Hey guys,
I scoured this site before I had my tonsils out this summer and here are some things I wish I had known before the procedure. For the record, I'm 23 and this was written in September when I was on the tail end of recovery.
Ok, I'm not totally recovered but the constant pain is gone! So I feel as a member of the tonsil-less community, I must share a few tips that have come in handy when trying to survive this 4+ week hell because I would have LOVED to have some kind of coping tips before I got this done.
1.) WATER! Even if you have to chew ice chips for 2 weeks you need to stay hydrated or the pain will get even worse. If your tonsil site was cauterized drink lukewarm or room temperature water because cold things will absolutely kill you because cauterization=burn. So water will be your friend.
2.) Unless you are sickly or thin, don't try to force yourself to eat. The body can go a while without food, but not water, so focues on staying hydrated. I went 2+ weeks without eating and even though I lost quite a bit of weight it didn't kill me. So unless you have a really good reason for having to eat, don't force yourself. More pain than it's worth.
3.) Ice packs. They will be your saving grace. I had 2 and then lots of frozen vegetables to tide me over when the other packs were freezing back up. These were probably the best thing in the world! I slept with them, did homework with them, went to the ER with them; we were like, best friends. Like me and Kevin Bacon.
4.) If you are one of the fortunate ones with ear pain? First, let me apologize. It was ear pain that sent me to the ER the majority of the time. Swallowing anything was excruciating, so when you have to swallow use your ice packs on either side of you head and apply lots of pressure. You will probably cry. One thing I found to be my saving grace was ear plugs. The only thing that helped the pain was pressure, so get a pack of ear plugs and wear them as much as you can. Replace them every day or two so they stay stiff.
5.) Back to the cauterization. When trying to swallow, don't do it like you normally would. Take very VERY small sips of whatever and swallow gradually or whatever you're drinking will hit those burn marks and it will hurt. A lot. When I was starting to try and eat again it took me a full 24 hours to get down an 8 ounce Ensure. Not fun. Ice packs are good on the outside of the throat, but hold off on the cold stuff till the burn marks heal. And for me, they were the last to heal.
6.) You will puke. Accept it. The anesthstesia they give you at the hospital will make you very nauseas if you're prone to nausea. They put an anti-nausea patch behind my ear and it wore off by day 3 and I was barfing like New Year's Day. A week or so later something made me really nauseas and I threw up again. It sounds unbearable but it's really not that bad. You'll forget the throat pain as you're throwing up and using pain management after that will help. Not fun but not impossible.
7.) Take your pain meds. It will hurt but it's the only way to keep from dying from pain. And if your meds aren't working don't hesitate for a moment to call your doctor or if it's bad enough, have someone haul you to the ER. That much pain can send a person into shock making a bad situation much worse. Until you get your pain under control make sure you breathe. Take steady breaths to calm yourself down because panic is also a very bad thing.
8.) (I know Maria will kill me) but don't brush your teeth. It's incredibly painful and you run the risk of hitting your wounds with a toothbrush causing bleeding which is a VERY bad thing. Your mouth will feel absolutely disgusting and your breath could take out a bear, but in this instance don't make dental hygeine your top priority. Your teeth will still be there. I managed to brush every 2 days or so. It gets better as time goes on but for the first week to 10 days? Don't freak if you can't brush.
9.) If you look in your throat you will see lots of white. That's not infection, it's scabbing and it's a good thing. I've heard some people can feel the scabs come off and it's just horrible but I didn't have anything like that so I can't attest to that. But whatever you do, don't try to pry or peel no matter how much they bug you. Your body will take care of them.
10.) Expect taste loss. This can last anywhere from 6 weeks to several months and in very rare cases is permanent. I don't know why this happens but it does. Sweet stuff will taste really bitter. I still can't taste very well but I'm getting to the point where I can taste normal food and some sweet stuff. Soda still tastes like c**p. But like I said, don't freak, it will come back in time.
11.) If you're one of the fortunate ones who can eat from the get go, here are a few things to avoid (and even if you can't, I avoided these foods till about week 3-4)
-anything spicy. This includes Mexican, Chinese, Thai. Anything spicy.
-anything acidic. No tomatoes, no ketchup, no spaghetti o's (bad idea. It sent me flying over
the couch for my ice packs!). No citrus fruits, no juice (aside from apple). Anything that tastes
good. Avoid it.
-anything carbonated. There were times I wanted to inhale a Diet Pepsi but the carbonation will hurt
like a mother. Don't do it! I'm a month post op and I still can't take carbonation very well. It will
come.
12.) Here are a few foods to start out with when you can eat (and if you can't, don't force it!):
-soup. My personal faves were broccoli cheddar and potato because they're non-acidic
-pasta. Good ol' mac and cheese is ok after week 3.
-Ensure, instant breakfast, SlimFast. Any kind of liquid that is packed with nutrients. You will have to
drink them cold so take little sips and keep your lukewarm water next to you and alternate.
-mashed potatoes. I LOVED them. When I first started eating most of them went to the dog, but
they sure were yummy!
12.) If you sing, teach or talk a lot; DON'T push it. Your throat will still be swollen long after the pain is gone and your vocal chords are still vey tender so as much as you want to, do not push it. You sound like a deaf person most of the time anyway so talk soft, sign and DO NOT sing ntil you're about a month or so post-op.
13.) Appreciate your caretaker(s)! Andy lost so much sleep and probably wanted to drive his truck off a cliff, but he was there for me holding me over the toilet while I threw up, put me on his chest and MADE me breathe with him, and took me to the ER and doctor and pharmacy a billion times. These people are likely giving up a lot of time and energy for you, so when you're able do everything you can to thank them. Be they your mom, husband or friends. THANK THEM. I would have shot myself had it not been for Andy.
Ok, I have to hop in the shower to go shopping!!!!!! Hope this helps. I know if you've been a faithful reader you probably were thinking that a tonsillectomy was the dumbest thing on the planet, but it's really worth it to not be sick 24/7 and breathe again!
I scoured this site before I had my tonsils out this summer and here are some things I wish I had known before the procedure. For the record, I'm 23 and this was written in September when I was on the tail end of recovery.
Ok, I'm not totally recovered but the constant pain is gone! So I feel as a member of the tonsil-less community, I must share a few tips that have come in handy when trying to survive this 4+ week hell because I would have LOVED to have some kind of coping tips before I got this done.
1.) WATER! Even if you have to chew ice chips for 2 weeks you need to stay hydrated or the pain will get even worse. If your tonsil site was cauterized drink lukewarm or room temperature water because cold things will absolutely kill you because cauterization=burn. So water will be your friend.
2.) Unless you are sickly or thin, don't try to force yourself to eat. The body can go a while without food, but not water, so focues on staying hydrated. I went 2+ weeks without eating and even though I lost quite a bit of weight it didn't kill me. So unless you have a really good reason for having to eat, don't force yourself. More pain than it's worth.
3.) Ice packs. They will be your saving grace. I had 2 and then lots of frozen vegetables to tide me over when the other packs were freezing back up. These were probably the best thing in the world! I slept with them, did homework with them, went to the ER with them; we were like, best friends. Like me and Kevin Bacon.
4.) If you are one of the fortunate ones with ear pain? First, let me apologize. It was ear pain that sent me to the ER the majority of the time. Swallowing anything was excruciating, so when you have to swallow use your ice packs on either side of you head and apply lots of pressure. You will probably cry. One thing I found to be my saving grace was ear plugs. The only thing that helped the pain was pressure, so get a pack of ear plugs and wear them as much as you can. Replace them every day or two so they stay stiff.
5.) Back to the cauterization. When trying to swallow, don't do it like you normally would. Take very VERY small sips of whatever and swallow gradually or whatever you're drinking will hit those burn marks and it will hurt. A lot. When I was starting to try and eat again it took me a full 24 hours to get down an 8 ounce Ensure. Not fun. Ice packs are good on the outside of the throat, but hold off on the cold stuff till the burn marks heal. And for me, they were the last to heal.
6.) You will puke. Accept it. The anesthstesia they give you at the hospital will make you very nauseas if you're prone to nausea. They put an anti-nausea patch behind my ear and it wore off by day 3 and I was barfing like New Year's Day. A week or so later something made me really nauseas and I threw up again. It sounds unbearable but it's really not that bad. You'll forget the throat pain as you're throwing up and using pain management after that will help. Not fun but not impossible.
7.) Take your pain meds. It will hurt but it's the only way to keep from dying from pain. And if your meds aren't working don't hesitate for a moment to call your doctor or if it's bad enough, have someone haul you to the ER. That much pain can send a person into shock making a bad situation much worse. Until you get your pain under control make sure you breathe. Take steady breaths to calm yourself down because panic is also a very bad thing.
8.) (I know Maria will kill me) but don't brush your teeth. It's incredibly painful and you run the risk of hitting your wounds with a toothbrush causing bleeding which is a VERY bad thing. Your mouth will feel absolutely disgusting and your breath could take out a bear, but in this instance don't make dental hygeine your top priority. Your teeth will still be there. I managed to brush every 2 days or so. It gets better as time goes on but for the first week to 10 days? Don't freak if you can't brush.
9.) If you look in your throat you will see lots of white. That's not infection, it's scabbing and it's a good thing. I've heard some people can feel the scabs come off and it's just horrible but I didn't have anything like that so I can't attest to that. But whatever you do, don't try to pry or peel no matter how much they bug you. Your body will take care of them.
10.) Expect taste loss. This can last anywhere from 6 weeks to several months and in very rare cases is permanent. I don't know why this happens but it does. Sweet stuff will taste really bitter. I still can't taste very well but I'm getting to the point where I can taste normal food and some sweet stuff. Soda still tastes like c**p. But like I said, don't freak, it will come back in time.
11.) If you're one of the fortunate ones who can eat from the get go, here are a few things to avoid (and even if you can't, I avoided these foods till about week 3-4)
-anything spicy. This includes Mexican, Chinese, Thai. Anything spicy.
-anything acidic. No tomatoes, no ketchup, no spaghetti o's (bad idea. It sent me flying over
the couch for my ice packs!). No citrus fruits, no juice (aside from apple). Anything that tastes
good. Avoid it.
-anything carbonated. There were times I wanted to inhale a Diet Pepsi but the carbonation will hurt
like a mother. Don't do it! I'm a month post op and I still can't take carbonation very well. It will
come.
12.) Here are a few foods to start out with when you can eat (and if you can't, don't force it!):
-soup. My personal faves were broccoli cheddar and potato because they're non-acidic
-pasta. Good ol' mac and cheese is ok after week 3.
-Ensure, instant breakfast, SlimFast. Any kind of liquid that is packed with nutrients. You will have to
drink them cold so take little sips and keep your lukewarm water next to you and alternate.
-mashed potatoes. I LOVED them. When I first started eating most of them went to the dog, but
they sure were yummy!
12.) If you sing, teach or talk a lot; DON'T push it. Your throat will still be swollen long after the pain is gone and your vocal chords are still vey tender so as much as you want to, do not push it. You sound like a deaf person most of the time anyway so talk soft, sign and DO NOT sing ntil you're about a month or so post-op.
13.) Appreciate your caretaker(s)! Andy lost so much sleep and probably wanted to drive his truck off a cliff, but he was there for me holding me over the toilet while I threw up, put me on his chest and MADE me breathe with him, and took me to the ER and doctor and pharmacy a billion times. These people are likely giving up a lot of time and energy for you, so when you're able do everything you can to thank them. Be they your mom, husband or friends. THANK THEM. I would have shot myself had it not been for Andy.
Ok, I have to hop in the shower to go shopping!!!!!! Hope this helps. I know if you've been a faithful reader you probably were thinking that a tonsillectomy was the dumbest thing on the planet, but it's really worth it to not be sick 24/7 and breathe again!
Most helpful post yet. Thank you.