Scared to DEATH!!! - Ear, Nose & Throat Message Board

jlsvirgo79 · 09-14-2007, 08:55 PM

Well I was scheduled to have my tonsills and atnoids out on Sept. 28th BUT got a call from the ENT's office and they moved it up 1 week so now its next friday (21st)....Im scared to death!!!
A little about me, Im a 28yr old single mother of a 5yr old, always had bouts of strept, mono when I was 16,Tonsillitis you name it Ive had it...seemed to go away But my throat was always my weak spot...when I get sick it goes straight to my throat so after having ear tubes put in my ears in March of this year and having 3 ear infections since then my ENT thought it would be a good idea to get these tonsills and atnoids out...so here I am scared as all hell!!! Im not so much scared of the surgery itself its whats to come afterwards,my dr is using the lazer method....Is it extreamlly painful??? Im also afraid of the risk of hemmorging!!! My b/f is taking the week of my surgery off so he will be home with me but im still scared...Just looking for some kind of reasurrance...hope, anything to make me not cancel the surgery!
Thanks!!!
Jen P.S please excuse my spelling!!! LOL

CHRIS-N-AZ · 09-14-2007, 10:00 PM

Jen,

I am on day seven of my recovery. The pain was never worse than I imagined from reading the posts here. I am on the downhill side of this at seven days. I can function around the house. And really I have been working from home all week, doing phone and email. I have been very carefull to follow the doctors orders so I could heal in time to go back to work this coming Monday.

It's really not so bad. If it hurts more than your pain medication is helping then keep calling the doctors office and let them know. They should do something to help you.

I can't lie to you. I have been posting my experiences on here all week. You would know. It does hurt. But it's not that bad. And the risk of a second procedure due to bleeding is only like 5% (ask your surgeon, but that's a close quote). As long as you do what he says.

Read my posts in thread "Tonsillectomy AZ Style, My rants during recovery". Or it's titled something like that. It's here on the first page.

Remember, don't be affraid to call the doctor and ask for more, or different, pain medication...

Good luck with your surgery and recovery. You'll be fine. And then, no more tonsil problems. Post back and let us know how you are.

Chris

CHRIS-N-AZ · 09-14-2007, 10:07 PM

And don't forget to print LisaMP's guide for a tonsillectomy. It has some really good stuff in it....

mjc_basset · 09-15-2007, 09:06 AM

Hi Jen - I'm sort of going through pre-surgery anxiety too as my tonsillectomy surgery is a couple of days after yours! I know there's a lot of stories on the ENT message boards about excessive bleeding after the tonsillectomy but it really is rare - it could happen but it's only a very small chance. Don't take any aspirin or ibuprofen between now and the surgery as these painkillers increases the chances of bleeding.

I'm quite a wimp when it comes to pain tolerance but I'm looking forward to the surgery because it's worth it in the long run - reading your post it sounds like you'll really benefit from the surgery so just be brave! Hope it all goes well!

pmarz33 · 09-16-2007, 12:04 PM

I am a 46 year old male and I had my surgery Tuesday at noon. The worse part so far has been the two weeks of anxiety before the surgery. Everyone will react different, you will be ok. I will tell you one thing, drink through the pain, the more you drink the less pain and complications will arise. Today is day 5 for me and I just had my biggest meal, chicken & stars soup without the chicken. Get your calories through gatorade, popsicles and sorbet. Some people try to cram to much food down too early. My worse pain was in recovery, the pain was so bad my blood pressure hit 200/115. They said that was due to pain. I was given 500mg of fentanyl and blood pressure meds. My BP went down but not the pain. I actully lied to them and said it was better just to get out of there. When I got home the pain was unbearable and I started to bleed. They said to come back in but I loaded my neck with ice and it stopped and the pain went in half. I think something was pulled a little tight and when that popped I bled a little and the pain subsided. Sleeping the first night and the next day did not really happen but I have been sleeping decent since. I am on 15mg (3 teaspoons) of lortab every 4 hours. I cut the dose yesterday and went with staight tylenol today because it makes me loopy. Once again you will be fine especially if you drink like crazy, I am drinking well over a gallon of liquids a day. Oh and my uvula is so big I can't even see where it ends, I had to go to the doc Friday to get steroids for that. It's more unnerving that anything but some swelling is quite normal.