Just read your whole blog. I'm getting the tonsils and adenoids removed on April 16th and am REALLY nervous. I'm a professional vocalist so there's added stress for me. Your blog was great - calm yet honest. Thanks.
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I'm 17 years old, and on day 7. I'm absolutely miserable. This is coming from someone who finished out a basketball tournament on a broken ankle [obviously i didn't realize it was broken at the time -- i just have a high tolerance for pain, i didn't do it out of stupidity]
Right after surgery I assumed this whole process would be a cakewalk. I finished four glasses of crushed ice in 3 hours in recovery, drank a bottle of water, and they sent me home.
Days 1-6 I felt fine. My throat was swollen enough to limit what I ate and it hurt while swallowing. My voice sounded a little strained and it would hurt after talking for long periods of time, but the pain was by no means incapacitating. I even went out with friends for st. patricks day [day 5].
Last night, however, I was a wreck. I couldn't do anything but cry. I iced my neck, took a double d
ose of vicodin, and tried to sleep it off, and I woke up worse. My throat aches, my ears kill, I have a pounding headache, and I can barely swallow. Talking or eating is out of the question.
So far I've lost 10 pounds [can't complain] from my basically liquid diet. Today is the first day I've been in significant pain. What happens now? And I'm approaching the scab-sloughing stage. Is that incredibly painful also, or will I feel better?
Thanks, please advise, and I hope the rest of you are on the mend =]
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d e i n e l y n
DAY-nuh-len
Right after surgery I assumed this whole process would be a cakewalk. I finished four glasses of crushed ice in 3 hours in recovery, drank a bottle of water, and they sent me home.
Days 1-6 I felt fine. My throat was swollen enough to limit what I ate and it hurt while swallowing. My voice sounded a little strained and it would hurt after talking for long periods of time, but the pain was by no means incapacitating. I even went out with friends for st. patricks day [day 5].
Last night, however, I was a wreck. I couldn't do anything but cry. I iced my neck, took a double d
ose of vicodin, and tried to sleep it off, and I woke up worse. My throat aches, my ears kill, I have a pounding headache, and I can barely swallow. Talking or eating is out of the question.
So far I've lost 10 pounds [can't complain] from my basically liquid diet. Today is the first day I've been in significant pain. What happens now? And I'm approaching the scab-sloughing stage. Is that incredibly painful also, or will I feel better?
Thanks, please advise, and I hope the rest of you are on the mend =]
_______________________________________________
d e i n e l y n
DAY-nuh-len
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I've been reading all these posts and most people have said that by day 6, mostly evryone is up and able to go about their day. I'm 6 days post op and I'm still having issues with swallowing and my ears are hurting really really bad. I'm 21 and I had both my tonsils and my adednoids removed Fri. April 4th. Am I still supposed to be feeling this much pain...?
--Christa
--Christa
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I'm 26 years old and had my tonsillectomy on April 25th. So it's been almost 2 weeks. I'm happy to say that I'm just now getting around to eating solid "real" food again. I think I underestimated the magnitude of this surgery going into it. I thought I'd be back to work in less than a week...I was SO wrong! At a week after surgery I was still feeling awful and it was very painful to swallow. I became very frustrated with my ENT who would not prescribe me a re-fill on my Rx on day 8 post-op. He said that tylenol should work just fine, and didn't feel I needed any more pain meds. Hmmm, I wonder if he ever had his tonsils out as an adult. Lucky for me, I saw my regular physician and she got me a Rx for more meds :-)
Bottom line, this procedure is a BIG DEAL and the recovery was a lot worse than I expected. I'm not quite to the point where I'm saying that I'm 100% glad I did it, but ask me in a few more weeks and I'm sure I'll say it was a good decision.
If anyone has this surgery, it's imperative that they have a caretaker for at least a few days after surgery to help out, make sure you stay on top of your medication, and get plenty of fluids.
-LP
Bottom line, this procedure is a BIG DEAL and the recovery was a lot worse than I expected. I'm not quite to the point where I'm saying that I'm 100% glad I did it, but ask me in a few more weeks and I'm sure I'll say it was a good decision.
If anyone has this surgery, it's imperative that they have a caretaker for at least a few days after surgery to help out, make sure you stay on top of your medication, and get plenty of fluids.
-LP
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I'm 33 years old and tomorrow will be 2 weeks post op for me. I, too, am just now getting around to eating some solids. Believe me, it still hurts to swallow. The day of my surgery went well. I had read several blogs on this procedure and every one said to stay on top of the meds. I did just that. I left the hospital with a script for T3's and I religiously took my meds as prescribed. But, by the next afternoon I was so sick to my stomach from the medicine I was vomiting; couldn't even keep water down. I ended up back in the hospital for a round of IV fluids, a steroid, and an anti-nausea medicine. I felt so much relief after just an hour of being on the IV. I stopped taking the T3 and started on Vicodin. I was fine for the next few days after but the stomach thing started again and I was headed back for yet another round of IV fluids. Again, relief. Doc suggested I try to ride it out with just Extra Strength Tylenol. With the amount of pain I've been in this hardly takes the edge off.
It's been an extremely rough road and I never thought it would be anything like it's been. "I've had 2 c-sections", I thought....this can't be that bad." It's bad!
Finally over the last couple of days I've started to feel better. I'm still extremely tired from lack of sleep. I wake up everytime I have to swallow cause it hurts so bad. Definitely use a humidifier in your bedroom....it does help!
For anybody that is about to endure this procedure, may God Bless You! It's rough and defininitely drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest.
It's been an extremely rough road and I never thought it would be anything like it's been. "I've had 2 c-sections", I thought....this can't be that bad." It's bad!
Finally over the last couple of days I've started to feel better. I'm still extremely tired from lack of sleep. I wake up everytime I have to swallow cause it hurts so bad. Definitely use a humidifier in your bedroom....it does help!
For anybody that is about to endure this procedure, may God Bless You! It's rough and defininitely drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest.
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I'm 25 years old and had my tonsillectomy on may 14. I had a look at a lot of blogs before my op and found them really useful. The doctor didn't really give me any idea of what stages there would be in the healing process, or what to expect at all. So here is a step by step summary of my experience. I hope it helps someone...
before surgery you will need to buy.......
paracetamol- the hospital don't give you enough to last the full recovery. capsules go down quite well.
jelly - stock up on this as it will be the easiest thing to eat. better than ice cream that sits like a thick layer on the throat
straws - makes sipping water easier for first few days when jaw aches.
May 14 -day one- pain 4/10
went into surgery at about 2.30pm. woke up after op desparately wanting water, which was given to me straight away with the aid of a straw. was shaking a lot after general anesthetic, was given oxygen and was on a drip. Then taken to a ward and transferred in a very drousy state into the bed. must have been around 3.30pm. managed to keep sipping water in between sleeping for 10-15 mins at a time and kept having my blood pressure taken by the nurses. throat sore but had no trouble swallowing. keep burping for some reason which hurts a bit. After a couple of hours I was given some painkillers in tablet form. the nurse kindly cut the tablets into smaller bits for me to swallow. was given some ice cream for dinner as was now about 6pm. wasn't given toast which my friends had told me would happen. after I had eaten I was given some ibuprofen and more painkillers. then slept again, given some more painkillers around 11pm before sleeping a few hours at a time.
May 15 -day two-pain 3/10
woke up around 5am, throat sore and dry. had a few sips of water and asked nurse for painkillers. felt better around 15 mins later when painkillers kicked in. kept sipping water as seemed to ease discomfort.
kept sleeping for brief periods as didn't sleep too well. the surgeon came to have a look and I was given my 2 week sicknote and meds to take home. paracetamol and codine for the pain, an antiseptic throat spray and ibuprofen for the swelling. Was discharged from the hospital around 11am. Throat sore, jaw ached a little and tongue a little swollen. couldn't open mouth very far. throat looked red with white and pale yellow gunge covering where tonsills used to be. tastes like a cross between onion relish and cheese, not very pleasant. managed to talk a little when got home and ate slice of toast with butter cut into little squares.
may 16 - day three- pain 4/10
woke up at 5.30am. throat sore and dry again, had water and paracetamol and codine straight away. again felt better after around 15 mins. ate some jelly.... a lifesaver over the next week. spent the day in bed sleeping for small periods and drinking lots of water. got up to try eat more toast as had been told by doctor this is what I should try to do to slough off white gunge forming on throat. had taken ibuprofen earlier before managed to eat anything and so was sick when tried to eat the toast. wasn't as painful being sick as I thought it would be. went back to bed and just sipped water took painkillers at 4 hour intervals but found ran out of daily allowance before end of the day, took some more around 8pm but probably shouldn't have. throat looks very similar to yesterday but more pale yellow than white gunge. taste still not very pleasant.
may 17 - day four- pain 6/10
woke up as yesterday at 5.30 am. took painkillers, and drank more water. pain is lot worse today in my jaw and neck. feeling quite weak due to lack of food. spread painkillers through day as follows
5.30 paracetamol and codine
7am ibuprofen after eating jelly
9am paracetamol
11am codine
12pm ibuprofen
3pm paracetamol
4pm codine
5pm ibuprofen
7pm paracetamol
8pm codine
worked much better this way as pain eases a little in the middle of the day. throat looks quite gungy today. thick white gunge developing on top of other gunge. taste still not great. managed to brush front half of teeth with toothpaste today, could only brush with water before. rinsed mouth and gargled with water to try get rid of taste in mouth.
may 18- day five- pain 5/10
morning ritual repeated, similar day to yesterday. thick white gunge is getting worse.
may 19- day six- pain 9/10
thick white gunge has now turned a deep yellow. these must be the scabs forming then. pain in my ears is unbelievable. throat is so tender that it hurts to swallow, jaw aches, tongue swollen, neck sore. this is some serious pain, the painkillers don't really take the edge off this either, not good.
may 20 - day seven- pain 12/10
didn't sleep at all last night. most of the deep yellow scabs have gone except one big bit with black bits in it. throat feels like swallowing needles. ears excruciating, just laid holding my ears all day. most disgusting experience when final chunk of gunge came away, tasted like a mature cheese, yuck. throat now looks mostly red but with new white layer forming.
may 21 - day eight - pain 6/10
still in pain but not like yesterday. ears keep popping. throat covered in thin white layer again. taste in mouth much better now the yellow gunge is gone.
may 22 - day nine- pain 4/10
pain is mild again. ears much better today. looks like the worst is over now. white layer on throat is only in patches now. managed to eat minature, mushed up version of a roast dinner today. took ages but was worth it after all that jelly, I abandoned the toast idea after being sick on day three. can talk a little too but makes my throat hurt if I talk for too long.
may 23 - day ten- pain 2/10
throat only hurts when I swallow now, talking better. feel almost normal now, but still quite weak, lost over a stone in 9 days and clothes quite baggy.
its now may 30 and over the last week I have gradually been getting back to normal. throat still twinges a little in the mornings and when I swallow but no painkillers are necessary. noticed a hole in one side of my throat which was a bit worrying but just read a few blogs that say they had this too and that the holes fill themselves in over the next month so I'm not worried now.
good luck to anyone who is about to go through this, I hope my account of this experience is useful to you, my heart is with you. just remember the pain will end soon and you won't have to suffer with bad tonsills anymore. it's still the best thing I ever did, and the only days when was really painful was days 6 and 7.
just as a final note, you will get people who had their tonsills removed as a kid say to you they were fine in 2 days, and accuse you of skiving off work for 2 weeks.....these people are idiots...ignore them.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
before surgery you will need to buy.......
paracetamol- the hospital don't give you enough to last the full recovery. capsules go down quite well.
jelly - stock up on this as it will be the easiest thing to eat. better than ice cream that sits like a thick layer on the throat
straws - makes sipping water easier for first few days when jaw aches.
May 14 -day one- pain 4/10
went into surgery at about 2.30pm. woke up after op desparately wanting water, which was given to me straight away with the aid of a straw. was shaking a lot after general anesthetic, was given oxygen and was on a drip. Then taken to a ward and transferred in a very drousy state into the bed. must have been around 3.30pm. managed to keep sipping water in between sleeping for 10-15 mins at a time and kept having my blood pressure taken by the nurses. throat sore but had no trouble swallowing. keep burping for some reason which hurts a bit. After a couple of hours I was given some painkillers in tablet form. the nurse kindly cut the tablets into smaller bits for me to swallow. was given some ice cream for dinner as was now about 6pm. wasn't given toast which my friends had told me would happen. after I had eaten I was given some ibuprofen and more painkillers. then slept again, given some more painkillers around 11pm before sleeping a few hours at a time.
May 15 -day two-pain 3/10
woke up around 5am, throat sore and dry. had a few sips of water and asked nurse for painkillers. felt better around 15 mins later when painkillers kicked in. kept sipping water as seemed to ease discomfort.
kept sleeping for brief periods as didn't sleep too well. the surgeon came to have a look and I was given my 2 week sicknote and meds to take home. paracetamol and codine for the pain, an antiseptic throat spray and ibuprofen for the swelling. Was discharged from the hospital around 11am. Throat sore, jaw ached a little and tongue a little swollen. couldn't open mouth very far. throat looked red with white and pale yellow gunge covering where tonsills used to be. tastes like a cross between onion relish and cheese, not very pleasant. managed to talk a little when got home and ate slice of toast with butter cut into little squares.
may 16 - day three- pain 4/10
woke up at 5.30am. throat sore and dry again, had water and paracetamol and codine straight away. again felt better after around 15 mins. ate some jelly.... a lifesaver over the next week. spent the day in bed sleeping for small periods and drinking lots of water. got up to try eat more toast as had been told by doctor this is what I should try to do to slough off white gunge forming on throat. had taken ibuprofen earlier before managed to eat anything and so was sick when tried to eat the toast. wasn't as painful being sick as I thought it would be. went back to bed and just sipped water took painkillers at 4 hour intervals but found ran out of daily allowance before end of the day, took some more around 8pm but probably shouldn't have. throat looks very similar to yesterday but more pale yellow than white gunge. taste still not very pleasant.
may 17 - day four- pain 6/10
woke up as yesterday at 5.30 am. took painkillers, and drank more water. pain is lot worse today in my jaw and neck. feeling quite weak due to lack of food. spread painkillers through day as follows
5.30 paracetamol and codine
7am ibuprofen after eating jelly
9am paracetamol
11am codine
12pm ibuprofen
3pm paracetamol
4pm codine
5pm ibuprofen
7pm paracetamol
8pm codine
worked much better this way as pain eases a little in the middle of the day. throat looks quite gungy today. thick white gunge developing on top of other gunge. taste still not great. managed to brush front half of teeth with toothpaste today, could only brush with water before. rinsed mouth and gargled with water to try get rid of taste in mouth.
may 18- day five- pain 5/10
morning ritual repeated, similar day to yesterday. thick white gunge is getting worse.
may 19- day six- pain 9/10
thick white gunge has now turned a deep yellow. these must be the scabs forming then. pain in my ears is unbelievable. throat is so tender that it hurts to swallow, jaw aches, tongue swollen, neck sore. this is some serious pain, the painkillers don't really take the edge off this either, not good.
may 20 - day seven- pain 12/10
didn't sleep at all last night. most of the deep yellow scabs have gone except one big bit with black bits in it. throat feels like swallowing needles. ears excruciating, just laid holding my ears all day. most disgusting experience when final chunk of gunge came away, tasted like a mature cheese, yuck. throat now looks mostly red but with new white layer forming.
may 21 - day eight - pain 6/10
still in pain but not like yesterday. ears keep popping. throat covered in thin white layer again. taste in mouth much better now the yellow gunge is gone.
may 22 - day nine- pain 4/10
pain is mild again. ears much better today. looks like the worst is over now. white layer on throat is only in patches now. managed to eat minature, mushed up version of a roast dinner today. took ages but was worth it after all that jelly, I abandoned the toast idea after being sick on day three. can talk a little too but makes my throat hurt if I talk for too long.
may 23 - day ten- pain 2/10
throat only hurts when I swallow now, talking better. feel almost normal now, but still quite weak, lost over a stone in 9 days and clothes quite baggy.
its now may 30 and over the last week I have gradually been getting back to normal. throat still twinges a little in the mornings and when I swallow but no painkillers are necessary. noticed a hole in one side of my throat which was a bit worrying but just read a few blogs that say they had this too and that the holes fill themselves in over the next month so I'm not worried now.
good luck to anyone who is about to go through this, I hope my account of this experience is useful to you, my heart is with you. just remember the pain will end soon and you won't have to suffer with bad tonsills anymore. it's still the best thing I ever did, and the only days when was really painful was days 6 and 7.
just as a final note, you will get people who had their tonsills removed as a kid say to you they were fine in 2 days, and accuse you of skiving off work for 2 weeks.....these people are idiots...ignore them.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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So tomorrow will be 2 weeks since my surg. Im still not eating solids.. mainly just jello.. and those new ice cream things called DIBS there little individual pieces they just melt down your throat its nice haha.. my ears still bother me when i swallow and i can sort of talk now which is nice because all of week one i was a mute and it hurt to even swallow spit. its comforting reading that people are going through similar situations. My doc did however warn me its different for everyone and must worse the older you r... but i can feel my scabs forming-exciting, gross and painful at times. I havent really read anything about other people having trouble eating.. my ears just hurt so bad when i try and i want to cry haha
anyone else have trouble eating?
but water, propel, sweet tea from mcdonalds :-) all have been wonderful. DRINK DRINK DRINK
ps tylenol 3 or whatever did NOTHING for me. Percocets worked much better for pain.
anyone else have trouble eating?
but water, propel, sweet tea from mcdonalds :-) all have been wonderful. DRINK DRINK DRINK
ps tylenol 3 or whatever did NOTHING for me. Percocets worked much better for pain.
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hey. i just read your whole blog, im on day 5 and im in so much pain, its almost unbearable. fortunately, the pain only appears when i swallow, but... when i wake up in the mornings my throat is really dry, i cant actually swallow anything, so i spend 2 hours spitting in a tissue. and when i do take my med i get a sharp pain straight from my throat to my ears as you have described. but i cant bear it, its so painful i cant even cry. cos when i do cry it hurts even more. im not sure if my throats infected, it sounds as if it is.. but no pain killers are helping me, and i dont think im coping well. plus i'm going through my holidays and i really dont want to spend the rest of my holidays indoors not being physical like im used to. im seeing the doctor today to ask for stronger painkillers. other than that im stuck on what to do :/
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I just got my tonsils removed on Monday, 8/2/2008. for severe sleep apnea, I'm 41 does this pain get any better or do I just kill myself? This I believe is the worst pain I ever felt
William o.O
William o.O
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I also had mine out plus the adenoids, septoplasty and endoscopic sinus surgery. It has been a long 8 days I had all this done on 8/29. I am 31 and didn't think I would make it through the first few nights but I am now finally starting to feel better! I still have limited energy but I can eat pretty much anything as long as I take very small bites. Good luck, hang in there and I promise it will get better... A few couple important things - drink lots and lots of water, take pain meds before the pain becomes deadly and sleep!
Take Care, Jennifer ;-)
Take Care, Jennifer ;-)
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I was just wondering how old you were not to be rude but Im 18 and it seems like you are getting better faster than me please tell me how long it will take for me to be better.
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Just got mine out. I feel like I wanna die right now. I am in tears. I have been sent straight to work after being at the hospital here in Kuwait overnight. Any ideas on good painkillers? How is Vicodin? Is that better than percocet? I haven't eaten much today. Pain is way past 10. I am in tears.
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You are back at work? I had to take a week off. I got lortab exlir. It worked great for the pain.
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Danieldresen - I just got my tonsil out on 10/21 too and I can't even imagine someone being back to work! I was allergic to the percocet and had to be rushed into the ER with swollen tongue and constricted airways! I haven't eaten much all week since getting them out. I found that if I ice my neck (using a bag of frozen peas works really well as they form to your throat), I can usually drink easier 10 minutes later. I was given Tylenol w/ codeine for the pain and it works to some extent.
Im' glad to hear others are having the excrutiating ear pain. I thought it was just me and I feel as if I'm going crazy. I'm hoping it will get better as it did for the original poster.
Good luck all!
Im' glad to hear others are having the excrutiating ear pain. I thought it was just me and I feel as if I'm going crazy. I'm hoping it will get better as it did for the original poster.
Good luck all!
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I am a 35 femail POD#6. It doesn't seem to be getting better. Today is worse than day 5. I am obsessed reading these boards confirming there is an end to look forward to.
My dr. only prescribes Percocet. He doesn't feel anything else works as well. A trip to the ER on day 3 for fluids also got me a script for Loratab Elixir. You have to drink something every 15 minutes.
Here is my review of the two:
Percocet - definitely takes the pain away. about 30 minutes after i take it i get pretty dizzy and funny feeling. the pain takes about a full hour to subside. i don't feel comfortable driving my kids around on it. i weigh 120 and am taking 2 7.5-325mg tabs every 4 hours on around the clock. my last dose didn't kick in quite as well. i hope i'm not becoming immune...has anyone experienced this?
Loratab - takes the edge away. not the pain. i don't feel nearly as groggy so this is an option if you have to work, drive etc.
My dr. only prescribes Percocet. He doesn't feel anything else works as well. A trip to the ER on day 3 for fluids also got me a script for Loratab Elixir. You have to drink something every 15 minutes.
Here is my review of the two:
Percocet - definitely takes the pain away. about 30 minutes after i take it i get pretty dizzy and funny feeling. the pain takes about a full hour to subside. i don't feel comfortable driving my kids around on it. i weigh 120 and am taking 2 7.5-325mg tabs every 4 hours on around the clock. my last dose didn't kick in quite as well. i hope i'm not becoming immune...has anyone experienced this?
Loratab - takes the edge away. not the pain. i don't feel nearly as groggy so this is an option if you have to work, drive etc.
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