I'm 18 years old, had the tonsils and adenoids removed last Friday, so I'm on day 4. The pain has been manageable but is it going to get worse like I keep hearing? The doctor said stay in for at least 10 days, then possibly start going to work and school but take it easy. Would going to work this Saturday be a stupid idea? Even if I feel up to it? And is it going to be another two weeks before I can return to my second home, Subway?
I know everyone's case is unique and people deal with pain differently, but I just want to try and be healthy about it all.
I know everyone's case is unique and people deal with pain differently, but I just want to try and be healthy about it all.
Heres some of the things that have helped me get by this past week...there is still a lot of pain but the combination of all of these things makes it a lot more tolerable.
Icees - I drink frozen Mountain Dew, which you can get at Speedway. It helps to numb the pain throughout your entire throat, and helps to keep your mouth from drying out. Drinking regular drinks can be hard when your in pain, so this is a good way to get your fluids. It can also help to drink this while eating, as it makes things a lot easier to eat (the numbing effect from the cold makes the pain more tolerable, especially with the tongue).
Heat/Ice Therapy - Ice around your neck and heat on your ears. You can buy ice packs that wrap around your neck...keep it on for 20 minutes. Any more and you may start to cough because of the dry feeling you start to get. Get the icey hot things, and hold them against your ears. The ear pain is probably the worst part of the recovery, and this heat can help. I usually lay one down straight up on my pillow at night, so that the heat pad is going from my ear down to my neck. It helps to make the pain more tolerable, but it wont go completely away. Alternate every 20 minutes between ice and the heat pads. Laying the heat pads across your throat for short periods of time can help too.
Peaches - Peaches are the easiest thing your going to eat. Its sort of hard to open your mouth all the way, so the food isnt going to be 100% chewed up. Mix some peaches and jello together, and you'll do fine. Drink an icee while you eat this, and you'll barely feel any throat pain.
Pot Pies - The pain meds are going to upset your stomach, so you need some solid food to help. Make a chicken pot pie and eat the middle out of it (gravy, soft bread, chicken, peas). Avoid the carrots unless they are extremely soft.
IB Profen - Don't take this daily as it can cause bleeding, but if the pain is too much, you can take 3. It works better than any pain medicine your going to get, and works for about 3 hours. If you are getting dehydrated and/or cant eat, take some, wait an hour, and then eat. Again though, don't take this constantly as it can be dangerous.
Pepto - Get the pink pill version of this (not the liquid). The last thing you want to do after this surgery is puke, and this will help to settle your stomach. I take one at a time and it helps pretty quickly.
Tissues - Your gonna have a lot of phlegm build up all day, so keep tissues handy to spit it out. Sometimes too much builds up and its impossible to swallow it all, so it'll just kind of linger around. Spit every 10 or 15 minutes into a tissue and this should take care of it.
Don't Talk - When you talk, your soft palate moves up and down depending on the vowel. The soft palate is where the surgery was, so this can be pretty painful and can pull on things that don't need to be bothered. Only talk if absolutely necessary. Otherwise, write it down or just shake your head.
Luigi's ice - They come in cups, lemon and strawberry flavor. You can get it at pretty much any grocery store. You might want to stick with strawberry, but this really helps a lot with the pain. Its the same thing as a popsicle, only you eat it with a spoon. Eating a popsicle can be painful because of the tongue/jaw pain, so this is a good alternative.
Sleep with your head elevated. The higher up your head is, the less swelling/pain you'll deal with in the morning. Sleeping on your sides can make your ears hurt pretty badly, so try to sleep on your back (unless you have heat packs on your ears).
Apple Sauce - Eat lots of it. The colder the better. You want to eat as much cold stuff as possible because of the brief numbing effect on the soft palate/tongue/pharynx/basically your entire throat. It doesn't last long but long enough to make it possible to eat.
Headphones - Don't listen to music with headphones on. It causes a great deal of pain; im not sure why but its true. I noticed I can barely hear it anyways, so its best to just wait til your recovered to start listening to the ipods again.
Icees - I drink frozen Mountain Dew, which you can get at Speedway. It helps to numb the pain throughout your entire throat, and helps to keep your mouth from drying out. Drinking regular drinks can be hard when your in pain, so this is a good way to get your fluids. It can also help to drink this while eating, as it makes things a lot easier to eat (the numbing effect from the cold makes the pain more tolerable, especially with the tongue).
Heat/Ice Therapy - Ice around your neck and heat on your ears. You can buy ice packs that wrap around your neck...keep it on for 20 minutes. Any more and you may start to cough because of the dry feeling you start to get. Get the icey hot things, and hold them against your ears. The ear pain is probably the worst part of the recovery, and this heat can help. I usually lay one down straight up on my pillow at night, so that the heat pad is going from my ear down to my neck. It helps to make the pain more tolerable, but it wont go completely away. Alternate every 20 minutes between ice and the heat pads. Laying the heat pads across your throat for short periods of time can help too.
Peaches - Peaches are the easiest thing your going to eat. Its sort of hard to open your mouth all the way, so the food isnt going to be 100% chewed up. Mix some peaches and jello together, and you'll do fine. Drink an icee while you eat this, and you'll barely feel any throat pain.
Pot Pies - The pain meds are going to upset your stomach, so you need some solid food to help. Make a chicken pot pie and eat the middle out of it (gravy, soft bread, chicken, peas). Avoid the carrots unless they are extremely soft.
IB Profen - Don't take this daily as it can cause bleeding, but if the pain is too much, you can take 3. It works better than any pain medicine your going to get, and works for about 3 hours. If you are getting dehydrated and/or cant eat, take some, wait an hour, and then eat. Again though, don't take this constantly as it can be dangerous.
Pepto - Get the pink pill version of this (not the liquid). The last thing you want to do after this surgery is puke, and this will help to settle your stomach. I take one at a time and it helps pretty quickly.
Tissues - Your gonna have a lot of phlegm build up all day, so keep tissues handy to spit it out. Sometimes too much builds up and its impossible to swallow it all, so it'll just kind of linger around. Spit every 10 or 15 minutes into a tissue and this should take care of it.
Don't Talk - When you talk, your soft palate moves up and down depending on the vowel. The soft palate is where the surgery was, so this can be pretty painful and can pull on things that don't need to be bothered. Only talk if absolutely necessary. Otherwise, write it down or just shake your head.
Luigi's ice - They come in cups, lemon and strawberry flavor. You can get it at pretty much any grocery store. You might want to stick with strawberry, but this really helps a lot with the pain. Its the same thing as a popsicle, only you eat it with a spoon. Eating a popsicle can be painful because of the tongue/jaw pain, so this is a good alternative.
Sleep with your head elevated. The higher up your head is, the less swelling/pain you'll deal with in the morning. Sleeping on your sides can make your ears hurt pretty badly, so try to sleep on your back (unless you have heat packs on your ears).
Apple Sauce - Eat lots of it. The colder the better. You want to eat as much cold stuff as possible because of the brief numbing effect on the soft palate/tongue/pharynx/basically your entire throat. It doesn't last long but long enough to make it possible to eat.
Headphones - Don't listen to music with headphones on. It causes a great deal of pain; im not sure why but its true. I noticed I can barely hear it anyways, so its best to just wait til your recovered to start listening to the ipods again.
This topic is being closed due to having too many posts.
Please continue posting within the following one: Tonsilectomy_Recovery Time - Part 2
Please continue posting within the following one: Tonsilectomy_Recovery Time - Part 2
I've just started a new job, and I need to make an appointment to have tonsils out. I was just wondering how long would I need to be off work, as I'm in a retail?