Adult Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy Surgery - Part III

mgowdy

Shrk - Don't think 7 days will be enough. We thought my 19-year-old daughter would be well enough to go back to college on day 9 and she called me on day 10 crying to come and get her (not like her at ALL!!!). The next day she started to get better, but I'd say 10 days would be a good estimate to be off.

The Drs. don't really tell you how bad this is going to be. It is a hard recovery, but after that, it will be OK. You can live through it, and it sounds like you really need to have it done.

Hope you can get up your courage and also get the time off.

Good Luck!

lilmissy- My daughter is just starting to get her taste back and her surgery was Jan. 3. She said at first unless it was really salty, she couldn't hardly taste it and she still can't taste sweet things. We're thinking it will just take time. She forgot to ask the Dr. the other day about it.

katlynn

Just a little piece of advice to those that will be receiving a tosillectomy.

My tonsils were removed with the harmonic scalpel. After researching online, it supposedly speeds healing and recovery. It proved to be true for me. I would recommend that others look into this option. I too was terrified going into the surgery, but it was not at all as bed as I thought.

After going through it myself and reading the experiences of others, I had a much easier time than 90% of those who post. I do have a high pain tolerance, but I was eating soft foods by day 4 and was back to almost normal by day 10. I had no bad tastes in my mouth or problems with things tasting funny. All in all it was about the same as strep throat without the fever and body aches. I was exhausted for about 7 days.

Others who already had the surgery- How were yours removed?

lilmissy

mgowdy - thanks. maybe i'm used to things that are bland. i love ice cream, but found it too sweet and sugary to eat during recovery. i hope your daughter is feeling better now.

katylnn- i had mine removed by electrocautery. it's supposed to reduce the risk of post op bleeding but can be painful.

i had mine out on the 12th and i'm still not 100%. I can finally say that the pain is gone today....except my sore throat which i believe is from a cold i've caught. but tonsils-wise everything is ok. it was only a two days ago that i felt like i could talk normally. i think you'll definitely need at least 2 weeks to recover. why rush and get an infection. better to be safe if you can help it.

drummer04

Ok, real quick question for anyone who might hav experienced this.

Did anyone have it where your tongue was white or close to it, but right down the middle was what I would call a crease. The crease is almost the color of what your tongue normally would be but it is very red compared to the white part of my tongue.

Just curious.

nlh4msu

Hey drummer04-That is probably from the clamp they used to hold down your tongue!!!

Hope everyone is doing well!!! Wednesday was 6 weeks for me. I had a little set back last week. I saw my MD last Monday, and he told me that I needed to rest because I wasn't 100% healed and still had swelling on the right side. I had to fly the next day (My doc told me NOT to, but I had to for work!!) Anyway, I completely lost my voice and came home with STREP THROAT!!! I was so angry!!! Anyway, I have been on augmentin for 7 days (3 more to go) and can now say that my throat is 100%. The only problem I am having is an annoying dry cough. I am back to normal as far as diet and exercise. I am burning the candle at both ends. My advice to anyone that works, is to stay off as long as possible. 7 days is not enogh time!!! Good luck to you guys!!

scooch

Well, I talked with the surgeon, and canceled the operation. I am so relived!!! I suppose the surgery seemed kind of "radical" to me, since they were also removing my uvula and taking out the soft tissue in my throat. If anyone is considering this as a cure for sleep apnea, I would suggest that they go on a portion control diet and exercise. I have lost almost 30 pounds now, and am sleeping much better. After speaking with my ENT doc, Sleep lab doc, and my primary care physician, they all had different advice, but the one common thing they ALL said was that losing weight would help clear my airway, however they did say that since my tonsils were a "top 3" largest of all time(I think they are all trained in Med school to say that to every patient) losing weight would not help reduce the size of the them(but would still open up my airway by losing fat in my throat), so I will probably get "just" a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy later in the year and keep my uvula and soft tissue. To those that are going through with the surgery, I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your input, it really helped.

scooch

Oh, as for you, shrk, the decision is ultimatly yours, it is YOUR BODY!! If you feel that it is not for you at this time, then DONT DO IT. I don't know how serious your condition is, but if there is a more natural solution, I would try it first, and do the surgery as a last resort only.

Good luck!

rajaraja1

hello kids..

taste buds -
haven't been on here in a while.. i'm 3 weeks post op. last wednesday was my first time on regular food.. i was super excited.. but i can hardly taste anything.. totally sucks... sweet stuff taste sour... and everything else is bland. soo drepressing.. i live to eat!! spoked to my best friend and she's over a year post op and she said it might be while before i start tasting stuff. she says her's hasn't fully recovered. booooooo

scabs... i might still have a few left on my left side...

i'd say i'm 90% i get tired super fast. i went to my office on saturday just to read all my e-mails before monday since i had been out for 3 weeks.. i was there for 3 hours and i was pooped

tomorrow is my first day back.. booooo


good luck to those about to have surgery

and to those that are a few days into the recovery process... i promise it will get better one day.. hang in there

drummer04

Well, to day is day 11 of post-op and things are going ok. Everything makes me so tired. Getting up and taking a shower and shaving wore me out. I have to go back to work tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

Eating has not been going so good. I threw up everything I had eaten yesterday. Today has been a little better. I can eat (or at least I feel like I can eat.), but I do not have a taste for anything. So, I have some potato soup for lunch. I am venturing out and having chicken with rice and gravy for dinner. I am praying that I can eat it with no problems.

My throat is healing good. The right side seems to be healing much quicker and looking more normal than the left side. That is probably normal with all of the bleeding problems I have had with the left side. I have learned a couple of new pain "feelings" today. Yawning and sneezing are horrible. Yawning is a dull long pain and sneezing is a qucik sharp pain.

Well, I am praying that the healing process continues to move forward quickley. I am really ready to eat some pizza!

Shrk

Drummer, I hope you continue getting better too.

Sorry to post once then seem to disappear, but I've had a devil of a time getting logged back into this site.

Anyway. My surgery is THIS Thursday. Yikes! Has anyone else had the Coblation-Assisted tonsillectomy? That's what I'm getting. Also did almost everyone get sick from being put to sleep? Did anyone who didn't have that Zofran med? I'm more worried right now about being sick on my stomach than anything, which I guess sounds silly, but that's me.

Anyone else having their surgery this week?

I wish us all speedy recoverys!

dbaum

Well, I'm back. I was scheduled to have my tonsils out over Thanksgiving last year. But, family issues prevented that. I am scheduled to see my ENT next week and I will be scheduling the surger.

The only thing that has changed is I have now been diagnosed as diabetic. I am not on any meds. This creates a special challenge as most of the smoothie concoctions and soft stuff that I will be able to eat are loaded with carbs and will elevate my blood sugars. I am not sure what to do about that. I also have to figure out how to not lose weight. I can't afford to lose any more weight. But, I do know this surgery needs to happen.

Anyway, I'm back and love this board and have learned so much. I wish all of you an easy, or as easy as can be, recovery

alleycat

I remember just last year having my tonsils out and being on this board. It helped out a lot good luck to everyone recovering or getting ready for surgery.

__________________
Diagnosed with PCOS 6-9-04 @ age 18

dbaum

Yep, I remember reading your posts last year. Sounds like you are doing well. Seems like this board has cooled off a bit. Last year it was full of activity and great advice. I hope it picks up!

sydneysmommie

Hi all!

I am going to have my tonsils shrunk down in a few weeks due to reccurent infections from tonsil stones. My ENT suggested that I have them out...But at 36..I am afraid the recovery time will be too traumatic..Especially because I have a 15 month old.

I have to be honest I am terrified! Has anyone ever had the cobalation laser? How effective was it?

I still need to be put under anesthesia. He claims the recovery time is 1-2 days. He says it will feel like a sore throat.
I have to do something..I am going nuts from the feeling I have with the stones.

Any advice or experiences would be helpful!

I am so sorry that some of you have had such a painful recovery. I can only imagine what it feels like from hearing your posts. I hope everyone is doing better each day.

I am glad we can chat here!