My Tonsillectomy (Am I an Outlier?)

33-year-old male. I've had tonsil issues my whole live (strep, tonsillitis, weird infections, tonsil stones, etc.). So enough was enough and I decided to have them removed. Reading all the stuff online (bad idea!) really freaked me out. So I was quite anxious going into the procedure. I showed up that morning, did some paperwork, had an IV put into a vein in my wrist, and out I was. In the blink of an eye, I woke up and it was all done. My lips were numb. My throat hurt (but not where I expected it to). I think the breathing tube they use during the procedure caused more pain than the actual tonsillectomy. It hurts to speak because that tube probably rubbed up on my vocal cords. Anyway... I'm on day 6 right now. Honestly... there hasn't really been much pain at all. I'm really surprised. Reading all the stories on the web made me think it was worse than death. But my surgeon said that I've had so many cases of strep and tonsillitis over the years, that I might be used to that sort of pain by now. And yeah, SO FAR... I've definitely had worse sore throats than my tonsillectomy. I say "so far" because I'm not out of the woods yet. I'm about half way through the recovery. So who knows... I've been drinking a lot of water. Basically, constantly sipping on a glass 24/7. When it's empty, I refill. I've been eating warm soup (chicken soup, matzah ball soup, etc.), macaroni and cheese, chocolate pudding, jello, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, and creamy rice dishes since day 1. The hardest part for me has been swallowing. Not because it's painful (because it's not). But because my uvula is so enlarged, and my tonsils are gone... now food and drink wants to go up and out my nose haha. It's frustrating. But it's like I have to teach myself how to eat again. So yeah... basically no pain for me. I sleep with a humidifier next to my head at night, on the couch. I don't lay down all the way. I keep my head propped up. For meds, I'm talking oxycodone (liquid). That's it. No Tylenol. No antibiotic. And I'm taking the liquid oxy so I can regulate my dosage. I've been taking less and less as the days go by. So hopefully I won't need more of it once the scabs start forming and/or coming off. I think that is going to be the painful part... I'm also really constipated. Either from the oxy or from not eating solid food/fiber, or both. So hopefully I take a dump soon... I should say that my tonsils were HUGE. I don't mean big as in just wide, but also long. My surgeon said they went down really far into my throat. Like past the line of sight. So she did wind up using sutures/stitches in some places because if I did wind up bleeding, she wouldn't be able to get to those areas again without another invasive surgery and round of anesthesia.

So... fingers crossed I don't have a bleed and I don't run into any major pain going forward. One week down, one to go! Oh, I've found taking a teaspoon of raw honey with my medicine really helps.