I am 19 and on day 7 of recovery and I have been taking Tylenol with codine which just knocks me out but I am wondering why the pain is ok during the daytime but at night it is really bad! I know things seem worse at night but this is a dramatic difference and it happens every night. I wake up at midnight, 2, and 4 on the dot every night with horrible pain, if I wake up after 4 the pain isn't so bad...? Right now I'm thinkin it's not worth it but hopefully I'll change my mind soon!
Aiden,
I am on day 2 post tonsillectomy. I can't imagine just taking otc Tylenol. A suggestion to you. I had to have my gall bladder removed 2 weeks after having my 2nd son. Since I didn't want to stop breastfeeding, I pumped until all the anesthesia was out of my system, so the milk would not dry up. Then was told by two different dr. and a phamacist to take 1/2 the amount of pain med presribed along with 2 otc tylenol, and it would be fine to keep breastfeeding. Baby was fine, did not notice any difference in him, and having the pain at a tolerable level made things so much easier in being mom. (I was on my own, with 2 wk old and 22 month old.)
I am on day 2 post tonsillectomy. I can't imagine just taking otc Tylenol. A suggestion to you. I had to have my gall bladder removed 2 weeks after having my 2nd son. Since I didn't want to stop breastfeeding, I pumped until all the anesthesia was out of my system, so the milk would not dry up. Then was told by two different dr. and a phamacist to take 1/2 the amount of pain med presribed along with 2 otc tylenol, and it would be fine to keep breastfeeding. Baby was fine, did not notice any difference in him, and having the pain at a tolerable level made things so much easier in being mom. (I was on my own, with 2 wk old and 22 month old.)
...after reading these postings. I thought I was a little sissy boy when I told my doctor today (day 5 post-op) that it still hurts like crazy. I talk like I have big ice cubes in my mouth because everything is still swollen. My doctor said in an understanding way that different people have different levels of sensitivity to pain. Read: you don't take pain well. But I know I deal with pain okay since I've had some real bang-ups in the past. So now reading all this here is making me feel a lot better about myself. I was told that things will get better past day 10. I hope.
The toughest thing has been trying to work and hold meetings with the pain and the messed up voice. Also hurts straight into my ears when I swallow. I recognize this is referrant pain so it's not an ear infection.
A bit of advice to those other there considering this surgery: ask what kind of technique your doctor will use to remove the tonsils. The electrocautery technique (or the hot technique) is supposed to have the most painful healing process. Coblation is supposed to have the lowest post-op pain. Harmonic scalpel dissection falls in the middle. There are also microdissection techniques which may reduce bleeding and shorten recovery time. In any case, if you're an adult, be prepared for some truly Rambo moments with only you and your pain, late at night. But the thought of the long-term health benefits from removing a chronically and hypertrophic tonsil makes it all worth it in my opinion.
The toughest thing has been trying to work and hold meetings with the pain and the messed up voice. Also hurts straight into my ears when I swallow. I recognize this is referrant pain so it's not an ear infection.
A bit of advice to those other there considering this surgery: ask what kind of technique your doctor will use to remove the tonsils. The electrocautery technique (or the hot technique) is supposed to have the most painful healing process. Coblation is supposed to have the lowest post-op pain. Harmonic scalpel dissection falls in the middle. There are also microdissection techniques which may reduce bleeding and shorten recovery time. In any case, if you're an adult, be prepared for some truly Rambo moments with only you and your pain, late at night. But the thought of the long-term health benefits from removing a chronically and hypertrophic tonsil makes it all worth it in my opinion.
I'm a 32 yr old female with obstructive sleep apnea. I first went to see my primary physician and was told I needed a tonsillectomy (for my swollen tonsills) and was referred to an ENT specialist. I was told that I had kissing tonsils. I had also discussed my sleep apnea w/ the ENT specialist and recommended to have a UPPP done along side with the tonsillectomy. UPPP - can't spell it out but for short - is the removal of the uvula which may help the apnea. I'm currently on 4 day post op and finally the pain has subsided. Everytime I swallow - Ohhhhh THE P A I N. A friend of my described it as worst than her giving birth. I can't refer since I've never given birth but the paine... Sooooo painful. ohhhhhh the pain. I'm taking the hydrocodone Bitratrate which is basically liquid vicodine. It helps with the pain and get me groggy. So depending on how you take vicodine each dosage needed after every 4 hours is 2tsp. Did I mention the pain? oHHHHH so painful. I've only eaten (painfully) since the operation are popsicles. As for any other pains. Pains in my ear and jaw as if I'm recovering from a stiff neck. Coughing up phlem now and then and just been sleeping all day. Will post for more development.
I am 25 years old. After 2 SEVERE throat infections and numerous sore throats in the last year, my ENT decided I needed to have my tonsils out. Had them removed on Jan 16, so I am on day 8. The day of surgery, I woke up im pretty excruciating pain. This somewhat subsided as time went on through the day. I was prescribed liquid hydrocodone, and that seemed to help not onlu with the pain, but with sleep as well. However, my diet did not extend past water. The 2nd day, I was actually feeling pretty good. I had a couple visitors ect. The 3rd day is when things turned for the worse. Speaking became extremely painful, and the swelling was increasing. The pain became incredible. It has not gotten any better since. I am pretty much drinking water only, and forcing down milkshakes for some type of sustanance. I have today run out of pain meds, and when I called the Dr.'s office the receptionist said that the Dr. said he already gave me 2 pints (1 with a refill) of liquid hydrocodone and wouldn't give me any more and that I should take liquid tylnol. WTF??? What a piece of $#*&. I'm here in agony and he's going to make me feel like a drug addict for taking the reccomended dosage religously???? So I bought some children's tylonol and have mixed it with vicodin that I dissolved in hot water. It's not helping all that much, but it's better than noothing. I'm on the verge of calling my General Practitioner to see if there is anything he can do to help. Anyone have any suggestions to help with the swelling of the tounge and throat, or even the pain?
Thanks,
Tom
Thanks,
Tom
I am a 46 year-old male. I had a tonsillectomy/uvula-ectomy yesterday (2/6/07). So far the pain hasn't been any worse than having strep throat
I had several strep infections while in graduate school. I basically had to suffer which them and get treatment at the school clinic when I could as I did not have health insurance other that what the school provided. (which does not cover anything anyway). I suffered 2 years through it by the time Finished school both my tonsils "kissed" and produced that white rocky looking pus constantly, even when I did not have and infection or a sore throat.
Underwent surgery on the 29th after getting a job with some insurance finally. Awoke with no pain but a very dry mouth. The surgeon told me that the surgery took longer then expected because I had let it go for so long I had developed pouches behind the tonsils with pus as well that he had to drain and remove. First day I was sore and my neck and ears ached heavily, however I was able to drink warm water, not cold, and eat jell-o and other soft foods. So I unfortunately I gave myself the false hope that maybe the doctor was wrong and I would not have so much pain, boy was I wrong. I awoke at 3:00 am to the worst pain I have every felt in my life in my throat, neck and ears. Felt like I was being suffocated and the my right ear would explode at any minute. I could barely open my mouth when I went to the bathroom I noticed that the back of my throat had swollen. Went the the ER and received a shot of cortisone and epinephrine breathing treatments to decrease the swelling and constrict the blood vessels causing the tissue to shrink as well. Thank God I was able to catch my breath again. From day 2-5 I could barely drink water let alone eat food. So I would just sit in bed and sip warm water. My wife bought a humidifier for our bedroom on day 5 and I would run that all day and night and I found the moisture in the air would help keep my mouth and throat moist as well as help the excruciating pain at night as I would tend to breath thorough my mouth when I fell asleep and dry it out. I also found, as another poster suggested that icing my neck and splitting the dose of the vicodin elixir to a third and taking it every 1-2 hours instead of every 4-6 hours helped control the pain better. The icing of the neck helped to reduce the stiffness in the jaw and neck and decrease the ear pain.I did not start eatings soft foods again until day 8 and did not "turn the corner" so to speak until day 10. By the end of day 10 I was able to only take 1/3 of the of the elixir three times a day and before eating soft foods. I am now on day 12 and only taking medication 10-15min before I eat but am almost back to a normal diet. In total I have lost 15lbs since the start of all this. I currently do not have any pain unless I try to drink really fast or if I eat something to crunchy (potatoe chips, nachos, etc) I still have a cold intolerance for some reason which makes the whole back of my throat and teeth ache when I eat or drink cold items (cold soda, ice cream, etc) I hope that feeling goes away soon. I still have not come to a conclusion if I would go through this procedure again knowing what I know now or not.
To everyone here good luck to you all and hang in there. As you can see by this forum you are not suffering alone.
Underwent surgery on the 29th after getting a job with some insurance finally. Awoke with no pain but a very dry mouth. The surgeon told me that the surgery took longer then expected because I had let it go for so long I had developed pouches behind the tonsils with pus as well that he had to drain and remove. First day I was sore and my neck and ears ached heavily, however I was able to drink warm water, not cold, and eat jell-o and other soft foods. So I unfortunately I gave myself the false hope that maybe the doctor was wrong and I would not have so much pain, boy was I wrong. I awoke at 3:00 am to the worst pain I have every felt in my life in my throat, neck and ears. Felt like I was being suffocated and the my right ear would explode at any minute. I could barely open my mouth when I went to the bathroom I noticed that the back of my throat had swollen. Went the the ER and received a shot of cortisone and epinephrine breathing treatments to decrease the swelling and constrict the blood vessels causing the tissue to shrink as well. Thank God I was able to catch my breath again. From day 2-5 I could barely drink water let alone eat food. So I would just sit in bed and sip warm water. My wife bought a humidifier for our bedroom on day 5 and I would run that all day and night and I found the moisture in the air would help keep my mouth and throat moist as well as help the excruciating pain at night as I would tend to breath thorough my mouth when I fell asleep and dry it out. I also found, as another poster suggested that icing my neck and splitting the dose of the vicodin elixir to a third and taking it every 1-2 hours instead of every 4-6 hours helped control the pain better. The icing of the neck helped to reduce the stiffness in the jaw and neck and decrease the ear pain.I did not start eatings soft foods again until day 8 and did not "turn the corner" so to speak until day 10. By the end of day 10 I was able to only take 1/3 of the of the elixir three times a day and before eating soft foods. I am now on day 12 and only taking medication 10-15min before I eat but am almost back to a normal diet. In total I have lost 15lbs since the start of all this. I currently do not have any pain unless I try to drink really fast or if I eat something to crunchy (potatoe chips, nachos, etc) I still have a cold intolerance for some reason which makes the whole back of my throat and teeth ache when I eat or drink cold items (cold soda, ice cream, etc) I hope that feeling goes away soon. I still have not come to a conclusion if I would go through this procedure again knowing what I know now or not.
To everyone here good luck to you all and hang in there. As you can see by this forum you are not suffering alone.
After reading the posts here, I am really scared. An additional problem for me is that I also need to have my deviated septum fixed (all related to sleep apnea). So, all my breathing will be through my mouth--drying out my throat...
Anyone have experience with all 3 of those?
I had carpal tunnel surgery and didn't take the pain medicine soon enough so I was in excruciating pain for hours, so I KNOW to keep on track with the medicine. But it seems like after my second carpal tunnel surgery I only used OTC Tylenol (the first pain med I took made me nauseous).
But I got lots of good ideas from reading the posts here. I wonder if it is better to drink room-temperature gatorade, water, etc. rather than cold stuff right from the fridge.
Anyone have experience with all 3 of those?
I had carpal tunnel surgery and didn't take the pain medicine soon enough so I was in excruciating pain for hours, so I KNOW to keep on track with the medicine. But it seems like after my second carpal tunnel surgery I only used OTC Tylenol (the first pain med I took made me nauseous).
But I got lots of good ideas from reading the posts here. I wonder if it is better to drink room-temperature gatorade, water, etc. rather than cold stuff right from the fridge.
Hi.........i have done tonsilectomy 10 years ago. But i still remember that i was ok after the surgery but as days passed by i was feeling pain. Doctor gave me a medicine to mix in hot water and use it . Right now I have no problem. But I will strongly recommend that DO NOT DO THIS. Because I didn't know about the fact that tonsil are our first defense againts the bacteria and they protect us from getting sick like infections etc. Tonsil counts as our antibodies againts antigens. Because I have done the tonsilectomy I get sick easily. I can't eat sour and too cold things. If i do eat these things then I suffer from flu,fever and cough. So If anyone has the situation to do tonsilectomy, first discuss with your doctor to try other method do not remove them. Also If anyone has this try not to eat sour and cold things. thanks
they told me not to eat anything but ice cream and stuff so how did you eat toast if you can really help me by telling me how to get rid of the pain faster please do i got my surgrey on valentines day i am 16 and i an in so much pain i can't swollew my spit hardly talk or anything please help me
I got mine out on Valentine's Day. I did everything I was supposed to and I still feel like sh*t, but Dr. said yesterday I'm healing great now.
Try being 53 and getting them out. It's even worse! I got 102 fever so I had to take extra antibiotics. Then when the fever got better I got thrush. Mine were impacted so my mouth got beat up too in the process. It is day 8 and I'm just now starting to feel a LITTLE better.
Things I learned that helped for me:
1. Sleep in a chair. Have a big pillow standing up on your lap and rest your head forward on it. This kept me from choking on my swollen uvula.
2. Spray your mouth with water before trying to drink or talk if it's been awhile. Once it's moist it's a little less painful
3. Make yourself drink a lot of water even if it kills. Drink/eat when you've just done the pain meds.
4. Use the pain meds, even in the middle of the night. Keep track of when you take what on a white board.
4. Lukewarm cream of wheat or creamed soup makes a nice break from all the sweet stuff. Make yourself eat (can't believe the toast!)
5. Know you'll get through it. I never expected to feel this bad, but now I know everyone does.
Try being 53 and getting them out. It's even worse! I got 102 fever so I had to take extra antibiotics. Then when the fever got better I got thrush. Mine were impacted so my mouth got beat up too in the process. It is day 8 and I'm just now starting to feel a LITTLE better.
Things I learned that helped for me:
1. Sleep in a chair. Have a big pillow standing up on your lap and rest your head forward on it. This kept me from choking on my swollen uvula.
2. Spray your mouth with water before trying to drink or talk if it's been awhile. Once it's moist it's a little less painful
3. Make yourself drink a lot of water even if it kills. Drink/eat when you've just done the pain meds.
4. Use the pain meds, even in the middle of the night. Keep track of when you take what on a white board.
4. Lukewarm cream of wheat or creamed soup makes a nice break from all the sweet stuff. Make yourself eat (can't believe the toast!)
5. Know you'll get through it. I never expected to feel this bad, but now I know everyone does.
I had my tonsils out 3 weeks ago. The pain was eveything they said it would be. However, I was somewhat used to it since I have suffered with infected tonsils all my adult life. I'm 42 now. My wife fed me oatmeal ( grind it up in a blender before you cook it ) and mashed potatoes and ran to the convienience store every 4 hours to get me a slushy. I also drank those protein shakes and tons of ice water. Take your meds regularly day and night. I told the doc to give me something stong for the pain. (I've had Tylenol 3's before and I might as well take Tic Tacs ) so he gave me ratio-oxycocent , GREAT STUFF. My persciption ran out after 2 weeks and now I take Ibuprofen occationally for the pain. My Uvuvla and tounge was pretty beat up. It's not so much painfull now as it is annoying. The uvula is still swollen and it feels like I got a huge "loogy" stuck in my throat constantly. I believe this is the last phase of my recovery and I have to go back to soon. Since I'll never live with my tonsils flaring up 2 or 3 times a year I believe this was worth it.
I had my tonsils out 6 days ago now and am still in absolute agony!!! I can't eat or drink or even swallow my saliva! (I spit it out instead - though not just anywhere might I add) When is this going to ease? I wish I'd put up with the frequent tonsil mankyness as I had many painfull bouts - but nowhere near as bad as this! My ears hurt like hell too, I keep loosing my hearing and my teeth hurt?!?!
So all you fellow post tonsillectomy victims I FEEL FOR YOU!
:'(
So all you fellow post tonsillectomy victims I FEEL FOR YOU!
:'(
I am on day 10 of the surgery. I am definitely feeling a lot better now. I still wake up with a dry and sore throat, but everyday after day 3 has definitely been a big improvement. gargling ice cold water helped numb the pain and kept my throat moist. I recall having vomited twice while in the hospital after the surgery, and once more at home on day 2 (mostly vomited blood). The pain was so bad, I was second guessing whether or not the pain was normal and considered checking into the ER. I also recall having a lot of mucus build up in my throat which was very hard to get rid of. I almost felt as if I was going to choke on it. My advice to anyone with the mucus problem is to gargle it out and then use a piece of tissue to get the remains. I was very sleep/food deprived and all of that is normal. I also would like to mention that simply swallowing your own saliva was nearly impossible so I spit most of it out. Sorry to everyone who had to endure this pain, I felt like it was never going to end. But it will and in the end, it will be over and done with. Good luck to all and take care.
P.S. I had Rhynoplasty and Tonsillectomy done simultaneously
P.S. I had Rhynoplasty and Tonsillectomy done simultaneously
Hey
I had my tonsils out last week and was given the usual advise that the pain would be at its worst on the 5th day. Well at 5am on Tuesday morning (5th day) i woke up in excruciating pain. As I had been expecting it to get worse i thought it was normal and just tried to tolerate the pain. However it got so bad that i had to go to the doctors - extremely lucky decision! The doctor asked me to open wide and his response was "Yuk"! Turned out I had developed a massive infection and needed to be readmitted to hospital straight away due to high risk of bleeding. Anyway I went back to hospital and they gave me antibiotics and 2 litres of fluid through a drip (was very dehydrated). I was starting to feel a little better in hospital when on Wed night, at 4am, i woke up with lots of sharp pains in my throat and realised i was bleeding. The nurse called the emergency doctor on the ward and they made me gargle with hydrogen peroxide!
Anyway so my advise to anyone who is in lots of pain is to go back to your doctors. Dont just assume that the pain is normal! I am ok now, still in a bit of pain but can eat almost anything now!
I had my tonsils out last week and was given the usual advise that the pain would be at its worst on the 5th day. Well at 5am on Tuesday morning (5th day) i woke up in excruciating pain. As I had been expecting it to get worse i thought it was normal and just tried to tolerate the pain. However it got so bad that i had to go to the doctors - extremely lucky decision! The doctor asked me to open wide and his response was "Yuk"! Turned out I had developed a massive infection and needed to be readmitted to hospital straight away due to high risk of bleeding. Anyway I went back to hospital and they gave me antibiotics and 2 litres of fluid through a drip (was very dehydrated). I was starting to feel a little better in hospital when on Wed night, at 4am, i woke up with lots of sharp pains in my throat and realised i was bleeding. The nurse called the emergency doctor on the ward and they made me gargle with hydrogen peroxide!
Anyway so my advise to anyone who is in lots of pain is to go back to your doctors. Dont just assume that the pain is normal! I am ok now, still in a bit of pain but can eat almost anything now!