Adult Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy Surgery - Part 7

[OriginalCin]

Hi all...there is so much SUPPORT on this forum, I'm so glad I found it! This past Wednesday I had my tonsils and adenoids removed. So, I'm on day 5 and I had a sweet potato french fry and an ice pop today...woohoo! This was the first type of "solid food" I've had since day 1. I've been drinking water, apple juice, and iced green tea and have been chewing ice chips. I am still in a lot of pain. I'm on a liquid antibiotic and on liquid hydrocodone +aceteminophine (sp?). Taking the anti 2x per day and the painkiller every 3 hours. Here are my concerns (please let me know if they are normal):

--I'm completely grossed out by the white/yellow/green coating on the entire back of my throat and surrounding my uvula. Is it normal to have such a huge area of nastiness covering that space?

--My ears hurt terribly and I have been using heating pad/hot compresses...anything else I can try?

--My tongue, all the way in the back on both sides, feel like it's been cut. Can't really move it too much, especially to the sides.

--I've been brushing my teeth the best I can, but since I seem to have a lock-jaw situation going on, it's been tough getting my mouth clean. Any suggestions?

--I'm EXTREMELY mucusy and am basically hocking up at least once a minute. Anything I can do to reduce the congestion?

Thanks so much for listening and for the advice. Wishing a speedy recovery to every on the board!

ps. I hope I'm posting this correctly and it doesn't show up as a reply to someone else...this is my first time!

[stine]

OriginalCin

Hi, I haven't had my surgery yet, but I have been doing ALOT of research and I've also been reading through all of these posts. (Getting a lot of great advice.) I know that there's some sort of eardrops that you can get a precription for that help numb the ears. I think the tongue pain is probably from the clamp that they used to keep your tongue out of the way. Have you tried to use a baby size tooth brush? It might be easier to fit into your mouth. Sorry I couldn't help you some more... This is just stuff that I've gotten from other people in recovery.

Do the pain meds help your pain at all? I am hoping that they will at least bring my pain down to a tolerable level.

Hope you feel better soon.
Christine

[thefer]

OriginalCin,

I had my tonsil surgery a little over 3 weeks ago. Everything that you are experiencing is totally normal. That is great you are able to eat a french fry. I would start with things that are a bit softer like mashed pototoes and gravy, mac and cheese, applesauce etc. Stay away from hard foods.

The white, green, yellow coating is scabs. Once those fall off, it will go to white and and pink areas of skin. I am on that stage now. I still have white areas and areas of pink skin at 3 weeks.

The pain in the ears and jaw are normal. The one thing that I found that worked well is using ice a couple times a day and take the pain meds. I think around day 5, I woke up in the middle of the night with extreme ear pain. It does get better. It might help to sleep reclined, using several pillows. That seemed to help. Also, drink warm fluids. My tongue has been sore since my surgery. It does get better. It still hurts to move it around in my mouth.

Brushing my teeth was a big challenge. I attempted it around day 4. You might want to use mouthwash till you can brush your teeth or go very slow and gentle with a small tooth brush.

I went through at least 8 boxes of kleenex from hacking up the mucus. My ENT says it is normal and not much you can do about it. In the ER, when I had bleeding. My ENT had me rinse with hydrogen peroxide and water. I noticed after that, I had alot less mucus. Like I mentioned earlier, I am now a little over 3 weeks and I am still getting the mucus. It is worse in the mornings when I wake up and after I eat, but it lessens as the day goes on. My ENT claims it is normal and can occur up to a month after removal.. Also, be careful with coughing it up. If you cough it up with force, it can dislodge a scab too early and that can cause bleeding and a trip to the ER. It happened to me.

I hope this helps out some.

thanks
thefer

[campingirl72]

hi everyone ~ the Roxicet made me throw up and very nauseous at 1st too cuz I wasnt eating anything at 1st ~ the doctor told me if it made me nauseous to make sure to eat something with it and then I shouldnt feel nauseous and that worked great!!! ~ the Roxicet works great if you eat 15 minutes after taking it ~ by then the medicine is kicking in and your throat feels much better so its easier to get the food down, plus like I said eating something shortly after will help so you dont feel nauseous ~ try this, it really worked great for me

[campingirl72]

Cin, I was very mucousy too ~ dont know if you are drinking milk or eating any dairy products, but it is best to stay away from all dairy products for awhile ~ dairy products can make you more mucousy ~ hope this helps!