tonsillectomy for 16-y-o

[impatien]

Thank you for all the nice replies. Yes, I guess down deep I am hoping this will be the answer to all her problems, and that probably isn't realistic. I am still holding out hope, however, considering how many people have said that they feel 100% better since their tonsillectomy. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Right now, her tonsils are almost touching each other and she's getting those tonsil stones every day. That alone will be a good thing to be rid of. I just hope it stops a lot of the other problems as well.

[impatien]

Hi again, all! Just wanted to say that my daughter's tonsillectomy is scheduled for this coming Monday, Aug. 1st. I took her Thursday for her pre-op appointment and got prescriptions for roxicet for pain, and an antibiotic, all liquid form.

Unfortunately her first day of school is also this coming Monday. We've been trying to get this done since school got out at the end of May. Ironic huh?

Anyway, I've been reading everything I can find on these boards about the procedure and your experiences, and I feel like I have learned a lot of really useful information. I've stocked up on banana and white popscicles lots of gum etc. I am really worried about her recovery, because I've never had my tonsils removed, and DH had his done when he was three. Of course after reading everything here, I'm getting really nervous.

One thing I found out after looking up roxicet on the net, it said that it is important to take the medication when you are scheduled because it's easier to control the pain that way. Apparently it isn't as effective if you miss a dose and let the pain get really bad. I will definitely wake her up to give her the meds. Hopefully she won't have any trouble with that. Her doctor said it was stronger than Tylenol with codeine. It will be new to her.

Well, please keep us in your thoughts on Monday, and I really appreciate all I have been able to learn here. All of your tips are so helpful to us uninnitiated!

[peteyby]

Hi Impatien, I am 31 and just had my tonsils, adenoids and uvula reconstruction on June 30th. Just some tips for the aftercare, at least what seemed to comfort me: make sure she has a humidifier in her room when she sleeps - her mouth and throat may get very dry at night, which equals pain - my wife ran out & bought a humidifier for me and it made it more tolerable. Gatorade is going to be essential - but make sure she drinks a lot, I did at least 1/2 gallon per day (I stuck with the tropical-mango). I also found Arizona green tea. You don't want her to get dehydrated, so she is going to have to work through the pain. For food - I lived on oatmeal, cream of wheat & grits - the oatmeal was the best, nice & soothing. And watch out for extremes - things at room temperature seemed to be the best.

And yes, as you stated keep the roxicet scheduled. I think they will prescribe 2 teaspoons every 4 hours. I started to feel the pain come on after hour 3 - if she feels the pain before the scheduled time, don't be afraid to give her the roxicet at that moment. I spoke to my doctor about it and he said that everyone's body tolerance is different - so if the pain is felt earlier, it would be ok to medicate the pain and that the directions are a guideline.

Good luck on Monday, I'm sure she will do great!!!!

[Franks-Mom]

Hi,
I just read your post. Good Luck for Monday! I had my tonsils and adenoids out at age 17. I had complications with adenoids, but tonsils came out just fine despite 'advanced age'. I have had strep throat once in 25 yrs since, and overall would say I get less colds and other infections than average person. Prior to surgery I had permanently inflamed tonsils and snored so loud I could be heard through closed doors two floors down. The only thing I do have is a resistance to some antibiotics, which the Dr's believe is a result of the frequent and large doses I was given for recurrent tonsilitis.

[impatien]

Thank you for the tips! I do have a vaporizer that I will put in her room, and I will get some Gatorade. I hope she'll drink a lot. I keep stressing to her how important that is. She is only getting her tonsils out. I never thought to ask the doctor if during surgery he could possibly decide to take out the adnoids too. I don't know if that ever happens. I have thought of a few things I didn't think to bring up during her pre-op appt.

He mentioned that she may want to eat Jell-O or something like that the first day, and then on to soft things like scrambled eggs or oatmeal after that. He stressed nothing hard like French fries or chips or anything that could cause bleeding. However, it sounds like a lot of people on this board have a real problem eating at all for awhile. We'll just see how that goes, I guess.

Thank you for your good wishes for Monday. We have to drive an hour to the place she'll be having the surgery and she has to be there at 6:30 AM, so it'll be an early day for us. I'm glad that it will be over early though.