Well... After tons of tonsillitis & two peritonsillar abscesses over the past 2 years, I am THRILLED to be getting my tonsils out on Tuesday, Sept. 5th!! Unfortunately, because of my abscesses, I have a bit of scar tissue back there, but I'm hoping it won't affect it too much... GROSS! I am SOOOO tired of constantly being paranoid about getting tonsillitis or an abscess, so just not having that worry will improve my quality of life, I know!

If anyone has any advice or good ideas for me, please feel free to pass them on! I'll try to keep this updated as my surgery happens & my healing progresses.

Good luck with your tonsillectomy! Please keep us up to date on your progress and how you're feeling.

I've had a few abscesses in the past few years as well -- boy can those hurt! I'm hoping the post-op pain of a tonsillectomy would be on par with that and not worse. The last abscess I had my doctor wouldn't do anything about it and I ended up draining it myself (horrible and dangerous I know -- but you reach a point where you feel like you need to do something).

I have my ENT appointment today to see if I can get my tonsils out soon, too, so I'm curious to see how well you fare.

Good luck and enjoy the weekend!

Yikes – I don’t blame you for draining your own abscess, but it sounds AWFUL!! In the last one I had, they drained it with a needle in the ER, but it didn’t really do much because I was re-filled up after 30 minutes! I had to get it cut open the next day… ick!

Hope that all goes well with your tonsil appointment, and I hope for your sake that you can get them out too! Keep me updated, and thanks for the encouragement!

KFen,
I am right there with you on being excited to get your tonsils removed. I was scheduled for my T&A, and endoscopic sinus window insertion on September 5th as well... but my insurance company has put it in the review process again... I have had to reschedule for October. They covered my sons without a single hiccup, but being over twelve raises flags.
As far as advice:
My 3 year old son just had his tonsils out. At that age he was only able to cry and beg mommy and daddy to make it stop hurting. He didn't understand "why?". Now he is climbing the walls and more active than ever... not to mention infection free for three months. You know why, you know it is going to be rough and thus you can reason yourself through this... it will be rough, but feeling normal is worth it!
There were many things that seemed to help my son:
1) Octaine ear drops (Lydocaine base), they were like liquid gold. He acted normal, would eat and drink until the drops wore off. These were adminstered even in his sleep during the scab peeling stage... which almost made me cry.
2) Take your pain medicine regularly... set your clock, try not to let it lapse... even after the scabs peel off. You wil regret it if the site dries out while you snore at night.
3) Frequently take sips of cold/room temperature water during the first 48 hrs, after which you can sip warmer stuff if it is preferrable... keep the surgery site moist... otherwise it will hurt like Hadies when it drys out.
4) Your sinuses are going to get dry and irritated due to increased air flow, now your tonsils are gone... this will produce excess thick mucus which drops down the back of your throat and hurts like... yep, Hadies again. To avoid/lessen this complication use regular squirts of saline nasal spray to keep you sinuses moist and dilute excess mucus.
5) You will get weak and slow down the healing process if you don't force yourself to eat/drink. Eating is not always necessary to get nutriuents. My sone was great the day of surgery but began to tapper off on his food intake. I supplemented with protien powder supplemental milk shakes and smoothies. This kept him energized through out the recovery.
Good luck and best wishes.
I will add more as it comes to me. Sincerely, MG

MG: Thanks for the good info! Are those eardrops by prescription? Or is it something that I can pick up over the counter? Thanks again!

Hi KFen...
We'll I'll be right behind you. I just got back from the ENT and I'm scheduled for surgery Sept. 7!

My doctor seems so cavailere about the whole procedure. "It doesn't hurt that bad and you'll be back on your feet in no time." I'm so thankful I found this posting! At least I know what I'll really be in for thanks to everyone who shares their stories on here.

The scheduling nurse was a little more practical with her advice. She told me she's the one that always has to answer questions from those in post-op and knows, first-hand, how difficult it can be.

At least I know I can come on here and vent and ask questions and get a lot of supportive advice!

It doesn't hurt that bad??? I had mine out a couple of years ago when I was 43..... I have never had so much pain. Don't let the pain pills lapse. I can also tell you (as my dr. told me)...the 10th day you will feel like someone turned off a light switch. The pain just simply disappeared.

KFen,
Oticaine ear drops are lydocaine based... thus prescription only. Your ENT should be willing to right you a script for at least a 15 mL bottle.... however you might need to ask.
Ear drops are standard for children, but I am not sure if they are standard for adults.
MG

Cohoss – congrats! :-) We’ll both be in misery together, hahah. :rolleyes: Oh, but I am sure that it will all be worth it in the end.

I agree with you: why are the doctors always so low-key about it?? This is a PAINFUL recovery, and they make it sound like no big deal! I am thrilled to have found this message board. I know it’ll be a big help during my recovery!

Woo hoo! Had my final pre-op appt today with my surgeon, and I am still good to go for Tuesday! I cannot WAIT to have these dang tonsils out!

One word to other folks getting any work done in their mouth: Make sure not to have any natural vitamins or things like ginko biloba 3 weeks before the surgery, because they can thin your blood and increase your chance of bleeding. I learned this because some of my blood tests when I was taking those things came out as imbalanced, and now they are fine after I cut out those supplements.

Well KFen its the 5th and I hope you surgery goes well (if you read this before) or went well (if you read this after). Relax, take it day by day, drink lots of water, and be patient. All the best to you.

KFen,

Wishing I were you. Best wishes for an sucessful surgery and easy recovery. I am now anxiously awaiting my reset Oct 17th surgery date.

Sincerely,
MG

Kefen,
Like others, I'm thinking of you today and hoping everything goes well!

I have to admit I'm getting a little nervous for Thursday myself, but if I try to remember that it will be better in the long run, it helps.

Let us know how you're doing.

Hello Kefen,

I've been reading about your pre-surgery stuff for a couple days and just wanted to wish you the best of luck! I am having my surgery on the 15th and am nervous!

Let us know how it goes!

Tonya

Well... I am back... and WITHOUT MY TONSILS! :):wave:

So here's how the day went:
1) Woke up at 5:30, was at the hospital at 6:30am
2) Found out that I should've been at the hospital at 5:30am instead... oh well! My dr's office told me wrong. Things were still okay.
3) Got my IV, went to the operating room, and next thing I know, I'm in recovery with a very nice nurse. The surgery itself is NOTHING to fear. You won't feel/hear/be aware of a thing!
4) Reunited with my hubby & parents in my recovery room. My throat hurt like the dickens, but no worse than when I've had my abscesses in the past.
5) LOVED LOVED LOVED the ice chips that they gave me. Didn't want the juice or popsicles, but the ice chips were heaven.
6) Left the hospital at 11:45 or so and went home. Beware, it's very easy to feel nauseous as the anesthesia is wearing off. Even now... ugh... :dizzy:
7) Came home, where my mother is spoiling me rotten. I'm taking Tylenol with Codeine for pain and Amoxicillin to fend off any infections. I'm EXHAUSTED:dizzy: but so happy to be home.

Using an ice pack around my neck that the hospital gave me, and that's quite lovely. Also, I've been able to drink a TON of water, had a small bit of smoothie, and a bit of Ensure. I am SOOOOOOOOO hungry & craving normal food, but oh well.

So far, so good... I'll keep you updated, and thanks to all of you for your support! To those who are having it done soon: You will do great, too!

Good luck, KFen!

The key thing for me was to stay on top of the water (I used Gatorade) and the meds. Make sure you have someone wake you every 4-6 hours to take your meds. Even if you don't feel like you need them! Today is the first day in a week that I've had really bad pain, and once I took more meds and used the heat pack I was fine.

Keep us posted and get lots of rest! :)

KFen, good to hear you had a successful operation. As a tip I was just like you...feeling ok after it was done. Be mentally steeled for Day 4+...and get your fluids in NOW and eat lots of soup and such, because come Day 4, you may not feel so much like eating...trust me.

On a side note, I weighed myself today at the office and I lost 15 pounds! Wooo hoooo! My pants aren't so tight anymore...so the bright side to the pain and suffering is you lose about 10 - 20 pounds...freakin' awesome! Now if I could just keep it off.

I'm right there with you SD. I lost 18lbs and would love to be able to keep it off! Congrats on the successfull surgery KFen. Keep that ice pack going 20 on 20 off as much as you can over the next few days and drink lots! Eat soup while you can too... it'll get bad for a bit, but you can do it :)

Day 1 Post-Op

So.... I guess this is technically Day 1 that I am in now?? The first day AFTER the surgery? I think that's how people count.

I am doing all right. Took a shower, ate some applesauce, drinking a ton of water while I can. My ears are starting to feel really plugged up, and I want to yawn to unplug them, but that would be a disaster!

I made the fatal mistake of looking INSIDE of my mouth... Ugh... NOT something I suggest :rolleyes: It looks like it should, though.

Last night was pretty hard to sleep (woke up every hour or two, but not in too bad of pain). I know everyone says that the worst pain/discomfort is to come, so I'm just rolling with the punches for now, and we'll see how it goes! Thanks everyone for your encouragement!

Glad to hear things went well and that you're not in too much pain. How was eating the applesauce? My doctor said (as well as others on here) that hydration and food will be the biggest help to getting better sooner. I'm just not sure how much it will hurt to drink or eat.

My surgery is tomorrow morning (6 a.m.!) so I'm looking to you for all of the fun that lies ahead. That way I can know at least a day in advance ;-)
Thanks to everyone for all of their contributions on here -- it really does seem to help!

KFen, just hang in there. Know that most of us have been where you are now, and yes...EAT and DRINK as much as you can now. You'll won't be feeling like it much in the days to come.

cohoss, good luck on your surgery, post when you feel good enough to do so.

Cohoss: GOOD LUCK to you!! I know that your surgery will go well & we will both be glad that we had it done in the long run.

This afternoon, I've found that my throat is hurting more than it did yesterday, but it's still manageable. So far, no ear pain, but my ears are definitely plugged up (probably from all that swelling).

I've been LOVING my ice pack that I keep on my neckline. It helps a lot.

Keep me updated how it goes! :)

Hi all!
Thanks for the kind words. I had my operation this morning and was home by about 10:00 a.m. Just like everyone said, the procedure itself is a breeze and I'm not in too much pain. Thankfully I took some of the pain meds a few hours ago and I've been pretty doped up -- that is actually helping. My throat isn't too bad but sleeping so well feels wonderfully.

I'll keep you updated on how I feel if you would do the same! I took a quick look down the throat earlier and it looks like a battlefield. I'm sure it takes forever to heal :-)

Cohoss: congrats & glad to hear it went well!

Day 2 Update:

Feeling pretty good! It's really more like my 3rd day, because my surgery was so early in the morning on the 5th...

I've eaten some mac & cheese, applesauce, popsicles, yogurt, and still slugging down the fluids like crazy.

I'm only taking about half the normal dose of codeine & seem to be getting by okay with that. I have a pretty high pain threshold, though. I'm still really tired, but I've just rested all day, and my sweet mom & pops are taking good care of me during the day, then hubby spoils me at night.

So far, still so good! I'm kind of waiting to see when the ear pain & scab pain will start, but I'm doing pretty good so far! Thanks, everyone

KFen, good to hear you are doing well. Keep sucking down food and drinking loads of liquids.

cohoss, You probably should do the same. I was in your boat after surgery...not much pain, didn't need my morphine at all. I wish they would have let me taken it home with me when I left though.

Thanks, all! After dozing on and off all day, I am wide awake now (1 a.m.) and just had my regular dose of Percocet. The worst part about sleeping that others have commented are that I start to doze off and can feel my uvula at the back of my throat and it feels like I'm choking. So I wake up in a panic and lie there for a while. In any case, it seems like I sleep for 15-20 minute periods then I'm up. Hopefully that will get better as time goes on or at least when I'm able to sleep horizonally again.

I had mashed potatoes and gravy tonight and boy was it good. Watching TV I kept seeing all this wonderful food that looked so good but couldn't have any. At least I was able to get the MP&G down and I'll try some eggs or applesauce in the morning.

Thanks for the encouragement and tips. I love it!

Sleeping irregularities will start to improve and then get worse... My son's (3 years of age) sleep habit time-line:
*Day 1 - after surgery my son sleep in power nap burst 30minutes -1 hour
**Day 2 - sleeps in full round the clock nap mode 1-2 hour bursts.. wakes up an cries due to dry throat pain... keep water handy near you, sip frequently.
***Day 3 - a few naps during the day, 3 hours blocks at night... with painful wake up episodes.
****Day 4 - about like day 3, but ears are beginning to hurt more, and he can not eat as well as the previous days.
:confused: Day 5 - scabs are drying out, he doesn't want to sleep much or stay still much, food consumption lowest yet. "It hurts and Mommy can not make it better."
:mad: Day 6 - scabs begin to come off, throat hurts, ears hurt... sleeping bad at this time. Only tylenol and octicaine ear drops provide brief periods of relief. He would only eat apple sauce and PLAIN graham cracker sticks and drink pedialyte on this day.
:mad: Day 7 - same as Day 6, but easily frustrated and overall grumpy. Sleep minimum, food intake minimum, tries to refuse fluids... dry throat promotes coughing and crying and screaming aggrevaiting the issue. Tylenol and Octicaine Ear drops help for 2 hours out of every 4.
:yawn: Day 8 - feeling a little better... screamed and coughed the last of his scabs off. Begins sleeping in 2-3 hours bursts around the clock, wakes up with a dry sore throat.. crys drinks and eats a little something, takes meds... and back to sleep.
:p Day 9 - feeling like a new little man... still needs to avoid Ketchup and acidic stuff :blob_fire , but chowing down like a dog with Thanks Giving left overs. Two 4 hr sleep session at night with a couple of naps during the day.
:) Day 10 - Slept for a whole 6 hour period that night. Woke up dry and sore, but rested. Took two 3 hr extreme power naps. Have troouble keeping him calm and from over exerting himself.
:wave: Day 12 - 14 - Sleep schedule almost back to normal... eating and playing as normal. Minimal throat and ear pain.
:D :bouncing: Day 15 - Unstoppable, been couped up to long!

Basically, you will start to be able to sleep in longer burst as the swelling due to surgery goes down; THEN, WHAM! scabs begin to come off and it is the pain more than the swelling keeping you from sleeping. Once those scabs come off you will crash and recover, but the area will still be irritated, when you allow your throat to dry out. After this things will just beging to get better and better.

Good luck and Best wishes. I will log my personal experiences after my surgery in October.

MG

Re: Sleeping Difficulties:

Here is how my sleeping has been so far:

Day of Surgery: Slept all day pretty much after surgery. Woke up every hour or two during the night, often "choking" on my uvula, like you mentioned. It was the creepiest thing! I would hear this gagging noise in my sleep, and then I'd realize it was me. GROSS :dizzy:
Day 1 post-op: Slept a little better! Dozed off a bit during the day but was in a chair all day instead of in my bed. Went to bed at 10, only woke up at 2:45 and took some pain medicine, didn't wake up again until 6:45am. Not bad!
Day 2 post-op: Last night was HEAVENLY! I went to bed at 10 and didn't wake up AT ALL until 7:30am!! I hadn't taken pain medicine in 12 hours!! I sure wanted some once I woke up, though :D I couldn't believe I slept so well though. It was AWESOME. I should note that I hardly slept at all during the day, so I was EXHAUSTED!
Day 3 post-op: Well, we shall see! I guess this is technically IT!

Heh, my uvula is gone, so I can't really say...but I am more weirded out by the stitches the occasionally poke my throat and my tongue.

Speaking of which, does anyone know when they dissolve? I am now 2 weeks and they haven't budged. :( I want them to go away because they are driving me slowly nuts. :D

Day 3: Day 3 wasn't that bad again... Only took one shot of codeine & one shot of regular liquid tylenol the entire day! Not bad, right? I got really tired near the end of the day, but overall, it wasn't too bad of a day. Drank lots, ate some things, and talked quite a bit when I had to. Oh, and my voice sounds almost normal - but then again, I didn't get my adenoids taken out, so maybe that has something to do with it...

Day 4: I'm just starting it, but so far, my throat hurts a bit more than normal. I slept through the night without any pain medicine after 8pm last night, but I woke up at 9am and sure wanted some tylenol! Still going to try to stick with regular tylenol today if I can. I can tell that the more severe pain is going to be starting here - my ears hurt a teensy bit so far, but my throat feels like it's tightening a little bit.

On a sillier note, I would recommend that no one make their squeamish friends/significant others look at their throat unless they specifically ask to do it... ;) I asked my husband to look last night, and I think he's STILL having nightmares about it, hahaha.:yawn:

Wow...you're doing good KFen! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

I've been in moderate pain...nothing too horrible. I was getting worried how much percocet I was going through, so I switched to 1 tsp. of it with 1 tsp of regular tylenol liquid. I called the doc today to see about getting a refill on the percocet if the pain gets really bad and he (the doctor on call) said the pharmacy won't take a "call in" for percocet (anyone else heard that?). So, he said he'd call in some Tylenol with Codiene. I had a feeling the docs would be stingy with meds -- and I'm taking them less than they prescribed! My main worry is how bad it's going to hurt when the scabs start to fall!

In any case, I had some Cream of Wheat today and am going to try some wet mac and cheese. My voice is pretty bad, so I'm trying not to talk unless I have to. I'm sick and tired of water and tea, but I'm drinking it like crazy! Hope everyone else is doing well.

I've been haunting the board for a while but I haven't posted yet. I'm a 25 y/o male. Got my tonsils yanked out Friday morning. I've had no pain besides basic pain when swallowing (not much worse than when my throat was bad before); my uvula is huge maybe 6 times bigger than before (looks like a extra little tongue) and sometimes it feels like it's setting off my gag reflex, but my throat besides that actually looks really, really good. I only have the little white scabs. I've been eating soft foods since a few hours after surgery. I’d be able to speak fine if it wasn’t for that damn uvula…oh, well…

The worst part so far was driving around LA for 2 hours trying to find percocet. I went to 6 parmacies and called 10. Some said they wouldn't give me partials because it's a controlled substance. They ended up giving me oxycoden as the generic, but I was under the impression that this stuff is more addictive, but it’s been a wonderful drug so far (hope it won’t be a problem getting off it). The only other problem I’ve been having is slight nausea from the antibiotic (due probably to my empty stomach), which is different because I usually have a pretty strong gut.

Well I guess the bad pain is yet to come, but I’ve been pretty surprised that I’ve had very, very little pain so far. And I've been up and around for the past two days. Not looking forward to the "wall." Also wanted to ask if you guys were going out, I feel like a can right now (might not be a possibility later), but I was getting the impression from stuff I've read on the net that people are usually stuck in their house for a week or so.

Good luck everybody!

Mike

Cohoss: glad to hear that you're doing all right so far! Aren't you glad that this will all be a distant memory at some point soon??

Mike: No, I haven't left my apartment even once... I suppose I could have briefly, but I've read several things that suggest you shouldn't. Even though sometimes you feel like you have the energy to do a lot of activity, you're really supposed to keep it as slow & relaxed as possible to reduce your risk of hemmorhaging (spelling?). ALSO, with it starting to be cold season, you want to be careful not to be exposed to a lot of germs, since our immune system has gone kapoot for a bit while it's trying to heal these dang tonsils :D

Day 5 Latest for me:

OW! OW! OW! OW! :eek: My first bit of scab came off last night, and I didn't realize it until I looked back there with a flashlight. It was scary, because I saw a pocket in one of my tonsil beds with a little bit of blood, but I had my mom look too, and it was old blood. I drank a huge glass of ICE COLD water, and that helped seal it off. :rolleyes:

So since my scabs are starting to come off, I have a bit of the ear pain now, and the throat pain is more intense than it was before. It's stilll manageable, but I'm switching back to taking some Codeine for a bit today and not just the regular Tylenol. We shall see how it goes!

Day 6 Update:

Starting Day 6, I can tell it's going to be very similar to Day 5. Woke up with a lot of throat & ear pain because my scabs continue to come off. I check back in my throat frequently so that I know when I need to be gargling with ice water. A lot of times, when they first fall off, I'll see a little blood back there, but it's mostly dark, so I just seal it off with the ice water and it seems to turn more pink/fleshy a bit later. So far, so good! :p

I've also been taking aloe vera juice 1 oz. 4 times a day because my nurse told me that she did it when she got hers taken out at age 35 and did WAY better than most people. I don't know if my recovery has had to do with that at all, but I'm still doing it - that's for sure! What can it hurt? You can buy the stuff at any health food store, and it tastes kind of like grass, but it's really not bad. I kind of let it run over my whole tonsil area before swallowing it.

Anyway, I'll continue to keep you all updated!

KFen hope you are doing ok. Hang in there, you are about 1/2 through the worst of it. Every day you'll feel a little better. Be careful of the nausea that may come on Day 7 or 8...and if you do, I found saltines helped (but make sure you chew into mush so you don't accidently poke your throat with a sharp corner. My doctor recommended bread too...not toast...just soft bread to settle the stomach.

Day 7... can these days go by any more slowly????

The nights & mornings are always the worst.... I tried to go to bed last night without taking any pain medicine, since I made it through the whole day without it... HAHA! Good luck! :dizzy: I was grabbing that codeine after about an hour of throbbing throat/ear pain.

During the day, after I start drinking a ton of water, it hurts a lot at first, but I find that it gets better the more I drink. I'm eating a bit of stuff, but not as much as I was in the beginning. People are right - these are the toughest days to eat. Also, I find that everyone time I DO eat something, a piece of scab ends up coming off, so I just have to be prepared with the ice water to seal it off if it has any little tiny trail of blood.

I cannot WAIT until I am past this "risky" bleeding time, though... I must admit that I worry the most not about the pain, but about bleeding. I know that the chances are very small, though, and I am praying and trusting the Lord! :angel:

Well, I'll let you know if anything changes!

KFen...
I agree...these days and nights are long! I'm glad to hear you don't need your pain meds much during the day. Yesterday was the worst day for me so far (4th day post-op) and I doped myself most of the day. Today has been a little better and I haven't needed to take any pills since this morning. Eating has been tough since the scabs started to come off -- even water is hard to drink but I'm trying to force myself to keep at it. I find that the worst time of the day is 3 a.m. for me. That's right when my bedtime dose of perocet wears off and waking up to try and get some more in me is painful.

I'm going to try and venture out with some friends tomorrow for about 2 hours. So far I've only gone to the store a few times -- not long trips at all. I'll just keep my ice water and drugs handy!

Anyone else tired of soup and pudding?

I've actually stayed away from pudding. It coats my uvula and makes me feel sick, but I've pretty much lost my appetite anyway through the process. I eat, but I also weigh 250lbs, so I think my body’s got plenty of stored energy: don’t feel too weak.

I’m actually going to a concert tonight…wow, I’m dumb. But it’s my favorite band and I can’t miss it. This will probably be a set up for the Darwin Awards. I’m going to drink water the whole time and load up on the antibiotic. People can’t smoke indoors in LA so I don’t have that to compete with. I don’t think my scabs are coming off yet, so the pain will probably come in the next few days. I’m with you guys on drinking water, the more I force down, the better my throat feels (even to the point of no pain). I’ll let you know how my experiment goes tomorrow. Right now I’m going to rest up.
.

Cohoss: Yes, I am so sick of soft foods, I could puke! :dizzy: It's awful, because my mom's here, cooking all this DELICIOUS food, and I can't partake in anything!

DancingBear: Boy, be very careful at that concert!! Don't be afraid to sit down if you have to... The last thing you want to do is overextend yourself while you're healing. But, have fun!



Man, I could use a cookie right now!! :p

Well it's morning of Day 2 for me... Slept the entire night but had put my alarm to take my morphine at 1 and 5.

Waking up is a little harsher because I sleep with my mouth open and it gets really dry back there. So waking up, I drink a lot to try to soften the whole thing. Still haven't really looked in the back of my throat because I can't see anything and mom doesn't have a flashlight... I guess it might be best this way.

Threw up twice yesterday... :dizzy: Then took some Gravol in suppository form because I wasn't keeping anything inside... That helped a lot. On top of the anaesthesia, the morphine is causing me to be a little nauseous. I'm taking one pill of morphine and 2 Tylenol fast relief every 4 hours. So far, it's been pretty manageable. I've lost 5.5 pounds since Monday. I try to eat a little. Had some mac & cheese yesterday, along with cream of wheat, a bit of pudding, baby food and I've been chewing gum, just like the nurse advised me to.

It is now 8h30 and i will try to go eat something... Grab an ice pack and go back in front of the telly...

More later ;)

Enoughwithit: Keep up the good work! You are doing fine. I remember that I threw up on my first day as well (actual day of surgery, after I got home). It was pretty miserable, but the nausea does wear off as your anesthesia wears off (or at least it did for me). I still get a bit of it from time to time, but not NEARLY as bad!

Day 8 Update:

Another painful night, but I am used to that! :rolleyes: I took a shot of codeine before bedtime and it helped a bit, but then I woke up at 3:00am in TREMENDOUS pain. Took some regular Tylenol and that did the trick.

I have been SOOOOOOOOOOOOO hungry lately! Here is what I would love to have: a nice lean steak, corn on the cob, homemade bread or biscuits, a huge salad, and some of my mom's COOKIES for dessert! :p YUM!

But alas, I cannot. I got so frustrated last night, because I was starving, but my throat was more tender than it's EVER been. It is really starting to get pink in the areas where I swallow as the scabs come off, so that new skin is SOOOOOOOOO sensitive. I tried making some refried bean/bean soup mixture, but that was awful. I was so mad, but I put it back in the fridge. Then, I decided to try something I read on here: french toast, WITHOUT the crust, SOAKED in syrup. It was HEAVEN! Still hurt a bit as anything does at this stage, but it was whole wheat bread, so I got some nutrition, and it was so lovely! DELICIOUS! I'm going to have another one today.

Things seem to be right on track! I had a bit more energy yesterday, but I was in a lot of pain as well. My scabs are coming off well, but when I look at the actual tonsil beds, they are still pretty scabby. I imagine these take their time in coming off - does anyone have any idea?

Thanks, everyone! Happy healing to you!

Aaaah...foood. A steak sounds delicious. Actually anything does. A friend took me out and about today and we stopped at Sonic so I could get a chocolate shake. Just as I was about to actually enjoy that I smelled the hamburger and onion rings he ordered. It smells so good! I can't wait to eat real food again.

Question for those of you healing right now. This morning, one side of my throat was pretty pink with a little bit of blood and a few very small black scarrs. I assumed this meant that the scabs were coming off and things were healing. I gargled with some ice water just to make sure the bleeding wasn't bad. Later in the day I checked and that side is completely white again. Does that mean that the scabs reformed? Is it mucous over the scabs maybe? The other side of the throat has been consistently white since the surgery, although it is the more painful side.

I can now go longer in between pain meds but when I need them -- I need them! The pain seems to be more intense when it gets bad and always pops up right in the middle of eating (so does the ear pain).

I also noticed how weak I was today. After standing up shopping for about 45 minutes I felt like I was going to pass out. I assume this is from the lack of "real food"?

Hope everyone is doing well.

Cohoss: I had the exact same thing happen with my scabs. I would see a majorly pink/bleedingish spot where a scab had come off, I'd gargle with a ton of ice water, and later on, it would seem to "rescab". Not sure what is happening there, but the 2nd version of the scab seemed to be smaller and has since come off in my case.

My throat is starting to look a lot more pink today! Yahoo! I feel like most of the scabbing is gone, except for way inside of my tonsil beds. Ick.

Food update/question for everyone. Since I've been starving again today, I thought I would have some mac and cheese again. I have had it several times since the surgery. However, as I got to the bottom of the bowl, I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. Every time I eat it seems to make my throat hurt but this was worse than usual.

Not to be gross, but I looked at the back of my throat, thinking some of the scabs were coming off. What I found, however, was that I had a piece of macaroni hanging in the tonsil bed on either side of my throat. I tried gargling with water (tepid and ice); I tried spitting; I tried gently clearing my throat. Nothing seemed to work. One fell on its own (and it felt like the scabs coming off) and the other is still stuck there and is very painful. Now I'm afraid to eat anything that isn't a liquid (and I'm sick of liquids!).

Has anyone else experienced food getting caught in the tonsil bed? Does it get better as things start to heal?

Don't touch a hot plate. Don't put salt in your eyes. Don't go to a concert when you've just had your tonsils taken out. Wise words.

Went to a concert and took it very "easy" for the night. Laid low and drank tons of water, but as the music got louder I could actually feel it ripping my right ear drum apart (which was my bad tonsil/ear to begin with). It was an extreme moment of pleasure and pain. Because the band was really, really on. Love hurts.

Now my ear is giving me some of the worst pain of my life. 5 in the morning and the ironic thing is I have a class on sound recording I need to be at in 4 hours...don't think I'll make it.

I'm still struggling w/ food; I could only get down a pancake w/ syrup today (lots of syrup). I think the meds are kicking in now. Good night everybody.

Cohoss: Yes, I've had the same problem with food getting stuck in my tonsil beds... It is GROSS! The grossest that I can remember was when I had chewed up green beans stuck... eww... I also had some tuna and mac & cheese get stuck back there, too. It does get better, though - it's not happening as much with me now.

Day 9 Update:

Slept through the ENTIRE night last night!!!!! :bouncing: I only took regular tylenol before bed, and that did the trick.

Yesterday, I had more energy than I've had, and today I'm feeling the same. Still not bouncing around with crazy energy to conquer the world, but I feel like I'm on my way back to normal life! YES!!

My throat is still a mixture of pink & white as scab bits continue to come off, but I'm doing pretty good.

Good morning all,

Well it's morning of Day 4 and I just woke up with a smashing headache. The pain is moving slowly but surely into my ears.

My mouth tastes like **** ! I try to eat but all i keep dreaming about is a big fat cheeseburger... lol Somehow, the baby food, pudding and everything else doesn't want to come down. I've lost 7 pounds so far (I'm plus size so losing the weight is the upside of it all lol)

The scabs at the back of my throat are very white but somehow don't seem like they're going to fall off anytime soon. I drink as much water as I can (being a non drinker during the day, I find that drinking 1 to 1.5 liters a day is a miracle !!! lol) and I'm still taking morphine every 4 to 6 hours along with 2 Tylenol Fast Action (500mg). However, last night, went to bed taking my dose and only woke up at 2am to take 2 Tylenols, no morphine.

I'm beginning to get a little tired of that taste in my mouth. Makes my nauseous. But I know I'm half way through... right ?!?

Enoughwithit,

1) Try sucking on those soft pastel dinner mints to help improve the taste in your mouth.
2) Try using the chloroseptic throat spray, diluted approximately 50:50 as a mild throat numbing breath freshening gargle. It will sting a little at first but it realy helped my son out.
3) Think "I am almost through and will get better" as many times of day as necessary.
4) When the ear pain gets really intense, try getting and using some prescription octicaine ear drops.

Good luck and best wishes on a speedy recovery.
MG

Enoughwithit: You are doing great! You will start to feel the tide turn in a matter of a few days. The bad days go by SOOOOOOOOOO slowly, but before you know it, you'll be at Day 8 or 9, when I really started to feel a difference. You can do it! :bouncing:

Day 10 Update!!!!!

AHH! I cannot believe it's Day 10 finally!!!!!! YES!!! It seems that I have made it through the worst!!! Now, don't get me wrong - my throat still hurts like the dickens, especially in the mornings when I wake up, but my energy is improving, and I don't feel so spacy all the time. Last night, I was even able to go to bed without any Tylenol or anything - yahoo!!! :D

I do have a funny story though... I'm still sleeping elevated, and somehow I slept on my arm. So, I wake up to my cell phone ringing today, and when I try to grab it, I knock over my water over EVERYTHING on my nightstand, because my stinkin' ARM WAS ASLEEP! :rolleyes: Isn't that the weirdest feeling?

Anyway, I am going to continue drinking a ton today and eating soft foods. I got cocky one day and thought I could eat a 2nd cinnamon roll... Ugh, I was rewarded with a little tiny bleeding spot I'd scraped open. I drank some ice water and it went away, but I was so bummed I had to put back the cinnamon roll. :p

Blessings & happy healing to all of you!

Thanks for the encouragements KFen !

I know the days go by slowly and I guess that's what makes it so hard... But I'm hanging in there !!! :D

I just had a tiny piece of the inside of a salmon pie. Along with water, went down pretty good.

You know, I think I forgot to tell you guys. At the hospital, the nurse had told me to sleep on my stomach, with my face to the side. I have found this position to be very comfortable because the liquids don't go down your throat. I'm drooling a little on my pillow but hey, at least, I can sleep almost a whole night without waking up :D lolol

I took the decision to go back home this weekend. I've been at my mom's since Sunday and I'm a little fed up. Both of us are so used to living alone, we kinda get on each other's nerves. Plus I'm ok now. Whether I stay here or go back to Montreal, doesn't make a difference. Will be nice to be back in my stuff and in my own bed. I think that's what I miss the most :)

Hey everyone, sorry for not posting in a while. It has been manic at work. My throat is almost entirely healed at Day 20. But I have noticed a few weird things. I have white spotches on the back of my throat where the tonsils are. They don't look like scabs...they weren't there yesterday...not sure where they came from. Mostly pink and red...which is good.

My uvulectomy is driving me nuts. It has healed 100% but i have this one stitch that refuses to drop off, and it keeps irritating my the top of my throat. Whenever my tongue brushes past it, it tugs and irritates me.

Otherwise, all is good, I have been eating regular food since Day 12. So all of you who are getting close to that date, get excited, but go slooooow and easy on the real food. Your stomachs won't be ready for the shock, and you don't want to risk bleeding by gorging on tortilla chips or other hard food.

Day 11 Update:

Wow, I can hardly believe that it is Day 11. The last few easier days have just flown by, and I am feeling really good! I'm actually even feeling up to babysitting my baby nephew right now, so that's got to be a good sign, right? :)

I am eating more normal stuff now... had a turkey & cheese sandwich (with no crusts) and it was DIVINE! :D

The ole throat still hurts, of course, but it is starting to look less & less like a trainwreck & more and more like a normal throat, haha. I know there's still plenty of healing to come, but I am feeling pretty good!

Oh KFen ! You're the reason I'm holding on so tightly ! lol You make me laugh and it's really encouraging to read you... :)

I'm on Day 5 now and my ears are KILLING me ! It even goes all the way down to my jaw... but only on the left side (which I think is the side that was hurt the most).

I tried eating 2 or 3 shrimps tonight and it went down ok. Had a french toast this morning with no crust and that was heavenly ! Tried drinking cold milk with it and it hurt too much. I realize now that everything has to be at the room temperature...

Can't stand to see baby food, Ensure and pudding anymore... I wonder what I will do for the rest of the week. Still dreaming about that hamburger lol

I'm trying to take my morphine every 6 to 8 hours (and I'm a little due now...). I think some of the scabs are starting to fall off because the back of my throat seems a little more pink :) I'm on the right track !!! :D

Enoughwithit, hang in there!! You will feel better in just a few days! :) I am not feeling perfect by any means yet, and it still hurts to eat certain things, but I feel like I'm thru the worst! You will be soon, too!

Feel better soon! :wave:

So it's been nearly 1 month since my tonsillectomy. The pain is still too fresh in my mind to be thankful that I had the surgery, but I'm holding out that someday in the faaaaar future I will not regret it anymore.

I did want to post one piece of helpful info that I did not find on here for all of you.

On day 9 while I was staring at the pain killers at walmart and crying my eyes out in pain. . .a kind lady stopped to help me out. She happened to be a nurse and recommended some cough drops. I know. . .that sounds awful considering all of the swallowing that would require. I gave it a shot and boy am I glad that I did. They are by Ricola and they are called Honey Herb. They are AMAZING. I took them around the clock for 4 or 5 days and even now I take them occasionally.

Good luck to you all and have faith that it will get better!

Day 12 Update:

Still eating more normal stuff - last night, I had some halibut, whole wheat rolls (which are SCRATCHY!), chocolate cake, and more stuff. It was HEAVEN! My throat still gets a pang of pain every once in awhile if a certain food or cold ice hits something just right --- or WRONG, I guess ;)

I would say that I definitely feel well enough to return to work tomorrow, though, which is very encouraging!! I will be drinking a ton of water all day, for sure!

I'm still with all y'all that are still in the middle of the storm! Keep up the good job - you're almost through it!

KFen -- You are so encouraging! Thanks for the updates, they definitely help!

I had a hamburger today! It tasted awful (not my taste buds, just a bad burger) but at least I was able to get most of it down. I also had two pieces of banana bread (no walnuts) -- I think that's the most I've eaten in two weeks!

Things are still sore. I only occasionally need some regular Tylenol during the day. Night time can be a toss-up, but it seems to be okay not to take any of the major drugs. Yawning is still a pain-in-the-you-know-what, but I've read that it will take a long time before that won't hurt.

I'm hoping I can eat like KFen tomorrow -- I need to get my weight and strength back up. Went for a hike today but was pretty tired when we were done. I had two weeks off from work but want to go back Tuesday (rather than Thursday) -- I can't stand to be home anymore!

Good luck to everyone going through this now!

KFen -- You are so encouraging! Thanks for the updates, they definitely help!

I had a hamburger today! It tasted awful (not my taste buds, just a bad burger) but at least I was able to get most of it down. I also had two pieces of banana bread (no walnuts) -- I think that's the most I've eaten in two weeks!

Things are still sore. I only occasionally need some regular Tylenol during the day. Night time can be a toss-up, but it seems to be okay not to take any of the major drugs. Yawning is still a pain-in-the-you-know-what, but I've read that it will take a long time before that won't hurt.

I'm hoping I can eat like KFen tomorrow -- I need to get my weight and strength back up. Went for a hike today but was pretty tired when we were done. I had two weeks off from work but want to go back Tuesday (rather than Thursday) -- I can't stand to be home anymore!

Good luck to everyone going through this now!

Cohoss: I am with ya - I hate to say it, but I'm actually ready to go back to work on Day 13 (tomorrow)... I was getting SOOOO bored on Friday!! :)

You're right about the yawning - that is the one thing that kills me more than anything else! I used to try and stifle the yawns & not open my mouth with the yawn, but then I realized it hurt & stretched more doing that than just opening my mouth with it. Ugh... can't wait to have a decent, non-painful yawn!!

Stay strong, bud! :D And good luck at work on Tuesday!

Well it's Day 7 today... One week since I've had the surgery.

As much as I woke up last night in throbbing pain, this morning, I woke up feeling pretty good. Yes, the throat still hurts but man, was it a difference from the last few days. Almost no ear pain, pain when swallowing but nowhere near as bad as the past weekend. I was able to try a waffle this morning and some bread and cheese at lunch. Tried a banana this morning: still not a good idea...:dizzy:

I'm hoping all will be good by the end of the week. There is a powerplant visit scheduled Friday (I work for a renewable energy producer) and I'd really like to be a part of it. Worst case scenario, I'll just eat soup when we go out to the restaurant :) lol

So, so far, so good. The scabs are falling (haven't felt them but I see that my throat is getting more pink) and the pain is going away... Good news ! I won't declare victory just yet but it sure looks good from here :D

KFen, how was your first day back to work ?

Enoughwithit: Sounds like you are you on the road to recovery! I found that Days 6 & 7 were rough, but things started to get considerably better from there on.

Work has been a drag today... Ugh, I got back to a crash course in reality - 2 people were gone, so I am covering TWO PEOPLE's desks, emails, faxes, phone calls, etc... NOT the best way to be welcomed back :) Oh well - I am tired, but making it through.

On a good note, I had my post-op appt with the Dr today, and she said that I am healing very well, and that it looks great! :) Yahoo! She said I'm probably mostly out of the clear in terms of risks of bleeding post-op. YAY! :D

Here's to happiness & quick healing for the rest of you folks - keep on keepin' on! We can do it :)

Day 8 this morning and I had the most energizing night so far... I slept the whole night through, without waking up even once !!!

This morning, I feel really good. The best I've felt since the operation. My left side is still sore but I was able to eat two waffles for breaky this morning :)

The scabs are almost all gone. I still feel it sting if I drink juice or if I eat something really sweet or a tad acid so I think I will still wait to eat those things but I feel really great today :D

A couple more days and I'll be back to 100% :cool:

Day 15 Update:

Things seem pretty good. The pain is still there a tiny bit, but I'm pretty much eating normally (minus crazy things like tortilla chips!). My mouth is still scabby in the far tonsil bed areas that aren't out in the open as much, but they seem to be doing all right.

I started finally gargling at night with a half & half mixture of peroxide and water. Seems to help get a bit of the trapped food (ick, gross, I know...) and scab bits out of my mouth. And, I have heard it's good for keeping things clean and such as well.

I tried to eat a cherry tomato today, and it was SOOO acidic, it actually was burning my throat!! I had to swish it out with some water ASAP. :)

Hope all is well for everyone!

Hello all. I'm so glad I found this string! I'm scheduled for Sept 22 for my tonsillectomy. VERY Nervous. My doc made it sound like it was just a little worse on a 28 yr old than for children. He said I'd be over it in 10 days for the most part. He also told me that I'll be able to take care of my 1 1/2 yr old daughter alone after 3 days. Now I'm not so sure. What do you guys think? I guess I should say ladies, since only a mother knows how exhausting a toddler can be. Anyway the info on this thread has been most enlightening. Can anyone give me a rundown of what kind of stuff I should buy to get through this recovery period? I'm not looking forward to starving. I'm a thin girl, but I've always loved to eat!

Hi Mandylou,

Check out LisaMP's guide on here, it was reposted recently & it is very helpful. I've gone by it to stock my house & prepare my family. Mine is on the 26th. About your daughter, I have a 4 yr old daughter & I've got someone scheduled to keep her from Tues til the weekend so I won't be alone with her. After reading most of the posts on here, I don't think I'll be up to childcare :dizzy:

Good luck & keep me posted on how things are going, so I'll know what is coming around the bend :wave:

~Heather

HRWade is right. That LisaMP guide has helped me tons !!!

Day 10 for me this morning... Already ! Last week it seemed like it would never end...

You know guys, I was very nervous last week too, prior to my surgery. But I can honestly say it was much better than I thought. Yes, it hurts. Yes, it's no fun and you don't sleep much, drinking is hell and very painful and there are days where it seems it will just go on forever... But you know what: I'm on Day 10 today and I'm hurting just a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle (I wouldn't even say I'm hurting... it's just discomfort). All the scabs are mostly gone. Still drinking lots to hydrate that wonderful throat of mine but I could've gone back to work today, no problem !

My voice still sounds weird though... sounds a little robotic but that's the funny part of it all lol I also have a funny sensation when I pull my tongue out but I know that will get back to normal with time :)

So overall, I'm pretty happy with the results. 10 days to get rid of a recurrent problem that used to hit every month or two is nothing !!! It's not worse than having a severe tonsillitis for 10 days... seriously !

Come back here and read people's posts to keep you cheered and motivated (KFen is a pro at this !!! She sure helped me stay focused ;) lol)

You will be just fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine :cool:

Mandylou: I know that there would have been no way that I could've taken care of a toddler after 3 days... I babysat my 8-month-old nephew on day 11, and even after that I was just absolutely dead-on-my-feet exhausted. You will definitely want to at least have some part-time help with you during that first week. And don't be fooled - you may feel all right Day 1, 2 or 3, but just be aware that there is a dip for the worst before it will get better. You will be absolutely fine, though. I was prepared for the worst experience of my life, and I found that it was only mild pain compared to what I'd experienced with my worst tonsillitis or abscesses. You will make it through & be glad you did it! :wave:

HRWade: Good luck to you, too! You will do great, and I will make sure to encourage you guys as you go through it!

Enoughwithit: So glad to hear that you are doing great!! Isn't it nice once you get to Day 10ish? I really felt Days 8 or 9 that I was starting to be on the mend. Day 16 for me now, and I am feeling very very good! Still a wee bit tired, and my throat still hurts when I yawn as it's not totally healed, but I'm so so so so so so happy that I had it done!!!

Hi all...
So glad to hear everyone is doing well and healing nicely. It's my first day back at work (not supposed to be here until tomorrow) and I'm glad to be out of the house.

Just checking to see if others are still feeling a bit run down? I'm on day 14 post-op and generally feel okay but just a little tired. Kind of like someone pulled the plug. I may have overdone it earlier in the week getting things done around the house, but just wondered if your energy is still a little zapped.

Hardly any pain but I have a few scabs that are hanging in the back of my throat making me feel like I'm choking. It's annoying but not painful.

To others that are just about to go through with this -- it's not as bad as it may seem reading these posts. This is definitely a supportive community and the best place to come to look for information on what you're going through.

cohoss: So glad to hear that you're doing pretty good! YES, I still feel somewhat run-down, which I think is to be expected, seeing as how we just had invasive surgery done two weeks ago... It really takes your body awhile to heal & get back to full strength, I think. Take care of yourself, and don't push it too hard at work!

Sheesh, I had a wee bit of a scare this morning. Brushed my teeth & started spitting out a tiny bit of blood. I looked back & didn't see anything openly bleeding, though, so I think I'm all right. Kind of a late time to bleed, but I figured that I'm probably just losing the last of the scabs, so a tiny bit of bleeding is all right and nothing to worry about, I suppose.

Hi all..

KFen, just seeing if you're still checking this site or if you're done. I'm on day 21 of recovery -- still have a few scabs and a little bit of pain when I yawn but otherwise pretty much back to normal. I'm going to start working out again this week and hope to gain back some of the weight I lost when I was recovering.

As for everyone else going through the prcoedure, keep you head up! It seems unbearable at times (especially day 4-12) but it gets better after that. Just remember that you have had some pretty major surgery and it will take a while for it to heal.

Hey, Cohoss!

Glad to hear you are doing well! I am much like you - Day 22, and I feel pretty much back to normal. A little bit of throat pain now & then, and it still doesn't look quite "normal" back there, but I've stopped really looking, hehe. I'm eating normally, and like you, trying to gain back some of that weight I lost!

Overall, I am SOOOOOOOOOO glad I went through it, and it really wasn't even close to as bad as I had imagined. So for all of you getting ready to do this, take heart - you will do great! :)

Hey all you surving T&A veterans.

I had the LisaMP's post stickied to the top of the list so all can enjoy and learn from it. Please add any tide bits that your personal experiences have brought to that post. :wave: I and many others to come would greatly appreciate it. I know that there is great stuff here and it would be nice to have the creme de la creme of advice in one... non moving post.

Sincerely,
MG