americanidol

I hope this update helps those who are contemplating having T&A removal or seeking positive reinforcement.

It's day 4 today. when my 7am alarm went off to take my meds I didn't want to wake up (mentally) but when I did I really didn't feel much different than prior days. From reading the other posts I thought today would be horrid. Actually, day 3 in the AM was very bad for me. Perhaps I'm 1 day ahead of recovery schedule. Here's a recap of my days and experiences.

Day of - came home very lucid and agitated. Can't talk and needing help from others is tuff. I did not sleep at all for some reason. Day 1 was ok until bed time. Then I realized I could not lay flat. Thank gosh I found this post and learned that I would need to sleep laying up and i would probably not sleep much. That was exactly right.. Also learned to drink ALL THE TIME.

Day 1 (day after) first part of the day was realtively ok, I was able to do emails and actually spoke to my parents for a very short while on the phone when the called to check in. By about 4pm I started to feel physically drained and uncomfortable. I went to lay down and that helped a lot. Didn't do much thru the evening and went to bed similar to night before - just a little bit of sleep, but a better experience.

Day 2 - exactly same as Day 1 except that I was eating soup from a puree machine 2 times a day. I would say I had about 1.5 - 2 oz and not much more but I just wanted to put something in my stomache with all the meds I was taking. yes, noticed I was constipated but not blocked up... went to bed same a prior day but this time I slept in 4 hour blocks only waking to my alarm for meds...

Day 3 - OUCH. I woke up and felt like my throat had swollen shut on me. It did not want to swallow and I spent nearly 1 hour in the rest room taking small sips of water trying to swallow. I did notice that about 20 minutes after taking my Hydrocodone that swalling was manageable. Day 3 am was when the depression kicked in and I lashed out at my wife for not much of a reason. By mid day I was ok feeling, staying on top of water drinking all the time and a few more sips of soups and frozen popsicles... THe night of Day 3 I slept very good actually. When i'd wake I was waiting for my throat to be worse than day 3am, it was a little less than the same so I was SURPRISED.

Day 4 - woke up not wanting to wake up. My alarm went off on my cell phone, I had it in my hand and hit snooze 3 times. I was more asleep than awake. THen I remembered how important staying on med schedule was and I got up. Wow, I didn't feel horrid. Sure I wasn't ready to go to the gym or anything, but I had my normal ritual - rest room, spit, sip, spit, sit, spit, sit, take med, swallow, water, swallow, water & done... Today I notice a slight ear pressure. Its like it's about 1/2 an inch inside my ear. I notiece it more when I got on the floor to play with my daughter so I realized I better not move around and upset my equilibrium much..

Summary - yes, this proceedure is not fun. But for those reading this who have read the other posts and like I did (post surgery) felt like this was going to nearly drive me to insantity, just judge yourself. You know how you respond to pain and healing. I am pretty resilient and pretty stubborn. I want to beat the odds and prove doctors wrong. I usually end up with some sort of self induced pain or set back with this bullish attitude but I feel I'm on top of my body and healing. So with a good head on your shoulders, a positive attitude and a winners thought process I would say you can stay on top of this recovery, you can endure the mild to severe pain wth stride and if I could listen to my own advice - you can rest plenty and do well. I think what's helped me is that I haven't sat in bed waiting to feel bad. I make an effort to go watch TV in the other room, I play with my daughter 2-3 times a day. I go and check my emails.

Good luck and remember - if your ENT says they should come out, get them out. My ENT told my wife after surgery that mine were larger than she thought and looked infected for a long time.. Thank goodness for good medical advice....

P.S. I may be back tomorrow a totally different person who did cross the threshold of stage 2, but I'm hoping I'll stay on top of this...