Hi everyone, I'm back from the hospital. On day 7 and it still hurts pretty bad, mostly when swallowing. The right side is worse than the left. In fact, I can't really even tell much of what's going on on the left side cuz the right is just so painful. The ENT said there was more scar tissue on that side, which made taking the tonsil out a bit complicated and thus I would probably have more pain on that side.

I also ended up with a nice big fat bruise on my tongue - "a small accident" as my ENT referred to it - when the tongue got stuck in between the tubes and instruments during the OP. Oh, and the ENT chipped one of my back teeth. That was definitely adding insult (and injury) to injury! :rolleyes:

I realized at some point that a lot of my pain was coming from reflux problems - in other words, acids from my stomach that were wandering up my throat while I was asleep and burning the fresh wounds. At times the pain was dizzying... but I've got that under control now and Coup, you're right that you've just gotta keep something in your stomach cuz pain meds on an empty stomach burns! :eek:

Not much to add in terms of food except that un-toasted bread (something like Wonder Bread) with a bit of butter and cold cuts were given to me in the hospital and I found it went down pretty well. I always eat a popsicle or suck on ice after a meal just to calm everything down back there.

My daughter is sick (again) with a cold and it is good to know that this time, at least, I don't have to worry about my tonsils getting infected, though I am worried about catching the cold from her!

Could someone tell me again what is it that makes Days 7-11 so bad? I feel like Days 1-7 have been bad enough (did not have any opiates - have been on ibuprofin and some other liquid painkillers since day 1).

mm

----------

Well, I'm now post-op Day 1. I'm a little better at sipping water this morning, but it still hurts like hell. But I'm afraid of getting dehydrated, so I'm doing it. I'm reading all these others that were eating soft foods by day 1 or 2. Right now I can't even imagine that. And I just being a wuss?

Nah, it really is tough. But you've just got to remember that it will help you heal faster to eat and drink. Keep your health up! What kind of pain meds are you on? I'm post-op day 3 and had 1/2 sandwich for lunch (30 minutes after taking my pain meds). I wouldn't suggest you push your limit though. I'm on liquid hydrocodone, 20 mg every 6 hours.

coupdup,

I'm also on liquid hydrocodone. I take it before meals. Doesn't seem to do much for me. The pain is all really in the swallowing. And it hurts to talk.

Drinking was a little easier for me today. Was able to get some applesauce and Gatorade down without too much difficulty. Hopefully will continue to improve.

i can say i found something to take the edge off the throat pain...chest pain. i fell asleep in an awkward position and it feels like a knife was stuck in my ribs. feels a little better since i moved around, but it sure did take my mind off my throat for a few minutes.

wow, you can tolerate gatorade? that stuff stings my throat. i've been dilluting it in water, but it still isn't the most comfortable thing to drink. i've been mixing my hydrocodone with leftover popsicle juice that i keep in the fridge. even though the stuff is flavored, it gets OLD after a while. i'm noticing a trend at night, i start to feel miserable all over and even nauseaus. But in the morning, like now, i feel just fine. i had the nerve to look at my throat just now and definitely see the white patches. i got a little scared when i spit pink liquid, but forgot i had a red popsicle before bed. LOL whew!

i'm interested to know how uncbabe and mannamedia are doing. are you still checking in? manna should be on his first post-op day.

Yes, aecleo, I think we are similar. I noticed the scabs started falling off/changing around days 2 or 3 and ever since then. There are still (white) scabs, though, esp. on the right side.

The pain is worst for me in the middle of the night and the morning. I guess this is because of the long period of time where I can't hydrate.

I am keeping my hope up that with each passing day, I am getting closer to feeling better. And during the day, as long as the pain meds are working, the pain is managable.

The ENT said today everything looks fine back there and that by Day 11 most of his patients are off of painkillers. Can't wait for that!

mm

Mm,

I had a really rough beginning, too! But, I didn't have a worse period after the first week, so maybe you will be like me and only get better! The bad days between days 7 and 11 seem to be when the scabs slough off. However, my scabs came off in small chunks starting on day 2 or 3 and lasting several days. I could feel it...like pulp in orange juice. I didn't have any pain due to that and was glad to not to get worse after a week! Good luck!

aecleo

Hey everyone...I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel...thank goodness since I have to go back to work Monday! :( Now only one side of my throat hurts...the side that was continuously bleeding that they really had to fix the 2nd time hurt pretty bad this morning, but after my extra strength tylenol, it's not so bad!

The good thing is that my pain isn't like a raw throat pain anymore...it's more just muscle pain when I swallow so I've been putting some stinky muscle rub on my neck every night hoping it will relax the muscles!! I haven't eaten a whole lot of real food yet because of the pain and increased effort it takes to swallow it. I have had eggs, (which after having those get stuck in my scabs twice, I NEVER want to eat another egg again!!) mac and cheese (which even that makes me slightly nauseous just thinking about eating it...not sure why), cream of chicken soup with rice, I even had a little bite of baked chicken last night but it was wayy too dry!!

The worst thing I'm having to deal with it this thrush!! It's horrible, everything tastes awful and I constantly have a dry mouth because of it. It is SLOWLY clearing up though...I just have to tough it out a little longer.

The worst part this week has been 2 nights ago, when I stopped taking my pain meds that morning and just did tylenol all day, I was EXTREMELY nauseated all day, to the point where I couldn't move or I was going to throw up!! That was horrible, because I didn't eat or drink anything all day hardly, which did not help. SO yesterday I was a bit weak and trying to perk up. I went shopping with my mom and after an hour I was already tired, not sure how I'm going to pull off 8 hours at work!!! :(

I haven't had anymore bleeding, and am on day 12 and can finally get to the point where I'm not hating my ENT as much, but I still regret doing it!! In my mind I think I could have lived with the tonsil stones, but I know I would have been miserable if I had not had it done!!

So guys the best advice i can give is stay on top of your pain meds, try to eat before taking your pain meds, and for anyone that gets nauseated from the meds or anything, as your doctor about scopolamine (sp?) patches...you put one behind your ear and leave it there for 3 days, and then change it to another one...it does help with nausea...but so does phenergan (sp?). Also, if by some awful chance you do start bleeding, do not swallow the blood!! It will make you sick and you will most likely throw up!! My ENT pumped about 1/2 of a 20 oz. soda bottle of blood from my stomach!! Just spit it out, even if you are garling with cold ice water (which will help it clot and stop bleeding temporarily, my dr. said that usually it will clot off, then the clot will move and it will start bleeding again, and then clot off again, and it's a vicious cycle!), just take a BIG cup or bucket with you to the hospital to spit in!! Hopefully no one on this board has to go through the bleeding, as that is a SCARY thing. Although after that 2nd surgery and stay in the hospital for 8 hours, I felt the best I have yet, I guess because they gave me LOTS of fluids! I felt like I could run a marathon! Too bad that didn't last long!!! I'm going to keep checking this board to try and help anyone who may need help or answers even after I completely recover! Good luck to everyone, and hopefully next time I post I won't regret having this done!

hi uncbabe - any idea what caused your bleeding? were you drinking plenty of water? were you talking a lot, eating hard foods, or something else? just curious. thanks!

coupdup, I don't really have a problem with Gatorade. It's nice to drink something other than water.

Was able to eat a little chicken soup last night. I just mashed up the chicken until it was really really small. Was nice to finally eat something semi-solid.

The pain for me is worse in the morning. That first swallow of the day is a killer. Hopefully I didn't overdo it last night with the chicken.

I'm supposed to go back to work on Monday, on post operative day number 5. I'm thinking that might be a little optimistic, but I'm so busy at work right now that I can't really afford to take anymore time off. Anyone else go back to work this soon?

i can't imagine going back on day 5. tomorrow is my day 5 and if i still feel the way i do now, that would not work. i even work at home and i can't bring myself to go in there and log on. i had to call today and get a different pain med because this hydrocodone is just making me miserable. maybe if i can tolerate this new pain med better, then i might try to do some work. i'm busy like that too...have a feeling everything i've accomplished is falling apart while i'm away. can you just work a few hours maybe?

Hi coup! Not sure what caused my bleeding. I was doing pretty good with drinking, or so I thought, maybe I wasn't drinking enough, not sure. I was talking a good bit before I started bleeding because my grandmother came to see how I was. All I know is I went to the restroom, and while I was in there I felt the need to clear my throat, it felt like I had a lot of saliva in the back of my throat, so I cleared it and immediately felt like I needed to clear it again, and that's when I tasted the horrible metallic taste of blood, so I tried to finish up in the restroom as quickly as possible and looked in the mirror and saw blood on one side of my tongue.

I don't know if this has anything to do with the bleeding but the morning before I started bleeding I had scrambled eggs for breakfast, took my pain meds, and went back to bed. Well, when I woke up a little later I was hurting REALLY badly so I got up and looked in the mirror, and it looked like I had eggs stuck in my scabs. I mean, on my left side it was a BIG piece of egg. So I tried to get it out, but it wouldn't budge!! So I called the doctor and the nurse told me to try to gargle and get it out and if that didn't work to try to get it out with a q-tip, so I tried for a few minutes, but it was hurting to open my mouth that wide for so long, so I quit. The next day, the eggs were still there, so my mom called the ENT on call and he said that the eggs were actually "pocket scabs" and that they could be any color, they didn't have to be just white and that they would eventually come off. It seems that I started bleeding when the largest pocket scab started coming off that evening. When I went in for my 2nd surgery, he removed these "pocket scabs" and told my parents that "he got my eggs out". He told me it was impossible for food to get stuck back there, but I do know that I tried to eat eggs again and they did get stuck back there, but I was able to keep drinking fluids and they came out. So I assume that the first ones were pocket scabs. I think that was why I started bleeding, because I had such a LARGE scab to come off all at once! Other than that I don't think I did anything wrong. When I started bleeding, the most solid food I had eaten was eggs, I was living on soup and oatmeal until that point!!

it seems really strange that today, only day 5 after surgery, i have relatively little pain. i've taken nothing but extra-strength tylenol today. i've still been misearable though, i think it's the "come-down" off the pain meds. it's mostly like a headache and a little nausea. also, the feeling in the back of my throat is really weird too. i guess it's the scabs, but feels like a film in the back of my throat, really irritating. i hope everybody else is recovering quickly!

coupdup, I'm glad you're feeling better. I'm finishing day 3 today, and feel like I've made some improvement. Was able to eat some vegetable and chicken soup today. But how I crave to just be able to eat a hamburger!

I'm not really in a lot of pain, except the swallowing still is tender. Not as bad as the first two days, but still uncomfortable. Are you able to swallow without any pain?

I can feel the film on the back of my throat also, but I guess it's just part of the process. I just hope I don't have this horrific bleeding in a couple days when the scabs fall off. I'm unable to open my mouth very wide to take a good look. I think my ENT sutured the tonsil beds closed, so I can feel some stitches back there also. Because I can't open my mouth very wide, I don't feel like I can brush my teeth very well, plus I'm afraid of hitting the toothbrush to the back of my throat. So I'm sure my breath smells wonderful right now. Anyone know if using nonalcoholic mouthwash is ok? I haven't left the house since my surgery 3 days ago, but was planning to run some errands tomorrow and was hoping to avoid the dragon breath.

glad your feeling better rain! physically i feel better but my scabs have start to come off. i woke up with a little bleeding this morning, but i just gargled and sipped some ice water for a few minutes and it stopped. i panicked a little bit at first, but i quickly got it under control. i looked in the mirror and noticed the left white spot was gone. i know it's scary because this is what i've been dreading the most, but it isn't that bad. don't sweat it if it happens because you'll get it to stop eventually and it signals the beginning of the end, once the scabs are gone you're almost done!!!!

i'm REALLY going stir-crazy in this house. i'm gonna try to spend the day in the living room instead of my bedroom to see if it helps. might try going to the grocery store too to get more cold-cuts.

Hello all,

I had my surgery Oct. 13, so I am on my 4th day post-op. I had only minor pain until this morning, when I woke up with the worst pain in both of my ears, radiating down into my throat. Anyone else experience that?

yep, chewing gum. it really helps.

Hey everyone,

Saw my ENT today and she cleared me to move forward with my diet. I'm now up to fish and broccoli. I'm postop day 5. Still sore, and it still hurts to talk, but at least I am back at work today.

I've stopped taking the liquid hydrocodone. And my ENT also has said I can stop taking that nasty pink antibiotic. I'm so happy!

Hey everyone,

I'm on Post-op day 6 and I must say the pain over the last few days has been much worse than the pain from days 1-3. I wake up every morning to excrutiating pain in my ears. I quickly down a couple of lortabs, which helps alot, but then leads to nausea. Feeling pretty damn miserable. Please, somebody tell me it gets better.

This board has slowed since i was on here with my tonsils in March. Back then there was 5 posts an hour. But its good to see its still up and running. It was a big help to me. I had mine done last march. Im glad I went thru it but would hate to face it again.

I no longer get tonsil stones or soar throats. Before the surgery they were infected all the time. It sucked!

All I can say is Carnation Instant Breakfasts! Full of Vitamins and they fill you up. Mix em thin or thick as you like.



Hang in there all

Thanks for the support, Jamesg! Carnation instant breakfast are a great idea. I used to love those things. Will go to the store tomorrow and pick some up, since I can't eat the normal breakfast that I do now.

I feel like I took a bit of a step backwards tonight. Ate chicken and fish last night on post op day 5. Had the same tonight, but it kind of hurt more to swallow. And cold water really caused the back of my throat to freeze and burn. I want to drink hot tea because I think it would soothe my throat, but I'm afraid that it would dissolve the scab and cause bleeding.

How long on average did it take everyone before they felt TOTALLY back to normal? I'm getting a little discouraged.

rainmaker - Yup everyone goes thru that feeling of discouragement. I still had a swollen Uvula 3 or 4 weeks later. When I talked I felt like gagging on it. I was depressed and worried it may never go back to normal in my throat. I think eveyone I talked to on this board had similar thought about something in thier recovery.

On the the third week I could eat most food but I had to chew very well and after 5 or 6 swallows I had to stop as the pain would come back again. But when not trying to eat I felt pretty good overall.

I think its safe to say you start to feel a lot better after the third week but it can take 4 to 6 weeks to fully heal. Trust me it does get better and like I said I am happy i did it. Huge improvment in my health now.

Dont drink too hot or too cold things. It something really hurts it can't be good. You dont want to wreck and healing progress you are making.

Thanks for the encouragement, jamesg. I could barely talk this morning and my throat was really hurting - it was a long day at work yesterday. So I went back on the liquid hydrocodone. I had stopped taking it because I thought I was getting better and it wasn't doing anything. But 30 minutes after taking the pain medicine, I'm feeling a lot better. No sense trying to tough this out - I'm going to keep taking it!

Made a little run to the store today - mashed potatoes, throat drops, and oatmeal - and can't wait to try it all. Who would have ever thought I would be excited about powdered mashed potatoes and instant oatmeal?

I really hate to put this on here because I don't want it to discourage anyone, but I guess it's important information. I'm back to square one. Began bleeding uncontrollably early Monday morning. Had to go to the ER just down the street where they simply said it would stop and then sent me home. Got home and had another episode and went to the ER at the hospital where I originally had the procedure done. Because my surgeon was already scheduled with surgeries all morning, I had to wait until 2 pm to go back into the operating room. Needless to say, that was a miserable experience. I also had no idea that getting recauterized meant you had to start all over again. I've already lost 10 lbs, so i guess i can look forward to losing another 10 or more. The worst part is I have no idea why i started bleeding. My doc says I have a low-but-normal platelete count which may contribute to it. I was a little brave last week eating small sandwiches and a few other things probably before I was ready for them. So I'm strictly sticking with soups and looks like i'll hit up the store for some carnation instant breakfast too. Probably won't attempt anything more solid than that until late next week. I hope everyone else is having a better experience. Please wish me luck my 2nd time around!

coupdup, I'm so sorry to hear of your bleeding! Did you have to have general anesthesia again? I'm now worried - I think maybe I'll stick with very soft things as well and not try to be so brave. As you were a day ahead of me I think in the recovery process, I'm going to take these next few days very carefully.

Coup, it shouldn't set you back. It didn't really set me back. I thought it would, but by Day 13 from my original surgery I was feeling MUCH better!! My doc told me that it wouldn't set me back when I got recauterized!! So keep your head up, it shouldn't set you back more than a few days at most. And for anyone else, my doc told me that once you start bleeding (and I mean a good bit, not just a little pink tinge in your spit) it pretty much means you need to go get re-cauterized, as all it does is clot off, and then the clot moves and you start bleeding again, clot again, then the clot moves, and so on and so on. He said it pretty much just cycles on until you get recauterized. So if anyone starts bleeding pretty good, just gargle with ice water and go ahead and call your doc just to check, but if you start a 2nd time, go on to the ER or the doctor!! So far I doing ok, I'm in Week 3 of recovery and back at work. Still not eating anything extremely hard or anything pointy. Tried coffee for the first time this morning, didn't really sooth my throat any and it actually hurts a little worse this evening than normal, will not drink any tomorrow. Also, I've been waking up in the middle of the night and my mouth is so dry that my tongue will be stuck to the roof of my mouth, or worse, my uvula! I'm having to keep water by my bed just for those fairly rare occasions. I'm still a little weak and tired but functioning pretty well at work!! Good luck to everyone going through it!! It DOES get better!! And stay optimistic coup, it won't be that bad, just take it easy this time and don't overdo it!!

hey rain - i did have to go back through the whole process. then they kept me overnight for observation as well. i'm not really sure why he said i'm starting over from scratch though because i can clearly see that there aren't even any scabs left on the right side. the only scabs i can see are on the left where he recauterized me. the right side feels like it's entirely healed already. i'm definitely not taking any chances though. i wouldn't worry too much rain. the doc said my platelets are on the low side of normal and that could have had more to do with the bleeding than anything else i had done.

thanks UNCbabe - i'm trying to stay optimistic. i still wake up in a panic sometimes because that's when the bleeding happened the other time. hard to believe i'm already approaching another weekend. hopefully this will be the home stretch!

Hi Everyone,

I think it is good advice to take the food thing slow. Yesterday, I was on day 7, and I woke up feeling very, very good. My throat almost felt normal. So I decided to eat; I had french toast, a pop tart, some chocolate chip muffins and a bowl of cereal. This was very dumb. Later that evening my throat began to hurt quite a lot. It still hurts today. My guess is, that I overdid it with the food. Do you think that is the case? Or does the pain come and go like that? I don't know, but I have decided to stick with mostly liquids at this point, even though I am starving for real food.

Hey coupdup- Sorry to hear that you had to spend a night in the hospital, but sounds like you're getting better. I'm not so sure about the platelets thing that your doctor told you - I asked my ENT and some doctor friends, and your platelets- although low- seem to have been enough to have clotted your blood all the way up until the second bleed. They thing maybe just the scab fell off too quickly and left unhealed tissue underneath. My platelets are kind of borderline low normal as well.

Mannamedia, wow postop day 7 and you were able to eat actual food for breakfast? I am so jealous. I'm postop day 8 and my breakfast, if I have any, is yogurt and oatmeal. I would love to have some yummy cereal, but I'm afraid. I think perhaps you may have overdone it a bit though. On day 5, I ate a lot of chicken and fish after chewing thoroughly, and the next morning my throat really hurt again. That's when I decided to go back on my liquid hydrocodone. I decided I'm going to take it until I can eat normally again. It puts me into a mini fog, but better that than suffering through the day.

Called in sick today and also tomorrow. Thought I could go back to work but it's just too hard. I think my boss understands.

Hi Mannamedia,

My ENT recommended staying away from chocolate and nuts (esp. walnuts and hazelnuts). He said both can burn pretty badly on the wounds. Not sure if he meant immediately (i.e. as you are swallowing) or later. I am on Day 15 and the ENT told me today that I can try eating chocolate if I want, but I should wait a few days before eating walnuts or hazelnuts. Hope this helps!

mm


Hi Everyone,

I think it is good advice to take the food thing slow. Yesterday, I was on day 7, and I woke up feeling very, very good. My throat almost felt normal. So I decided to eat; I had french toast, a pop tart, some chocolate chip muffins and a bowl of cereal. This was very dumb. Later that evening my throat began to hurt quite a lot. It still hurts today. My guess is, that I overdid it with the food. Do you think that is the case? Or does the pain come and go like that? I don't know, but I have decided to stick with mostly liquids at this point, even though I am starving for real food.

Hi everyone,

I'm post-op day #10 today and have been able to eat spaghetti with meat sauce the last two nights. Good to finally get some carbs! But each time I'm done eating, my throat is a bit sore. I'm still on the liquid hydrocodone. How long did people take pain medication for? I'm thinking I shouldn't be needing it at this point, but I can't seem to eat without it. I have a big party to go to next Saturday (which will be Day #17). I'm worried I won't be able to eat anything or talk very long without pain.

Must be nice...I'm 1st post-op day 13 and 2nd post-op day 6. I rarely experience any pain, even from the 2nd cauterization site. Even though, I haven't risked any solid food yet. So far I've lost 15 lbs, as if I needed to lose it. I have my first post-op visit to the MD tomorrow, so hopefully he'll partially clear me. Still nervous about the 2nd site reoccurring since I'm around the same period as when it occurred last week. I'm so friggin restless sittin here in this house. My social life is basically non-existent and I dream about pizza all day every day. I'm glad you're getting close rainmaker. I'd say by day 17 your pain should be minimum. I'm not even on the hydro anymore though, so I'm not sure why your pain is so bad. I would trade the pain for the bleeding and having to go through this twice though. Good luck everybody!

Hey coup, hang in there. Hopefully you can get cleared to eat some more solids tomorrow. I hear you about the weight loss. I've probably lost close to ten pounds, and people said I was too skinny as it was before all this. Plus I haven't been able to work-out either, since my ENT doesn't want me to raise my heartrate for at least two weeks. So I'm becoming a thin weakling. I dream of NY thin crust pepperoni and sausage pizza also, plus a huge hamburger and fries. Can't wait til I can eat normal food. And my social life is pretty nonexistent also - can't drink alcohol, can't eat normal food, and can't talk loud in a bar or nightclub. So basically I sit at home a lot. But that's ok. As long as I get better.

Yeah, I'm not sure why it still hurts so much either. Wish I didn't have to take the hydrocodone, but without it, my throat is on fire.

well, one more week of liquids. just got back from the doc. he says everything's okay but doesn't want me to take any chances since he's not sure what caused me to bleed in the first place. Man oh man...3 weeks of liquids. Unimaginable. I had no idea how much I love food. Well, once I'm healed I will NOT watch TV for several weeks and I will NOT eat soup this winter. Heck, i'm probably even gonna avoid gravy at Thanksgiving!

I am jumping on the bandwagon for tonsillectomy....I have been reading this thread for months.....I have the dreaded tonsil stones and they are driving me crazy!!! I read how hard it is for an ENT to do a tonsillectomy, but I had one appointment with my ENT specialist, and he was discussing tonsillectomy with me within the first five minutes of my visit. He looked at my tonsils and said they looked pretty bad. He said they are deeply infected, and that I didn't have to have the tonsils removed, but it would make my life way simpler, and it would get rid of the chronic, low grade infection. He said he does about 130 tonsillectomies per year, and over half are adults with the very same problem as me!! So, I feel as if I am in good hands. He is going through the authorization process right now.

Any advice???

Loo

If you're keeping track of these threads then you've got about the best advice there is. My personal advice is no solid foods until the middle of the 2nd week, this hasn't been the case for everyone, but if you want to be ABSOLUTELY sure you don't knock the scabs off early, I would avoid solids until then. Also, Carnation Instant Breakfast is good, but even if you use water instead of milk it causes thick saliva for several hours afterward and that complicates swallowing. Essentials are chap stick, humidifier, spit cup (washed frequently), BIG ice water thermous, and alcohol-free mouthwash such as biotene. I've found that the mouthwash helps heal the sore tongue (from the clamp they use on it during surgery). Also, Lipton's makes boxed Chicken-Noodle soup. It has very small noodles in it that go down REAL easy with the broth. It has 2 packages per box and I get about 2 servings out of each pack. It's been a life-saver for me. You'll be fine, if you're lucky like me, I haven't even had much trouble with the pain. Some do, but for me I've had much worse sore throats (just not for such a long period of time). Stay on top of the pain meds and even take them 30-45 minutes earlier than prescribed the first few days to ease the overlap pain. Good luck!

Thank you for the suggestions, I will follow them!! This has been a good place to go to, since these are real experiences!! I really feel as if I made an informed decision to go ahead with the tonsillectomy.

I will keep you posted.

L

Hi Luci, welcome! I'm going to be post day 14 tomorrow on Wednesday. Finally on day 12 I felt like there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Not completely healed yet, but at least now I don't feel like I have the worst sore throat in history.

Coup, hope you're feeling better. I was able to eat some rotisserie chicken tonight. Still some pain going down, but I'm managing. Have to try to gain back the ten pounds I lost. I'm just dying for some unhealthy fatty food. I figured I starved myself for two weeks, I can afford to go wild with the fat and stuff. Just can't wait. Going to ask my ENT tomorrow what my restrictions are.

To people who are fully recovered, when did the scabs completely go away? I'm looking into my throat and I still see the white scabs, although they're a little more pink now, so I assume they're healing. How long do they stay? I feel like my breath still stinks because of the scabs, anyone else have that experience? I use an alcohol free mouthwash, but I'm still afraid to get close to anyone to speak.

I'm now 1st post-op day 16 and 2nd post-op day 9. I'm starting to see that light too rain. The scabs on my right side, which didn't have any bleeding and didn't need to be recauterized have been gone (at least from what I can tell) since day 10 or 11. Actually the only scabs I can see are the 2 from the recauterization and even they are shrinking incredibly fast. You know I'm not even sure that light-white colored skin is even scabs, but possibly just the new skin. Whereas the thick white patches that used to be there were the actual scabs. Not sure...

Feeling really good today, I think I'm gonna head to the mall and do some shopping to take my mind off things. Have to avoid the food court though. :-)

3 weeks sounds good for recovery. How long before you were up and out, like going out?

And, what symptoms did you have that made you havet to yank those awful tonsils? Like I said, my main problem is tonsil stones, but I think my tonsils are making my general health poor.

Tell me what you think.

Loo

Great to hear that, coup. My scabs are still there even on post op day 14 - got these big white patches still. I asked my ent about them and was told that it may take a little bit longer. I'm still not supposed to be eating "sharp" foods that may irritate the scabs and cause bleeding. But it's getting better with each day. Was also told that it's not unusual to be on hydrocodone even after two weeks, since we adults take longer to recuperate. Guess I'll go pick up the prescription refill that I ordered. Coup, do you still feel that your breath is really bad? I'm afraid my scabs are just as foul smelling as the tonsil stones, despite gargling with mouthwash.

Luci, I was "out and about" on day 5, although I can't say I had much fun or was able to do really anything. Just needed to get out of the house. Tried going back to work around day 6, but ended up taking some additional time off a few days later. Have been back to work since Tuesday.

The reason I had my tonsils out was that they were mysteriously enlarged and painful, causing me ear-aches and preventing me from talking for long periods of time. I was afraid it could be something serious like lymphoma, luckily it wasn't. I went out and about on day 6 from my original surgery, but just to the grocery store. Yesterday, day 9 from my recauterization was my first day out for most of the day. It felt good that my voice was actually back to near normal. I'm going to class tonight, believe it or not I can't wait!

2 weeks is the normal expected recovery time. 3 weeks for me because I had to go back under after week 1.

rain - i can't say that my breath is really bad, except when I wake up in the mornings. (maybe no one's told me) It's like a nasty sour taste in my mouth. but just generally during the day i haven't really noticed. i do drink A LOT of water though. started drinking some soda's yesterday, didn't taste right, but man was it nice. i still have a sore spot on my tongue from the clamp they use during surgery. the first time around it went away quickly, but this 2nd time it's taking a bit longer to heal. i haven't taken any pain meds since Sunday. looks like you're almost there rain! by next week you'll probably be back to normal! is he giving you the liquid still or pills? my doc switched me to pills on my last refill. the liquid was irritating my gums really bad.

Well your reasons are practically the same as mine. I think that once the tonsils go bad, then that's it, they have to go. My boss' son is having his out in December, so around the same time as me. But anyway, I just want this to be over.

I will keep you posted.

3 weeks tops sounds reasonable for recovery, since I have been dealing with these dumb tonsil stones for like the past year and a half now!!

L

Hello everyone. I'm new here, but have been reading the posts. I go in 11/7 to have my tonsils removed and am really scared after hearing friends and family tell all their horror stories. I'm 26 yrs old and everyone tells me that the older you get the harder time you'll have. I've seen alot of really great tips on here. I'm still really terrified. I've never had any kind of surgery before. I also have a question...several people have talked about their voice getting back to normal. I hadn't realized (although it may me common sense) that it would affect it that much. Do they usually give you pain meds in your IV before they let you out of the hospital?

SARAKAY444......I also have IBS, did the tonsillectomy make it act up more?

Hi Kristie - While you're at the hospital they give you morphine. When you wake up from the surgery they'll immediately ask you if you're in pain. Even if the pain isn't too bad, you can tell them yes and get more meds. Usually they'll ask you to rate your pain on a scale of 1 to 10. My favorite response was always 6 since I didn't really have a point of reference and didn't want to know what a 10 felt like. Then you'll sit for about 3 hours in and out of consciousness to make sure there is no bleeding. It was my experience that the pain wasn't too bad, it could be very irritating at times, but nothing I hadn't experienced with really bad sore throats. The secret is not to wait the full time recommended by the doctor before taking your next dose of meds. My voice just returned on Wed/Thurs (day 9 or 10). But even today I feel like I have a little cotton in my throat when I talk. But I've been running my mouth all day today (day 12) with little pain.

Well everyone, I'm approaching the end. I had 4 visible scabs yesterday evening, then out of desperation for something besides soup after 3 weeks I pureed some Beefaroni. I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. Yuck. But I ate it. Afterward my throat really hurt and when I looked in the mirror, one of the scabs was bleeding a little. I drank some ice water and after a few minutes it had stopped. A few hours later I went back and the scab was completely gone with no bleeding. I didn't check the mirror much today, but around 6 pm I looked and 2 additional scabs have fallen off during the course of the day. That just leaves one that I can see and feel. I expect it to be gone soon and I can honestly say that I've never been happier to be alive and healthy. What a rush these last few days have been! Life, here I come! *cheesy*

Hi everyone :)

Thought I'd check back on the board. I've been gone for two weeks - had to go to Chicago for business. I really wasn't looking forward to it, because my flight was 3 weeks after my surgery, and I was still not all the way healed. In the end, it wasn't too bad at all. I still had some scabs, little ones, on the 14th of October when I got to Chicago, but I think they had pretty much fallen off completely within a couple of days.

I wasn't feeling all the way normal, though. I felt the normal altitude-change "wired" (coming down to sea level from being habituated to 4500 feet!) but I got tired very quickly. On the fifth day, unfortunately, I picked up some kind of stomach bug that stayed with me for a week. Misery! I'm glad that didn't happen when I was still recovering!

So now my throat is entirely healed. It felt weird for a while - like the scar tissue was rearranging itself - sometimes it felt like I had food caught in one side or the other of my throat. That's mostly gone away now. My uvula and soft palate are mostly back to normal, but I've had to re-learn how to swallow. I guess I was used to having to push food past my enormous tonsils, so now they're gone, my throat muscles have to figure out how to do it another way.

Oddly, my gag reflex is a lot stronger now than it ever was. When I had my tonsils, I guess I was so used to having to mess with them and push tonsil stones out of them that I just didn't gag any more. Now I have trouble brushing the back of my tongue when I brush my teeth!

I feel, on the whole, a LOT healthier. It's been about 5 weeks since surgery. When the stomach bug finally left my system, it was as if I was suddenly healthier than I'd felt in years. Hard to explain - my energy level came back higher than I really ever remember it - and now I'm back in Utah (at 4500 feet!) I didn't go through the altitude-readjustment as badly as I remember in the past. My shingles is subsiding slowly - fingers crossed - but I'm back down to 400mg acyclovir twice a day. I'd like to get off the antivirals altogether, but I'm not going to push things.

Lastly, my throat is still an UGLY thing. I didn't know I had so much scar tissue back behind my tonsils, and now it's all visible - YUCK! Lol... At least it doesn't hurt any more.

So, hang in there, if you're still going through the first couple of weeks - I'm here to tell you, it does get better eventually, and it's worth it...eventually!

Luka :rolleyes:

Thanx coup. I'm a real sissy when it comes to pain. When I was younger, I could take it with the best of them, but now I hate the thought of it. When they put me in the hospital to induce my labor, I was begging for meds before I even felt any contractions. Pitiful, I know, but I knew it was coming so I wanted to be ahead of it. My doctor and I have decided that I'll be off work for two weeks because my job is very stressful, physical and fast-paced. I like the thought of being off for a couple weeks, but I just wish I wouldn't be in pain. The good thing is...my mom is coming to watch my 22 month old (she's already in the terrible two's) while my husband is at work. I went to the grocery last night and stocked up on all the foods I won't be able to eat after the surgery, so I'll be ready to pig out this week...my last week of solid food lol

Coup, glad to hear you're almost better. Although I'd be freaking out again if I saw a bit of bleeding especially given what you've been through. I'm day 18 today, and I think I am almost there. Have been able to eat normally for the last several days. Had a huge meal last night and felt fine afterwards. I'm still afraid to eat the really sharp or hard things, such as potato chips, carrots, or apples. My voice is pretty strong now and pretty much back to normal. It still gets sore at the end of the day after having to talk a lot at work.

Kristie, good luck on your surgery. I don't remember them giving me any pain medication whatsoever after I got out of surgery. They let me go after pretty much an hour or two in recovery. I stocked up also on a lot of food, but found that I really didn't eat a whole lot of it. I don't think I will ever eat Jello in a long long time. I also got turned off on pudding and popsicles. Best things I found where instant oatmeal for breakfast and mashed potatoes for dinner. Those things are pretty safe and don't cause a lot of nausea.

Has anyone else experienced nausea after resuming a normal diet after several weeks of nothing but liquids? I think I'm a bit different than most since I actually went 3 full weeks on nothing but soup. I ate a sub for lunch yesterday and it just didn't taste the way I had hoped it would taste and afterward I didn't feel "good full." I felt kind of strange. Then last night I ate grits, eggs, bacon, toast and hashbrowns for supper, pretty late, and again didn't feel good and full, just felt funny. And then I woke up around 5:30 am with terrible nausea. Thanks!

Since I am new to these boards let me start off by telling you a little about myself, I am a 23 year old guy about 6 foot and about 205 lbs. Since the beginning of this year I have constantly been getting sore throats, I had tonsillitis 5 times, two of which were positive for strep throat. After getting sick literally every 4 to 6 weeks for 6 months strait, I went to see an ENT specialist. He saw my tonsils were enlarged which they always have been, one actually used to touch the thing that hangs down in the middle of your throat, and based on the amount I was getting sick, he suggested that we take them out.

I saw the Dr. a week before the surgery and he explained what was going to take place the day of my surgery, then he told me when I go home, he will be prescribing me liquid Tylenol with codeine, worried about the amount of pain being severe and knowing Tylenol with codeine isn’t very strong, I asked if there was anything stronger, like liquid percocet, he just smiled at me and sort of laughed, I continued saying that I have had percocet in the past and it really worked well for me. He replied by telling me yes that does work really well for pain but that they don’t make liquid percocet.

I had a tonsillectomy done last Wednesday, so I am Day 6 as I am writing this. The pain I have experienced since I’ve had the surgery has been far greater then the pain I was expecting. The pain has hit new levels of severity yesterday and today. I am going to see my ENT Dr. tomorrow and I am hoping he will finally give me something to better cope with the pain. Since the surgery I have not been able to sleep and the pain meds that he gave me did nothing more then slightly take the edge off of the pain. The pain has been so bad that since my surgery I have not slept more then a grand total of 12-15 hours, since coming home Thursday afternoon. During the 20-24 hours I was in my room at the hospital I slept no more then 4 or 5 hours because the pain kept me up.

Right after the surgery they asked me if I was in pain and to rate it on a scale from 1-10, I told them I was an 8, 15 minutes later after they pumped 10mg of morphine into my IV within 10-15 minutes I was down to a 5 on the pain scale, this was the only instant I felt alleviated from the pain. When I got to my room they gave me 4mg of morphine into my muscle. Then a couple of hours later when I asked for more pain meds they wouldn’t give it to me, the schedule the doctor set for me was 4mg into the muscle every four hours (It is since this point I feel that my pain has been under treated). The nurse said she would call the doctor and ask him if he could change it to every three hours, which he did, and then when I saw him that night, I asked if he could up the dose, he then gave the ok for 5mg every three hours. The last time I saw him was Thursday morning at the hospital and I told him that the morphine they were giving me wasn’t helping very much at all. He said again that he can’t give me anything in pill form and that Tylenol with codeine is the only thing in liquid form.

I got home Thursday afternoon, and took my first dose of Tylenol w/ codeine at around 2 pm, the dose on the bottle was two and a half teaspoons every four hours, he said I could go up to 3 teaspoons which would be 36mg codeine and 360mg Tylenol, which is what I took, it slightly took the edge off the pain, then probably 3 hours later I took it again, and again after another 3 hours, all this time it just barely helped with the pain. Also to try and help with the pain I have been drinking water almost constantly since I was in my room at the hospital. I finally fall asleep at like 5 or 6 in the morning, I wake up 2 or 3 hours later, my throat was dry and sore to a degree I have never experienced before. So I took 3 teaspoons drank some water, 20 min later it wasn’t helping at all so I took another 2 teaspoons. Eventually it started to feel a little better but I was still in a great deal of pain. At this point its Friday morning and I already went through half a bottle of the Tylenol w/ codeine which he gave me one refill on. I had to call him and find out what to do. I get him on the phone and I told him, that it wasn’t really working and that I even tried taking more then the three teaspoons and it didn’t really work. He asked me how much I took that morning and I told him, and he tells me I cant do that, “you cant overdose the Tylenol with codeine, if you need something for pain in between doses get some liquid Tylenol”. He also stated again that he can’t give me anything in pill form, and that Tylenol w/ codeine is the strongest stuff they make in liquid form. I said to him, “ so I should just deal with the pain?”, he was like, “unfortunately, yeah, drink lots of water, it will help with the pain”.

Since last Friday I’ve taken the meds as prescribed, with Tylenol in between doses, it hardly helps at all, but I have been trying to deal with the pain. However, yesterday and today are by far the worst days yet, and I just cant deal with the pain, I was going to call him, but I figured I'm going to see him tomorrow, I mine as well just wait.

Does this seam odd to anyone else, because I have come to realize that they do make liquid percocet or even Demerol in syrup form, he could have given me either of those. Should I mention this to him tomorrow? I am so afraid that I’m going to go there tomorrow and he’s not going to give me any thing else for pain, but if he is going to give me something should I make certain it will be something adequate? I don’t know what to do, all I know is this pain is horrible, and I for one don’t think I should have to be dealing with it like this.

Coup, I didn't really feel any nausea when starting to eat solid foods again. Perhaps your intestines are not used to having to digest solids. I'd probably suggest smaller meals and see if that helps.

John, your doctor, I'm afraid, seems like a bit of a jerk. I've been living off of liquid Vicodin. I'm now post op day 20 and feel like I'm 90% healed. I'm weaning myself off of the Vicodin. But that first week it really helped me a lot. I couldn't eat or drink anything without first taking the Vicodin. I'm confused as to why the doctor said he couldn't give you anything stronger than Tylenol with codeine. Or why he couldn't give you pills - you could always mash them up and mix them with a little bit of water. He seems like one of those doctors that think all patients are seeking drugs and looking to resell them on the black market. Utterly ridiculous. I would totally call him out on it. Maybe print out something you found on the internet about liquid Vicodin or liquid Percocet. He's your doctor, he should try to make you comfortable. As far as staying in the hospital, I never have heard of that. Did you bleed at all? I always thought tonsillectomies were an outpatient procedure.

when i met with him to go over the procedure the week before the surgery he said i would be in there over nite for observation. When i spoke with him after the surgery the only thing he mentioned that seamed to be abnormal was how deep my tonsils were.

When I see him tomorrow Im definetly going to call him out on it, cause this pain is ridiculous.

Thanks for your response

Is it normal for the pain to be greater on days 6 and 7 then any previous day after the surgery?

I remember my first night being the worst, because I couldn't really swallow. Then around day 4 or 5 I temporarily stopped the liquid Vicodin. Day 6 or 7 I did feel like I took a step backward. But then it improved. I think I starting turning the corner around Day 12, and it's gotten better ever since. Still with a minor sore throat, but nothing like what I had last week. My voice is back to normal. The scabs are almost gone. Was brave and ate some chips today. Maybe I'll try an apple tomorrow.

Good luck talking it out with your doctor. I'm not sure why he's so reluctant to give you medication.

Hi John - I can't really help because while the pain wasn't great, I never really had much trouble with it. Both the first time, and after the recauterization I stopped taking pain meds altogether by day 6. I still have 2 half-bottles of liquid vicodin in the bathroom and a bottle of percocet i had called in the first week "just in case." And even though I called in the percocet, the doc never questioned me about why i needed it. I never had to use it though. Sorry you're having so much trouble. I wonder if they used a different method of removal on you. I think most doctors use cauterization, but some still use other means such as a scalpel and i've heard those other methods are much more painful afterward.

I'm now on day 23 from 1st post-op and day 16 from 2nd post-op. I'm totally back to normal. I'm eating whatever and talking for hours on end. The nausea is finally gone Rain, not sure what was up with that. I can honestly say this has been difficult on my bowels, they hadn't worked in so long they didn't know what to do with that sub sandwich on Monday! :-)

Well everyone, I have three more days before my tonsillectomy. I am not looking forward to it at all, except for the part when its all over and the pain is gone.

Well, I agree it definitely isn't something to look forward to. But you know it actually goes by pretty fast. Even my 3 week recovery seems like a flash in time now. I guess maybe I've suppressed it, but I honestly can't even remember what the pain was like and I'm just on week 4! LOL

Just pop up on here whenever you have questions and we'll do our best to help out!

Just wanted to post a little encouragement. I had tonsillectomy/turbinate/sinus surgery on Oct 25. Was going to be my first time under general anesthetic and the thought of throwing up when I was coming to scared me the most. The nurses gave me a little anti-nausea patch behind the ear and it really worked. I was eating without much problem from the first day, and could talk, too. Got progressively better until Day 7 (counting surgery day as Day 1), and even worse on Day 8, when I'd planned to go back to work. I guess my peak hit a little later. I did go back on Day 9, but overdid it (talking too much) and by evening, felt like I'd swallowed a fish bone. HOWEVER, all in all, it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared. There are a few things that I found out that may help someone else out there who's getting ready to have this done:
-Beforehand, get yourself some healthy food together. I actually had an easier time with warm - cool things, rather than really cold. I pureed a bunch of vegetables, like baked squash or sweet potatoes, and even frozen broccoli/cauli/carrot mix. You can mix them with a little canned milk, or low-sodium broth til you get them to a consistency you can swallow easily and just heat in the microwave. Since I'm on 2 antibiotics, I also try to get a little yogurt everyday. You can throw some bananas in the freezer, and then add them to the yogurt for a smoothie (don't try to use a straw - eat with a spoon). Some yogurts are a little more acidic than others, so you may want to use the whole-milk variety. Mountain High is my favorite.
-Baby Tylenol drops are the bees' knees. They are more concentrated than the kids' liquid, so you don't have to swallow down so much stuff, but about 5 dropper-fuls equals 1 extra-strength tablet. My dr told me it was OK to cut back on my lortab, and just take the tylenol so that I could get back to driving, work, etc. sooner. It's also nice at night, when the lortab wears off, i just roll over, grab the bottle and give myself some w/o turning on the light and waking DH. I think it works faster, and I can take less, too, but maybe that's just my imagination.
-Cream Saver candies were also a Life Saver (pun intended) for me, as I had to breathe through my mouth for the first several days while my nose was packed. Kept it from being too dry all the time.
-The codeine meds may make you constipated - get some liquid Milk of Mag or a stool softener tablet. That will resolve itself as you lower your codeine dose.
-Throat Coat tea is also good to have on hand.
I haven't had the bad taste/no taste problems mentioned elsewhere on the boards - everything tastes as good as it always did. Maybe having a 3 year old around gave me a lot of motivation, I don't know, but it felt good to be able to read him a story again on Day 4! One funny thing, though, when I went back to work, people all commented on how different my voice is - some said it was lower (more resonance with my empty sinuses?), but others just said I don't sound like I used to. I'll have to see if that's a permanent thing. Good luck to all of you contemplating surgery. I hope we all get the results we are looking for!

Thanks coup. I'm sure I'll be on here quite a bit in the next couple of weeks. I didn't realize how difficult it was going to be until I went to the grocery last night. I'm used to getting all this yummy food and when I'd go to pick it up, it hit me like a hammer... I'm not going to be able to eat the steak, chips, french fries, pizza.. all the great food I'd enjoyed every other week of my life. I swear I almost lost it. I never realized how much I loved my eating habit until then. My husband isn't looking forward to it either. I made him stock up on frozen foods :)

Well folks, in less than 24 hrs I'll be tonsil-less. My mom is going with me since my husband works 3rd shift and will just be getting home from work when I get to the hospital. Its okay though since I've heard that the surgery is pretty cut and dry. I think he's coming later on though, just in case. I'm going to go to Taco Bell tonight to have my last 'real' meal for awhile. I can't wait to eat *tacos* :bouncing: Wish me luck. :wave:

Yum...Taco Bell. Well good luck in the morning. You'll be fine. Actually at the hospital I went to they treat you like royalty while you're waiting for the surgery to begin. Warm blankets and little footies whenever you want them. LOL

Its 3:30am, I can't sleep. I can't tell you last time I woke up at this time on my own. Usually if I wake up this early its because of my little girl. Not the case this time. She's at my mother-in-law's until tomorrow afternoon. I'm really getting nervous now. My heart is pounding. It sucks though because when I get nervous I eat. When I can't sleep, I take some benedryl and fall asleep. I can't do either. I wasn't planning on getting up until almost 6, but here I am. Sorry to be such a baby. All of you are so encouraging, despite some of the horror stories. I know I can make it through this, I guess I'm just like everyone else (I hope) and its just pre-surgery jitters. Maybe I'll go and see what's on tv.

You'll be fine! You definitely shouldn't lose any sleep over it before it even happens! There'll be plenty of time to lose sleep. Just remember you're off for 2 weeks so you don't HAVE to get your regular 11 pm - 7am (or whatever 8 hour period you sleep). When I first found myself trying to get my regular sleep hours in, I was getting really frustrated and that didn't help me any. So I would just sleep whenever it hit me, whether it was 11 pm or 4 am. But then again, I used the guest room most of the time and didn't have to worry about waking anyone else...

Hi guys, I'm having my tonsils out in the morning. I've browsed some of the thread and read some the horrible recovery stories.
My ENT is doing coblation surgery and he says that recovery time is around 3 days.
My question is, has anyone else had this type of surgery? If so, how was it for you?
I know this is a new procedure and I'm a little weary of that, but it sounds like it is so much better.
Thanks!!!

I've seen people refer to coblation surgery, but I'm not sure what this is. I had my tonsils out about 4 weeks ago, and I think my ENT just used cautery.

I am now happy to report that I'm back to my old self. Off the vicodin. And able to eat anything I want. So very happy.

I still see a little bit of a scab at the back over where one of my tonsils used to be. Is this normal? I'm hoping that it's now not bacteria just collecting back there that smells as bad as a tonsil stone. I would try picking it off, but I don't want to cause bleeding.

I remember reading a post here about an altered gag reflex. I think I have the same thing. It just feels a lot different when I brush my tongue back there. Maybe because the tonsils aren't there anymore, the gag reflex is a lot stronger. Guess it's something I'll get used to.

Its the first morning after surgery. I didn't sllep very well last night. I've already used half a bottle of liquid lortab. Yesterday was ok. I managed to eat mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. I fooled myself into thinking that since I was doing so well yesterday I should be about the same today. WRONG! Right now the pain is awful! I woke up just about every hour last night and drank water and took my meds religously every 4 hours. Question: did anyone else have a lot of pain in their stomach and back the day after surgery? Mine is hurting something terrible. Guess I'll go try to eat some yummy jello or applesauce. Also, I made the mistake yesterday looking at my tonsils. BIG MISTAKE. I'll never ever ever do that again! :wave:

Congrats on taking the leap Kristie! I'm shuddering because neither mac n cheese nor mashed potatos were the most comfortable food for me to eat. I don't highly recommend it. I would say that you should stick with soup for a while. Of course everyone is different and some people go right back to a normal diet. I can't imagine that though. I didn't have pain in my back or stomach, although I would get spasms in my stomach muscles the first few days when I would doze off. I would wake up and my stomach muscles would be flexing involuntarily. It was weird. Also my ear and chin hurt for a few days, not like an ear-ache, but like someone had hit it.

Well, I'm still alive (I checked the obituaries this morning just to make sure) :) I only had one really tough time today. My meds didn't really help once. I took it 30 mins early because I was hurting so bad, but for 4 straight hours it was nothing but pain. I'm doing pretty well right now. I just got finished eating a really soggy baked potato. Maybe I shouldn't be eating like that, but I just can't take anymore yogurt and stuff. I've had to force myself to drink prune juice. That's what was making my stomach hurt so much I guess. I've watered it down though so it doesn't taste so nasty. I found something else out today. If you concentrate really really hard, you can mix a little bit of chicken broth with mashed potatoes and almost (maybe just a little tiny bit) make them taste something like dumplings. lol I dread tomorrow, my day 3. My jaw and tongue is pretty sore, but I guess it will all pass. Thanks for your support.

yep, the sore tongue is definitely no fun. i can't figure out why they can't find some other way to hold your tongue out. sounds like you're doing great! hang in there!

i had my final post-op today and everything was great. i asked him about coblation surgery too and he said that it isn't a well-proven alternative and there is still some question about levels of bleeding post-op. of course everyone has their own opinion about what is well-proven, so if it reduces your healing time, i'm all for it. no one locally does that though. he said that similarly, in the early 90's laser surgery was all the rage, but the cons outweighed the pros and hardly anyone does the laser surgery anymore.

wow, a full day of talking and no hoarseness! thank God for little miracles!

I'm glad to hear that everything is going so well with you Coup. My pain is getting worse. I called the doc today, but the nurse said he wouldn't be in until tomorrow and that there really wasn't anything they could give me that wouldn't wear off before time for the next dose. So I decided to split my dose up and take 1tsp and then 2 hrs later take the other 1/2tsp. It seems to help take the edge off that last hour. It was terrible before. The nurse said that maybe tomorrow he'd let me take motrin between, but she had to make sure first. I'll find out in the morning. I don't know what kind of method they used to take mine out. I don't go for my post-op until Dec 5. I figured I'd go before then, but I guess not. Doc said that I didn't bleed much during surgery, but that my tonsils were way past the point of needing to come out. I'm not a doctor and I could have told them that. lol Hope you continue to do well.

Hi Kristie - Haven't seen anything from you today. I hope all is well with you. I know you're right in the middle of it now, but make it through the weekend and you're almost there!

Man, being back at work after missing 3 weeks is no joke. Every client I have fell apart while I was gone. What does that say about a fortune 500 company if the clients are so reliant upon 1 person?

Well keep us updated on your progress.

Hi everyone...
I am new to posting on the board, although I have been reading it since my surgery on 11/7. This board is a godsend!!!! I wish that I would have found it PRIOR to my surgery. At this point, I am still not sure if it was worth it. First and foremost, I am on day 7 from the surgery and am MISERABLE. I had tonsil stones and was tired of having to deal with them (they are so nasty). The surgery itself was fine, but no one can prepare you for the recovery. I wake up each day hoping that I will feel normal again, but it hasn't happened. Just like when I was pregnant, if I try to eat something and it turns my stomach, then I can't even look at it again. Goodbye mashed potatoes, cream of wheat, pudding, carnation instant breakfasts. I am basically subsisting on smoothies, gatorade and tea. Not to mention the fact that food tastes like crap. I had the brilliant idea to eat refried beans (for the protein), and the texture was like eating wet, sandy carpet. Because the only things that I am able to get down (rootbeer floats, smoothies) are sweet, I developed thrush, so be careful!!! It looks like whitish spots on your tongue, cheeks and gums. I have a prescription for these little wafers that we joking refer to as oral monistat. Sugar and antibiotics create a bread factory in your mouth. I have been drinking Danactive, which is a super probiotic. I am so worried that food won't taste the same anymore! Does anyone else have the horrible cotton-mouth at night as well as night sweating! These are so bad for me, I wake up every two hours to drink water.
I experienced the shooting pain in my ears last night, which knocked me for a loop. It's like the worst earache you have ever had in your life. Ice packs help. In reading the boards, it seems that the younger you are (30 and under) the less problems you experience. I am 35 and fall into that "holy crap" category. I advise anyone who is about to embark on this surgery to do a lot of research. Don't gloss over the possible complications and make sure that you are able to take at least a full two weeks off. I had two babies via c-section and truly thought I would be back to work after a week. This surgery has kicked my butt!
For everyone going through this ordeal like me, I wish you a speedy recovery and would love to hear how everyone is doing...misery does love company!

TMarkow - Hey! You had your tonsillectomy the same day I did. Wish you would have found us earlier, we could have suffered together each day lol . My pain is alot better today, so maybe tomorrow yours will be better. Although, I didn't have the thrush like you do. There is also another thread here...Tonsillectomy Day to Day. This one really hasn't had very much on it the last few days, but I keep checking back to see everyday and wonder how everyone is doing. I hope you start feeling better soon!

Hey Kristie...
I'm glad that I found this board and am happy to hear from you. It is nice to have someone else going through the same things. Have you had the problems with food? I can't seem to eat anything!

After day 5 I had a terrible time with food. For a couple of days I didn't eat anything and just barely even got my water down me. I was doing so much better today. I ate a half-normal meal and felt fine, but right now my throat is really starting to hurt again. Are your scabs falling off yet? Mine haven't completely, but I can see a little pink through the white now. I guess I might have overdone it today and now I'm paying for it. Its not bad enough yet to have to take any pain meds. Today's actually the first day I haven't had to take anything :bouncing:

I haven't had to take any pain meds today either...first time! I would assume that the scabs are starting to fall off, alhtough I haven't looked in a few days. The pain in my ears is much better as well. I am sorry that your throat is hurting again. Having read all of the horror stories regarding the bleeding, I am taking it easy. I have my post op appt. on Monday and we'll see how things look before I try to eat a "normal" meal. Have you completely lost your sense of taste? I can taste sweet stuff, but salt is gone.

Mine is the exact opposite. I can taste salty things, but not sweet. Its strange, I think, that I don't go back for my post-op appt. until Dec 5. That's almost a month after my surgery. I go back to work before I go there. Oh well. My throat is doing better today. My voice has completely returned and is deeper now. I was able to sing for the first time after the surgery today and I was pretty pleased with the results. I think it made things sound better.... of course the dogs were probably still howling somewhere. LOL

Hi TMark - Have faith. The taste will return. The day I began eating normal food again i was so excited (it was 3 weeks for me by the way)! But as I sat down to eat my LARGE sub with everything on it, I noticed that it just did not taste good at all. I was so disappointed and went back into depression. But within the next 3 days I was back to my old greedy self, eating everything in sight. I have seen others on the board say it took them longer for the taste to return, but it will return eventually. I only had a slight problem with thrush after my 2nd surgery, but the Biotene mouthwash cleared it up in no time.

Thanks for telling me that! I am so desperate to eat normal food again! I have been dreaming about food and thought what a cruel joke this surgery would be to deprive me of ever tasting it again. Not to mention that Thanksgiving is next week :)
Kristie, glad that your voice is back. I have tried but I still sound like I am deaf...it's weird. It would be so awesome to come out of this with a great voice. How is pain med situation going??? I have only taken the vicodin once today, so that's encouraging. I have to go back to work on Monday and am hoping to be off of it by then. Again, it's so nice to have you guys to chat with. After two weeks, I think everyone around me is fairly sick of the whole thing (including me)...

Well, I still haven't taken any pain meds. I'm hoping that I'm finally reaching the end. Today was really good. I needed it so bad too. The only bad thing now is that where I went for a week and a half without having anything really all that solid, my body doesn't know what to do with the things I'm eating now. Everything goes right through me. My husband took me out to eat tonight and we had to race back to his mother's house within a half hour so I could go to the bathroom. Of course, I also have irritable bowel syndrome so that doesn't help the situation very much. But, I'd rather have this not be able to eat. I'm to hear you got to slack off your pain meds today.

I went through tonsillectomy on nov, the 9th so I guess I am at day 9 or so. They used the cauterization method and they said that the tonsils were deeply rooted in their canals, so they had had to dig deeply. In addition, as the new openings in the palate looke too big for the surgeon, he placed a couple of stitches to close somewhat the gaps.

When I woke up -some 4 hours after they put me to sleep- I felt I had a bad reaction to the anesthesia (uncontrollable shaking, plus vision aberrations, and other neurological symptoms).

Shortly after I cleared my throat for the first time and I produced a lot of green stuff with little or no blood.

The doctors also did a culture of the tonsils, and they discovered they were infected so they put me on two different antibiotics, on one of which I am still today.

I have avoided so far any pain killers because one day I took 1.000 mg-IV acetaminophen (tylenol?) and I felt no difference. My pains were intense the first days, and have been the same during the first 8 days but today they have increased a lot. I think it has become impossible for me to drink or eat anything, so I fear to get dehydrated.

I had to be 7 days at hospital, most of them with the meds administered intravenously.

Up to now I have been on a very soft diet (smashed portatos, rice, fruits, juices, water). Everything is very painful. I cannot swallow anything. I have also a hugely irritated and inflammed uvula that makes me choke when I try to lay down.

My tongue is very achy on both sides, due to the grasping devices they use to keep it out during surgery.

I have not bleed during all this time. My throat has two big and deep wholes were the tonsils used to be, the whole cavities covered with a white coat. My tongue is also white and my saliva quite foamy.

I am 45 years old, was previously very healthy and athletic and now I am at a loss because I dont know what can I expect in terms of recovery. I haven't had any single hour of uninterrupted sleep because the autonomic swallow reflex during the night awakes me in pain.

I am trying right now to take again some acetaminophen (tylenol) but I doubt it will work. I get no benefit from taking cold drinks, I think they hurt more than room temperature fluids.

Any ideas or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I couldn't imagine only having tylenol to take during recovery. The days I only took it due to the side effects I was having from the lortab I thought I'd die. The pain got worse and I went back to the lortab. Why did you have to stay in the hospital for 7 days?

Hi All:

Please start a new thread to continue this discussion.

Thank you for your understanding.

Moderator BAC