I am a 55-year-old male and have been putting off this surgery for several years because of the fear of pain. I am on day 12 and can't tell you what a horrible experience this has been. On day two I had to stop taking my medication because it was making me very sick. I was not able to take any pain medication throughout this entire recovery and have had to withstand the severe severe pain. What I was not aware of was the ear pain that would follow. I was never told that there could be damage or irritation to my nerves closest to my tonsils. The pain radiates from my throat to my ears and feels like blades stabbing me. I have found that putting ice helps and massaging that area to alleviate the nerve pain. All I have been taking his Tylenol and ibuprofen and it hasn't helped much. I do recommend patients really consider taking 2 to 3 weeks off of work. This is not an easy recovery and very very painful. There are days when you wake up and feel a little better and think oh yes the pain is over! But then the next day the pain returns and it's severe. For me, the pain is worse at night.