I had a few questions. The initial pain yesterday afternoon after the surgery wasnt bad...until night. My uvula is wicked swollen and I CANNOT recline really at all without it choking me. I dont know what to do! I called my doc and they said to drink cold stuff to make it go down swelling wise...and to stay away from warm stuff, but warm stuff is the ONLY thing that makes the pain better!!!

About the pain, my docs just gave me Roxicit, it doesnt TOUCH the pain!!!! -cries- So I called the docs about that too and they prescribed me a anti-nasuea med called Phenergan saying it should work well with the Roxicit and decrease the pain....what? Its a anti-nausea med! I dont get it...anyone heard of it before??? I am going insane.

If this is only day 2 and I am in this much pain I am gonna die come days 4-7!!!!

Oh, I am sorry to hear about your pain :-( I am getting my tonsils out next Tuesday (Sept. 5th), so keep us updated with how you progress.

Everything that I've read from other folks who've had this done says that the more water you drink, the more quickly your swelling & pain decreases. I know it’s easier said than done…

I’ll be thinking of you & I’ll say a prayer right now! You WILL make it through & it will be worth it in the end!

Jezahb,
I just posted a long winded reply to KFen's post, but here are some tips that helped my son... and will hopefully help me after my surgery.
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. GET THESE IMMEDIATELY! You will need them when the scabs begin to fall off. Set an alarm and take them by the clock.
2) Take your pain medicine regularly... set your clock, try not to let it lapse. Take a few sips of water every time you wake up. The more you drink the better the healing process.
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 son was great the day of surgery but began to get worse as the days progressed. I supplemented with protien powder supplemental milk shakes and smoothies. This kept him energized through out the recovery.
6) Here is a new one... I slept in a recliner with my son in my lap. I will do the same... minus my son when the time comes. If you do not have a rocker/recliner see if a friend or family member has one you can borrow.
7) Some one suggested to me soft dinner "mints" were great to suck on and help with the generation of saliva/negation of bad breath.

Good luck and best wishes.
Sincerely, MG

Thanks KFen, I will keep you updated. Good news is the actual surgery doesnt hurt at all, one minute I was talking about my heair the next I am waking up. I dont know if anyone suggested this to you yet KFen, but get a humidifier...its so worth it. I would have died already without one. Ocassionally I just stick my face in the outflow vent and breath through my mouth...it does wonders!

And HUGE thanks mkgbrook!
1. Will definatly get those!
2. Already doing that thanks!
3. I am using ice water now, but I guess other people are saying ice cold hurts after like day 3 or so. I will switch then.
4. Didnt even think of that, but I can feel the mucus and was wondering what to do about it. I will have to get those. One question...the salt in the saline doesnt sting does it?
5. So far eating hasnt been an issue. I am sticking to Cream of Wheat, Jello and pudding right now...but I have Ensure to fall back on if even those get too hard
6. I slept in a recliner last night surrounded by pillows. Figured that out after like gagging for 10 minutes when I tried to lay down on my back. This PM tho I will sleep on the bed on my side. That worked this afternoon when I napped.
7. Soft dinner? Whats that??



Thanks again! Keep the input coming I cant ever get too much!!!!

mkgbrook,

I've looked high and low for these octaine drops but to no avail! I haven't found a pharmacist who knows of them either! Any idea where i can find them? In the mean time, I'm trying to suffice with a heating pad, but it is now a whole lot of good and I hate to sleep with it on for fear that I will burn my apartment down.

Anxiously awaiting your reply. . .

Oooh, thanks for the humidifier idea! I'm planning to get one, because I know with my abscesses, that would have helped a ton. I can only imagine it'd be great with the tonsillectomy - especially at night!

One more thought that I had for the sleeping... What has worked well for me when I had the abscesses was using a body pillow folded in half and leaning it up against the headboard. This way, you still feel like you're laying down somewhat, but you stay elevated. Just a thought! Hope you sleep well!:angel:

To all: Sorry below are some corrections in spelling.
1) Oticaine ear drops are by prescription only. NDC# 0603-7238-73. I was able to get them with a prescription at my local Wal-Mart Pharmacy.
2) First Saline solutions are over the counter no prescription necessary. Saline is a salt water solution and may sting. If the sting is too much for you try a child's saline solution... these are a lower concentration salt solution, but still sterile. The brand I used for my son was Ayr, he did not protest too much. If all salt solutions are too much, you can get a baby aspirator bulb... they look like giant tear drops and are used to suck mucus out of a baby's nose... this can be used to dispense distilled water up the nose instead.
7) soft dinner "mints" those pastel square things that dissolve in the mouth and require no serious chewing.
Good luck and I will offer whatever advice I can.
When in doubt call your doctor and check their opinions.
Best wishes.
MG

Jezahb, the anti-nausea medicine is probably to help with the after affects of the Gen. Anesthia. You can and may feel kind of ill for the first two days from that.

A word of caution, as you probably read in the previous posts be prepared for the Day 4 - 10...it is the time frame where things get...weird. I wish I had that anti-nausea meds because I think they would hopefully settle my stomach from the feeling.

Also, try to eat a little the first few days, because trust me when you hit Day 4 - 6 you won't even want to touch a thing. I hadn't eaten for two days and finally last night sucked down some scrambled eggs. Today same thing...no desire for popsicles or jello anymore...my stomach is just too queasy.

I had mine takin out on the 23rd and I hadn't eatin since, just been drinking some assure, now I may be able to eat some, but the taste of how the food was when I tried it before is stuck with me and makes me not wanna eat anything. I had a bad experience one night when I tried to eat some warmed up fry chicken, the taste was so bad in my mouth I almost went crazy. I feel a little weak at times ad I know I should be eating, I am almost enjoying the weight I am loosing, I tell myself just drink ensure and get healthy.

But that ensure is good when your on those days 4-10 the coldness stings in your throat but it says it replaces a meal and it doesn't have the bad food taste in your mouth, I had vanilla. Its non dairy also.

Ya, I havent eaten much now since yesterday. It hurts to much, and I cant seem to get as much water down now either...eeek. Ensure also left a taste of like rotten potatoes in my mouth for hours, so I am kinda avoiding it now. The muscles in my throat feel like worn out, when I attempt to swallow stuff they feel so sore and strained. Is this normal? Its not realy stinging or burning...just the feeling you get when you over-use a muscle you havent in a while. Now my ears are feeling plugged up too...ow.

well you just had it done huh, well the first few days seem like a breeze compared to whats coming up, so no matter what happens just hang in there, it will get worse before it gets better.

yeah the ensure thing I wouldn't drink that untill your hungry and ready to eat normal food like scramble eggs and sttuff, I am around the 9-10 day and I still don't eat anything and I can feel it cause I feel so weak and at times I think I am about to pass out and faint.

in the first 1-7 days all you have to do is keep from being dehydrated, and I know its hard cause day by day the pain gets worse and you drink less and less, I just sipped on room temp water and ate ice. you wanna start off with cold water soon cold water urt then goto the warm or room temp water.

i barely sleep too, I stay up till like 5 am on the PC or watching tv and fell asleep for maybe an hour at a time

your ears will hurt like they are infected and all in your neck

so just hang in there and keep yourself from going crazy from bordom and have to put up with it till around the 7th day then all of a sudden you will wake up and it won't hurt anymore.

Kursndax-

You say you still can't eat anything around 9-10th day? Even though you are feeling better? I am hoping to fly on my 10th day and go to a wedding and am hoping I will see a big change from where I am now at day 7 to the 10th day. Am I expecting too much?

Calilady

calilady, i think each person is unique...so you'll have to make that judgement call yourself. I personally wasn't able to go to work until Day 12. But on Day 11 I ate some regular food...

That being said, you may feel great...but remember to be EXTRA careful with your bleeding. You are at risk until Day 14.

Do you have to fly to the wedding? because you better talk to the doc before getting on a plane on Day 10...trust me on that one.

Don't expect to be great by Day 10, so you don't set yourself up for disappointment. And if you feel like going to a wedding then go for it! Just be careful as you eat...better stay with foods that are not hard or can damage the healing area. Even if the scabs are off you are at a high risk for bleeding if you accidently stab the area with a sharp piece of food (e.g., tortilla chip, hard carrot, etc.).

Just my 2 cents.

My dgt is 23, college student, and sched next week for T&A. Do you think she will be able to study during post-op period? Sounds like necessity of pain killers won't allow proper concentration:confused:

my dgt is 23, college student, and is sched for T&A next week. Do you think she'll be able to manage studying durng post-op pain period? Esp w/ all those narcotics on board?:confused: