Annastiina
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Joined: 04 Nov 2008
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 Posted: 11/04/08 - 16:58 Post subject: Life without tonsils is glorious! |
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I had a tonsillectomy at the age of 27, and given the lack of resources and advice and information that was out there for me when I was in recovery, I feel compelled to write ‘my side of the story’ with as much intelligence and helpful advice as I can possibly offer.
I am going to be realistic and say that the recovery from a tonsillectomy is painful. And it is awkward and long. What is to be expected is swelling and pain in the throat, and eventually a thick layer of bacteria in the throat covering the area. Personally I am also feeling a throbbing pain in my ear (the brain interprets the pain in throat to be mistakenly coming from the ear), and a loss of appetite with an upset stomach. My symptoms have now persisted for six days without significant ease. I went to see my doctor today pleading for more liquid codeine, and according to him, what I’m going through is perfectly normal. This knowledge helped me, since I admittedly had not been expecting to feel this miserable after almost a week in recovery.
Everybody heals differently, and what may have helped me or worked for me, may not be helpful to someone else. However, these are the things I swear by : Crushed ice (later on I mixed it with a jogurt smoothie which helps if you have an upset stomach), Gatorade (mixed with water; I found it too strong by itself), Jello and chewing gum (sounds weird, but it helps keep the saliva going). I also have a humidifier in my room, which is great if you sleep as long as I do – it prevents the throat from drying too much. I suppose I should also mention that anything that helps take your mind off the pain and preoccupy you, is a good thing; I am referring to one of the rules which states that you should not have sex during recovery. I believe it was written with good intentions, but when done gently and right, I found it only to promote the healing process and therefore did not feel quite as bad for breaking the rules.
As it is, I have no magical words of wisdom in this matter; only my experience without a sugar coating. My suggestion is that if you have any questions before the surgery, anything at all, make sure you ask them beforehand and not wait until you are about to go under like I did. ‘So, do you have any questions?’ asked my doctor, whom I all of a sudden considered very handsome and undeniably hot in his scrubs, due to which I was unable to think clearly and instead asked whether I could take the tonsils home with me in a jar. ‘Why on earth would you want to do that?’ asked my doctor, and in mind I sighed. A man with no sense of humor. Before I knew it, I was waking up, with an oxygen mask over my face, tears pouring from eyes, completely confused. I was shoved out the hospital doors as soon as I managed to swallow some water and walk my shaking ass to the bathroom and back. Overcome by a case of adolescent curiosity, I took a look at my throat while in the bathroom (however many times I had been advised not to) and when I saw the big, black gaping hole where my tonsils used to be, I felt like screaming, in my delirium, that half my throat was gone. I went home with no real knowledge of what to expect; instead I imagined I would be back to work within a week and eating a big, juicy steak by the weekend.
The purpose of my writing this seemingly nonsensical post, is to possibly help someone who went through what I did, and is now sitting on that couch with a friend, googling for helpful advice and not finding any.
“Life without tonsils is glorious!” |
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