What to expect following adult tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy?

pennida · Newbie Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 14

I have noticed that mucus too, and it's rather uncomfortable.

Luckily I picked up some applesauce yesterday, I'll start that this afternoon.

Do you think that I'm in a lot of trouble since I've been having pudding? Am I less likely to have been healing over the past few days?

I noticed this issue right after eating icecream so i immediately stopped eating it, but I didn't know that pudding and slimfast have been contributing to it too.

so no oatmeal either?

Klip · Posted: 05/12/08 - 12:29 Post subject:

I don't think it will slow down your healing process. It just makes it uncomfortable.

I'm pretty sure Slimfast has milk in it, you may want to check though.

Oatmeal should be ok, as long as it's soft and watered down. Though once the scabs start to form, you'll want to stay away from hot foods/liquids.

pennida · Newbie Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 14

What you we be eating when the scabs start to form/fall off?

At this point, mine are still white and appear wet.

Klip · Posted: 05/12/08 - 12:53 Post subject:

I'm sticking to what's been working - applesauce, lots of water, chicken broth... and um, that's about it!

Hurricaneg · Newbie Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 1

Hello all, I'm 24 and had my tonsils out last Wednesday, 5/7/08. My buggers were quite large and annoying - I had over 5 strep infections in just the past year! My left one even had some sort of fungus growing on it...not to gross you all out, but these things needed to go. And go they have! For the record, my ENT used a harmonic scalpel. (pretty cool technology)

So far, the thing that has surprised me the most has been the ear pain. Granted, I have had a lot of tonsillitis in the past, so perhaps I have a high tolerance for pain. But they didn't mention to me that I would have ear pain until I was sitting in the post-op room eating an orange popsicle...(and I thought I did my homework!) It's true. At times, it can feel like crochet needles being pushed into your ears on both sides, but to be honest, the longest bouts of this pain have been no longer than 20 to 30 minutes at a time. And it's true, I have been woken up at 330am Shocked

with this pain. I just lay there and exercise my jaw - they told me to chew gum to make the pain go away. Just bite the bullet and take it... it was only bad the 2nd-4th days after the surgery. After that, the real heavy ear pain was gone, and has not returned. Only moderate to slight ear pain, which is a cake walk.

The throat. Well, I have huge gaps in my throat where the tissue used to be. As all others have said, keep it moist - this is a must. The scabs formed by Saturday/Sunday (Day 3/4 after the surgery). As I sit here and write this, they are still there, but I suspect they will start to slough off in the next day or two. I have only been taking extra strength OTC tylenol for the pain because the vicodin does no better, it just makes me loopy and nauseous. I plan on just going with the tylenol the whole way out from this point. My post-op is next Tuesday. I have been able to eat foods more coarse than applesauce since Friday, and have successfully caressed noodles, meatloaf, salmon, mashed potatoes, and fruit down my throat with relative ease. No tough things like potato chips, pizza, etc -that's just stupid. Also, no acids (Bananas, Tomato products, coffee, citrus) - I can only imagine how acid feels on that burned skin. Anyhow, I am chugging along in this mindset right now: Rolling Eyes

- sort of an "oh well" attitude, but optimistic. The worst is over; I don't anticipate the scabs to cause too much trouble. We'll see how correct I am. Hope this story helps and doesn't scare you. I think I've had tonsillitis worse than this recovery, to be honest. Hang in there, folks.

happy_camper · Newbie Joined: 10 May 2008 Posts: 6

Guest · Guest

Hello.
I got my tonsils and my adnoids out last thursday (5- Cool

I kow that your adnoids are suppose to shrink as you get older, but mine were actually pretty large!
I have to say the worst thing for me has been the jaw and ear pain..and then the mucas build up. all the plem is disgusting!
Im just about on day 6--and im starting to feel my scabs coming off..and its sooooo annoying! Im trying to drink and drink and drink, but it wont go away! It literally choking me. I threw up today just because of the scabs. ewww.
anyone have any advise on this?
All i wanna do is sleep, but i cant because either im gagging or choking. ugh.
Alot of people just talk about the pain, but this is the worst part for me!

pennida · Newbie Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 14

So today is Day 6 since surgery, and last night I had a scare onset from reading all this stuff about bleeding, which I know is probably the biggest worry for most of us. Around 2, which is when I take one of my middle of the night doses, I started swallowing a lot, and I thought that this might be due to bleeding. The ear pain was sharp at this point too. But I spat to see if there was blood in my saliva and I didn't see any. And I looked in the back of my throat and none either. I even got a qtip to lift up my rather swollen uvula which is sitting behind my tongue and still no blood. So I'm not sure what that feeling was, but it was scary. I just drank my water and ice and fell asleep. I missed my next dose by an hour, and it hurt quite a bit. My ears were ringing, seems like. But it's been about 45 min and that pain has subsided.

So my question is, if there is bleeding going on in the back of the throat, out of site, I would be able to spit at least some of it up right?

Student84 · Newbie Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 6

Trust me, if you`re bleeding, you know right away.. The taste, the warmth the "texture" if you can call it that..

If you are insecure just check, if you can`t see anything, it`s fine..

I got some nasty panic-attacks after my 3rd post.op-bleeding, always on my toes. But if you check it regularly, you get calmed down, cause then you know what`s going on Smile

If it`s any consolation, everytime I bled it didn`t sting or hurt in any way, the only thing that made me notice it was the throat filling up, and the taste, and then eventually off course, the spit Smile

Just gently gargle icewater until it stops - 2 of 20adults experience bleeding at some time or another, but only 2-3% needs re-surgery. The best thing to do is always to call a doctor if it doesen`t stop after 5-10minutes, or if it`s gushing out(then it`s critical!) This is one of the reasons that it`s important to have someone watch over you.

I was lucky enough to have my GF with me the two first trips to the E.R., but when I went through it the third time all alone, I pretty much broke down.

Currently you are in the "danger zone" of bleeding, the scabs usually falls off day 7 - 12, and this is the most critical time. Be extra cautious in this period, and then you can relax - and hopefully you`ll never look back Smile

Good luck!

What to expect following adult tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy?

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