So... I'm here the day after having had my tonsillectomy yesterday. Needless to say ... I feel like s#@% ... but ... as been's discussed here... my uvula is swollen ... hititng the back of my tounge ... making talking, swallowing, etc. difficult ... BUT ... what's got me concerned is... the tip/bottom part of it (my uvula) is covered/coated in the same whitish/filmish part that the rest of alot of my throat is now where surgery was done. (Just the bottom, pointy portion... not the whole uvula) ... Is this kinda strange?... or does it happen because it's now making so much constant contact with my tongue??

I'm waiting for my doc to get in to his office ... anyways ... if any of you have any feedback ... until then ... it'd be greatly appreciated!

-Matt :)

i may be completely wrong here...but just an idea.

did you doctor "trim " up our uvula? i know that was the plan with mine. apparently they do that if the uvula is large. again, it's a shot in the dark...

i may be completely wrong here...but just an idea.

did you doctor "trim " up our uvula? i know that was the plan with mine. apparently they do that if the uvula is large. again, it's a shot in the dark...

you know ...it's funny you mention that... cause it has the same whitish color on it at the end of it that the other surgery areas do. I'm wondering and still waiting to talk with him. I read some of your posts on hereJRjr ... sorry yours has been so tuff. I'm on my 2nd day after surgery and it's really sucked. I feel WAY swolen inside. ... all over... sides of my tounge ... roof of my mouth, uvula, etc. When I take my pain killers... they help obviously, but... they practically put me out. Still ... I'm trying to force down cold water as much as possible... ice chips, etc. Just did ice packs around my neck earlier. That seemed to help a bit.

it's starting to ease up a bit now. went to the doctor today and he said that i am about 70 percent of the way healed up, but i still have my ear/sinus infection to deal with...otherwise, everything is good.

sorry you are in pain...keep looking on these boards, believe it or not it has helped me so much learning what to expect and what people have gone through. you'll be okay...if i can make it you certainly can.

let me know what the doc says about the uvula

Hey JR ... wanted to check in with you. Read some of your other posts here ... sounds like you're finally doing better.

In one of your posts ... I believe I read that you experienced one of the symptoms that I experience now that most bothers me. It's that the back sides/undersides of my tounge ... near where it like connnects to the throat that feel swollen/slightly painful. I feel it when I swallow... and also when I speak ... kinda like it gets in the way of me speaking a bit. This is the area that has seem to stayed the most aggravated/swollen and given me pain (like I said ... feeling it most when I swallow or speak.) Did you, too, experience this ... and was it just a matter of time for it to go down?

Also ... I think I'm a gradual de-scabber like you were. I'm on day 7 (6 days after my surgery) ... and they're just kinda taking their time... falling off in very little bits. But I have to say... in that regard ... I haven't really noticed anything, though... through this whole time - from day 1 - I've stayed REALLY hydrated (TONS of water) AND my Doc's been REALLY ademant about me sticking completely to a cold diet of strictly sorbet, smoothies, etc. Nothing else. (needless to say ... I'm starving.) :( ... Hope you're doing/feeling way better!! :)

Hey Matt
Had my surgery on Wednesday and am extremely anxious about the scabs falling off, , I havent felt anything except heaps more pain this morning and I spat a little bit of blood, hoping that the scabs part, still heaps of white gunk at the back of my throat, this all kinda feels crap, very painful morning today and woke up in mega pain approx 2 this morning. I gotta say I;m peeved with my Doc, no follow up calls, or anything, I'm gonna need more painkillers.

Pretty painful stuff this tonsillectomy

Hey Thisisnuts,

Sorry it's been majorly sucky for you. I have to say - -for me- the first couple days were definitely the worst ... as far as feeling the most pain... and overall a sensation of swelling in my throat, tounge, uvula. What I can say is ... I drank tons of cold water... anytime I could. NOW ... it felt totally uncomfortable to do it... but just do it. It A: constantly sends moisture to your throat... as well as the coldness acting as a way to help keep swelling down.. and B: ... what I've learned from being a singer is... you have to keep your body hydrated over a period of days... for it to - in essence... kinda figure out where to 'allocate' all the water you're putting down. Just drink it no matter how much it hurts. Also... you'll notice... the more you do it... you're making that swallowing motion get worked... and thus easier and easier. Ice chips were really good too.
Now ... on day 7 ... I still have the big scab patches in the back where my tonsils were... but little bits have sluffed off on the more front parts and still continue to do so. But so far... the pain has not been as bad as it was in the first couple days... and I credit that to all the H2o intake. Also... like I mentioned above... my Doc was strict about me sticking to solely a diet of sorbet (no dairy, no ice cream), smoothies (blended fruit ...frozen strawberries, bananas w/vitmamins, protein powder), popsicles, jello, etc. All cold stuff... and THAT'S IT ... for the first 10 days! Nothing hot ... no soup, no pasta no scrambled, eggs ... nada. I'm cranky, bored, and hungry!!
But I think that's maybe one reason (and all the H20) my scabs and throat, in general have stayed in good condition ...
Like I said .. my biggest amount of pain/discomfort ... feeling of swelling comes in the area way around the back sides/undersides of of my tongue near where it connects to my throat ... causing discomfort/mild pain when I swallow ... and feeling like it slightly obstructs when I speak. Anyways ... I'm sure you have a post-op visit with your Doc planned soon... don't you?? If not .. call ASAP and get in there!
Anyways ... 'yeah' ..."good times", I know. I'm just constantly trying to look ahead ... and think about all the great meals I plan to binge-out on when this is all over!!! :P

Best, Matt

I would like more information from people about their uvula after tonseillectomy. I did not notice mine the first few days after surgery. I am on day 9 and around day 7 I noticed my uvula was so huge it is touching my tounge. When I lie down or even tilt my head to the side the uvula slides round in the back of my throat and causes a terrilbe gagging reflex.
My doc offered me steriods for it on day 5 but it was not that bothersome then. She also told me that the steroids would slow the healing process so I did not take them. I am going to call her Monday to get some because I can't sleep with that thing back there.
I have looked at my throat regularly and noticed the white scabs are just slowly getting smaller and smaller. I have been really good about drinking all the time. I wake myself up every hour to hour and a half to drink a small glass of water and keep a humidifier going all day every day. I think that has helped so much. It has been a pretty miserable experience overall, but I am making it through. thanks

I'm 52 and had my tonsillectomy on April 11th, so I'm 3 weeks post-op. For awhile, my uvula looked about 1" wide and dangled down my throat, forcing me to sleep upright and on my sides or I couldn't exhale. It's definitely getting smaller but it still feels like a wad of cotton in my throat when I swallow. I'll be asking my ENT next week when the uvula gets back to its normal size as this is probably the only discomfort left although there are still some small scabs in the throat.

Well, my uvula has shrunk a little, its still pretty swollen and I too, still have some scabs. I have been able to sleep the last few nights, but it will still bother me at the strangest times. The throat pain is still there when I swallow and talk, I am on day 14 of my tonsillectomy

My uvula was swollen too. The doctor said it was because of suctionning in the recovery room..
They gave me steroids for 24 hours in the hospital right after the surgery because it was massive and would sit on my tongue and curl up, and take up half my throat.
It has slowly gone down.. but has triggered my gag reflex a couple of times where I would just gag and dry-heave.. but a couple of times it actually made me throw up.

I couldn't talk until like day 10

It has been horrible.
I am now on day 18, and it is still swollen. It's gone down a TON, but is still about 5 times its normal size, with a white stripe on it.
The doctor said in 2 weeks time if it hasn't gone down, he is going to spray freezing spray on it and pop it so the fluids drain out.
But I'm not too excited for that.

Anyways, my voice is still werid because of the uvula.. :|
good luck to everyone else :)
it does get better though:) atleast it did for me.

Well, I am exacty one month post op!! yeah!
My uvula is shrinking, it is close to its normal size now, for a while I was worried it would never be normal. I forgot to turn on my humidifier last night, the first night since the surgery, and woke up with a sore throat. My throat still has some minor pain but all the scabs are gone. I already feel healthier than I did with my tonsils. The doctor said when she cut them that white puss ooozed out.
Good luck to everyone!

I was so glad to find this place. I am 6 days post-op and I was glad (well sorry for you) to find someone else who has trouble talking. I cannot speak more than two words (and even then they don't sound right) before I just feel pain everywhere. Does anyone know the recovery time for this?
I am a Speech Pathology student and have to start giving speech therapy in about 2 weeks and if my voice is not normal (or if I can't speak) I do not know what I am going to do!

Also, I too have the swollen uvula that seems to take up the only space left of my airway! I see my doc tomorrow and hopefully he can give me something. Does anyone else have the problem of not being able to open their mouth wider than a few inches? I want to see what it looks like back there and how I am healing,but cannot open my mouth wide enough to see.

Matt:

I just had a septoplasty done this past week, and about a day afterwards, I started noticing what sounds like the same thing as your symptoms with the uvula. At first I thought there was something in my throat that I needed to either swallow or spit out, and I could do neither. Then I realized it was the uvula. Then I noticed the white tip. It's hard for me to examine myself in the mirror, but in my case, it almost seems like there's some dead tissue hanging off the end of it, and that's why I feel it touching the back of my tongue. My next follow up is Wednesday, so the first thing I'll be saying to him is to take a look at my uvula.

Matt:

I just had a septoplasty done this past week, and about a day afterwards, I started noticing what sounds like the same thing as your symptoms with the uvula. At first I thought there was something in my throat that I needed to either swallow or spit out, and I could do neither. Then I realized it was the uvula. Then I noticed the white tip. It's hard for me to examine myself in the mirror, but in my case, it almost seems like there's some dead tissue hanging off the end of it, and that's why I feel it touching the back of my tongue. First thing I'll be saying to my doc on my next follow up this Wed. is to take a look at my uvula.