WHAT HAPPENS FOLLOWING TONSILLECTOMY SURGERY?

Kellyellie · Newbie Joined: 23 Mar 2008 Posts: 6

I'm 24 years old and I'm on day 7. Reading some of these posts at this forum almost put me off getting the surgery, but I'm glad I did it cos overall it has not been too bad.

Day 1. When I woke up after the surgery I had some pain in my throat and I could barely talk. I immediately went to sleep for a couple of hours in one of the hospital rooms. That day I drank heaps of ice water cos the nurse said that it was really important to keep your throat moist. I also ate some ice cream and jelly Very Happy

My doctor said I was allowed to eat anything I wanted except bananas, tomatoes, spicy foods. He also said to expect some bad pain on days 4/5/6.

Days 2 - 5. I felt uncomfortable at some stages, but I made sure I took my medication and by day 3 I was pretty much able to eat anything I wanted (except spicy food and acidic foods of course) if I chewed them properly before swallowing.

Days 6 - 7. My doctor was kinda right cos the pain in my left ear and throat got a little worse but nowhere near unbearable. I just took my meds, found something quiet to do and forgot about it til it disappeared.

My scabs haven't fallen off cos I've been keeping my throat moist. I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow for a checkup. One thing to note is that I didn't go poop for 6 whole days cos of the food I was eating and the medication. Some advice for those who have yet to have the surgery:

1. Drink lots of water! Keep your throat moist at all times.
2. Take your meds, otherwise you will pay for when the pain comes and it's too late.
3. Eat! Eating food gives you energy and makes everything easier. Also don't run out of ice cream in the freezer!

Mysticfyre · Newbie Joined: 03 Apr 2008 Posts: 1

I'm 28, female, had them out on March 26th. Like everyone else said, terrible pain from day 1-7. 8 got a little better, until my doc told me I was in the "danger zone"- i.e. chance for bleeding.

Today is day 9.

Still haven't had more than 2 hours of sleep at a time, still can't eat anything even slightly solid. Pureed everything.
Drinking lots of water, just had some Ensure but I can't get the nasty taste out of my mouth now!

I wonder if the scab on my left side is starting to come off. It sort of feels like I have hairs electrocuting me in the back of my throat.

Is that what the scabs coming off feels like?

Mbsells77 · Newbie Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 3

I am age 30, had mine taken out two days ago due to sleep apnea and chronic tonsell issues. They removed my tonsels, my abnoids, part of my soft palate, and my euvula. Overall it hasn't been that bad. However I don't want to minimize the experience either. I keep Gatorade on hand always, take my pain meds religiously, and tonight had some Sushi with Miso soup- the salt in the Soy sauce helps with healing, and the cool pieces of fish seemed to make my throat feel better. I chilled the Miso soup and it honestly was pretty good. I've been told to keep hydrated not matter how much the pain, 1 gallon minimum per day along with drinking electrolytes and taking vitamins. My doctor prescribed me cough syrup with codine, which works great overall and lasts a long time. Anyway, I'll keep people posted on here and am very thankful to have this site.

apeyree · Newbie Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 2

Hi all. I am 28 year old female and am one week post op for my tonsillectomy. The firs few days were ok I just stayed hydrated and kept my mouth moist by any means possible. I did have some ear pain and a bad day on post op day 6 counting my surgery day. That day my ears hurt my throat hurt and the back of my nose holes Smile

which really was the most uncomfortable. Everytime I swallowed they would squeek. however some of this pain was self inflicted. I did have a lot of phlem and made the mistake of trying to clear it out thus swelling the membranes. Today I feel ok staying on top of my meds and away from icecream or any phlem producing matter. Popsicles are my new best friend bannan twins. It is still uncomfortable to carry out any long conversations and my white board pen just ran dry Sad

. Anyway hang in there everyone I am hoping this will be like a tooth extraction and once its gone and the wounds heal it wont hurt anymore.

roomonster2 · Newbie Joined: 28 Apr 2008 Posts: 2

I'm 16, I had my tonsils and adnoids out on Friday (4-25-2008), I guess im ok except for the fact that I think I'm starting to heal up and burns like crazy on my throat. My dr said that I can't have Ice cream, but i really want some, I guess I'll have to wait. Also, is it normal to wake up in the middle of the night with an upset stomach and then puke? I can't stand the taste in my mouth and also, I can hardly swallow anything, and keep it down, like water. Is this normal?

Guest · Guest

hi i am 16 years old and i had my tonsils removed on the 22nd april 08 after many problems with my tonsils including 2 bouts of quincy.

im now on day 7 and i'm feeling alright, i'm still on pain meds though but i'm slowly weaning myself off them. mornings are the worse my throat feels very dry and sore but it is improving. i've been eating solid foods since day 1 i even went out for a 3 course meal 3 days ago! getting very depressing sitting in every day though so planning on going out for the first time tomorrow (besides the meal i went for) as i seem pretty okay once im up and showered.

main thing is to keep drinking and try and be as active as possible. as this keeps the immune system going fighting the infection. i now have these horrible little white thins at the back of my throat however which i think are scabs a few have fallen off though + my uvula is very swollen.

looking forward to recovery and im not going to lie it isnt a walk in the park! x

COZMOBABE · Newbie Joined: 01 May 2008 Posts: 1

Hi everyone,

I started reading this site about a month before my surgery. I have to say, this site could not be more helpful and true.

I am a 26 year old female who had my tonsils out due to chronic throat infections. The day of my surgery went well. After the procedure I came home and pretty much slept for the whole day and night. Day 2 was not bad either. However, I was only able to eat a few bites of ice cream due to the pain. Day 3 and 4 were the same. Then came, Days 5 and 6, THE WORST. These days, as expected, were horrible. The pain was intense not only in my throat but also in my ears. I did not want to eat or drink anything. The doctor did say I could double my meds for those 2 days so that helped a little. Nights were even worse on these days. Then came Day 7, which was ok. I started to eat and drink a little more. I was still sticking to soups and ice cream though. Now it is Day 8 and I am finally feeling a little better. For the first time I am cutting back on my meds and eating more. I still can only eat soft foods but it's better than nothing. I have been out of work the whole time and will return in 4 days. I will be out a total of 12 days which I think is he perfect amount.

Here are some things I found helpul:
1. although cold drinks and food feel good, warm things (not Hot) are easier to get down and seem to be soothing as well
2. nights are the worst...I think because I sleep with my mouth open so my throat was getting dried out. Try not to sleep with the window open, do not use a fan, and try to use a humidifier. That way, your throat can stay moist.
3. use all of the other helpful hints on this website

I hope this can help anyone looking for advice, I know this site helped me alot. Very Happy

crissyrose · Newbie Joined: 05 May 2008 Posts: 1

I am getting my tonsils out on wednesday> I do have to admit i am very nervous about this, but i feel better with the information i found on this webiste. i picked up my pain meds today, 1 pint of liquid vicodin. I just hope i can get through the two weeks with my hsuband and his father as my only companions. Any one have any suggestions azbout how to not go stir crazy?

NewHavenPatriot · Newbie Joined: 08 May 2008 Posts: 4

Hey everyone,

I'm a 24 year old guy. It's about 12:30 in the morning here, and when I wake up later today, it will be Day 2 after my adenotonsillectomy (had my adenoids and tonsils removed on May 7th).

Here's how things went: I went to the Hospital of St. Raphael, in New Haven, CT, at noon on the 7th. I had heard the doctor was really good, so I really wasn't that worried about the surgery. They were an hour late anyway, so I was kind of getting bored and tired, just sitting with my mother and watching lame basic cable channels on TV. Then, finally, it was my turn at about 2 p.m. and I went into the operating room, and that's when the fear hit me. I lied down on the operating table, they numbed my arm, and I didn't even look at the IV they put in, I just stared up at the ceiling and tried to breathe deeply and slowly. They told me the painkiller drugs were in, and the anesthesia was on its way.

The next thing I remember was waking up in the recovery room, with a nurse telling me I did really well and asking how I was feeling. I said I felt fine, because I really didn't feel bad at all, believe it or not, and then my mom came over and started talking to me and the nurse. After a while I got to go back to my apartment, and I was just feeling a little nauseous, but not much. I drank a ton of Vitamin Water, then went to sleep for a while, and then when I woke up and I asked for some mashed potatoes. Now, my doctor said I couldn't have anything warmer than room temperature, so I ate them at room temperature, and everything went down fine. I was shocked that I was able to eat mashed potatoes, and happy, because I love them so much, lol. My girlfriend got home later on and basically got whatever water or juice I wanted, which I drank a ton of. Smile

Day one after surgery... so far, my throat has kind of hurt, but the Tylenol with codeine is helping a lot. Even though it tastes worse than NyQuil, it really does help with the pain a lot. So far, I've been experimenting with food, and things I have learned to avoid eating are: Bananas (yeah, they're mushy and soft, but somehow they hurt my throat), Bean and rice burrito (I shouldn't have even thought about eating that), and I'm sure I'll find more foods I can't eat, because I'm really really hungry right now and I'm out of mashed potatoes, which leads me to what I have been able to eat so far: Mashed potatoes at room temperature (I have a feeling I'll be stocking up on that), popsicles (chew them up a little, don't just swallow big chunks of them), chocolate pudding, apple sauce. That's all I've been eating, and if any of you have any advice on real things I can eat, I'd love to hear about it. Smile

colinm12 · Newbie Joined: 09 May 2008 Posts: 2

I am on my 9th day post op, counting the day I went in for my tonsillectomy(had it early morning)

I had a coblation tonsillectomy, which is supposed to heal faster and have much less pain. one thing I haven noticed almost everywhere is that people go into this procedure not knowing enough. Find a doctor that does this type of procedure. If not, you most likely stand the chance of a much longer healing time.

I am 26 and Male. The first 2 days were crappy I could not swallow unless I really concentrated and prepared for the pain. It just got better from there. I was given percocet, which helped alot with the pain. I am still taking it on the 9th day, but do not need to take it every 3-4 hours as I was before. I only took a whole pill every 4 hours the first two days, the rest of the time, just half a pill.

Like I said before, I am on the 9th day and on half a percocet every 4 hours I feel no pain at all. none. Even as the pain killer wears off, I feel almost nothing. I take it just to be sure since I have a few days off.

The ONLY problem I have run into is a little post op bleeding. On day 5 I was sitting around and started to bleed for no reason. I got real scared and remember to gargel with ice and it stopped within 4 minutes. I went to the ER anyway just to be sure but the doctor called me on the phone and told me it was cool and I could go home. On day 7 this happened again on the other side, and I once again became very nervous, but after gargling with ice/water it stopped within 2 minutes. I made an appointment with the ENT the following day and went in and he said I was just unlucky and he cauterized it with some chemical. It didnt hurt, didnt have to go under, I just sat there and i took 2 minutes.

Today on day 9 I bled a little again, but this time it was superficial scab bleeding, so I just stuck to ice water and am fine. Thats about it. I feel good. Do your research because you should know what kind of tonsillectomy options you have. Coblation is very new, and very effective apparently! Smile

WHAT HAPPENS FOLLOWING TONSILLECTOMY SURGERY?

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