Adult Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy Surgery - Part 8 - Page 4

sarakay444 · 07-12-2005, 10:02 PM

Impatien-
She's lucky to have you. She'll definitely need someone around when she has the surgery. My surgery is scheduled for a week from today. My tonsils have 7 days left to torture me and then its SEE YA FELLAS. From what I've read, getting them done sooner than later is the best idea. The older you get, the worse it's supposed to be. I'm 24 so I'm hoping I still slide into the moderate category. Definitely read through all of these posts. There's a lot of great ideas and a lot of stories to let you know what to expect. Don't let the horror stories freak you out, though. There are a LOT of people that don't have complications and get along just fine. Good luck and stick around for the posting, I'll let you know how mine goes. Hopefully they can get her in before school starts! Good luck!

Sara

thefer · 07-13-2005, 12:33 AM

impatien,

I am glad to hear that your DD, got into an ENT now than later. This is one of these surgeries that children and adolescents do better than adults. The younger she is, the easier time it will be for her.

The biggest thing that I can suggest is to make sure she stays hydrated. Drink fluids big time. Also, stay on top of the pain meds. Try and get this done before school starts. It takes a couple weeks to feel back to normal. She is lucky to have you nearby to help her during the recovery period. I just had mine removed about 3 weeks ago and it was nice to be at my parents house recovering from it.

Hopefully, once the tonsils are gone, she won't have to deal with the infections. I also got repeated infections, 6 of them in a 5 month period. All strep test came back negative. It was not fun to deal with while attending college. The last infection was bad enough to send me to an ENT. They got removed almost a week later.

If your DD is underweight, try and have her gain a couple pounds now. After the surgery, she won't feel like eating and will drop weight fast. I think between the infection and the surgery, I lost around 13-14 lbs.

Thanks
thefer

firefly214 · 07-13-2005, 06:06 AM

DAY 14. 4am.

Thanks everyone again for responding with great information.

I had my second check up yesterday. My doctor seems more patient and understanding now, since I apologized for getting mad at him at the 1st check up. (Yah, I took the higher road since he really was being a butthole but it seems to have helped).

I had MANY questions, thanks to all of you, to ask him.

First, I asked him about why I was having so much pain still. He said my tongue is causing a lot of it, making it feel like every time my tongue moves, my tonsils scabs are being pulled. And YES, he concurred that I still have my tonsils scabs. BUT, he said since it was day 13, they will be thinner and when they eventually start to slough off, the bleeding *shouldn't* be too noticeable, since the scabs are "well done." (eww) He thinks they are still there since I have had so much pain and have still been following a restrictive diet of liquids and some soft foods. He said absolutely no aspirin or ibuprofren products are to be taken since I still have my scabs and am at great risk for bleeding. (I took ibuprofren in large amounts up to the day before my surgery. It was the only thing that kept my fever from chronic tonsillitis down). He also said to try more variety in my diet, to see if that would help slough off the scabs faster. He said (and I quote), "You are about 1.5 weeks behind everyone else in your healing." I am not TOO sure what he meant by that, but I assume the scabs still being present might be why.

Also, I asked him about my soft pallete issues I've been having. He said it becomes "lazy" during and after surgery and that it should start to get back to normal in the coming week or so. I read somewhere online that adults can take up to a month or so to fully heal and resume their normal diet, etc.

He ALSO prescribed me Darvocet N-100, since I explained that the Percocet did NOTHING. I *might* venture to say that Darvocet took a *slight* edge off the pain but NOT the pain from swallowing, just the "general" pain that has not gone away.

And on a sad note, yes, I did go buy Menthol cigarettes yesterday. I managed 12 days without them but my best friend took me to a concert (and she smokes too) and the cravings came back. BUT, I have only managed to smoke a pack in 36 hours so that is 10 cigarettes less than usual. So, we shall see.

Thanks all. I just dont think I will ever be able to find a pain medicine that works. I wish I could ask for something like OxyContin but I would feel like a drug addict if I go in there asking for something without Tylenol in it. Plus, the whole tylenol thing you guys mentioned... I cant take that much tylenol so adding the adult liquid stuff is probably not an option. My liver might blow up. The Darvocet I'm guessing is stronger than Percocet which means more tylenol and I cant take that chance. (I used to drink a lot when I was in my late teens, early 20s, so I have an idea my liver isnt so great as it is).

Oh, I also mentioned to my doctor about the oncall butthole. He did not say anything in response, but I was on my way walking out. It was a quick visit and my insurance still sucks.

Any suggestions on pain medicines that I havent mentioned? Is OxyContin hard to get? I have just heard so many good things about it, that's all. Thanks.

needsomehelpbad · 07-13-2005, 08:37 AM

Percocet is actually stronger than darvocet, believe it or not....as for getting oxycontin, i dont think your doctor would presecribe that to you...You should ask about the roxicet patches they sometimes provide..i hear those are helpful

sarakay444 · 07-13-2005, 10:03 AM

I agree. Darvocet isn't actually as strong as most. I took Lortab after getting 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed. When it was making me sick, they switched me to Darvocet. Wasn't as strong, but at least the pain was manageable.

You may need to resign to the fact that this is a serious surgery and no matter what, you will have some pain. I don't think the point of pain medication is to make it so you feel 100% better, I think its to make the pain manageable enough that you're able to function. It sounds like you may be seeking a medication that will completely take the pain away and make you not feel anything at all.

Due to the reluctance of your doctor to prescribe anything more than darvocet at this point, I think you'll have a very hard time convincing him to prescribe oxycontin.

You'll feel better soon. I hope you're doing things to keep you're mind off of it. I truly do with you the best of luck with this.