HI everyone. Thanks for all of your advice! This board was my life saver for info regarding tonsillectomies.

My surgery was August 24 and I am now on day 13. My throat still hurts and my jaw but it is sooooooooooo much better than what it was a week ago.

My first couple of days were ok. I slept all night and kept downing my tylenol with codeine. The pain was not too bad either. Day 3 I started getting nauseated pretty badly and I did everything possible to try not to puke. I even took some phenergan I had left over from my gallbladder surgery. That did the trick.

Days 5, 6, and 7 were probably my worst days. On Day 5 my scabs started coming off and it was horrible pain. I didn't drink like I should have and didn't really eat either until maybe Day 6 or 7 and that was just because I had to because of my stomach.

Day 6 was the worst day ever. The pain was horrible and to top it off I was so nauseous I wanted to die. Again I did everything possible to try to stop from puking. I couldn't hold it and puked. It was the most horrible thing EVER.
I have never been in so much pain. I started bleeding and had to go back to the doctor to make sure I wasn't hemorrhaging. Luckily I had only popped a blood vessel and it scabbed back over.

What an experience. The only good thing is that I lost 10 pounds and I am looking forward to not getting sick this winter with strep and tonsillitis.

How are you all doing now? Should I expect anything else past day 13 or am I pretty much done with the nasty stuff?

Thanks, Dolphin:wave:

You may find that your sense of taste may take a really long time to return. Once I got through all of the worst of the recovery, the taste thing still hung around for a very long time. I think it took about 2 months after my surgery before I started noticing a difference that I was able to taste more normally again.

And it happens very, very gradually. It will be like, each time you try something that tasted crappy before will start tasting just slightly better each time until all of the full taste of it comes back again.

I ended up losing 15 lbs after my surgery. But unfortunately, I gained back 30 or 35 when I started eating normally again. I'm a little annoyed by that.

Dolphin05, whoa! Your story is almost exactly what happened to me. I woke up on Day 7 and puked my brains out. :( It was awful...

I am slowly starting to eat regular food now...but I am being careful not to eat foods that can cause bleeding...

My throat still hurts today and when I yawn OMG! I seriously feel like my throat is being ripped apart. Anyone else have this problem??? I'm hoping it goes away pretty soon.

Also I am a huge Diet Coke drinker and can't drink carbonated drinks yet. When did all of you begin drinking Coke again?

I also woke up with my ear hurting again. Geez its been 2 weeks today, will I ever get back to normal?????

HELP

I forgot about the throat hurting while yawning thing. That actually sticks around for a while, too. It was yawning and sneezing that really hurt a lot for me afterwards. But I found that chewing a lot of bubble gum helped because it exercises the throat muscles and makes them heal a lot faster. I don't remember how long it took for that to stop hurting, but I do remember it took a while.

And, again, I don't remember how long it took for the sense of taste to come back. Carbonated drinks for me just tasted like soda water for a while. I think I was still drinking Coke anyway because I was mad and I wanted to drink it, but it didn't taste like anything. I noticed that my taste was particularly messed up when I tried to taste sweet things, so I couldn't enjoy stuff like chocolate or whatever. But like I said, it comes back very gradually, and eventually you'll just find that it's back. It takes time, though.

This recovery takes time, that's all I can tell you. Those lingering things are nothing, though, compared to the pain that everyone goes through with their ears during the worst of it. And you mentioned that you still have some ear pain, that should start going away really soon. I do remember that my ears didn't really stop hurting for at least 3 weeks post-op.

dolphin05, totally am with you there on the yawn/pain thing. I am going through that right now.

What drives me nuts is I have had a uvulectomy and I can feel my STUPID stitches dangling back there tickling my throat, back of the tongue, etc. I keep pushing them back up to the roof of my mouth, but it is still annoying as all get out.

I haven't noticed any funny stuff w/ my taste buds at the moment. I think my taste (Day 14) has returned to semi normal. But I haven't had soda yet.

What is it about carbonated soda? Is it the bubbles that bother your throat? Or the fact it tastes like soda water? I ask because I haven't tried yet...

Hi!

Your question rings so true for me at this point....I'm on day 13 of my post-opt and it's so strange. Yesterday I felt like a million bucks (compared to the previous 12 days!) and now today it feels like I'm taking two steps back. My throat is still sore and yes, the yawning and ear aches are still annoying. Is this normal even after roughly 2 weeks??
And that is a fear of mine as well...will things taste the way they use to taste? and will I ever be able to take a huge bite of a A&W Hamburger and swallow down like I used to?
Anyone?
Thanks.:)

Did you ever find out when you could have carbonated drinks again? I have the same question :) Today is day 12 for me. :)

Hey - I never found out when it was "safe" to have carbonated drinks.....
I'm on Day 14 and I haven't had one yet but...that's only because I haven't craved it so far...;)

I would think at this point it's probably ok but I would find out for sure just to be safe. Sorry I wasn't more help.

Today I went to Wendy's and tried a burger and fries. Finished half the burger and about 3 fries. :( Doesn't taste the same at all, plus my appetite is very low. Hope this changes soon.

:)

Heck.. Im on day.. 25 and my jaw STILL hurts when I yawn, but I can eat normal and everything tastes good! Ive gained back 3 of the 10 lbs I lost, but that is to be expected. It was a hard long recovery, but Im finally almost there!

btw - sneezing doesnt hurt, but boy.. they are a lot more powerful than they used to be.

Lorie

LoriR - I'm just passed my 2 week mark....My throat is still sore when I first wake up and I some vibrations in my right ear still. Is this normal?:rolleyes:

Hello everyone,

As many have stated, this site is a life saver, and it really helps me to know that there are folks out there who truly know what this is like, and that I am not just being whiner or a hypochondriac.

I too had surgery on the 24th, tonsilectomy, septoplasty, turbinates reduced, sonomplasty on my tongue and palate, to help with breathing problems as well as sleep apnea. I am hoping it will help the sleep apnea, as the CPAP was not working for me..besides being cumbersome, and keeping me awake all night, my deviated septum was most likely blocking any good that it could have done. I lost about 11 pounds since the surgery, which puts me 10 - 15 pounds over my goal weight, so needless to say, I am using this as a positive jump start to renew my healthy eating!
As to my nasal procedures, due to the tonsilectomy, they took a backseat, I did have my nose packed with gauze for 4 days, and now my nose is continually dry. I use steam, irrigate with salt water, and a cool humidifier at night...

I agree with so many that at first the tonsilectomy doesn's seem to bad, then days 6-10 really hit you. I am now on day 18, and while the pain isn't like the those most excrutiating days, I still have moderate and at times severe pain on the right side of my throat and ear, not to mention that it still hurts to eat anything. Thank goodness I haven't had to sneeze yet, as the yawning is a b****!

I am a 51 year old female, have had two natural (no meds)childbirths, and various broken bones, including an elbow...and I typically have a high pain threshold, NOT with this....OMG...

and the residual pain is really wearing on me. My energy level is not what I would have thought it would be by day 18 either. I am taking sudafed, mucinex, alegra and vicodin for the pressure, mucous and the pain.
And the thought of going to work tomorrow seems like an impossible feat.

I am going to see my surgeon this afternoon for my check up. I have to say that I feel I really lucked out with my Doc. as he was very specific about the recovery and amount of pain, inclucing that it would get worse around
days 6-8, and that the entire recovery does take time....how much time though????

Anyone out there still experiencing lots of mucous, throat pain, ear pain and fatigue 18 days out?

Well thanks for letting me ramble.

Melanie

Melanietoo, I had a lot of the same stuff you did on the 24 as well. Tonsillectomy, Uvulectomy, Inferior Turbinate reduced, and Septoplasty. I am still having a little pain in the uvula area and the stitches really bug me. So I am still taking a little codeine to take the edge off the roof of my mouth area.

I am also suffering from mucus (started up two days ago) and a little throat pain but nothing like Day 4 - 10.

Question for you, my left nostril seems to be blocked up a little. One side of the nostril is touching the other...is that normal? I don't have my postop for two weeks, but the fact that it looks like my nostril is kinda touching each other worries me.

Hi SDKing,

Great to hear from you!

Are you irrigating with a saline rinse? My nose can feel clogged several times a day, and the rinses help, as well as hanging my head over a bowl of steaming water with a towel surrounding me, perks are a mini facial...i can't stay under the towel tent for to long though. Is your nose numb at all?

Since the surgery I must admit, I can breathe through my nose better than I ever remember. I don't feel my nostrils touching each other. I say if you feel like something isn't normal, don't wait for your post op appt. call the doctor and talk with him about it.

I went for my post op today, talked with him about the throat and ear pain, he said I am about 80% healed, the right side less than the left...and that I needed to eat more protein to encourage the healing process, and he gave me another week off work.
I am sure this will really piss work off, but honestly there is no way I can go back at this point.

I am truly looking forward to being pain free, with lots of energy....

Best of luck to you!:angel:

Melanie

melanietoo, hmm ok. I will put a call in, but alas my Doctor is at conference. I tried to poke it a tad w/ a qtip...but it won't separate, which worries me that it is sort of fused together via a scab or something.

I started nasal irrigation...but that didn't really clear anything up. I don't really have anything in the sinuses or in the nasal cavity.

UPDATE - I stupidly stuck a qtip up my nose, and somehow broke up the scab there...didn't realize it had scabbed or something...and well now i have a pretty bad nose bleed... MEEP! I'll have a crappy sleep tonight. But I suspect that the nasal passage has fused together...ugh...it will require the doctor to separate which will probably mean a lot of bleeding.

hi, I had my tonsils out last March. I actually didn't drink any soda for "at least" a month afterwards or probably 2 months to be more acurate, because it made my throat feel really weird! it also tasted like soda water for about 2 months... on the VERY positive side, I pretty much broke my regular soda habit. I still drink soda-but NOthing like I did before! But after your throat is pretty much healed up, I think it's fine to drink carbonated drinks-as long as they feel ok going down and it doesn't hurt to swallow them.

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted sooner. I can now chug my diet coke!! YAY. The back of my throat is so open now that I have to swallow different but the carbonated drinks are back in for me. It took a good 3 weeks almost before I could really drink one.

I still have a little pain but not so much anymore. No eating restrictions. I gained back the stinking weight I lost. I was so happy to be eating I went a little crazy with my favorite things plus our county fair is going on (yummy fair food)

The yawning thing is slowly getting better but still hurts. Its amazing how long it takes to heal from this surgery. I had my gallbladder out last January and its was such a short recovery. I was back to work in a week. Yeah it was kind of painful for the first few days but compared to this it was easy.

I'm so glad i had it done! The doctor told me at my post op checkup that my tonsils were so horrible. The one even had an abscess inside it. EWWWW.

For all of us that have had ours out!! Here is looking forward to a better winter being sick free!!!!!!:)