Tonsil Stones - My Tonsillectomy *21 Days After*

Day 6 of my surgery -

Im doing well, hydrating and resting is key! Ive switched to extra strength advil and ditched the harsh T3's.. They are just as effective without the exhaustion feeling. Naturally my throat is still sore, but that will pass with time. Eat soft foods as often as you can, heres what Ive been up to;Morning - Smoothie, eggs, cooled green teaLunch/Dinner - soup, pizza, pasta (I have been eating just one big meal for the day)Snack - frozen yogurt (minimal)

Tip - DO NOT have dairy for the first couple of days as the mucus will build up and you will find it hard to swallow...especially at night..

I feel great and still over the moon with my decision!

HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE!!! (even if its a challenge to swallow)

Take care of yourself out there!

Thanks for posting about your experience. My wife has suffered from tonsil stones for the past year (they started coming from nowhere) and got her surgery a couple days ago. She also has a sensitive stomach like yours and reading your post was no only reassuring for her, but also reminded her that all of the pain she is going through now is for a lifetime of freedom from tonsil stones. Also, a lot of you're post was really funny, too. Thanks for sharing your personal experience and giving hope to those who know how much of a burden tonsil stones can be and that there is a way out!

You are very kind!

Day 10 - Feeling much better~

Last night was the first night I had a full sleep! Mild-little pain in the morning..
Day 8 was rough for me as I was trying to do too much. Ibuprofen almost every hour = not good for my stomach.. Switched to acetaminophen!
Im eating tons of carbs!!! Fat & happy!
I dont miss eating meat, but I do miss coffee~

Happy, happy!!!

Hi...I am just reading about your procedure and see it's been over a year ago...could you let me know now that sometime has passed how things are going for you with this procedure? Do you still feel it was successfuL?

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for this post. I was just surfing the net, trying to see if perhaps I'm overexaggerating how awful tonsil stones are, and maybe I should cancel my surgery. Well reading this made me painfully aware of how horrible they are...I have wonderful oral hygiene (guessing most tonsil stone suffers do, haha, in an effort to erradicate their bad breath), but still have breath that has occasionally made people back away from me, tonsil stones come up while talking or in other social situations, long minutes spent hacking and trying to get them up, going through gum and mouthwash like crazy, and feeling often like there's something in the back of my throat. Even though I'm 50 now, I'm in good health and do NOT want to go through decades more of life like this! I'll take the surgery, which is scheduled for 11 days from now. I'm definitely nervous, but I'm excited too...I don't think I'd be as nervous but I'm having a nasal turboplasty (for septum deviation), and turbinate reduction at the same time. Saves $ on anesthesia and hospital costs, lol. I don't know if I'm very brave or very stupid, guess I'll find out, haha. One thing's for sure, soon I'll be feeling absolutely horrible, but also, relatively soon considering how long I've been dealing with these, I'll also be feeling wonderful! So thank-you, I feel 100% better about surgery!

I had my tonsillectomy three days ago, accompanied by nasal septoplasty and nasal turbinectomy. It has been bad yes, however not unbearable. The day of surgery I was super nervous, but of course like you I wanted these horrible stones out too! Having it all done at once was what really made me scared, but it saved a lot of $, and time in recuperation. Still, I thought several times of canceling one or the other, but I persevered and went through with it. Waking up in recovery I felt fine, just annoyed by the gauze under my nose. They kept remarking they couldn't believe how good I was doing, and very shortly I was able to move to my same day surgery room. Here I was only exhausted...all I wanted to do was sleep. The nurse kept asking me what my pain level was, and it was honestly only a one, so I never got anything for pain. Within a few hours I had eaten some jello, drank water, and gone to the bathroom, so they let me leave. My son came to pick me up, and in the car, on the way to the pharmacy, I started to get light-headed and nauseous. I tried to think of different things, but the feeling stayed with me. At home I took the pain pill (hydrocodone), as well as the antibiotic that I have to take twice a day. In my opinion this is cruel and unusual punishment, the thing is huge, much bigger than a vitamin, and they're big. Seems really tough after tonsil surgery, but I tried to tell myself that the swallowing action would be good for my throat and help me heal. So...sat in the "recliner" (I actually don't have a recliner, brought in a nice chaise lounge from my deck that reclines and the feet go up, just saying to help someone else if they don't have one. Sleeping with your head elevated is extremely crucial, it helps reduce bleeding, and reduces congestion as well). Slept a lot, but also continued to feel dizzy and nauseated. I thought--dumbly as it turns out--that perhaps if I ate something the feeling would go away, that maybe the pills on am empty stomach made it worse. So I scrambled some eggs, ate two bites, and had to run to the bathroom. It was horrible, I threw up violently, and a LOT of it came out of my recently operated on nose, making it not only hurt but bleed a lot more. I felt miserable, and most of what I threw up was blood too, probably from the surgery. I called my doctor, and he was very reassuring, that I didn't hurt my nose, but to irrigate it well, and that the next day I'd be able to tolerate the pain meds better. So I switched to just plain acetaminophen, intending to go back to hydrocodone the next day. However, now it's been two more days and I'm still on just acetaminophen. Sure, it doesn't feel the best, but not the worst either. Probably like strep throat, accompanied by a cold. I am just so afraid of feeling light-headed and nauseous again...I'd rather feel pain than that, any day. I sleep with a humidifier right by me, probably a foot from my head, drink a lot of ice water and Gatorade, have eaten chicken noodle soup, toast, eggs, yogurt, and popsicles. Actually I'm going to lay off the yogurt, I kept getting a lot of mucus in my throat, which, while it doesn't hurt to clear, I know I'm not supposed to, which drives me crazy. I do agree with other posters that having fresh breath is wonderful! Yes, even with the scabs, and not brushing much at the moment, my breath is WAY better than it was when I had tonsils! So definitely glad I got it done, just hoping, or wishing, the recovery could fast-forward! Oh, I should say, I'm a 50 year old woman, so if I can do this y'all can too! Good luck, I'll post more later!

I'm totally feeling where your coming from your a great help for humanity thank you

Was feeling great until today (Day 7).  The scabs are coming off, and WOW does it hurt!!  Only taking acetaminophen (couldn't tolerate the other stuff), so not much pain relief...literally every sip of water that I have, or bite of food feels like someone is stabbing me in the throat with an ice pick.  However, in just one morning the scabs on one side are gone, which makes me really happy!  I was SO nervous about that for fear of bleeding.  Of course I still have a long ways to go, haha, the other sides scabs are way thicker and larger.  It's funny, before this I figured the scabs would be limited to where they removed something...tonsils and adenoids, but it's ALL over the place!  I suppose any tissue that got stretched, or heated, or whatever they do, developed one.  I do know my doctor does the simple excision, and cauterization.  I can't wait to have this over with, not only due to pain, but to be able to eat normally, not have to worry about bleeding (these horror stories are always in the back of my mind), get my energy back, etc.  Actually, am hoping to have a lot more energy!  Oh, and another worry I have is that I also had nasal septoplasty, and turbinectomy at the same time, which is still oozing blood, so when I look in my mouth with a flashlight I can occasionally see blood at the back of my throat which really scares me!  Fortunately it's all been through my nose, so hoping that'll heal soon too!

 

I'm wondering what other people's experiences are when the scabs came off, both the good and the bad.  Thanks, and whoohoo, we're all a day closer to feeling better!  :)

Day 9, from same person who's posted last couple of days (50 yr. old woman, tonsils and adenoids plus nasal septoplasty and turbinectomy).  Totally miserable at the moment.  Have some good moments, in which I really see the light at the end of the tunnel, then, in others the pain returns with a vengeance.  Don't know if I mentioned that I developed thrush, so I'm dealing with that as well.  The fun never stops...got a prescription for Nystantin (swish and swallow) on Tuesday, so I've been using it three days.  It worries me that I developed that, particularly that I could have high blood sugars, but on the other hand I do believe that thrush is relatively common after a tonsillectomy.  Not only am I on antibiotics, but generally a person is given a steroid during surgery, and I've been eating sugary ice pops and drinks for a week now, which is very unusual for me.  So anyway.  Woke up today in a LOT of pain, hurt very much to swallow even water.  I still can't breathe through my nose, even with the splints out (am extremely congested, which will hopefully go down).  So my mouth drying out doesn't help.  I do have a humidifier, literally right by my head, but I still wake up with my tongue so dry it feels like paper, and my throat aching.  It took a couple of hours before I felt okay with that, but still my throat is hurting.  On one side the scabs are 90% gone, on the other they're thick, like curtains, and although I can see the edges sloughing they seem to be hanging on tenaciously.  There's a large scab hanging down from the bottom of my uvula (which is still swollen four times its normal size), which constantly gags me.  I've had several coughing episodes that really hurt, and each time I check in the mirror to see if some scabs are gone, but they're hanging on.  Oh, one tiny, pea-sized piece did tear off, makes me hopeful that more will soon.

 

Now though, my tongue is aching!!  I've read about that happening with other people, and I was thankful that hadn't happened to me.  Well now I can join that club too...it feels like the ache that would occur if you put a clothespin on it (towards the back, by my tonsils), and held on tight.  Actually, that's probably literally the problem, sure my tongue was clamped during surgery, but weird that it took til now to hurt.

 

I am trying to be positive and hoping, as some people have said, that the pain is the worst right before it goes away...if that's the case I think I'm due, lol!  I'll post tomorrow, for others who are wondering how the journey ends up and to hopefully have good news, instead of all my complaining.  Hope you all are enjoying a Happy 4th whether we're recuperating or not...  :)

Day 10, from same person who's posted last couple of days (50 yr. old woman, tonsils and adenoids plus nasal septoplasty and turbinectomy).  I realized, lol, that I had miscounted the days, I think due to wishful thinking.  I would love to fast-forward another week and put this behind me!

 

I hate to sound like a miserable shrew, because for most of this I have been okay.  I'll say though, it's a long, long, LONG wait to the light at the end of the tunnel.  Every day I awaken in horrible throat pain.  I'm not able to sleep more than an hour at a time, still, due to severe pain in my throat.  It wouldn't be so bad, but I can't breathe through my nose at all, so I take a drink of water, swish it through my mouth, swallow, feel a blessed relief of pain, then go back to sleep.  Ten minutes later I awaken completely bone dry and the exact scenario ensues.  It is horrible, I honestly can't take it anymore!!!  So today I picked up some pseudoephedrine at the pharmacy, and refilled my nasal steroid.  I've been trying to wait, regarding that.  Steroids make it harder for your nose to heal, and I wanted that to take place, plus, quite frankly, I didn't think I'd need it after the septoplasty and turbinectomy.  Not meaning to be gross, but I took a flashlight and looked up my nose today, and there was barely a millimeter of space for air to go through.  Oh, on a side note, I also looked for artificial saliva at Walmart, it sounds pretty gross to me, but I know it's thicker than natural saliva, and I thought maybe that would help.  Unfortunately I couldn't find it, and the pharmacy techs, while they thought they had it, couldn't find it either.  :(

 

So, hoping the nasal steroid helps.  I so badly need a nights sleep!!!!!!!  Not to mention I am hoping and praying that my scabs fall off QUICKLY.  I honestly didn't think I'd have them this long.  I tell myself it's probably because my throat had extra trauma, with four procedures done, so the scabs are a lot thicker than they would be otherwise.  I don't know if that's the case, but it makes sense to me, and would explain why they're hanging on tenaciously.  I so hope I'm like some people, who say they felt immediate, wondrous relief when the scabs broke off.  I'm hanging onto that hope like crazy.

 

Got Wendy's tonight, just because I'm so bored of soft food.  I think my taste buds have changed too, the chili seemed ten times spicier than I remembered.  I painfully swallowed 2/3's of it, and 1/3 of my fries.  Sure I've lost at least 12 pounds, hoping that my stomach stays shrank after all this.  That would be a happy event, and make all of this worth it.  Of course I know it's all worth it anyway, just now, at this moment, it seems like it'll never end.  If the pain doesn't go away next week I honestly think I'll make another appt. with my doctor, this can't be normal.  I'd love to hear from others who are at this point, and how things are going for them!

 

Sorry for all my complaining, hopefully can write a cheerful post soon.  Later!~Traci

Hey there, Traci again (50 year old female, tonsils, adenoids, septoplasty and turbinectomy).  Day 11.  I was hoping extremely that I'd be able to write that the scabs came off, but no, they're still super thick and adherent on one side (the other side they fell off of a few days ago).  However, miracle alert!!!  I spent last night again in agony, waking up with severe throat pain, coughing horribly, only slept a couple of hours.  This has been how it's been literally ever since surgery, and to say that I'm exhausted is a huge understatement.  So anyway, color me stupid, because it finally occurred to me today what part of the problem is.  I haven't been taking my (generic) Prilosec since I had surgery.  I didn't think I needed to, actually.  My ENT prescribed it for me when I complained about tonsil stones, he said acid reflux has a lot to do with it.  It did help, not all the way, but I'd say 50%, which is why I went ahead and had them out.  So, after surgery, I thought that I don't have tonsil stones anymore, so I don't need that.  WRONG!!  That acid backing up went on my fresh tonsil wounds, dried out my throat even more, caused huge bouts of coughing and sleeplessness.  I took a pill in the middle of the night last night, then took a 3 hour nap today, which is the longest period of time I've slept since surgery.  I am so looking forward to tonight!  It's funny, I'm not overweight, don't eat a lot of fried foods, and don't have heartburn, but I do clear my throat a lot, which my doctor said is a hallmark of it.  So wow, I can't wait to go to bed tonight.  I think I will feel like an entirely new person to be able to sleep!  Just posting this in case any of you are going through this, and even if you weren't diagnosed as having acid reflux before surgery, if you're having a lot of pain in the mornings when you wake up it might be worth it to buy some over the counter acid reducer and give it a try.  Let me know if it helps anyone, and good luck!

Hi there, Traci again, just wanted to tell you all that WOW last night was the first night I slept the whole way through since I had surgery!!  I'm 100% convinced I would not have if not for going back on Prilosec.  It's totally amazing to me, and the difference in how I feel (and look, haha) is day and night.  I can't believe that not taking that medicine made such a huge difference (to reiterate when I didn't take it I awakened every hour--or less--with severe throat pain, and frequent coughing, all...night...long.  It was at the point where I only got a few hours of sleep a night, and they were very fragmented.  Suffice to say I felt like a zombie, and sure that didn't help my healing.  (Please refer to posts above.)

 

So now, whoohoo, I feel like a new woman, and about to go to the pharmacy and refill my prescription.  Other than that, not much new.  STILL have scabs on one side, grr, and a lot of tooth pain/pressure on that side.  I presume it's from the scabs, hoping it'll go away when they do.  Have lost probably 15 pounds from this ordeal, so that's good.  :)  Just need to keep it off!

 

Oh, one more quick thing, when I did wake up during the night last night (well actually I didn't awaken at all, I'm talking in the morning), my mouth was still extremely dry.  I also had nasal septoplasty and nasal turbinectomy and can't breathe through my nose well yet.  Well even though it was bone dry, and taking a drink of water felt super good, it DIDN'T hurt!!!!  I didn't have the horrible throat pain that I had without the Prilosec (honestly I'm not an ambassador for them, sure any antacid would do, that is for those who need it).  When I swallowed the water it didn't hurt at all, whereas before it would kill me to do so.  Very happy, and when the scabs finally come off I'll be soooo glad this ordeal is behind me.

 

Hope you all are doing well, it is worth it, but I'm the first to say long road to recovery!  Take care of yourselves and happy healing!

Hi there, Traci again.  Just wanted to update, because perhaps there's other people in my situation, who are wondering the same things I am.  In my case it's Day 15, and lo and behold I STILL have thick scabs on one side of my throat!  Not to mention there's still a lot of swelling on that side.  I went to the doctor two days ago and he said that's normal, that some people lose their scabs early (which I'm glad I didn't due to bleeding risk), and some late.  I will say I'm way ready for them to fall off now!  I don't have a lot of pain, but they're annoying.  Wouldn't be so bad if they were thin, but they're super thick still, and it feels like there's always something in my throat, not to mention it's harder to swallow with them.  By the way, there goes the theory that eating a variety of foods will help them slough off, I ate a variety of foods, starting almost on Day 1, and still have them. 

 

I do feel better though...not only in regards to pain, but in regards to why I had the surgery in the first place.  My nose is way more open than it was, and when I wake up in the morning it's not totally closed off with congestion like it used to be.  Also, (and this is far from the reason why I had the surgery done) my nose is now smaller than it was before!  No, I didn't have rhinoplasty, just septoplasty and nasal turbinectomy, but I think because it doesn't swell extremely with congestion like it used to that it looks smaller.  Another huge bonus is that when this swelling happened my eyes also got beet red and irritated, and now that isn't happening anymore.  It's a true miracle to me!!!

 

In regards to the tonsils, I'm thrilled there as well.  Even with the scabs my breath is WAY fresher than it was before, when I had horrible, rotting tonsil stones (this is why I had the surgery).  I feel like I have more energy, and am sleeping better, than I was before surgery.  My tonsils were actually enlarged quite a bit too, and my lymph glands were often swollen, so I think the tonsil stones were making me have a constant low grade infection.  That is better now too, and I will say the entire thing was well worth it.

 

One more thing, just for other people's benefits...I was, I'll admit it, a little worried when I got thrush after surgery.  I know that's relatively common after tonsillectomies, but it can also happen in people with immune deficiencies, ugh.  So, I gathered my courage, and went and got tested, and I'm happy to say that my hiv status is negative.  Yes, this is personal, but I just wanted to help other people, so they don't worry too much, as I did.

 

That's all folks!  Will make one more post in the future when--and if, haha--my scabs fall off!  Hope you're all healing great!  :)

Hi I am booked in for tonsillectomy on 2/8/13. I am 33 and from New Zealand. I have always been sicker for longer than normal people. Anytime I catch a cold it turns into strep throat. Last year I was on antibiotics for 2 months just for one case of strep throat so decided to see ENT. He said my tonsils are so damaged that I constantly have a low grade infection and they need to come out. Have been reading everything I can find on recovery which is pretty scary. I have only been able to find vapourizors does anyone know if these will work instead of humidifiers? Anyway have loved reading all the posts on here and will post updates after surgery.

I'm actually on day 6 of post surgery and the days 2-5 were complete hell, I had to get narcotics because nothing wa working I can't drink anything but I try just to stay a little hydrated and I haven't eaten in 6 days. I had the same problem you did, tonsil stones and my doctor told me thy they were enormous also. I'm just on my breaking limit now. Simply because of the mucus build up