What to expect following adult tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy?

tonsilssuck · Newbie Joined: 19 May 2008 Posts: 6

arlinda i am right there with you!! im 21 an got mine out the same day as you... today is ok, i woke up with an extremely dry mouth cause i slept through my alarm and didn't drink anything for a few hours (and didnt take my meds either!) but i've been going through all the same things as you, minus the fever...mine hasnt gone over 101 (which my doc said was normal). i posted a long synopsis of my miserable last week on a different thread "post tonsillectomy pain" i think. basically it's all the same as you...getting worse and worse especially by this week! today seems to be going ok so far though, which is very surprising!!! i took a look in my throat (with the aid of a lighted mirror and a little bit of a struggle since my tongue is still huge and i cant stick it out). ive noticed a lot of the nasty white scabbing is deteriorating and im seeing a lot of pink which is great!!

if you dont like the phenergan suppositories, you should ask your doctor for Zofran ODT. They are orally disintegrating tablets (so no pills to swallow or put elsewhere) and the same stuff as phenergan...that's what i got along with phenergan injections (my mom is a doc so she can give them to me) but i've loves the zofran it works very well.

i also haven't been able to eat very much, but if you have a blender get some protein powder and mix it with some ice and fruit juice (nothing citrus-y) and maybe some fruit (like strawberries or peaches... for some reason bananas burn). my doc suggested this since ive been on a mainly jello, pudding, and mashed potatoes (made in a blender with butter and milk to make them soupy haha) and lack of nutrients can seriously hinder your recovery speed. I've also found that reallly really moist chicken can be eaten if it's in little pieces (kfc fried chicken without the skin or boston market rotisserie-with skin peeled off bc it's way too salty- are both good).

i was supposed to be going back to to work next week too, but i think im going to take another week off because i still can't talk for more than a minute or two at a time and my doc said these scabs probably wont be gone for another few days. They also said that the pain and nasty breath and not eating will probably last at least another week and a half. Anyways, I hope today is going better for you too!!! glad there's someone out there going through the same as me right now, makes me feel less alone in this.

-gina

Mwhite · Newbie Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 1

Hello everyone! I had planned to have my tonsils out next month at the age of 25, but after reading each post on this board (yes, all the way back to its original thread of about 31 pages) I was sufficiently scared/educated enough to cancel my surgery today. But-- I do love this community that's formed here! I feel like I know some of you LOL.

Not only was I so scared from reading these experiences, but I became SO MUCH more educated about the types of tosillectomies that I realized I should ask my doctor what type he performs. Turns out it's cautery--pretty much the most painful one-- which is why I didn't hesitate to cancel even after doing all the labwork, going through the insurance, etc. You see, I'm getting the surgery due to tonsil stones, not (thankfully) because of infection problems as most people have.

I am VERY interested in Thermal Welding, and will proceed with ony that type of surgery. I can barely find information about it, no less a listing of ENTs who perform it. Can anyone help with finding such a resource? I hate to have to start making cold calls to offices!

arlinda75 · Newbie Joined: 19 May 2008 Posts: 2

hey gina, good to hear you are feeling better today. Very Happy

yeah today was a really good day. i actually drove for the first time today to hobby lobby this morning and bought some really cute trinket boxes they had for half price. i came home and ate a ham and swiss sandwiched (i took really small bites and chewed alot, lol). i cleaned my living room and nicely placed my trinket boxes (one for the remotes to get them out of view and to store nicely). that is something learned on hgtv the past few days it has been on almost 24-7 lol! i then decided to go to target and kmart in search of a vanity for my bedroom but didn't find anything. i did however buy some nice candles Smile

i made steaks on the grill, with broccoli and cheese, and augratin pototos. i was able to eat a few very small bites of the steak and broccoli but i devoured the potatos lol Laughing

i made arrangements to go back to work on friday and just see how it goes otherwise i won't get my holiday pay for this monday if i don't go. my throat still hurts like hell but i feel fine otherwise hooray!!!! Razz

hang in there gina, there is light at the end of the tunnel - i can see it!! i'm gonna go watch hgtv now and hit the hay. have a wonderful night and good luck to you all!!! Very Happy

tonsilssuck · Newbie Joined: 19 May 2008 Posts: 6

glad to hear it was a good day for you too! i also had my first "real" day (haha as i call it). I wasn't so great when i woke up yesterday morning cause my mouth was really dry for some reason, but i was able to eat half of a chicken breast and some au gratin potatoes and some macaroni and cheese, real food! i also drove my car for the first time and went to a real restaurant (although i think the waiter was a little thrown off because i sound like a deaf person when i talk right now...strange). eating was very very painful still but i forced myself to do it cause i was so hungry and it tasted so good to not be eating jello! my jaw is extremely sore now and so are all of the muscles in my throat, but i think it was well worth it.

I'm awake right now though because even though my mouth is closed the area where my sinuses meet my throat is very dry and stinging and burning when i swallow... even water was agony and im having a little bit of difficulty swallowing my medicine because of this new pain. i figure if i sip for a little while and keep forcing myself to swallow over and over it will moisten up enough to take my medicine (right now im on lortab elixir and it feels like battery acid when you drink it regardless of the throat being dry or not). any ideas for not waking up this way?? my mouth is closed this shouldnt be happening Sad

i guess it's because it's new to be breathing through these sinuses instead of with an openmouth. my congestion has finally died down so i'm able to breathe with my mouth closed while laying down - something i havent really been able to do until now. time to try some water again! hopefully when i wake up things will go as well as they did yesterday!

happy_camper · Newbie Joined: 10 May 2008 Posts: 6

Its been two weeks since my surgery and everything is great.
scabs are all gone. eating is normal. the only lasting throat pain comes from yawning or sneezing.

I worked my normal schedule at work (fri-sun) and didnt have any problems.

sorry some of you have had harder recoveries.

blankmama81 · Newbie Joined: 21 May 2008 Posts: 1

Like most of you said the first day was fine. I was tired but I didn't really hurt all that much. I was nervous because I had never been under anesthesia before. I've had 2 c-sections before and I think I'd rather have another one of those before having surgery on my throat again. I had my husband and my parents taking care of me for 3 or 4 days and then I was alone. I missed food so much, I was even craving tuna fish sandwiches and chili cheese fries. But all I really ate was pudding and yogurt and I drank a lot of apple juice. It had to be apple juice because nothing else tasted right. I think that days 3-6 were the worst. I started getting sick from the lortab so I had to get promethezine for the vomiting. I went about 24 hours without pain medicine on day 4 or 5. That was awful. I thought I was going to die. I was so mad at my husband because he had to go to work that day. My uvula was the size of a large grape which was so very frustrating because it felt like I had something stuck back there.
The first time I sneezed (about a week after surgery) I was surprised that my throat didn't start bleeding. It was so painful. And another thing that was odd is that food didn't taste right.
But now it's been over a month and the doctor said that my tonsils were huge and that I had a worse time then most of his patients. I have lost 30 lbs, which makes me so excited. I had been trying to lose weight prior to my surgery without much success. I had at one time thought about getting weight loss surgery but after not being able to eat real food while I was healing from my tonsillectomy I decided that I could not voluntarily put myself through that again.
But I'm happy that I did it. If you are considering getting your tonsils removed stock up on juice, pudding and jello. My mother in-law made me jello pies, where you mix jello and coolwhip together and pour it into a graham cracker pie crust. OH SO GOOD.

cheney · Newbie Joined: 22 May 2008 Posts: 2

I'm 21 and this is the first time I have ever had any type of surgery. I got my tonsils removed at about 9 AM yesterday. The most substance I have had in the past two days has been mashed potatoes mixed with chicken broth which I forced myself to eat because I was feeling so weak when I stood up. I found Jello to taste really funny but applesauce was ok. Based on a lot of the post on here I'm scared that the worst is yet to come in the next couple of days. Anyone else have theirs out in the last couple of days? Good luck to anyone going through with it soon. I really am glad I got it done so far despite the pain. I'm looking forward to being able to breath properly for the first time in about 8 months!
-Cheney

Gabby81 · Newbie Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 1

Hello all! I'm 27 and had my tonsillectomy on May 20...so I'm going into Day 7. If you've read the 30+ pages of posts, you should have a good idea of what to expect and you should also realize that we all are different, we all heal differently.

I am lucky that I actually work for the ENT surgeon who did my surgery, so I felt well prepared going into it. I was able to decide to stay over night in the hospital, because I was afraid of the pain. My surgery, which should have taken 30 minutes, took an hour and a half! My dr told me that I had the largest tonsils he had EVER seen and that they were embedded in my throat muscles.

I woke up from anesthesia easily, without problems. I had been given an anti-naseau patch before surgery, so I never felt sick to my stomach. I did have some pain, but it wasn't bad. During my hospital stay, I was well medicated with IV Dilaudid (morphine did nothing for me) and liquid Vicodin. I was able to eat jello, soup, and oatmeal. I left the hospital feeling okay.

Days 1-3 were pretty okay. I wasn't able to eat much. Chicken broth was my new best friend. I also loved ice chips (put ice cubes in your blender and hit crush). I bought Smart Water (it has electrolytes) and guzzled as much as I could. Yeah, it did hurt to swallow, but it wasn't unmanageable. I was prescribed Lortab, but called my dr on Day 2 and got an rx for the highest strength Vicodin pill. I took my pain meds faithfully and set my alarm through the night. My whole mouth felt swollen, which was almost as bad as the sore throat. My tongue was/is super sore from the mouth clamps used during surgery.

Day 4 was horrible! I had the awful ear pain, which was mostly on one side. Everytime I swallowed, my right ear was in agony. I spent most of Day 4 and 5 in bed. I was still eating and drinking though, because I knew how important it was. I even put mac and cheese in the blender! Yesterday I was dying for 'real' food, so I tried a plain Mcdonalds cheeseburger. I ate maybe half of it. I also had mashed potatoes and gravy and a few bites of chicken.

This morning (Day 6) I woke up feeling better. My tongue swelling has gone down, and it still hurts to swallow, but there is an improvement. I decided to not take my prescription meds and have only taken OTC Tylenol. It's been a good day! I even left my house and met a friend. I had an iced tea and ice cream. I hadn't eaten ice cream at all during my recovery, but it tasted sooo good and went down so easily!

I've been able to talk every day, although my voice is different and it has sometimes hurt to talk. I'm hoping that I'm through the worst of it all. I still have white scabs in my throat, but theres also areas of pink. My uvula is of course enlarged, but I haven't had any choking problems with it. I haven't slept through the night yet, I'm still trying to make sure my throat doesn't dry out.

I will update again. I really wish everyone who reads this the best!

cheney · Newbie Joined: 22 May 2008 Posts: 2

Hey Gabby. Glad to see I have some company. I'm just a couple of days behind you. So far I've been doing great. I take my meds every fourth hour even through the night so that is definitely a must, and I still haven't eaten much but the pain has been really bearable. I haven't had any ear pain luckily and the throat pain has stayed constant the last 5 days. Tonight I noticed I had a furry tongue and a blackish spot on one side. I'm not sure if this is a bruise from the surgery or what. Can your tongue be bruised? I'm not too worried about the furry tongue because a lot of posts before this have had similar symptoms. I'm ready for these scabs to come off! I've been dreaming about the foods I want to eat when I feel better. Because I will be so happy to eat real food, I will probably gain back any weight I loss during this process. I'm still going to back up my last post and say this is still definitely worth it.

Guest · Guest

Hey Cheney. It seems like your recovery is going really well! Good for you. I had a great Day 7. My pain was much less and I was able to eat a cheeseburger (although it took me an hour!). I used my voice a lot more too. I noticed today that cold things made my throat hurt, which has been different then any other day. Today everything had to be lukewarm - no ice cream today! Towards the end of the night, my throat and ears did hurt a little, so I took some painkillers (Vicodin pill). I'm hoping to sleep well, although I doubt I'll sleep through the whole night. I keep waking up at 3, then 7, then 10...my throat tells me its time to drink water, basically! Maybe tonight will be different. I've been taking Lortab every night before bed, as it helps with the nighttime pain.

My tongue wasn't bruised really, but it has been so sore and almost burning. I asked my dr and he said it was all normal. I'm sure slight bruising is too.

One thing that I think is funny is that lately, I keep feeling like I have to yawn, but I'm not tired really. I think my throat muscles want to stretch! But I'm terrified of it hurting, so I won't let myself yawn. Its just funny.

I still have white scabs, so we'll see how that goes!

What to expect following adult tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy?

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