comprehensive grocery list so your suggestions will find their way to the list. I can't even imagine trying to go to the store so I am trying to make sure I have everything on hand.

If anyone else has a favorite food/drink that you would recommnend let me know. I've taken notes from the previous posts so I think I am off to a very good start. :bouncing:

BTW, did anyone try eating fudgesicles? If so, how did it work out?

hi, I had my toncills out just over a month ago i am 19 years old and a female
it was a very painful operation and it made me really tired, about a week post op my throat started to bleed internally this was due to an infection in my throat and was nothing to worry too much about. I could have avoided this set back by listening to the doctors and eating after my op but i didnt so my advice would be eat after the operation as it isn't a very nice feeling to get an infection

Dbaum ~ Everyone's right about canned fruit and applesauce. I thought they went down really easy, but you do get soooo sick of sweet stuff. I found that any noodle soup with crackers was good. The crackers become mush so quickly that they are easy to swallow. I was very disappointed that potatoes did not work for me. They really hurt my throat and I lOVE them so. Maybe they will be alright for you. As for drinks, I had tons of ice tea, Yoo Hoo, Starbucks Frappuccino and apple juice. Also, I felt like going to the store 2 days after surgery. My husband drove, of course, but I wanted to get out of the house and find some more drinks and food for myself. It was a short trip and I was fine. Although, this doesn't seem to be the norm. We went somewhere almost every day including the mall on day 6. I wanted to keep moving so I wouldn't get weak and I never did. :) But I'm sure after surgery it's a good idea to get the rest your body needs and you'll know what your limits are. :D

Dbaum ~ Also, you know I had a really great recovery, but I have to say I don't have a high pain tolerance, I've always been average in recovery from illness and childbirth so I don't know why I had such an awesome experience except that I did the things we've talked about. I'm not in great shape. I'm not in bad shape either, but I don't exercise like I should or eat as well as I should. I forget to take my vitamins for weeks at a time and I don't do any other kinds of herbs or supplements, although I probably should. I'm 33, 5'9" and weigh 134, I don't smoke, I drink on occasion and except for my coffee, I have no bad habits, but it's not like I'm a perfect specimen of health. The point to all of this babbling is I just wanted to give you my little history because it's not like I went into this in great shape with high tolerance for anything. I'm VERY average and I made it through great. I know you can too. :)

Jeff's Girl--I knew there was a reason I felt I could relate to you and your experiences. We are so much alike it's scary. ;) We're the same height. I weight a little more and am a little older than you. But the rest sounds so much like me. I think our saving grace in a situation like this is we research and follow directions. :D So what was your favorite noodle soup dish?

I am 27 yrs old and just had a tonsillectomy on Wed. Oct. 20. I followed all of the doctors orders about drinking plenty of fluids, etc... on the following Wed. I layed down to go to sleep and shortly after my mouth began to fill up with fluid. I got up and ran to the bathroom and it was blood, I couldn't get it to stop and an ambulance was called. I was rushed to the emergency room where they were going to do an emergency surgery by just numbing the throat and doing the surgery while I was awake. I couldn't stop bleeding or gagging so they rushed me up to OR and put me under to perform a quick surgery. It ended up being 2 hrs of surgery because they couldn't stop the bleeding. Because of all of the blood loss on the following day I had to receive a transfusion. Needless to say I wish I had never agreed to have my tonsils removed.

mdmkb27--Goodness sakes! Were you able to find out what happened or why the bleeding was so uncontrollable? Bleeding is a risk, but what you've experienced happens to a very small percentage of people.

I do hope you are doing better. Please keep us posted on your progress. :angel:

I'd forgotten about mashed potatoes. I bought a bunch of instant potatoes and some jars of gravy 'cuz I thought that would sound really good after my surgery, except the potatoes seemed to get stuck in my throat and took to much effort to eat.

And every afternoon, DH would come home from work to take me no a short outing. We'd go to the ice cream store and get some soft serve. I'd just let it melt in my mouth and run down my throat. And follow up with a luke warm water chaser.

I know the bleeding mdmkb77 experienced had to be a horrifying experience. I hope you're doing well now and I'm glad you made it through okay.

To everyone else considering this surgery, that is a VERY rare occurrence. I saw two ENT's before my surgery and questioned them about blood transfusions in depth since this is a very important subject to me as I cannot have one under ANY circumstances and they both told me that they had never given one to any of their post tonsillectomy patients. One had to give one to someone he saw in the ER, but it wasn't one of his patients. Bleeding can happen, but not usually to the extent that it requires a transfusion. You can look it up on the internet and find that transfusions are rare for this procedure. I just don't want anyone deciding not to go through with this surgery if you need it because of concerns about bleeding. If you are concerned, your doctor can calm your fears so talk to him/her.

well it's been a week and a day now and i'm back to work already. i'm off the pain medication as of yesterday. i believe i was on Lortab liquid hydrocodone and my doc said it's not as strong as the stuff she used to give for normal tonsillectomies (vs coblation, which is what i got).

overall, this has not been a bad experience for me at all. i rather enjoyed the week off of work actually. :) my diet is almost entirely back to normal as of yesterday (day 7). yesterday i had tortilla chips with salsa along w/rice and beans again for lunch. for dinner i had a big sushi dinner w/california rolls, salmon sashimi, inari sushi and a few other rolls. today was hearty vegetable soup with whole veggies in it for lunch.

mdmkb77's experience sounds rough. i don't even know what to say about that other than you should make sure to find a doctor with a lot of experience if you feel uncofortable about that. my doctor basically said that in her 15+ years experience she had maybe 2 bleeders. she didn't mention transfusion statistics but that sounded like a good number to me so i chose here instead of the initial ENT (that had never used coblation)

regarding coblation statistics and bleeding - from the research i did, it did not sound as if there was a discernible statistical difference between coblation and electocautery. my doctor basically agreed with that and said that her coblation patients were just a lot more comfortable and recovered more quickly than her other patients did. she said the level of pain was much reduced as well. other than the swelling i had the first night, this has been very easy to cope with for me and i'm glad i went out of my way to get coblation done. my guess is that in the next 5-10 years you will see coblation eventually replace the old method and become standardized. right now, you just have to find a doctor with some experience doing it because you probably don't wanna be a crash test dummy!! :eek:

good luck everyone!

It has been 3 months since my tonsillectomy and I am still healing. I have a hole in the back of my throat that never connected to the side. Needless to say this makes eating very challenging. I went back to the ENT 2 weeks ago to get it stitched up. Let me tell you all that was soooo traumatic!! I had about 5 shots of novacaine but still felt the pressure of the scalpel and smelled the burning of the flesh. I didn't realize that the big white holes seen after the tosillectomy is actually burned skin and that is the cause for the awful taste. Anyway my stitches broke after only 2 days so it was all done in vain. I had tremendous ear pain for one week! I am still on a soft food diet which doesn't bother me too much because I love cheese and dips and lox seem to slide down without getting caught in the whole. I saw my DR on Mon and he said this time he is going to knock me out (thank God) and cut my hole out which I can't really imagine but I have decided to wait until March to give my throat a rest. Has this happen to anyone else? Did you have a hole in the skin near the uvula after surgery? My Dr. says he has never seen this happen before so I am wondering if maybe he cut there by accident. For those of you who are still having water go out of your nose I learned from the Dr that if you say the word "kick" with your mouth half-open it works out the upper palate muscles which will help with the problem which eventually goes away with time.Thanks for being here to share :angel:

damaja--I don't think I've read or heard about someone having a hole that required stitching. I would pressure my Dr. for a reason. It sounds very odd.

Thanks for the tip about saying the work kick to help with the issue of water going up your nose. I hope you get this issue resolved in March and that no more issues pop up. :angel:

One of the reason's my ENT told me to stay home at least two weeks was because of the risk of bleeding. Said you don't want to over exert yourself and start bleeding. And bleeding was one of my main fears, but the ENT said in the 25+ years he's done this surgery, he only had one patient who had to be admitted and have the bleeding zapped/cauterized.

Hi Folks. Tomorrow will make a month since my surgery. My routine is back to normal however, I had to teach an eight hour technical course and my throat is killing me. Also one of the students in the front was sick. I now have a cough and a running nose. YUCK!!

Anyway, I wanted to respond to Tara27. After my surgery, I had three huge cuts on my tongue and four large bruises. It took about 11 days for my tongue to start feeling normal again. I still have some numbness on the right side...at the site of the largest cut. It was awful...my tongue was almost all black/blue and purple with bruises.

I noticed my taste buds are all screwed up. I can taste really well on the front of my tongue but, at the back everything tastes horrible. Foods that I loved before I can't eat. Either they have a weird after taste or just taste bad all together. My throat is also not completely healed. I wake up every morning with it swollen. My doc said it was all part of the healing process and that after a couple of months the taste will come back. We'll see. Hope this helps you.

hello everyone -

i've been following people's posts since i just had a coblation tonsillectomy myself (on 11/3/04) and i'd like to say a few more things regarding the procedure you choose as well as the doctor that is going to do the procedure.

a) the doctor: if you have options, explore them. don't just listen to your primary ENT. go see one or two more and ask them how many ADULT tonsillectomies they have done. this is pretty important because it's way different doing them on adults vs kids. second, ask if they do other adult throat surgeries as well such as soft palate reductions, etc etc. if they have lots of experience working with adults then you'll be much better off. i've read a few accounts on this thread with people still complaining of swelling, soreness, bleeding and other symptoms after two weeks or even a few months not only on their throat but also on their uvulas and tongues. if the doctor is an expert you should experience little or no damage to your tongue or anything forward your tonsil area. i realize that every person is different and that certain tools used during tonsillectomies may not be perfectly suited for everyone's throat and mouth structure but getting peripheral damage to the surrounding throat area after a tonsillectomy does not sound right to me.

b) coblation vs electrocautery vs laser: i'm definitely not an expert on this but i got coblation done and compared to everyone else's accounts on this thread, my recovery has been remarkable. my surgery was 12 days ago and i am practically back to normal. i went back to work after 1 week but probably coulda gone back a day or two earlier. i can now eat and drink anything i want. crispy, crunchy, hot, cold, sour, sweet, spicy, alcohol, etc etc. i've already tried it all. (my doctor probably wouldn't be so happy but seriously, i feel fine) i have no pain unless i'm yawning full mouth open or sneezing. even then, it only hurts momentarily and really feels more like slight soreness more than pain. i was off the pain meds after around a week and had reduced dosages quite a bit after just a few days. i've had no real bleeding other than a tiny amount(a little red trace in my saliva) after either eating something rough or after brushing my teeth. i was worried about my breath but yesterday my girlfriend kissed me and i backed off and told her that my breath might stink. she did it again and confirmed that it didn't smell bad at all. :) (she's pretty straight with me and i know she wouldn't have continued kissing me if i'd had some stank breath.)

that's about it for now. i just felt compelled to throw in these extra thoughts. regarding everyone else's tips and tricks for a better recovery - definitely take them all and use them! the vaporizer, gum, lots of water and food suggestions were all very helpful for me. ;)

Hi all,

I am 25 and had a tonsillectomy performed on the 8th November and wow... what a journey it has been. I am so grateful to have found this site because no one else around me seems to understand what I am going thrugh!!! For me, Day 5 was terrible. Today, i am off all my medication and am trying really hard not to take any pain meds. So far so good. I ahve been drinking lots of water and eating mushed up food which has been okay. I have been feeling slightly nauseaus today though because my body has not had its normal fix of drugs, but am getting by. For me, the pain is still there but it is bearable. Hurts when I swallow and my ears still hurt. I dont think my scabs have fallen off yet. It just feels like there is something stuck in the back of my throat! I have all of this week off work too which is a blessing because I dont think I wouldhave been ready to go back yesterday!

Really disgusting question to ask - but when has everyone elses scabs fallen off?? on what day.

Take care all and keep smiling! :wave:

Shivvy

Hi again,
I know no one has posted since my last one, but I am not in a good state and needed to distract myself. It is 1:00am over here in Australia and I have not ben able to sleep due to an upset stomach and muscle spasms. My greatest fear is throwing up - so I am doing everythin possible to distact myself from the feeling!!! So tired though - just want to go to sleep!! I am on Day 8 - and so far, have been going pretty well. Today though - different story. I dont know where this nausea has come from - but I wish it would go away. Every time I lie down, I feel like throwing - sothen I sit up before trying again. Oh well... I know the light at the end of the tunnell will be coming soon. I can sorta see it.

Shivvy

Shivvy25 ~ Sorry you're feeling so bad. My worst fear was throwing up after surgery too. Although, I'm somewhat emetophobic, so I fear it on a daily basis anyway, even when I feel perfectly fine. Did your doctor give you anything for nausea like phenergan suppositories? I always have phenergan in pill and suppository form. You could try some flat coke or ginger ale too. Also, if it's the cessation of your narcotic meds that's making you ill, try taking a very small dose for a few days and wean yourself off instead of quitting cold turkey. Just a thought. I hate feeling nauseated. I am so sorry for you!

As for the scabs, I didn't notice that mine just fell off one day. They seem to gradually disappear over time between the 10th and 14th day.

Hope you feel better. :)

I wish there'd been a site like this when I had my tonsils removed 4 years ago. Even though I had a note from my doctor indicating I should take at LEAST 2 weeks off, several of my coworkers made some snotty comments about my overreacting and how I shouldn't be allowed to take that much sick leave.

On the days I did feel a little urpy, I put a couple of pieces of saltine cracker in my mouth and took a sip of luke warm broth, water or cold milk to make them mushy and wash them down. Settled my tummy a bit

Hey guys,

Thanks for all your suggestions and support. I am feeling heaps better today - even going to the hairdressers for a pick me up!!! I am on Day 10 today and goind quite well. Still a littlke pain around my ears and when swalloiwing, but no more nausea - thank goodness!! I dont cope real well with nausea. This has been quite an experience I must say. I had never had an operation or anything before, so had no expectations on what it would be like. Overall, it has been bearable. I go back to work on Monday to start a new role and I htink that I willbe ok. I had my boss visit me yesterday and that was pretty cool. Looking forward to getting back into the real world once more.

Take care

Shivvy :angel:

Hey guys,

Looking forward to getting back into the real world once more.

Take care

Shivvy :angel:

And wearing normal clothes again. I lived in a ratty superman shirt, pajama pants and slippers throughout my recovery. Actually felt a LOT better when I put on human clothes again.

I found this thread about a month ago when I had scheduled my tonsillectomy. I was concerned about how long the recovery would be since I am 39 year old and trying to do this during the school year (I'm a teacher). Some of the accounts scared me but I had been wanting to get these things out for so many years that nothing was going to stop me.

I had tonsillitis throughout my youth and then a bad case of mono in high school. No one would consider removing them back then. The past four years I've started having chronic problems with sinusitus, tonsillitis, laryngitis, halitosis, and bronchitis. My regular doc did not suggest removing the tonsils so I took it upon myself to go to a specialist. I was floored that he wanted to remove them without much discussion.

So I checked in yesterday morning at 7:45AM and by noon my husband was driving me home. Everything went well but I have to say I probably have the most amusing pre-op story. I brought all my paperwork and insurance info but I was never told that I would have to do a preganancy test prior to the procedure. If they had told me in advance I would have gladly suffered through the 45-min ride to the clinic to provide them with a sample. Let's just say I'm one of those people who cannot pee on demand. They tried giving me IV fluids but it did no good. Long story short-I'm probably the only tonsillectomy patient to be catheterized in that clinic. The good news is that I am not pregnant (good news to my hubby who was snipped 10 years ago).

Anyway, the procedure went well. I don't remember anything after my woozy shot. I woke up in the recovery room with a very dry throat. I tried the ice chips but the apple juice worked much better. They kept me in there about 30 minutes after waking up and then sent me on my way with my spit tray & apple juice box. It felt so good to get into the warmth of my car from the freezing temps of the clinic.

My mom met us at home with soup and ice cream. The first thing my husband did was make me take my antibotic and pain pills. I was dreading that but the liquid was felt good on my throat. I used the lidocaine the first day but found that it caused me to choke on saliva too much when I tried to sleep.

The doctor told me that I could eat whatever I wanted except for anything too scratchy like chips. He said the two most important things were to drink LOTS of liquid to reduce chances of drying/bleeding of throat and get solid food on my stomach to reduce nausea.

The first day I had chicken soup with rice, sherbert, and a quarter pounder w/ cheese. Lots of flavored water, apple juice, and plain water. I used an ice bag on my throat. The doc also recommended chewing gum which I've done some. I didn't get much sleep but I kept everything down, including my meds. I managed to even eat some vanilla ice cream but it was not as appealing as I thought it might be. I stopped the lidocaine after 1AM and by about 4AM I was sleeping more than 20 minutes at a time.

Today I had a scrambled egg w/ cheese for breakfast and then grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. I had more soup w/ ritz crackers and another quarter pounder w/ cheese for dinner. I am still feeling pretty good. I haven't had to totally refrain from talking (a disappointment to my hubby) and I've been sleeping longer. My mom actually had to tell me to sit down and rest because I was trying to help clean my house.

The swelling in my mouth is starting to go down and I can start to see the pits where my tonsils were. I'm trying to stay optimistic about my recovery and hope that it continues to go this well. I'll check back in later.

Hi all--It's been awhile but it's good to check back in and see everyone seems to be doing well. I'll be checking on everyone to see how the recovery goes.

I was supposed to have my surgery next week but I had to cancel it due to things at home. But, I will still be on this board rooting everyone on. I should be able to reschedule my surgery after the 1st of the year.

Dbaum ~ So sorry to hear you have to put off this wonderful surgery. Seriously, I know it must be frustrating since you have been planning and preparing for so long and now you have to wait some more. I hope everthing is okay and I hope your throat is fairly well while you wait. Check in and let us know when you schedule it again. :)

I know your reasons are probably legitimate, but I found reasons to put mine off for seven years. Ridiculous isn't it? I know you'll do it much quicker than that and you will feel much better. Take care.

Jeff's Girl--Oh yes, I will be rescheduling as soon as I can. I have a medical problem here on the home front and this just isn't a good time to try and recover. Good news is I now have a really cool smoothie maker and nice humidifier. I can't let all that money go to waste. :bouncing: Hopefully, right after the first of the year.

Sounds like you are doing well and safe to say, just about back to normal! :)

So much for a strong first two days. Today was day three and I woke up nauseated. I managed to eat breakfast so that I could take my meds but I've been running a low fever all day. I've just been so exhausted and sleeping all day. If I could just sleep I would be okay.

ahimstedt ~ I feel for you. The no sleep was one of the hardest things for me. I had mine on 10/20 so I know what you're going through. Did your doc give you phenergan suppositories for nausea? Mine did, although I didn't have to use them. They will nix the nausea and they make you very drowsy. I know you know this already, but be sure to drink A LOT. I know nausea is awful. I would rather go through ANYTHING than nausea, but you have to keep the fluids up. Whatever most people consider enough, isn't even close so just gorge yourself on fluids. It makes your body's systems work better so your recovery will be quicker and easier. That was part of my sleeping problem. Even when I could sleep I had to pee every hour, at least, so I was up and down all night. The thing is, I was so diligent about drinking, my recovery was so quick and easy. I know that had to be responsible for part of it. I really hope you feel better soon. It does get better. All of us here are living proof. ;)

Hi! :wave: I am a newbie at posting here, but I have been reading these for quite some time now. I had my tonsils out yesterday. I don't feel any pain as long as I don't swallow. Needless to say, I am in a lot of pain, since I am taking all of your advice and drinking like crazy. I had the old fashion tonsillectomy because of how large my tonsils were. My poor ENT was even grossed out by them. I am just glad to have them out now.

Yesterday, I drank Gatorade and some chicken broth. Then I woke up this morning and had pudding for breakfast. I then had broth, pudding, and ice cream for lunch. My lovely Grandma is getting me some more pudding now. Although it is thick, it coats my throat.

My throat looks really neat though. My uvula is so swollen it folds and sits on my tongue. I woke up choking on it last night. It was scary but once I sat completely up, I was okay. My husband also got a good laugh when I fell asleep with a full cup of Gatorade in my hand and it spilled all over the floor. He just shook his head at me.

Well, I will finish typing this book now. I hope I didn't bore you to death.

I slept propped up on a bunch of pillows, otherwise I'd gag on the excess saliva. Several times I would wake up in the middle of the might (about every two hours) and I'd drink some water and I would awaken to my husband yelling at me that I dumped water all over him.

Friend of mine's little boy (8) just had his tonsils out on Tuesday and the little stinker was eating sausage on Wednesday. Amazing how kids have an easier time with this.

I got home and took my lortab after surgery. It didn't help not one bit with the pain. My doctor ended up having to write a prescription for percocet, so my husband went to pick that up and then get it filled. By the time he got back, I was in so much pain that the percocet didn't even help!!!

Just keeping fluids in has helped with handling the pain more than anything else. I made sure I woke up every hour and drank something last night. I was afraid to take my medicine at night because I didn't feel like eating anything and didn't want to get sick, so I just drank more and was fine this morning. I was afraid about the morning because of what everyone had told me. I also slept with a humidifier.

I am going to try some mac 'n cheese tonight...we'll see how that goes :eek:

jeff's girl ~ Thanks for the words of encouragement. Seems like my fever has passed and I'm getting my appetite back. I didn't get anything for nausea and I was dreading the thought of heaving with my throat healing. I just had to switch to sprite and dry bread for awhile. Now I've added fruit cocktail and oatmeal to make sure I have enough fiber.

dbaum ~ I had my surgery scheduled for over almost two months and was really bumming when I developed bronchitis just a week before the surgery. I was fortunate to get some good meds prescribed that got it under control. Hope you get better so you can have your surgery.

mylo233 ~ Definitely keep the fluids going. It was probably good that I didn't sleep much the first night because I drank a lot and I'm sure that helped my throat.

ratatosk ~ I slept the first few nights in the recliner in the living room. I had the same problem with choking on saliva. Once I stopped using the Lidocaine I was able to sleep better. On the 3rd day I was so exhausted that I would fall asleep just about anywhere.

Hope everyone is doing better. Take care.

I just woke up from my afternoon nap. I am feeling a little weird. I can't quite put my finger on it. I may be nauseous? Maybe just hungry? Definately a weird sensation!! Did anyone have this at all? As long as I don't throw up I will be okay. My mom is here today, so I will be okay anyway.

mylo233 ~ I feel a little weak and disoriented when I get up. It could be from the meds or from not eating as much. When I am nauseated I usually have cold sweats. Day 3 was my worst for nausea and weakness. I'm still a little weak and maybe because I'm in the house just lying around. Maybe tomorrow I'll venture to get out for a car ride (someone else driving of course). I live out in the country so I've been driving up to the mailbox (1/4 mile) for the past two days while my husband is gone. My mom came today to check on me so I wasn't totally alone.

I ended up calling my doctor because I was so afraid of throwing up. They called me in some Phenergan. I slept for about 4 hours. I felt much better when I woke up. I think it is just from not eating enough. I just don't feel hungry (maybe because I am drinking so much). I made myself eat a bowl of chicken w/wild rice soup for dinner and a bowl of ice cream. I am ready to back to sleep now. I took a Percocet about thirty minutes ago and it is starting to kick in.

Good night everyone!

Hang in there guys it will get better before you know it. I had mine out 3 weeks ago and feel almost 100% now. Still have trouble of the morning and late evening with ear pain. Can still see part of a sticth on one side doc said it will disolve. Keep drinking all the fluids you can that seemed to help me the most. I thought i would never be able to eat again!!! LOL but before you know it you are back to normal. Good luck everyone. Dbaum sorry to hear you had to cancel i will check back in to give you support like you have everyone else!!!!!!

Just when you think the pain can't get any worse, you wake up on day 5!!! My ears and throat are killing me. Thank God for Lortab!

Hi folks,

Dbaum - I had it on my calendar that you were having your surgery today and I wanted to check on you. I had to read a few pages back but, gosh sorry to hear that you had to postpone things. Hey at least now you won't have any doubts when you finally get the chance. You'll be prepared for anything :wave:

It's been 5 weeks and I still have a funny taste in my mouth. Dairy is the worst...but the doc says things will get back to normal. Still drinking plenty of fluids. I know, I'm always preaching about drinking water. But after my bout with bleeding and dehydration...Learn from my mistake...Drink the water!!!

Keep your spirits up everyone!

Hey guys..I found out that i have to get my tonsils out and was looking for some info on it and came across this message board. I am such a baby i cried when they told me and now im scared to get it done but everyone tells me it will be better in the end can you guys who have gotten it done PLEASE help me not chicken out my appt is in 3 weeks and i have to miss christmas dinner :( but my main concern is did you guys loose wieght? cause i cant afford to loose more than 5 pounds so average how much did you guys loose...i know it sounds like an odd question but its like my main concern other than the pain..ill be like my kaiser doctor on a scale from 1 to 10 how bad is it 10 being i cant take it and 1 being im ok...okay well if you guys can help make me a little less scared i will be your best friend forever! haha thanks guys... :angel:

Hi LazyLiLRey!

If you read this thread, you will find so many different answers to your question about how bad this will be. I had mine out on 10/20 of this year. I had put it off for 7 years because I was petrified. I finally broke down and did it after reading this board and finding that almost everyone says they would absolutely do it again. I will tell you that mine was not even close to what I expected as far as pain and everything. I was able to go about my normal daily activities at home pretty much right away, although this doesn't seem to be the same for everyone. I drank TONS of fluids and chewed gum. These are both a MUST immediately following your surgery. And keep a humidifier in your room, at least to sleep with. Fluid intake is the most important though. It cuts down on pain, speeds recovery, and reduces your risk of post-op bleeding, so take it very seriously. I drank all the time. Also, the weight thing varies a lot from person to person. I was worried about losing weight too and I didn't lose any. I drank a lot of high calorie drinks and plus, I'm not a big eater normally so it wasn't like I was cutting back from eating 3 regular size meals a day to almost nothing. As far as your scale, I would say my experience rated about a 3-4. As long as I kept up on my pain med, it was fine. Just remember how much better you will feel when it's over. I can't believe I waited so long to do it. Don't be a chicken like me. ;)

I'm on day 6, and although I am hurting, I would do this again in a heart beat. It's either continue for the rest of my life with tonsils that gave me problems, or live through some pain for 2 weeks. I'm still young (only 23), so I have a far road ahead of me and don't want to be sick all the time.

On a scale of 1-10, I would say a 4 would how I would rate my recovery. I haven't lost one pound. I drink about 2-3 liters of fluid everyday, chew gum, eat ice cream (at least twice a day :D ), vanilla pudding, cream of chicken soup, and broth. I have also been able to eat mac 'n cheese. I guess as long as you eat, you won't lose any weight.

Why are they wanting you to have your tonsils out? Weigh the pros and cons. I was sick all the time from when I was a child to now. I am looking forward to not getting strep and tonsillitis every month. Also, I can breath soooooo much better! Just know that you should plan on at least taking some time off from work and/or school and have someone to help you. Even if you end up having a great recovery, you can enjoy the time off and visit with your caretaker(s).

Good luck. Let us know what you decide!

HI EVERYONE!!

I am [ removed ] and I had my tonsils out on Nov. 4, 2004. Healing was the worst pain I ever went through, but little did I know, the worst had yet to come. Over the past week, I have had THREE post-tonsillectomy hemorrhages. The first happened 10 days after the orignal surgery, Nov. 14, 2004. The doctor did an emergency surgery and sent me home the same day. The 2nd was on Nov.17, 2004 ( removed ), my doctor performed another emergency surgery and sent me home. Four days later, Nov.21, 2004., I started bleeding again. So once again my doctor did na emergency surgery and I stayed in the hospital two days, I just came home yesterday, Nov.23. I was starting to get very frustrated and I thought maybe the doctor didn't know what he was doing since he wasn't sure what the problem was. Until today, I talked to my primary doctor and he said ther's nothing anyone can do and it wasn't the doctor's fault who did the operation. He said that sometimes the vein will retreat back in the mouth and can get irritated when the scabs fall off, which can cause bleeding. According to him, it goes by cases, some cases may bleed and some may heal just fine. Where as in my case, I have hemorrhaged 3 times so far, and it was the WORST. I have lost a lot of blood and I have no energy. I am on iron pills for 6 months to get my strength back. The pain is still very bad at times also, I am now on Vikadin(dont know how to spell it) and I have been taking it twice or more daily because the pain is so bad. My right tonsil is almost done healing and hasn;t given me any problems. Each time this happened, I have been bleeding from the left side, and doing surgery on it is interrupting the healing process. I just want this to be over with so I can live normally. Tommorrow is Thanksgiving and I can't do anything except sit at home alone and rest. I was wondering if anyone else has already been thorugh this and how man times they bleed. If you have already had a tonsillectomy and have gone through similar problems, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REPLY!! I would like to talk to some one because I dont want this to happen again. I'm hoping third time's a charm and I won't have go to the ER again.. I will check the board ;)
[ removed ] ..ONCE AGAING THANK YOU AND I WISH ALL OF YOU LUCK WHO ARE SOON OT HAVE A TONSILLECTOMY! :confused: :confused:

Hello
I have many different symptoms, recurrent sore throats (sometimes with white spots on my tonsils) being one of them.
I had viral meningitis 2 1/2 years ago. Since then I have had frequent viruses that take me weeks to recover from. I get tonsellitis, general sore throats, chest infections, sore ears, colds, nausea, tiredness, and hot sweats. I have just spent the last 4 weeks in bed with such things. Sometimes I just get nausea and triedness for a couple of hours and then it goes away, and sometimes I get it for weeks and it is totally debilitating. I have heard of recurrent sore throats and tonsilitis causing nausea, has anyone else heard of this? I was wondering about getting my tonsils out but have heard that it can affect your immune system and result in more chest infections. What do others think of this? Is there a good site that explains the pros and cons of getting tonsils out as an adult? I also get reflux. I used to take losec for this, but an alternative doctor I go to thinks that this is stopping me digesting my food properly. No doctors know what's wrong and I'm feeling desparate! I have no sick leave left and I have to keep putting my goals on hold. I really struggle not to collapse into a depressed heap when I get sick yet again. Does any of this sound familiar, or am I a unique case?
Regards
Kate

Hi LazyLiLRey. To answer your question about weight loss, if you don't eat you will lose weight. This surgery was a forced diet for me. I lost about 20lbs in 8 days. That was on a diet of water and jello. The difference is that I could afford to lose it! :p

Read the threads though...Jeff's girl and the rest of us offer a lot of good advice. She is a good example of what to do. I had a tough time, dehydration and a lot of weight loss. The key is to keep hydrated and eat what you can. The more you work the muscles the faster they will heal. Also Jeff's girl had a great tip about chewing gum. I know this helped me out a lot.

Also don't kid yourself. It's surgery...you're allowed to be scared. After the first 3 days, if I could have put my tonsils back I would have. But that was just the misery talking. I am so glad that I did have it though. I feel healthier. I have energy and I sleep at night. I mean I sleep! No more walking up every 2 hours. I can actually sleep for 5 hours straight. It's great..oh yeah and I don't snore anymore. That my boyfriend loves. I could kick myself for putting off the surgery so long. I was told about 4 years ago that I needed it done but, I was just too scared to go through with it. Try not to chicken out. It's worth the few weeks of discomfort.

He guys...I posted mine earlier on wieght and i just got home and decided to give you guys my story..So i had never had any real problems with my tonsils until last year. I got strep throat B in November and then twice in december then i got it again in january and once again in febuary then 2 times in march and i got it in july while vacationing in Costa Rica then when i got back in August guess what AGAIN and then i was fine till i noticed a little cist on my right tonsil so i had them check it out and since i have kaiser they said i had to get strep 1 more time before i could have my tonsils out so i basically figured the hell with it im never gonna get them out..Everyone at my work said i should and i have a girl thats a resident dr and she told me she would have taken them out cause im sick ALL the time even when i dont have strep i get sick so much just because all the stupid antibiodics that my immune system has basically given out..So i go to the Dr on Nov. 17 because the cist on my tonsil is growing and my mom being the scared person made me have them check it out because like 4 people in my family have cancer so my mom was trippin that i might have it too...SO i go and the Dr. looks at my tonsils and then looks up my nose...and she asked if i had allergies and i said no and she asks if i use nasal sprays and i said i used flonase but it didnt work...and she asked if people ask if im sick all the time and told her that i talk to my dad 1 a week and he asks if im sick everytime so then she sat down and scheduled me to have them out..so i guess my like 10 trips to the dr and my adenoids being huge im getting them out so now maybe i wont be congested for the next yr..i have had a stuffy nose since Nov. 2003...So im guessing im getting both my adenoids and my tonsils out...i will find out for sure on my pre op date which they still need to call me about hmmmm....
~Reyann :wave:

kate kate
hi, i just wanted to make a comment regarding one of your questions. It was:
"I was wondering about getting my tonsils out but have heard that it can affect your immune system and result in more chest infections. What do others think of this?"
I had my tonsillectomy on August 4th of this year. It was my 2nd tonsillectomy because one of my tonsils grew back after the 1st surgery 25 years previously. Between the 1st surgery and the 2nd surgery i suffered a lot from chest infections(i also have asthma) and then when my tonsil grew back the chest infections stopped.
Anyway, for the past 4 weeks i have had a really bad chest and i just can't stop coughing. I havn't been to see my doctor cos i wanted to try and get rid of it without antibiotics but i think i'm gonna have to go and see him after all. I don't know whether this is just coincidence, i'll just have to see how my chest will be in the future but if this is what its gonna be like i'm not sure whether having the 2nd tonsillectomy was the right thing to do.
Like i say though, it could just be coincidence. I'll have to see what happens in the future. You seem to have more than just tonsillitis symptoms and i would suggest investigating more about your health before you decide whether to have this surgery, you may not need it. Its a lot to go through if you don't need it. Good luck.

Thanks Laura
It's hard knowing whether things are coincidence or not! I hope your chest gets better.
Good luck
Kate

Hey Kate Kate. The way my doctor explained it was that your tonsils are like a sponge; they soak up the bad stuff trying to enter your body. When working correctly (the key word being correctly), they help your immune system to keep out any bacteria or viruses. I was always sick with strep, tonsillitis, sinus infections, chest infections, and ear aches since I was born. My parents couldn't afford the surgery when I was growing up. Now that I am married and my husband and I have insurance, I went to the ENT who took mine out last Thursday (Nov. 18th). Since I was sick so much, my tonsils soaked up all the bacteria and viruses, but never had a chance for my immune system to take care of the infection. My tonsils, therefore, swelled with infection and because it was so deep in the tonsil, there wasn't an antibiotic that could cure it. So, anyway, what I am trying to say is...my tonsils were making me sick. I haven't quite healed all the way, but I do already feel a difference -- I CAN BREATHE!!!! As far as the infections, I will keep you posted, but I am sure it will be less frequently (because now I don't have infection embedded in my tonsils).

Don't be afraid to get a second opinion though. Find out what someone else thinks.

kate kate ~ I saw several doctors including two ENTs before scheduling my surgery. I waited 7 years to have mine out because I'm a chicken so I had plenty of time to do research. The way the tonsils were explained to me was that while you're an infant, your tonsils take care of fighting off infections and so forth because your lymph system is not yet fully developed. After that, they really aren't needed anymore because your other lymph nodes are mature and do all the fighting. I don't know for sure if this is true and I have wondered about it because I am a huge germaphobe and constantly worry about getting sick, but I've heard this from numerous doctors, not just the ones who wanted to do surgery on me. I worked in the medical field for 10 years so I could get lots of second opinions at no charge, thank goodness. I'm hoping they are right. My kids have both been very sick with different viruses since I've had my surgery on 10/20 and I didn't catch either one. One had a really bad upper resp. infection and the other some stomach bug. So far so good. :)

Hi Guys,

Well, I am on Day 19 today (yay for me!!). I went back to work at the start of the week and it has been great. I am very tuired at the end of each day, but just being out and about has been fantastic. I feel like I am alive once more - rather thaan confined to my bedroom waqtching videos and sleeping. I still have a sore throat and ears when I wake up in the morning, but apart from that and being really tired - i am feeling fantastic. Everyone at work has commented at how fantastic I am looking (cos I also treated myself to a haircut!) and this spunky boy at work has even asked me ou on a date (tonight!!). So, has this been worth it - yes. There were a few days where I became so down and upset and couldnt cope witht hte no sleeping and the constant pain - but at the end of the day - its all been ok and bearable. I was petrified about the op because I had never had one or been in hospital before, but everyone was great and as long as I kept drinking lots and sleeping lots, Ihave been getting stronger and stronger each day. I wouldnt say that I am exactly bouncing :bouncing: with energy at the moment, but I am feeling wonderful. I noticed that many of you guys wereonly in hospital for a few hours - I had to stay overnight which is standard practice for Oz. Funny huh?

Anyway, for those who are scared - thats ok. It is a big deal, but it will be ok. This forum has been great for me and comforting at times when I felt that my family just didnt get what i was going through.

Thanks guys

Shivvy :angel:

Today is day 10 and I still have a slight sore throat but I'm pretty much off the pain meds. I was back at work by day 7 and that was pretty draining because I was still taking a few pain pills throughout the day. I teach (Music K-8) so I don't get much rest, especially from the all the little ones running up and hugging me. It was a short work week due to Thanksgiving and I'll be back in full force (hopefully) for the next 3 weeks (until Xmas break).

A summary of my experience: I drank lots of fluids and ate heartily from the get-go, hence I did not lose any weight. In fact, I bloated up 5 pounds and I ended up eventually losing that water weight and now I'm back to where I started. I had some fever on days 3&4 but then that went away. The front of my tongue is still numb from the clamp they used but at least it's not swollen anymore. I never seemed to cough up any scab material-maybe that's because I ate lots of toast. I had practically no post-op bleeding. My ears still hurt a little but I'm toughing it out to avoid the drowsiness from the pain meds. My biggest challenge was trying to avoid becoming constipated.

One MAJOR difference I noticed this past week was the level of the gums behind my molars. Previously they were level with the top of my molars--apparently swollen. Now I can actually feel the back of my molars and the gums are no longer sore. Obviously there must have been a certain amount of infection living back there. I'm interested to see how the frequency of my sinus infections, bronchitis, and laryngitis is affected by having this bad boys removed. I usually have 2-3 occurances per year.

Everyone else in recovery--hang in there and keep the fluids going. Try to eat some foods of substance if at all possible. If not, take a fiber supplement with your fluids.

Hi All,

My names Jules, I'm 25, and had my tonsils removed at noon on Tuesday 23rd Nov... so I'm just starting either day 5 or 6 depending which way you look at it. I'm really not enjoying this experience at all! I was out of hospital on Wed morning at 9am - the pain medication they gave me was 4 days' supply of codeine (2 pills every 4 hrs, no more than 8 per day) - these ran out last night, and some dyclofenac as well (1 pill 3 times a day - they gave me enough for 14 daysworth). Having run out of the codeine I'm not wondering if they gave me enough as I'm pretty bad pain now. eg I've not had more than about 90mins sleep continuously since the op... it appears the longer I stay asleep the more painful it is when I wake up, and every night seems worse than the last. This evening has been acutely more painful than any other since the op - hence this late night google session and reading this entire thread! I've been eating ok, nothing but soft foods eg noodles/soups/jelly etc, in fact I've probably been eating more than usual since the act of swallowing solids was pretty comfortable for the first few days. Tonight though has been the first time where even eating is sore... ears/throat/tongue... ouch!

Anyway reading all of your experiences has been very encouraging on some levels and depressing on others! Can't believe it's going to continue to get worse at least for the next few days... enough to make you want to cry :( Anyone else out there have their op on the same day? Am feeling very alone in this as noone else in my family has ever had this done to them, and I don't think they understand just how painful it is!!!

The other thing is, whatever clamp they used to hold my mouth open during the op, they opened it too wide and cut my lips at each end. These have now scabbed over and it's veyr uncomfortable to open my mouth more than a tiny little bit. I can open it enough to eat/drink small mouthfuls etc., but it's frustrating as I can't really look down my own throat to see what's going on back there... eg is this sharp feeling back there the scabs forming? or falling off? or what is it?

Grrrr this is indeed, a "low quality experience!"

thanks for reading :(

Jules

Jules ~ Did your doc not give you any refills on your pain meds? Mine lasted about 3 days but I had 4 refills. I'm sure he didn't mean for you to only have 4 days worth and that's it. You absolutely should call and get more because no one should be in needless pain after surgery and I'm sure he didn't mean for this to happen to you. As for your sore mouth, have you been chewing gum? It really helps loosen those muscles so you can open pretty easily after a while and it keeps you swallowing so your throat stays moist. Sorry I'm not of more help, but you will get through this, but be sure to get some more pain meds to help you out!

Greetings,
I too had my tonsillectomy done on Tuesday, Nov. 23rd. . . Finally someone who knows and shares my pain!!!!! However, I'm a very young 52 year old, so needless to say, up to this point, the pain has been horrible. I've been in all week, however I did venture out to church this morning. I'm still on a soft diet of jello, yogurt and water. I have not been able to tolerate any other soft foods. I've lost 5 lbs since Tuesday. (I have a very high metabolism). I was given some pain medication with codeine, and had to get a refill on yesterday. I shudder to think how any one can manage the pain without medication. I'm constantly watching the clock - waiting on my 4 hour intervals so that I can take my meds. I find it extremely hard to swallow with out it.
I only wonder how long can this pain go on? I would also like to know how long the scabs will remain. Oh, by the way, the ear aches and tongue pain were definitely not mentioned to me.

Hey rattlermom and jeffs girl! thanks for replying!

I'm definitely going to go and see my GP in the morning - yesterday was my first day without that prescribed painkillers, and it was absolutely terrible. The only painkillers I had in the house were plain old paracetamol and I have to say they are next to useless. Fortunately just before going to sleep last night I lucked out and found some old co-codamol soluble tablets that were left over from my last bout of tonsillitis (in June). Thanks to them, and some gargling of warm salt water followed by some honey dissolved in warm water (blessed relief) I managed to sleep from midnight through until 4am. Have been up for the last hour trying to eat some ice cream (just craving anything soothing at the moment) but am about to hit the sack again.

The only time I've ventured out of the house so far was a couple of days ago when I went to visit my newborn (well, 3wks old) nephew. They only live round the corner from me so I thought the walk and freshair would be nice. It sort of did, but I just felt dizzy and giddy with it to be honest. Ho hum!

For me, the ears and tongue were hinted at ("you may feel some discomfort"!!!) but I had no idea of the scale of this. I must confess I promise here and now to be totally sympathetic to anyone I ever meet in the future who is going through a tonsillectomy!

But anyone rattlermom nice to meet someone else who had it done on the same day! We can compare notes now :) "this hurts" "yes it does" etc etc etc

cheers, Jules

oh and I forgot to say! yes I have been chewing gum - it helps a little but the problem with opening my mouth isn't a jaw problem - it's due to my lips being really scabbed at each end, opening even enough to accomodate a tea spoon means the scabs crack and I bleed everywhere. v painful and frustrating! the scabs are def healing though, fingers crossed I'm aiming at having a healthy mouth by the end of tuesday... ought to be achievable...

Hey Jules and rattlermom, (ane everyone else)

It will get better. I think for me on Day5 I thought what on earth have I done and when can they put them back to stop this pain!!! But now, Day 22, it is all good (and I mean good) I am feeling great. I used to have such a yucky taste in my mouth all the time and now, nothing. I havve more energy at the moment too and work has been awesome. I still feel tired at nights and have some discomfort in the morning s when I wake up, but other than that, I am so glad I have done this. One thing that worked really well for me was an ice pack around my throat, especially before and after eating as that is when I had the most pain - eating!! Drinking heaps helps too. I know it hurts to swallow, but the whole swallow motion helps with the healing and liquids keep your mouth and body hydrated.I go back for my all clear check up next week and hopefully that all goes well. Oh, and another good thing that has happened for me is that I have stopped smoking after 11 years.
It took this to get me to stop, but all worth it!!

Take Care

Shivvy :angel:

slidejules ~ I realized after I suggested the gum chewing that your problem wasn't with your jaw but your sore mouth. I just wasn't paying very good attention. Maybe if you put some lip balm like chapstick or carmex really heavily on your cuts, this will keep them from cracking so badly. Sometimes it helps my cracked lips, but it's not quite the same I know. It might help though.
Also, you and rattlermom mentioned codeine as your pain med. I know I couldn't have gotten through this with just codeine. I had liquid lortab (hydrocodone), 15mg every 4 hours. It completely took the pain away. Some docs even give stuff stronger than that but I found the lortab to be quite enough for me. I don't think codeine would've put a dent in the pain for me. Maybe you should mention lortab if you don't think the codeine is doing the trick. THe last thing you want is to hold back on fluid intake because of painful swallowing.
This will get better, all of us here promise it will.

Rattlermom ~ You may not experience any ear pain, so don't fret about it. I never had any and I had a lot of ear pain before surgery. And tongue pain seems to be from the beginning so if you don't have it now you probably won't. I didn't have that either. It seems to vary a lot from person to person. Maybe you'll get lucky like me. ;)

I'm currently considering getting my tonsils removed because they keep getting swollen with tonsiloliths and can become very painful and infected if left too long. I believe this is as a result of my post-nasal drip.

Has anyone had their tonsils removed and stopped suffering from PND as a result? I really want to get it out of my life - it seems I can never swallow properly. Plus, getting rid of my tonsils will also mean no more tonsil stones! :D Also, does the bad taste and smell associated with tonsil stones and PND go away after your tonsils come out?

Another member, Ratatosk, and I both had sinus problems. She can tell you more about hers but I had a constant headache over one eye and my nose drained. Plus my ears drained constantly especially at night and they kept me awake. I also suffered from tonsil stones, which seemed to be the least of my problems, but they were disgusting. I had my very enlarged tonsils out on 10/20 after years of debating with myself whether this would help anything, especially the sinus headaches. I am happy to say that I have no more daily headaches! Ratatosk had told me this also and I went ahead with the surgery (THANKS Ratatosk :) ) and I'm so glad that I did. Of course, I do still have some sinus drainage, I'm sure due to allergies, but everything is sooo much better. I can swallow much easier now too. Mine were always large and one was constantly sitting on the back of my tongue. This surgery was exactly what I needed so it maybe something for you to seriously consider.

jeff's girl
I AM experiencing ear and tongue pain. That's just what I meant. My ENT never brought them up before. I wished he had, then I would've known what to expect. After reading your post, I also called him this morning and requested something stronger for pain.
I'm really very glad I found this message board! Now that I know what others are experiencing and taking to combat the pain- I don't feel guilty for requesting more relief. Here I was thinking that I'd just have to live with the pain, because I thought that codeine was the strongest pain reliever prescribed.
However, the codeine has proven successful in subpressing my cough. That was the main reason for getting the surgery in the first place. I've had a persistent and embarrassing cough and post nasal drip for over seven years. My ENT showed me a medical study where tonsillectomies were performed on patients with enlarged tonsils, and as a result the coughing was stopped.
I sure hope it helps mine.

I really hope my post isn't going to depress anyone, but I just need to talk to people who know what I am going through. Today is day 11 for me (My surgery was 11/18). I thought I would go back to class (I'm in college). I made it for a little while (about an hour), before the back and roof of my mouth swelled. I have intense pain now (Like it was on day 4ish). I am scheduled to go back to work tomorrow, but now I am scared that I can't do it. I don't understand why this has happened again! I lost part of my left scab over the weekend, but it grew back! I don't think I am ever going to heal! I got home and my throat looks the worst that it has since day 6!!!! I have had to revert back to my Lortab. Should I call my doctor or is this normal?? I hate to ask my professors for more time away from class, especially since the semester is almost over. I can't take any more time off from work. I already don't get sick pay, so I just won't get a paycheck for any time I take off for recovery. What's worse, I have ankle surgery on 12/16! Please, someone, tell me this is normal. When did you lose your scabs? When did the pain go away? :confused:

help!! im 25 and i just sch my surgery for dec 16 and im really nervous!!! :eek: i would love any input!!!!!!!!

poodle199..me and you are getting them out one day apart..im scared too but my dad said that i just have to think about the like 1 week of pain versus the getting sick every week..So you will be fine after everything is done and like my little sister says hey you get popsicles after...

that is nuts that we are getting it done so close. I know what you mean. I know it will be much better in the long run but Im still not looking forward to it. I was reading all the other boards and it is kinda comforting and kinda not. Why are you getting them out?

Hey all!
I'm getting my tonsils removed on Dec 17 and I cannot wait!! :) I am very excited to get rid of these things. I know it's going to be painful and really awful for a while, but I am so looking forward to not having strep all the time.

I went to the dr yesterday and I have strep again right now. It really hurts this time. I've had strep a ton, but this time it's a bad one. OUCH!! I think my body's just reminding me the reason I've having them out in the first place. ;)

Hope we can all share recovery stories pretty soon.

I too am getting my tonsils out on December 15!! I am scared to death!! I am 32 years old. I have chronic ulcers on the back of my throat. I also suffer from tonsil stones.!! :-(

i have to have an operration to have my tonsils out on 12-28-04, and im ''very scared'' not sure if i need them out, doctor has done a scat on my whole neck, and he can see something in souckiet, like a very small round ball,& i have 2 things growing from under tonsil from the round thing under tonsil :confused: ''but'' DOC. still dont know what it is,says he never seen it before. so he wants to take out both tonsils.
soooooooooo :confused: dont know what i should do, any one ever heard of this probalm i have with tonsil???

:confused: one more thing, i have ''no''!! pain at all & the only thing is,that i know its not normal to have something growing out from under your LEFT tonsil, it just allways fills like somehting is cought in my tonsil, but its not.

fairyfw,

Mine never hurt either. They were just full of all those nasty tonsil stones. My tonsils were HUGE and I guess the tonsil infection (amount of tonsil stone matter) went very very deep. I'm guessing you probably have something similar. Probably just from years of dealing with those nasty tonsil infections.

Hi....I am 24 years old and am having my tonsils out on the 22nd of December (yup 3 days before Christmas kind of suckie!) Well after reading some of these post I have become a little nervous. Everyone talks about there long recovery and inability to swallow for like 3 weeks. I was wondering if that is really the case. I do take a long time to recover from infections and surgerys and things like that and am worried that I will be in pain. All these stories had me thinking that I wanna cancel my Surgery however my tonsils are enourmous and cause me such trouble that I decided to go through with it. However my real concern is that I will not be feeling better before heading back to work. I only took 5 days off work following my Surgery I was hoping maybe someone can post something letting me know how long it was before they were able to resume normal activities like work and exercising. Well I am being optomistic and hoping that everything goes well. I hope that somebody can answer that question for me. Well best of luck to those of you having upcoming Surgeries as well....I will post again following my surgery so I can tell eveybody how things went and what to expect!

Minmin,

I think a lot of the posts are just informational just to prepare people. Most people when they think tonsilectomy think about small children -- they have the surgery, get lots of ice cream and are eating normal food, playing in the playground in just a few days. With adults it's a bit more difficult. First of all you don't sleep all that well because your throat is healing and if you're not drinking enough water, your throat gets dry and scratchy. You can't DRINK while you sleep so. Also, 'cuz you're not sleeping you're tired most of the day. That was my problem. I was able to bathe, check my email, read watch tv, go on short trips for ice cream -- but then I'd need a nap. I pretty much lived in my pjs for the first 10 days. And you may want to rethink going back to work after 5 days 'cuz I lost my voice at about day 3 and didn't get it back for at least 5, so I couldn't communicate. Exercise might not be a good idea 'cuz you're going to be tired and weak and could run the risk of bleeding.

The recovery time is only a short period in your life -- the worst part if probably the end of the first week when you start to heal. Yes I was uncomfortable, but I'm soooo glad I had the surgery, I feel so much better now and wish I'd had it done a lot sooner.

minmin630 ~ I had a really good recovery compared with most everyone else on this board and people I know personally and I couldn't have gone back to work that quickly. Ratatosk is right about being tired. Although I was out and about on day 2, I was still tired and couldn't have made a full or even half day at work. I would literally fall asleep while sitting at the computer and that is not like me at all. I don't ever fall asleep easily, even when I'm trying. I wasn't weak, like a lot of people mention, just sleepy. As for exercise, I was told not to even attempt it until 2 weeks post-op no matter how well my recovery went. Some doctors may tell you to hold off longer, so be sure to check with your own. I would see about getting more time off if possible. Like I said, I had a great recovery and I'm so happy I had it done, but you need more time to recoup.

Ratatosk and Jeff's girl-
Thankyou for the posts I was thinking that It may take longer to Recoup but wasn't sure. I am rethinking going back to work so soon especially seeing that I work in a Hospital where I am exposed to quite a few germs and could catch some germs and make my self more run down. Well also thankyou for the more positive feedback. I was relieved to hear that your recoveries were a good experience and am hoping that mine goes as well. I am less than 2 weeks away and find myself relieved to be having this done thanks inpart to the postive feedback that you guys gave me!

I am 29 and my tonsils are comming out Jan 3rd.. They are doing some sort Coblation method to take them out. Has anyone else used this method? Apparently it turns saline into a tool they can cut with. Sounds pretty interesting.. lol.

If you have had it done, how was your recovery? How was post-op bleeding?

I'm 32 year old woman who's tonsils will be leaving her on Dec 28th...i've been reading over this site on and off for a year as i tried to decide if this was really necessary. As this fall started and the sore throats and yellow spots came back in full force, i said that's it, i'm going in!

I'm also having something called a 'nasal antal window' made to help my sinus on the left side drain better...hopefully this whole icky ordeal will rid me of the splilntering sinus headaches and sore throats. If the headaches go away i will be the happiest person in the world.

Anyone have sinus related history w/tonsils?

I am 33 and have had sinus trouble and tonsil trouble for years. I had my tonsils out on Oct 7th of this year and think I'm coming down with Strep. My son tested positive for it on Monday. I was hoping I'd be free and clear but it sure doesn't feel like it... I'd heard once you get your tonsils out you won't get Strep anymore. I'm not sure how that could be true since Strep is a bacteria and I don't get why a tonsillectomy would protect from that...

Just curious for those of you that have had your tonsils out for longer than I have, does your throat ever get back to feeling normal? I feel like the skin in my throat is too small. I'm guessing it is just scar tissue that is making is feel not normal... any thoughts?

GitaB

Gita B
Just thought i would comment on your last post. My tonsils have been out for more than 5 months now and my throat still doesn't feel 'normal'. The main thing really is dryness. For some reason my throat is dry all the time which makes it feel a bit sore still. The morning time is the worst. When i swallow i can 'feel' my throat (if that makes sense). The new skin is still gonna be delicate and the scar tissue will feel tight. I'm sure given more time everything will be back to normal. Different people take different times to heal completely. And it also depend on how good your surgeon was!
Laura

Hi Everyone :wave: ,

Like I have seen many others write before, I am so glad I found this site!! :angel: I am 33, live in Atlanta, Ga., and have heard for years that i should get my tonsils out. Well it's happening Dec. 27th. Anyone else about the same time or in the Atlanta area?? I have to admit I am feeling a little Bah, humbug and sorry for myself this year because of it, but life goes on.

Same story as most on the site: lots of strep, sinus infections, tonsillitus... I must admit that what scares me just as much as the pain is the gory-ness(sp) of the whole thing. I am not squimish usually, but stuff being inside my mouth is a hole other thing. I keep hearing about blood and scabs. All I know, is I am not going to look in my own mouth for several days if I can help it.

The one thing I do look forward to is some weight loss. I not obese, but it never hurts to lose a few pounds.

The main pointers I have picked up from the site are: #1: drink lots of fluids, eat whatever you can, chew gum, use a vaporisor, use a sit-up pillow for sleeping. Anything else??

Dont' count on the weight loss.... I myself had my tonsils out on 8/17. I lost about 8 pounds, but here I am 4 months later and have put every pound back on that I lost and then some. You get so hungry and when you finally can ea, you want all your favorite foods. I remember I had my tonisls out on Tuesday, by Friday I was eating cappellini with Marinara at my favorite Italian restaurant. I was dying to get out and the noodles just slipped right down. By Sunday I was able to eat some meat loaf, corn, potatoes, and a litlle bread. My key to success was LOTS & LOTS of fluids. I drank and drank and drank... I never had any severe pain, nothing worse than what it felt like when I had my tonsilitis. The worst was the ear pain. I think that started on day two, but the prescriptions helped with that. I think I was lucky, but I drank over a gallon of water every day, slept all day for the first 2 days (or laid in bed - your body needs to heal), I didn't talk (borrowed my nieces Magna Doodle), took waterever help was offered, and really babied myself. I was persistant with medication, never missed a dose... even at 3am.

Good luck with your upcoming surgery. I will go well. I have no doubt about that.

Oh... One more thing.... As far as the scabs and bleed goes. I never had any issues. I just had a nasty taste in my mouth. Sometimes I think I still taste it. It sucks... I never had bad breath before, but now I am always brushing my teeth and tongue and now I don't go anywhere without my toothbrush. Hopefully that will change one day...

GOOD LUCK!!

Oh yuck yuck yuck. I have to be honest...having my tonsils removed at 23 years old was bittersweet. Having suffered with all the infections for so long I was thrilled when the ENT said he was taking them out.
Three weeks later, 20 lbs down (didn't need to lose it) and not one morsel of food I was still in pain. The taste in my mouth was horrible (due to the cauterization) and when I was finally able to resume eating many things just didn't tast the same anymore. Some things I loved where downright horrible!
As far as stuff in your mouth....your knocked out anyhow. There is no memory of your time in the OR except those seconds before the anesthetic kicks in...oh it is a good thing ;)
The recovery was long and hard, I usually heal quicky. The weightloss was good I suppose but it was from not eating at all. I lived on water and liquid codeine for three weeks! I couldn't work the first two weeks and worked half days the third week.
Now, 7 years later, I am glad they are gone as I haven't had tonsilitis, strep etc etc even once! so I have to say even though there was 3 weeks of suffering I would do it all again...plus now I need to lose that weight! lol
Hoping all goes well for you and a speedy recovery.
Sarah

I think the best thing about getting my tonsills out was I didn't have all the infections I had EVERY year during the winter. Its been GREAT!
Good LUCK!
Barb

First of all I want to say to Katlynn I feel ya and ur bah humbug spirit. I am having my tonsils out on December 22nd..yup 3 days before Christmas kind of crappy I know. I am worried about not feeling well and having a not so nice Christmas. However we have to look on the bright side having the pain from Recovery for that short amount of time will definatley out weigh the years of pain that we dealt with while having them remain in. I hope that your surgery goes well and best of luck! Saraht1 you said that you were out of work for 2 weeks and only worked 3 half days during your 3rd weekIs it really that painful and are you really that run down that you need that much time off work. I am very concerned because I am returing to work only 5 days after Surgery and have heard that should be enough time however I take a while to heal and also work at a Hospital and am exposed to Germs. Do you think that I should take off more days than that let me know

Hi :)
Just had my tonsils out on Dec 6th-- five days after my 24th b-day. And happy to report that I am doing fine- actually happy that I didn't find this website prior to having mine out... some of you guys have had some pretty horrific experiences and I might have been more wary about getting this done.
For me, days 1-3 were way easier than I thought they were going to be-- my surgery was @ 8:30am and I was discharged from the hospital @ 10:00am. The pain was relatively low, but took the meds anyway-- didn't want to risk having something wear off and have a rude realization that my pain was being masked. I was able to eat soup with noodles almost immediately following th