post op tonsillectomy pain = excruciating

I'm glad to see the ear pain isn't a rare occurrence after this surgery. The first night I woke with my ears throbbing I was really freaked out.

I'm a 19 year old college student and I'm 6 days post op.

My doctor recommended I have my tonsils and adenoids removed after I'd had 6 cases of sinusitis and a case of tonsillitis in 6 months. My tonsils had been swollen since I was around 8 or so. When I was a baby I had chronic ear infections. Then, when I was a little older I constantly had cases of strep and tonsillitis. My ENT when I was 8 refused to take my tonsils out and gave me some Flonase. It was pretty ridiculous. Since I was about 10 I've had a lot of sinus infections and such, but no cases of tonsillitis. This past year has been pretty gnarly. I've been sick with sinus infections at least once or twice a month for 6 months. Then, on my last doctor's visit...my doctor took a look at 'em. He seemed pretty shocked at the size of my tonsils....almost impressed. He said my tonsils had probably been pissing off my adenoids and causing inflammation, which in turn caused my sinus infections. He said probably, which means it may or may not have been causing my infections but it makes sense.

The first day was alright. The nurse in the recovery room said I was doing exceptionally well. Everybody at the surgery center was extremely nice. They all kept telling me it would hurt. My anesthesiologist tried to make it very clear just how painful it would be. I brushed it off. I figured I could handle it. For the first 3 days I did.

The first few days I was eating rice, a couple pieces of popcorn, pudding, ice cream and even some mac an cheese. I even tried to get some chicken and pasta from Applebee's on day 3. I had to let my boyfriend eat it. I had a couple noodles and two pieces of chicken before the pain really started to get to me. I didn't really think about it. I just took a low-dose narcotic I had left over from my wisdom teeth extraction and went on with my night. Later on I woke up with this throbbing pain in my ears and throat. No case of tonsillitis or ear infection could have prepared me for this. It was horrible. On days 4 and 5 the same thing happened. Each night the pain became worse. I started pairing ibuprofen with my painkiller. The ibuprofen reduces the swelling and keeps the pain at bay. With out it my pain comes back within an hour with just the narcotic alone. Also, my throat hurts a hell of a lot more when it's not hydrated. I make sure I sip on something at least every 5 minutes. It makes a huge difference.

I've lost a couple pounds since I had my surgery. That's been pretty rad. I can't wait for my throat to heal up. I've been pretty annoyed with the whole pain situation but I know it'll be worth it. Being sick every month gets expensive.

I am also 8 days post op. I took an EMPRO 30 last night to try and get a nights sleep. After not taking any heavy pain killer for two days except Tylenol. I think this was a mistake. The pain coming off at 6:00 am was worse than I had experienced in days. My husband thinks my mouth may have dried out. Only did this because each night I start this post nasal drip and I wake at 3-4 am with my throat burning and cannot take another pain killer till 6 am. So I was in pain and awake.
But I think working with the pain as soon as possible is the key. Emprecete is a strange drug and I actually think it interferes with the body's natural way of coping with the pain.
Otherwise, best recovery ideas I have read is ice chips for inside pain, ice packs for outside pain and bottled water to keep track of how much you are drinking. I am small, so I make sure I have had at least 4 bottles a day. Also my husband bought me a tiny little TY stuffed dog which I call my anxiety dog. When the pain is high, I squeeze him alot. He has giant eyes so it's also funny.
I started drinking Boost supplement at day 3 along with chicken broth and finally had energy. Then I added Greens Plus - 2 teas. By day 5 I started oatmeal in the am. As soon as I eat I start to improve but it was definately hard today.
I also have diabetes Type 1 and I was given little pre-op advice on diet. However, because I was developing tonsil stones every couple of weeks that would lodge in my throat for weeks until I had strep I opted for the surgery. The stones would not rinse out or massage out and instead I coughed them up in restaurants and in the middle of the night! o.O The surgeon found a deep pocket of "gunk" attached to my tonsil which none of the ENT's found with their scopes. I do not regret the procedure. Just the lack of dietician support for post op. Now I am consulting with a private dietician because I have lost 8 lbs - not good weight loss because it is really ketosis. That is why the white stuff on my tongue. Hard to watch my husband eat supper. I am so hungry. Hope this experince helps.

I'm just going to say that you are lucky that your ear pain stops after you eat. I have had that nagging pain all day/all night for the last 3 days. I'm 20 and the doctors were optimistic with me and said "hey you look like a 15 year old, maybe you will heal like one."I am on post-op day 5. I did have a very similar recovery to what you described, I was so drugged up on Friday(day of surgery) that I didn't feel any pain until a few hours after I left the hospital. Day two was fine and then day 3 came around. That is where the s**t rolled downhill. I have been nauseous, dizzy, had the hiccups, had spit up, but not quite throw up, a massive headache, and the earache. I have gotten to the point now that I am taking my meds every 5 hours without skipping a dose, as where before I was going 8-9 hours between doses. I have had the greatest doc, he has called me twice on his personal time (i can hear children and the tv on in the background) to check on me. I have also had the hospital contact me twice once through phone and once through snail mail. It was comforting to have them calls to check on me. I work in the health care field and I pass meds, but after going through surgery it helped me decide what I want to do. I think post-op nursing sounds much better than any other specialty. I hope everyone else is getting better and anyone reading this pre-op isn't getting too stressed. Just remember the Nurses are there to keep you comfortable, show them a little respect and love and it goes a long way.

Hi I am a 22 yr old female and I'm 16 days post op from my tonsillectomy. This was definitely a tough recovery process, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The actual surgery part is a piece of cake (as you are medically asleep), it's the following 2 weeks that put your pain tolerance to the test. The day of the surgery as well as the following day were virtually pain free, my throat just felt weird, not painful though. The biggest complication that I had was that I was so nauseous from my pain medication (oxycodone) that I threw up twice a day for 3 days. My mom called the doctor and he changed my med to Loratab which is a liquid that tastes awful! Anyway, it was on post op day 3 that the pain really started kicking in so stay on top of your pain meds, even if you aren't in pain, just take it to manage the pain....because once the meds wear off and the pain begins it's hard to knock it out (this includes setting your alarm in the middle of the night or else you will be in a world of pain in the morning). Also, DRINK a lot of water/gatorade, whatever tastes better to you. I mean constantly drink! Again, I set my alarm every 45 mins in the middle of the night to wake up and drink 1/2 a glass a water to keep the scabs moist, which prevents bleeding. On post op day 4 I had to go to the ER because I began throwing up on the Loratab and it was a Saturday, so I was told to go to the hospital. While having open wounds in your mouth, throwing up is the LAST thing that you want to do...talk about painful and uncomfortable. The ER doctor gave me Zofran which is an anti-nausea pill to take with the oxycodone, it worked like a charm...I didn't feel sick or vomit at all once I began taking the Zofran. I also got oral thrush from the liquid antibiotic, so I had to get another med to take care of that. The point is, this surgery is not only painful, but the recovery is filled with side effects and complications. Yes, it hurts, but it is manageable as long as you drink drink drink, the key is to stay over hydrated. I stayed away from any dairy products because I had a lot of mucous. So I lived off of baby food, smashed up pears and ice chips, after about a week I started to eat frozen yogurt and that tasted really good. I could also eat mac n cheese as long as I smashed it up pretty good. I experienced very little bleeding which stopped once I gargled with ice water. Some other things to note, your uvula gets super swollen and I would often wake up from sleeping choking because of it, so try to sleep slightly elevated. As I said I am now on post op day 16 and I am still a little sore, but only on my left side. My only complaint is that I have constant dry mouth now, I am hoping that this will go away in time because it's pretty annoying especially when I'm trying to sleep. Overall, it's a pretty sh***y experience but stay on top of the meds, drink drink drink, get some movies and just relax....it'll be over in 10-14 days. I just hope it will all be worth it! GOOD LUCK!!!!!

I am day 4 after having my tonsils removed.  I do not feel this surgery is worth the pain. Two hours after surgery I was shipped out and I told them that I am very sensitive to pain meds.  I spent the next 24 hours vomiting and I stopped all pain meds (Lortab) the morning after the surgery but it did not help.  I called my doc office and they told me to go the the ER..which I did and they gave me 3L of IV fluids and 2 different kinds of antinausea meds which did not stop the vomiting.  I pleaded for them to keep me overnight until the vomiting was under control but they told me no that the insurance would not pay for it.  I went home vomiting on the way and all night. After 48 hours of vomiting and no pain meds I felt better. I take one tylenol about every 4 hours.  I am so exhausted and finally after 4 days took a shower.  The doc office told me it will get worse again when the scabs fall off.

hi, im 18 years old and after reading far too much about a tonsilectomy before my operation i was terrified to say the least. i am now day 6 post op and things are looking good. the best advice i can recommend is to eat through the pain. food like cereal and crisps may not be nutritional but they are solid and save any goop that may build up from the scabs. around day four the real pain kicked in for me. i rang the hospital and doctors in hope that they might advise me on better meds but in the end i was desperate and decided to make an emergency docs appointment this morning. honestly was the best decision. this morning i was in agony, barely able to speak and my ears and throat were throbbing. after a visit to the doctors i was given dissolvable cocodamol and ibuprofen for swelling. after being told to take nothing but paracetamol and ibuprofen during my months of tonsilitus, i didnt have high hopes. anyway, dont suffer in silence, there is always more they can give you to make you more comfortable. im feeling so much better and a check up reassures you that there is no infection. hope this is some help, and for those who are early days, IT WILL get better. remember to eat and hydrate!! :)

Today is the first day post op and although im slightly apprehensive I'm so far doing really well I think. Im a recovery nurse and have looked after hundreds of patients having tonsillectomies and also assisted in tonsillectomies, so I knee what was in store! Immediately post op I remember removing my laryngeal mask airway (breathing tube) then it must have been a bit later I awoke in recovery. I'd already had the full doses of anti emetics ondansetron and dexamethasone in theatre which was planned with my anesthetist as I suffer with post op nausea and vomitting. However, after experiencing some moderate pain I was given 10mg IV Morphine which worked very well and did have a respiratory depressive effect. Not for too long though as I encouraged deep breathing exercises in my myself. The morphine did make me feel slightly nauseas and pale but after some further anti emetic Cyclizine I was absolutely fine. I went back to the ward where I decided the best attitude was to be really positive and pretty much to just get on with it. I ate some jelly and yoghurt and drank a bucket of water which went down really easy! My surgeon doesnt like to keep his tonsillectomy patients in overnight and I was so pleased to go home. At home i managed to eat a full dinner of shepherds pie and peas, followed by cold custard and ice cream. I have been given paracetamol, codeine and diclofenac and I've taken them on schedule even if I don't have pain. However during the day I plan to take half the codeine to avoid the drowsiness and nausea if I can tolerate it, if I can't I'll step it up. In the early morning and evening though I'm taking the full dose as to get a good start to the day and also a good nights sleep. Last night I slept like a baby! I'm quite terrified about days 5-8 as I've heard they're not nice, but I shall try to pop back here with an update soon! Ps. Cold fizzy drinks were advised by my anesthetist. They not only soothe buy also aid in cleaning the tonsil beds. Take care all!

OKAY.. first off, yeah it doesn't feel great. I wont lie. But the people on these boards are ridiculous. Its as if you all have never experienced any pain in your life. I ate tacos my second day post op. Lol. It hurts, yes it does. But you don't feel like your going to die, you feel like you have tonsillitis the whole reason most of you are probably getting this surgery. It's really bad when your super negative about it and whine like a little baby too. That never helps anything. And maybe your doctors are just retarded but vicodin (which is how you actually spell it) and tramadol don't help at all for pain relief. My doctor gave me tylox lortab (which is just a tiny bit stronger then vicodin but it still didnt do anything) and motrin. Let me tell you motrin and tylox were the best. I only needed one or the other two times a day and they worked and thats all i needed. I ate a lot and drank a lot which they recommend highly, and its day five and my throat is still sore, but i'm up and moving and not whining or crying thats for sure. Stop scaring the c**p out of people who need this surgery, It is bad but its not the end of the world. 

The ear pain is normal!! I'm on day 12 post op and the ear pain was horrible.....it was literally the worst pain I have ever felt in my life..anytime i swallowed they felt like they were ripping open and especially taking my medicine! ice packs around your neck and ears definitelyyyyyyy help. some say heat, but the heat packs made me feel nauseous. You'll feel better soon!!!!! good luck and feel better :)

I am on day 7, a 52 yr old female, and I have told my family this pain is worse than labor. I have a high pain threshold. No one could of prepared me for this. I am drinking, but at Day 7 my tongue and uvula is swollen, my right ear feels like an ice pick has been stabbed into it, and swallowing is a pain that I will never forget. I have hope that in a few more days I will feel better. I have to beleive that.

Tomorrow is day 6. 24 y/o male.

thank you for your support

because my brother suffers from tonsillitis and he may have tonsillectomy operation

It surprisingly is normal to get ear pain a few days after surgery. My doctor wrote about it in my take hope packet and said it is to be expected.

I too could never have imagined it could have been this sore... And for so long!? This pain has been downplayed too much. I'm day 6 recovery and I'm popping meds more often than I was as the days go by. Never have I experienced such excruciating pain before! Never! I'm 24 & I know more than ever that child birth is not for me if this is how low my threshold for pain is.

Best report back I've come across yet. I've taken screen shots of your experience and I'm pretty sure my last few days of recovery will be smoothsailing as opposed to being up in pain and tears since 1:31AM.

Thanks a million! Youve been a great help