I had to have my tonsils taken out and in preparation, I read two blogs of adult tonsillectomy "victims" and they were both so similar, that I wanted to share my experiences to maybe help prepare other poor souls who need this operation done at a later age as well! I also wanted to see if my experience was like theirs also. They definitely prepared me for what to eat, drink, etc...
In preparation, I have a full freezer of ice cream, popsicles, smoothie mixes and frozen fruit. I have an abundance of yogurt, Jell-O, pudding, chicken and stars soup, apple juice, some kind of cherry probiotic smoothie milk that I can mix with fruit, water and I also made some yummy carrot ginger soup that I have in the freezer! I just hope that the spicy ginger doesn't hurt my throat, but I will let you know! My main concern post-op besides the pain, is weight loss. I am 5'6" and weigh about 112 lbs. and have a fast metabolism - I can lose weight just by thinking about it, so I really don't need or want to lose any more than I have to...
Day One - Wednesday: I went in for the surgery - not sure which procedure my doctor used, but he said it was like a moving knife that also cauterized the skin to stop the bleeding. It was fairly routine; the only thing that went wrong was that I blew a vein in my hand when the nurse tried to put in an IV. That hurt, but only for a minute. After the surgery, I went to a friend’s house, and went to bed. I live by myself and really had no one to help me recover, so a dear friend offered her home - she drove me to the hospital and her husband picked me up from the hospital and drove me back to their home.
I had no pain medicine to take because the doctor prescribed Vicodin, which I do not like to take because it makes me not only nauseous, but extremely itchy! The nurse felt sorry for me because the doctor left and no one at the hospital could write me a new prescription, so she gave me a Percocet to take home with me. I was able to actually eat a roll, in extremely small bits - I first dissolved it in my mouth, then I could swallow it, and I also drank some chicken soup. I took the Percocet and went to bed again, then woke up around 7:30AM and could barely talk, but actually felt fine. I felt a bit emotional as well, but was told that with the anesthesia still in my system, that it was normal.
Day Two - Thursday: Pain level started at about a level 4-5. Nothing unbearable. I felt fine enough to go to the doctor's office on my own and get a new prescription, and go to my own house to start my recovery. I am now taking Percocet as well as Amoxicillin. It just hurts to swallow and taking my pills is kind of a challenge, but still doable! I'm actually thinking that this wasn't so bad.... but I have read other blogs that make me think that the worst is yet to come... I really hope they are wrong! Today, I was able to drink apple juice, I had a bowl of chicken and stars soup, although I think that I had it a little too warm, but it went down fine. I also had a Popsicle and some yummy soft cheesecake with Jell-O on top. I honestly wanted a pizza, a nice juicy steak or a big fat cheeseburger, but that I know was totally out of the question! (As I was just writing about the delicious food I wanted, my stomach is making these loud noises letting me know that it wants those things too!) I am still not in too much pain, but I am a little more tired than I normally am.
The pain level in the morning was about the same, 4-5 but it really hurts to talk and I tried to watch some TV shows I had taped, and when I started laughing, the laughs quickly turned to flinching from the pain. I was not hungry most of the day, I drank apple juice and had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon that I drove to - got a cortisone shot in my hip - figured that I might as well and get in as much discomfort as I possibly can while I am recuperating! I came home and fixed a smoothie - it was not a pleasant experience and I think that the brand I bought either had too many seeds in it, or the yogurt burns my throat. I bought pre-made smoothie mixes, just had to add milk, by a very popular yogurt maker that starts with Yo.... I bought a few of all the flavors, but realized from past bloggers that the banana ones will not be used during this recuperation period. I made the triple berry one and used cherry kefir smoothie as the liquid, so the kefir could also have created the burn as well. I DID finish the smoothie - it makes two servings and I had one at night too. The burn was not so uncomfortable that I couldn't finish, but there was a constant slight burning sensation... For dinner, I was craving carbs - I still want fresh bread SO BAD!!! But I had a bowl of lobster bisque that I had in the freezer. Not my first choice of soup for this situation, but it went down pretty nicely. My taste is off too, which stinks... I am trying to keep my caloric intake as high as I can because of my high metabolism, so that is why some might think I am eating strange things! I wouldn't really recommend the bisque - without the lobster I would for sure - from what I could really taste, it went down smooth and was nice and creamy! The temperature was just warm. I also had some chocolate Jell-O mousse which went down nice too, and some popsicles.
I tried to talk on the phone today, but it is still pretty painful and feels like I have a throat full of gross phlegm. My outing today was tiring - I was at the doctor's office for only about 20 minutes, but then I went to the grocery store and the whole outing only took about 1.5 hours but it was exhausting. I'm still sleeping a lot and have noticed that sometimes I am unable to breathe out of my nose when I am lying down. My uvula is still pretty swollen and I can breathe in, but when I try to breathe out through my nose, it blocks my airways. I have had to become a mouth breather, which dries out the mouth and I have to keep drinking water, which is good though.
The entire back of my throat and around my uvula is a gross whitish/yellowish coated mess- the part that isn't 'coated' is extremely red. Just looks gross!
That was Day Three - I would try and get up to do some things around the house, but then I would get tired! I would get a second wind, and then have to lie down. I guess this surgery took more of a toll on me than I realize. I'm just taking it easy.
miamiblond wrote:
I had to have my tonsils taken out and in preparation, I read two blogs of adult tonsillectomy "victims" and they were both so similar, that I wanted to share my experiences to maybe help prepare other poor souls who need this operation done at a later age as well! I also wanted to see if my experience was like theirs also. They definitely prepared me for what to eat, drink, etc...
In preparation, I have a full freezer of ice cream, popsicles, smoothie mixes and frozen fruit. I have an abundance of yogurt, Jell-O, pudding, chicken and stars soup, apple juice, some kind of cherry probiotic smoothie milk that I can mix with fruit, water and I also made some yummy carrot ginger soup that I have in the freezer! I just hope that the spicy ginger doesn't hurt my throat, but I will let you know! My main concern post-op besides the pain, is weight loss. I am 5'6" and weigh about 112 lbs. and have a fast metabolism - I can lose weight just by thinking about it, so I really don't need or want to lose any more than I have to...
Day One - Wednesday: I went in for the surgery - not sure which procedure my doctor used, but he said it was like a moving knife that also cauterized the skin to stop the bleeding. It was fairly routine; the only thing that went wrong was that I blew a vein in my hand when the nurse tried to put in an IV. That hurt, but only for a minute. After the surgery, I went to a friend’s house, and went to bed. I live by myself and really had no one to help me recover, so a dear friend offered her home - she drove me to the hospital and her husband picked me up from the hospital and drove me back to their home.
I had no pain medicine to take because the doctor prescribed Vicodin, which I do not like to take because it makes me not only nauseous, but extremely itchy! The nurse felt sorry for me because the doctor left and no one at the hospital could write me a new prescription, so she gave me a Percocet to take home with me. I was able to actually eat a roll, in extremely small bits - I first dissolved it in my mouth, then I could swallow it, and I also drank some chicken soup. I took the Percocet and went to bed again, then woke up around 7:30AM and could barely talk, but actually felt fine. I felt a bit emotional as well, but was told that with the anesthesia still in my system, that it was normal.
Day Two - Thursday: Pain level started at about a level 4-5. Nothing unbearable. I felt fine enough to go to the doctor's office on my own and get a new prescription, and go to my own house to start my recovery. I am now taking Percocet as well as Amoxicillin. It just hurts to swallow and taking my pills is kind of a challenge, but still doable! I'm actually thinking that this wasn't so bad.... but I have read other blogs that make me think that the worst is yet to come... I really hope they are wrong! Today, I was able to drink apple juice, I had a bowl of chicken and stars soup, although I think that I had it a little too warm, but it went down fine. I also had a Popsicle and some yummy soft cheesecake with Jell-O on top. I honestly wanted a pizza, a nice juicy steak or a big fat cheeseburger, but that I know was totally out of the question! (As I was just writing about the delicious food I wanted, my stomach is making these loud noises letting me know that it wants those things too!) I am still not in too much pain, but I am a little more tired than I normally am.
Day Three - Friday: Pain level was kind of bad through out the night, I kept waking up and kept room temperature water next to my bed so I could sip some, which is difficult to do! It got to the point where I had to get my ice pack to put on my throat.
The pain level in the morning was about the same, 4-5 but it really hurts to talk and I tried to watch some TV shows I had taped, and when I started laughing, the laughs quickly turned to flinching from the pain. I was not hungry most of the day, I drank apple juice and had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon that I drove to - got a cortisone shot in my hip - figured that I might as well and get in as much discomfort as I possibly can while I am recuperating! I came home and fixed a smoothie - it was not a pleasant experience and I think that the brand I bought either had too many seeds in it, or the yogurt burns my throat. I bought pre-made smoothie mixes, just had to add milk, by a very popular yogurt maker that starts with Yo.... I bought a few of all the flavors, but realized from past bloggers that the banana ones will not be used during this recuperation period. I made the triple berry one and used cherry kefir smoothie as the liquid, so the kefir could also have created the burn as well. I DID finish the smoothie - it makes two servings and I had one at night too. The burn was not so uncomfortable that I couldn't finish, but there was a constant slight burning sensation... For dinner, I was craving carbs - I still want fresh bread SO BAD!!! But I had a bowl of lobster bisque that I had in the freezer. Not my first choice of soup for this situation, but it went down pretty nicely. My taste is off too, which stinks... I am trying to keep my caloric intake as high as I can because of my high metabolism, so that is why some might think I am eating strange things! I wouldn't really recommend the bisque - without the lobster I would for sure - from what I could really taste, it went down smooth and was nice and creamy! The temperature was just warm. I also had some chocolate Jell-O mousse which went down nice too, and some popsicles.
I tried to talk on the phone today, but it is still pretty painful and feels like I have a throat full of gross phlegm. My outing today was tiring - I was at the doctor's office for only about 20 minutes, but then I went to the grocery store and the whole outing only took about 1.5 hours but it was exhausting. I'm still sleeping a lot and have noticed that sometimes I am unable to breathe out of my nose when I am lying down. My uvula is still pretty swollen and I can breathe in, but when I try to breathe out through my nose, it blocks my airways. I have had to become a mouth breather, which dries out the mouth and I have to keep drinking water, which is good though.
The entire back of my throat and around my uvula is a gross whitish/yellowish coated mess- the part that isn't 'coated' is extremely red. Just looks gross!
That was Day Three - I would try and get up to do some things around the house, but then I would get tired! I would get a second wind, and then have to lie down. I guess this surgery took more of a toll on me than I realize. I'm just taking it easy.
I am not sure if what I wrote before was saved, so I'm trying again, for the third time - if this shows up as a twice repeat, then I'm sorry!!!
I wasn't going to add anymore because the rest of the days have been about the same as Days Four through Five...
Day Six - Monday: Woke up at the usual time of 3:00 AMish but with extreme discomfort. My throat feels like it is on fire and nothing I eat or drink makes it feel any better. I took pain medicine and went back to sleep and pretty much stayed in bed feeling sorry for myself all day! The pain got to be so intense that I started getting emotional, which made my throat hurt all the worse! I would say the pain level is between an 8-9, which is bad. I was only able to eat a cup of Chicken and Stars soup later in the evening, and drank some Ensure shakes during the day to keep my weight level up, but they hurt. The only thing that didn't hurt was to just lay slightly propped up on my back, with a heating pad on my neck, not moving, swallowing or doing anything. I am pretty sure that the scabs are coming off and that is why my throat feels so raw and painful. My ears feel funny, slightly achy, and the back of my neck also hurts, but that could be from sleeping on it wrong, but if I turn my head the wrong way, I am in excruciating pain on the right side of my neck from the ear down to the shoulder. Running the hair dryer for a few minutes around my ear helped the earache and breathing steam from a hot shower helped my throat.
Day 7 - Tuesday: Still in extreme pain. I was supposed to go back to work today but I don't think that is going to happen until Wednesday at the very least. The pain is about an 8-9 again, and I don't want to move! My uvula is still very swollen and sore as well, and it makes sleeping difficult still because sleeping through my nose causes the uvula to get caught in my airways, and then causes more pain. Everyone keeps saying, "eat ice cream, eat ice cream!", but the last thing I want to put down my throat is something cold. To be honest, I haven't had ice cream since the surgery!
Days like today and yesterday make me regret the surgery... I kept saying that it could be worse, and now it is! I am still emotional, but that is most likely due to the pain, being by myself for so many days and just being plain frustrated.
Although Day 7 only started a few hours ago, I am in enough pain to go ahead and start the daily blog! I'll update later, but am off to go take more pain meds and go back to sleep. Nothing I can imagine drinking will be pleasant and my stomach growls constantly. I have only lost about 5-6 lbs, but I was 113 to start, so I don't have a whole lot to lose! I feel like I would make Kate Moss look fat!