RECOVERY AFTER TONSILLECTOMY IN ADULTS

Guest · Guest

i just had my tonsils AND ADENOIDS taken out on 1.4.08 and the surgery went well but after THAT the storm hit lol..i have been in alot of pain and to the person that wrote above about the "SPITTING" I HAVE HAD SO MUCH SPIT I SOAKED UP A DISH TOWEL ! I KNOW THATS SO DISGUSHTING BUT IT'S TRUE...i DON'T REALLY LIKE TO EAT POPSICLES AND ICE CREAM BECAUSE IT DOES MAKE MY THROAT MUCUSY, AND ALSO I AM ON MY 8TH DAY AND I FIND THAT COUGH DROPS REALLY SOUTHES THE THROAT ALOT BUT YOU HAVE TO KEEP EATING THEM AND ALSO LOTS OF ICE WATER IS GOOD...I STILL CANT EAT ANYTHING SOLID AND I LOST 15 POUNDS BECAUSE OF IT AND MY MEDICINE THAT IS IN LIQUID FORM ROCXICET MAKES THE PAIN GO AWAY FOR AWHILE , BUT I'M GETTING BETTER AND WHEN I GO TO SLEEP THE PAIN DOES GET WORSE BUT I TRY TO GO TO SLEEP LATE AND TAKE A CEARTIN AMOUNT SO I WONT BECOME A JUNKY AS MY MOM SAYS LOL...BUT ICE PACKS,COUGH DROPS,COLD COLD BEVERAGES MOSTLY WATER OR APPLE JUICE, AND IF YOU LIKE POPSICLES AND APPLESAUCE...AND ALSO THE PAIN REALLY GETS WORSE WHEN THE SCABS FALL OFF BUT OTHER THAN THAT THE PAIN GOES AWAY...AND THE SWALLING IS ANNOYING BECAUSE YOU REALLY CANT...

southphillyitaliana · Newbie Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 1

there's no way on EARTH that story is true. No way! I am on Day 7 now, puking my cauderitzed scabs up every 15 minutes and not even barely able to eat pudding, jello or even a cut-up scrambled egg since the surgery. NO Way did you go out only hours after having a tonsillectomy and have Taco Bell. Just didn't happen. If it did, you'd have been right there in the ER bleeding profusely.

Hey, do us all a big favor and speak realistically about your experiences. If you think by telling us you just went out and had some tacos that it's gonna make us all feel a lot better - guess again. Probably half the people on this site who actually are living in a world of pain just want to rip your head off! Evil or Very Mad

Guest · Guest

Hey everyone. Well I'm glad that almost everyone has had mostly pleasant outcomes from their surgeries. I'm here to tell about my experience that is somewhat different from most. I am a 21 year male, and I had the surgery on Jan 3 and the first couple of days of recovery went very well. Remember, drink cold water whenever you can. The constant bathroom trips are worth it because cold water helps your throat so much, it's not even funny. However, on the 5th day of my recovery I was just sitting in bed and watching TV when I noticed something trickling down my throat. I ran to the bathroom and discovered that a pretty steady stream of blood was coming out of my throat. I bled off and on for several hours which was awful because I constantly had to pull ping pong ball sized blood clots out of my throat. I also vomited up the blood that I had swallowed which made me bleed even more. After about 30 mins of bleeding at home I was taken by an ambulance to the ER where I continued to vomit blood and bleed off and on for the next few hours. To make a long story short, they operated on me again and cauterized the area where I was bleeding from but not before I lost over HALF OF MY BLOOD! So I almost died, but since that scary experience my recovery has continued to go well. I'm on day 11 and the pain in my throat is almost gone. Unfortunately I now have problems from the blood loss such as limited energy and often get very dizzy. However, I remain confident that all of this will be worth it in the end since I was getting tonsil related sicknesses every 2-3 months. Oh, and just so everyone knows, the mucus thing is common and the one thing I would stress is just the water constantly.

Guest · Guest

Hey, all. I am a 19 year old female. I had my tonsillectomy on January 3rd, so I am going into my 13th day tonsil-free.

When I went in, they told me that day 3 was going to be my worst day, and then it would get better from there. That was a lie. If they tell you the pain will be at its peak in that short amount of time, I wouldn't put too much trust in it like I did.

The first day was okay, it hurt but nothing too bad. They put me on Oxycodone with Tylenol and an antibiotic. The night of day 2 I threw up because I was taking so much pain medication and couldn't get food down. I could only have ice pops and the occasional milkshake.

The scabs starting to fall off signified the worst pain. My worst pain occured during days 5 through 8. The pain medication actually burned my throat, water burned my throat, I couldn't get down ice pops or anything at all. It was the worst pain I've ever experienced (think, your worst sore throat... multiply it by 100).

Day 9 was the turning point. I started to be able to get down real food, it still hurt, but I was still taking pain medications. (they switched me to Tylenol with Codene -- didn't burn at all!)

I had horrible earaches when my throat started to hurt the worst -- a trick I found useful was to get hot water bottles and put them to my ears. It REALLY helped. They also suggest chewing gum, but that was the last thing I wanted to do.

So as I said, I'm going into day 13 and I'm doing great. I'm finally not regretting having it done. I'm starting to eat more full meals (but still, the softer the foods, the better). I went all day today without having to take any pain medicine. Last night, I slept through the night for the first time since surgery. I'm finally getting back to normal!

My tips if you're preparing to get your tonsils taken out:
1) DRINK WATER. I know, this is so repetitive, but do it. The WORST pain I was in was due to the fact that I would not drink. Please drink a lot, and frequently. Also, drinking water reduces the risk of bleeding (I haven't bled at all). There are some negatives to drinking, such as the pain, but that eases as you drink more. So please. Drink, drink, drink. Even when you're sick of the water. You're helping yourself.

2) If you have bad ear pain, get the warm water bottles. You'll look a little weird holding water bottles to your head, but it was one of the best feelings ever when that pain went away.

3) If you're on a strong pain medicine, such as Oxycodone, and it burns your throat when you take it (when the scabs start falling off) -- call your doctor and have him or her switch your pain medicine. Getting switched to the Tylenol with Codene was a huge relief.

4) Have a glass or bottle of water handy wherever you go to sleep. You will be in pain when you wake up, and it's because of not only the lack of medicine, but moreso the lack of hydration. It'll hurt, but it'll help.

5) Find something to distract you. I watched my brother play video games and it helped pass the time and it took my focus off the pain onto something else.

6) Complain as much as you want to whoever you want. You really deserve to.

7) Don't judge your experience based on other people's. One of the worst things I did was say to myself, "Well, *this person* felt better in 7 days -- why do I feel so bad on day 7?!" You'll heal in your own time. All you need to remember is the severe pain will end! You'll be back to normal soon!

Good luck everyone! And DRINK YOUR WATER! Smile

Billy · Site Admin Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 308

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RECOVERY AFTER TONSILLECTOMY IN ADULTS

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