Hey everyone...so I am a 29 year old female who is going to have my tonsils taken out on 11/12/09. I am terrified because of everything I've heard about how painful it will be during the recovery process. Can anyone give me some facts, without exaggeration, on what they went through? I only took a week off from work - should I take more? What type of foods/drinks hurt the most and the least? What can I do to help my throat heal quickly and minimize the pain?
Hey,
I am also a female and am 20 years old, I had my tonsillectomy in addition to having my septum straightened and a set of turbinates (things that swell up) in my nose removed the 13th of this month. I had complications after my surgery due to excessive bleeding from my nose which was going down my throat over my tonsils - ow! After three days the bleeding had stopped and I had no nose pain so I think from that point I can give you an accurate description on what to expect.
First of all, I thought I knew pain and could handle it but I was so wrong. This was the most painful experience of my life. I took a week off of school and work but ended up need more like a week and a half to two weeks. Upon waking from surgery you may throw up but do not worry about this, you are still fairly numb so it doesn't hurt that bad.
Many people hate warm food after their tonsils are removed. I on the other hand lived off of cream soups by Campbell's and mashed potatoes with gravy. They are kind of thick which I found to be important and the warmness felt nice to me. As far as cold things, there are these little frozen cups: flavors cherry, blue raspberry and lemon, made by ice-ee or however you spell it. These were my favorite cold item. Avoid the lemon because citrus with really burn your throat, so note that; avoid anything acidic! As far as for specific foods, you will just have to see what the case is with you.
About day 5 post surgery (Friday night/Saturday morning) I suddenly started having issues with nausea. Not only was it extremely painful to swallow, when I did so I would heave and sometimes throw it back up. I became dehydrated and by Monday I was 15 pounds lighter than I was before surgery due to lack of calories and dehydration. I was in so much pain and I could not stay awake for anything, I ended up back in the hospital for the night to get re hydrated and they gave me meds to take home for the nausea. After this, it was so much easier. I kept myself hydrated and felt great. So drink as much as you can and start eating solid food as soon as possible because I felt much better when I was hydrated and has solid food in my belly.
Avoid yawning! I currently have no pain when swallowing or even coughing but it still hurts when I yawn! As for the pain medication... The first few days I really suggest setting alarms so you can wake up and take your pain medicine. I hated waking up after sleeping for six hours and having no medicine in me, it was painful and once you get behind it takes awhile to get back to the level of pain you were at before running out. The pain medicine causes constipation so make sure to take a stool softener so that you do not become constipated on top of everything else. It can cause nausea and overall discomfort that you shouldn't have to deal with in addition to your throat.
So, in summary, it really does hurt as bad as everyone says it does. Quite possibly the worst pain I will experience in my life but it is worth it in the long run. I am here 17days later telling you there is hope and you will not regret it!
I am also a female and am 20 years old, I had my tonsillectomy in addition to having my septum straightened and a set of turbinates (things that swell up) in my nose removed the 13th of this month. I had complications after my surgery due to excessive bleeding from my nose which was going down my throat over my tonsils - ow! After three days the bleeding had stopped and I had no nose pain so I think from that point I can give you an accurate description on what to expect.
First of all, I thought I knew pain and could handle it but I was so wrong. This was the most painful experience of my life. I took a week off of school and work but ended up need more like a week and a half to two weeks. Upon waking from surgery you may throw up but do not worry about this, you are still fairly numb so it doesn't hurt that bad.
Many people hate warm food after their tonsils are removed. I on the other hand lived off of cream soups by Campbell's and mashed potatoes with gravy. They are kind of thick which I found to be important and the warmness felt nice to me. As far as cold things, there are these little frozen cups: flavors cherry, blue raspberry and lemon, made by ice-ee or however you spell it. These were my favorite cold item. Avoid the lemon because citrus with really burn your throat, so note that; avoid anything acidic! As far as for specific foods, you will just have to see what the case is with you.
About day 5 post surgery (Friday night/Saturday morning) I suddenly started having issues with nausea. Not only was it extremely painful to swallow, when I did so I would heave and sometimes throw it back up. I became dehydrated and by Monday I was 15 pounds lighter than I was before surgery due to lack of calories and dehydration. I was in so much pain and I could not stay awake for anything, I ended up back in the hospital for the night to get re hydrated and they gave me meds to take home for the nausea. After this, it was so much easier. I kept myself hydrated and felt great. So drink as much as you can and start eating solid food as soon as possible because I felt much better when I was hydrated and has solid food in my belly.
Avoid yawning! I currently have no pain when swallowing or even coughing but it still hurts when I yawn! As for the pain medication... The first few days I really suggest setting alarms so you can wake up and take your pain medicine. I hated waking up after sleeping for six hours and having no medicine in me, it was painful and once you get behind it takes awhile to get back to the level of pain you were at before running out. The pain medicine causes constipation so make sure to take a stool softener so that you do not become constipated on top of everything else. It can cause nausea and overall discomfort that you shouldn't have to deal with in addition to your throat.
So, in summary, it really does hurt as bad as everyone says it does. Quite possibly the worst pain I will experience in my life but it is worth it in the long run. I am here 17days later telling you there is hope and you will not regret it!