RECOVERY AFTER TONSILLECTOMY IN ADULTS

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Hi i had my tonsillectomy a week ago today and to my luck it wasn't as bad as i thought. I could eat straight away solid in fact i ad a cottage pie and jelly three hours after waking up, i had to stay in hospital overnight and apart from waking up every one -two hours to drink and go to toilet the pain wasn't too bad at all. next day i went home and i felt fine tired but fine no pain and bvery very ungry, so ha d some pizza . to be honest the worst days so far were day4 and 5 were the pain was a bit annoying and swallowing was a bit stinging. but today i'm fine i've got a bit of a sore throat my white scabs are mainly all off and feel like my old self again. i uess i was lucky, my only advice is drink lots of water (i drank nearly 5 litres of water a day) and try to eat solid straight away make sure you chew them properly and you'll be fine!!!good luck!!!

patseguin · Newbie Joined: 06 Sep 2007 Posts: 1

I'm 39 years old and had my LINGUAL tonsils removed 2 days ago. First night of sleep was awesome. 2nd night (tonight) was not so good. I began feeling like I had to clear my throat and cough (nurse told me not to). After getting to the point of feeling like I was going to suffocate and wheezing, I coughed reflexively. Thus far, pain has been very minimal and I take my Vicoden every 4 hours. I'm just worried about this coughing situation. If I feel phlegm and start choking, I'm going to cough no matter what. ANyone have a suggestion? Maybe a cough suppressant?

micmic1 · Newbie Joined: 07 Sep 2007 Posts: 1

hi everyone

this site kind of made me nervous about getting tonsils and adenoids removed, but i figured four strep throats this year couldn't be as bad as this surgery. boy, was i wrong! i had surgery on wed sept 5 and overall i am glad that i got this surgery. day1 and 2 post oper were oK, but day 3 was terrible. i have ear pain and sore throat like you wouldn't believe, but after reading every post on this site, some of the suggestions are really valid ones. What works for me is to take my liquid hydrocodone evry 3 hrs vs. recommended 4 to calm the pain. I tried to go the 4 and i just cannot go that long. if i eat some breyers ice cream with the medication, not only does it numb the pain, but it makes the pain go away(temporarily, that is) for 1-2 hrs. i hope this continues to work. also, the ice pack works on the back the neck. pray for me, and i will do the same for each of u. cause from what i am reading i have not exited the rough part of the woods yet. sorry, if i seem to be rambling on and on,but i am trying to get out the details as i think of them. i guess that's what medication will do 4 ya.

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I am on day 5 post op and i am in so much pain i didnt think it was possible to be in. I has a baby 9 weeks ago and had a very difficult labour and was very ill but i think i would rather do that again than this if i am honest.

My pain killers which are cocodamol an diclofenac seem to have no effect now. I was not given any antibiotics and had to go to A&E tonight because the pain was just so bad. I was told i have an infection and now have antibiotics. Please someone tell me that this will get better. Should i be resting, i dont know how much activity i should be doing. I keep fantasizing about food. Everything tastes like wet cardboard and now i am freaking out about the whole scab thing. I feel lke there is something back there but i can hardly open my mouth to have a look.

Guest · Guest

so i was pretty nervous about this surgery because i've never been through one before.. never experienced great amounts of pain either. i think i had a cautery technique --half of my throat is a gray or white colour. really disgusting. im 26.

surgery day was fine. very little pain. very little. i was thinking to myself 'holy shit i must have a pretty high tolerance to pain!'. morphine is awesome.
as much water as possible. no food. didnt take any pain meds. at night i was concerned i would choke on my own saliva though so i slept upright in a chair.

day 2: again, very little pain. i think the morphine used the day before was still working a bit... or maybe the body was still in a shock state or something. 'wow im rock hard!'. as much water as possible. no food other than popsicles but soon sick of sugar. was not taking any pain meds until i got a massive headache . from then on i have not been able to stop taking them every 4 hours(extra strength acetominophine not the heavy pain meds given by my doc)---ambient pain comes back after maybe 3 hours. slept again in the chair.

day 3: pain. pain. pain. slept a lot. couldnt eat anything until later in the day and then only a bit of soup. ' oh my god this is too much pain'. pain in my throat when swallowing. pain in neck. pain in ears! frequent headaches. used ice pack for neck and ears. discovered best way to drink water without pain (worked for me maybe it'll work for you).
---hold up cup to mouth as if you're going to chug something but only take small gulps down the center of your tongue keeping the throat open. i've found this method the best b/c you get more water down (which is good for recovery) while getting it down in least painful way (first gulp hurts but subsequent ones feel less painful b/c cool water is covering them). this method is opposed to the quick sip one=more pain less water.
also on this day i noticed that water tastes really bad!!! actually everything does. i guess this has something to do either with infection or something. my girlfriend made us watch a comedy. i started to smile but it hurt so i covered up my face and was shaking my hand so she would stop laughing. but she couldnt stop and i end up laughing (not out-loud) and laughing and then crying because of pain. inflammation and pain up considerable after this episode. DONT laugh or cry:)

day 4: same or more pain. ears feel as if they're going to pop. throat is really really inflamed. taking meds as i'm spose to though... using multiple icepacks. voice is somewhat audible. sound kinda like a duck. im told it's not good to talk so im keeping it to a minimum. still not really eating food. ive tried to eat some bread, some alphagetti, some manicotti, some popsicles, but after a few mouthhalffulls my throat is screaming.

right now it's in the afternoon of the fourth day. pain is ok right now. it kinda ebbs and flows. it's good to get outside and walk around a bit (not too much b/c of lack of calories) to get some fresh air and to remind yourself why you had the surgery done in the first place! it's going to get better. i had a client tell me this over and over the day before my surgery and i've repeated it many many times.

here's to hoping tomorrow it gets better!

Momof2Gs · Newbie Joined: 10 Sep 2007 Posts: 1 Location: Florida

My tonsils are coming out and im scared to death Sad

Im 33 and was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphona in 2000. I went into remission in 2001 and now, 6 years later they think it may be back. I had a PET Scan done (have them every 2 years or so) and my tonsils and nasal pharynx were lit up, which means cancer cells were detected. So, I go on Wed. to have them removed. I understand the recovery is pure HELL! But, is it hell because of the pain in your mouth? Not being able to eat or drink? being tired?
Im wondering what its like for a week or 2 after. Did you do things around the house or run small errands? Or were you confined to your bed with ice chips? haha I have 2 small kids...i cant be stuck in bed 24/7 even if i do have a little help here and there.
Id love someone to let me know how they spent their 2 weeks after surgery as well as some food suggestions. I was told nothing "red" and of course the only flvor icicle/jello i like is cherry and strawberry...LOL I dont like milkshakes or yogurt either.

Ok, looking forward to hearing from you all...
Dawn~

bbbbbbb · Newbie Joined: 11 Sep 2007 Posts: 1

Hi Dawn,
I'm a 26 year old male and had my tonsils removed because of breathing problems. The recovery is pretty painful. I am currently on day 7 after the surgery and am still in significant pain. The pain is definately not as bad as it was the first couple of days but i believe that the scab is starting to fall off now, which is more annoying than painful. I was not able to eat the first couple of days at all and had to force down some water just to stay hydrated. I havent heard that you can't eat red things, I've been pretty much only eating cherry jello for a week until yesterday. Other things i have been able to eat are mashed potatoes, overcooked pasta and soups. The thing is I don't have much of an appetite due to the pain that comes with swallowing. I found the best way to eat is a half hour to an hour after you take your pain meds. As for minor errands and doing things around the house. I have had a suprising amount of energy, more than i thought i would. I went out yesterday to the supermarket to get some soups and to just get out a little. My best advice for you would be to take the pain meds when youre supposed to even if you dont think you need them. Keep some ice packs on your neck and ears due to the swelling and pain. I bought a humidifier to put in my room when i sleep which has definately helped with the dry throat in the morning. Most importantly keep hydrated it may hurt to swallow but its worth it. Very cold ice water seems to work the best for me. Just remember that as bad as things will get they will ultimately get better and this is something that you need to have done. I wish you the best of luck and hope everything works out for you.

Guest · Guest

I got my tonsils took out on 9/4/2007 it was not that painful. It is just very uncomfortable. What made the pain come is when i had to cough uo the mucus that hurt like hell. But other than that it was fine. I just have a hard time ajusting going back to work because i got use to being sleep around this time. Its better if you get them out because you dont have to go throught the pain of tonsillitis again.

Guest · Guest

i had my tonsils removed on the 6th of september. after a night of pain i realized the next day i could not taste anything at all. is anyone else going through this/or has gone through this? its so frustrating because it makes it real hard to keep my strength up while struggling to eat. Crying or Very sad

mwa323 · Newbie Joined: 16 Sep 2007 Posts: 2

I am on Day 6 and gotta say this website assured me I am not alone in ehat I am going through. I had a newer method of tonsillectomy done which is with radio therapy waves and cooler temperatures than the traditional method with heat. Supposedly, the recovery time is half compared to the traditional way so I went for it.
Make sure you are not allergic to ehatever meds they prescribe you. I was allergic to Vcodin, so I am on liquid codeine. It has not bothered my stomach at all. I have not thrown up but I have been constipated for 6 days now. Isn' that awesome.
The pain is pretty bad days 1-3. And then on day for a piece of my tissue came up and freaked me out. My doctor said he sowed my blood vesels so they don't bleed during recovery. WHIPEE!

I hold my ears when I swallow. It helps me.

Your Best Friend THrough This:
ice packs for your throat
chicken broth
liquid medicine....take it on time or 1 hour earlier if you don't want to shoot yorself
popsicles
NO ACIDIC FOOD, OR SPICY FOOD, OR SOLIDS=PAIN
Keep your mouth hydrated or you will be sorry, don't let it get dry

Late nights b/w 3-7am is hard if you forget to wake up for your meds. Put your alarm on.

Have someone by you for the first 4 days.

Don't talk a lot. It stresses your voice box.

So, now I am waiting for the wonderful part of scabs to fall off....

Good luck to you all. It is all worth it in the end.

RECOVERY AFTER TONSILLECTOMY IN ADULTS

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