Tonsillectomy in adults - question about recovery....

eskimo

mariebeth wrote: »

My gp mentioned that from day 6-10 after the op the pain could get worse - I'm on day 6 now, so just wondering should I be expecting worse pain??? The pain this morning was worse than it has been other mornings, but once I got some liquid & the pain killers in to me it has improved

For me the pain reached its worst around day 7. It was so bad I cried from the pain. But this only lasted one night, and from then on the pain got less and less.
It will be slightly different for everybody. If the pain doesn't get worse for you, I wouldn't question it. However as your doctor said, it could be up to 10 days before the pain gets worse. Don't waste too much time thinking about this though! If the pain gets worse, you'll deal with it. End of story.

Good luck!

binncheol

I got my tonsills out on Thursday & was grand for the first few days. Sore, but not intolerable.
However on Tuesday it was really sore & then couldn't sleep that night because of the pain. Same again today (Wednesday) - the pain is almost unbearable & having problems sleeping.

Tempted to go to the doc and ask for stronger painkillers as paracemtamol just don't seem to be cutting it for me.

eskimo

binncheol wrote: »

I got my tonsills out on Thursday & was grand for the first few days. Sore, but not intolerable.
However on Tuesday it was really sore & then couldn't sleep that night because of the pain. Same again today (Wednesday) - the pain is almost unbearable & having problems sleeping.

Tempted to go to the doc and ask for stronger painkillers as paracemtamol just don't seem to be cutting it for me.

I think if you read through this entire thread you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that most people had a very similar experience and that it lasted no more than a few days. 2 or 3, max. I could be wrong, but (to me) paracetamol seems kinda weak for this kinda pain. Can you take Ibuprofen (Nurofen Plus) instead? I remember whatever meds I was on at the time not being much help for this stage of the pain though, so you will probably just have to see it through.

I know it's an absolutely horrible experience. But it'll be over soon and think of it this way - your pain threshold will increase as a result of this experience!

binncheol

eskimo wrote: »

I think if you read through this entire thread you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that most people had a very similar experience and that it lasted no more than a few days. 2 or 3, max. I could be wrong, but (to me) paracetamol seems kinda weak for this kinda pain. Can you take Ibuprofen (Nurofen Plus) instead? I remember whatever meds I was on at the time not being much help for this stage of the pain though, so you will probably just have to see it through.

I know it's an absolutely horrible experience. But it'll be over soon and think of it this way - your pain threshold will increase as a result of this experience!

Yes, I read through the thread & was glad that it was considered normal to be experiencing this pain. My doctor didn't tell me anything of it so I was quite surprised.
& I agree, Paracetamol (which is what hte doc prescribed?!) isn't nearly strong enough so my mam bought me some Nurofen Plus earlier. Hopefully they'll fair better.

my pain threshold will go up and my sore throats will go down.. all will be ok!
Cheers!
(:

Lumen

Found this thread after suffering* from persistent tonsillitis for the last few weeks. I was on 500/125 co-amoxiclav for the first bout, then ordinary penicillin V a week after I thought it had cleared up. I'm on the last day of those, and it doesn't seem to be fixed; the call-out GP who prescribed the penicillin suggested a tonsillectomy, as I'm getting bad tonsillitis a couple of times a year, which if untreated by antibiotics gets worse until the GP says I'd need IV antibiotics if I left it another couple of days. Usually the antibiotics work fine, not sure what's happened this time - perhaps I need to rest more and cut out the cycle commute when I'm ill.

Anyway, this thread has been a real eye opener. I can't believe some people have to suffer from "2 week off-work tonsillitis" six or more times a year. I should really stop whining about mine.

I came across this thread which seems to nicely summarise the post-op recovery process.

I can now understand why my normal GPs (not the call out one) were discouraging tonsillectomy except in very bad, very frequent tonsillitis cases.

* in the context of this thread, I should downgrade that word

Weidii

Hey everyone, just want to say that I got my tonsils out at the start of the summer (sat through my college exams with a rotten tonsil!) and it's worth it to never have tonsilitis again. Think about when you'll be travelling, etc in future, you won't have to worry about tonsilitis at all!

Mine took about a month to heal, being ok-ish painwise on the first few days, then becoming quite sore for a while after that. I made sure to continue eating as normally as possible after it, making sure I ate rough salty foods to take the scabs away. I had no complications, and the reason the pain eventually got to me was more of a mental thing than a physical thing, I just got so sick of it!

Again though, the few weeks of pain is totally worth it never to experience the pain of serious tonsilitis and quincy again.

I wish you all a speedy recovery and a great life sans tonsils

xxxBrookexxx

Hi all, I had my Tonsillectomy Yesterday(thursday) I went in to Hospital Wednesday afternoon, and had them removed at 9am yesterday morning. I was brought into the anasthetic room first, and the anestathist, hooked me up to an IV. He said that I would start to feel light headed, and sure enough i did, then i got a weird taste in my mouth (tasted like onions) weird!

he said that was normal, he put an oxygen mask on me,then i started to get this burning sensation all over me and up my neck, just as i was about to panick, i was fast asleep, it was the strangest experience ever, but kind of cool ha!! all along the thing that was bothering me most was the anasthetic, but wasnt bad at all.

i woke up in recovery to a nurse calling my name, there were other people in the recovery room too!! i couldnt really focus my eyes on anything! I just felt so tired. she put an oxygen mask on me and after a while I was wheeld back to my room. I slept for most of the day, the surgeon came to see me and said everything went great!!

I was let home from hospital at 11am today(Friday), so far the pain has been bearable, im just dreading incase it gets worse! which im told it will.

i cant believe its all over and done with, and i cant believe how nervous i was about the anasthetic, i think anasthetics are great now ha!!!

i was tlod to watch for bleeding, because apparently 10 per cent bleed, fingers crossed i dont...

i shall keep u updated:)

Brooke

xxxBrookexxx

xxxBrookexxx wrote: »

Hi all, I had my Tonsillectomy Yesterday(thursday) I went in to Hospital Wednesday afternoon, and had them removed at 9am yesterday morning. I was brought into the anasthetic room first, and the anestathist, hooked me up to an IV. He said that I would start to feel light headed, and sure enough i did, then i got a weird taste in my mouth (tasted like onions) weird!

he said that was normal, he put an oxygen mask on me,then i started to get this burning sensation all over me and up my neck, just as i was about to panick, i was fast asleep, it was the strangest experience ever, but kind of cool ha!! all along the thing that was bothering me most was the anasthetic, but wasnt bad at all.

i woke up in recovery to a nurse calling my name, there were other people in the recovery room too!! i couldnt really focus my eyes on anything! I just felt so tired. she put an oxygen mask on me and after a while I was wheeld back to my room. I slept for most of the day, the surgeon came to see me and said everything went great!!

I was let home from hospital at 11am today(Friday), so far the pain has been bearable, im just dreading incase it gets worse! which im told it will.

i cant believe its all over and done with, and i cant believe how nervous i was about the anasthetic, i think anasthetics are great now ha!!!

i was tlod to watch for bleeding, because apparently 10 per cent bleed, fingers crossed i dont...

i shall keep u updated:)

Brooke Update on my Recovery !!!!

So I came home on the Friday, and literally could not stop crying, I think it was just because of the anasthetic, I was given Solpadol which were too strong for my stomach, they made me feel really sick, and I was trien to stop myself from getting sick incase my troat bled.. Saterday and Sunday I was really tired all i done was sleep. Yesterday (Monday) I woke up in bed and my heart was beeting really fast, I came down stairs and it got worse, you could literally see my heart beeting through my Top, i had pins and needles in my hands and feet. I went to the hospital and my blood pressure was really low, i was literally about to pass out, the pins and needles were that bad my hands were actually numb. they gave me two drips and gave me an ECG, they took blood tests etc, they let me home last night they said it could have been a panick attack, or that I was dehydrated, it was very scarey!! Today I feel alot better, but my troat is very sore!

eskimo

xxxBrookexxx wrote: »

I woke up in bed and my heart was beeting really fast, I came down stairs and it got worse, you could literally see my heart beeting through my Top, i had pins and needles in my hands and feet. I went to the hospital and my blood pressure was really low, i was literally about to pass out, the pins and needles were that bad my hands were actually numb. they gave me two drips and gave me an ECG, they took blood tests etc, they let me home last night they said it could have been a panick attack(

As soon as I read the part about the pins and needles, my first thought was panic attack. All the symptoms you mentioned sounds exactly like a panic attack!

LegacyUser

got my tonsils out on monday feb 8th and it's been really up and down... i've taken peoples advice on pretty well, drinking alot of water no matter how sore it was at first and eating some toast every day...

from what i can tell people's recovery experience differs greatly from person to person. i'm a 23 year old male with a cock and balls and everything. my surgeon said i had the biggest tonsils he's ever worked on and made jokes about using a jcb to take them out and sending them to feed haiti and stuff. good craic.

i've had a pretty painful recovery, when it's bad, it's feckin woeful but that's only about 20% of the time, the rest of the time it;s been fine. fortunately i have an external hard-drive with a ****e load of movies and tv shows that i can watch on the xbox so i've spent the vast majority of my time in the living room vegging.

one of the worst times for me is just after you wake up because your throat is gonna be dry no matter what and the painkillers have probably worn off. a painful a eating things like toast and all is, i find u do tend to feel better after it, and also, the amount of tablets you have to take can't be good on an empty stomach. i was initially on:

1 x difene tablet twice a day (just a 3 day course)
2 x solpadol (paracetamol and codeine) 3/4 times a day(every 6 hours)
1 x germintine 3 times a day

so on any given day you might be taking up to 12 pills, and that, although necessary for recovery, can't be good for you, so eat when you can.

my first 2 nights at home i couldn't sleep at bed, every position i lay in was painful in a different way, if i lay on my back the back of my throat hurt really bad, likewise for the sides and obviously lying face down is out, what with the suffocation and all.

if you're gonna be getting this procedure, my recommendations:

1. have a good stock of distraction aids ready. i used movies and tv, round the clock.

2. drink water as much as you can, even if it is painful.(you don't want to end up with dry throat, it'll be much more painful to sort out)

3. eat when you can - as sore as it is to eat, horse the toast into you, it's pretty good afterwards. i'd recommend about 45 minutes after you take your painkillers so they can kick in.

4. take sleep as it comes - not sure if this is good advice or not but it worked for me. even now coming into day 6 i'm not sleeping for a single 8 hour block or anything, i'm drifting in and out as i feel like it, it's actually great for helping the time pass.

5. try keep a good attitude. this is no doubt a very ****ty time, what with the pain and all that ****e, but if you're gonna mope around like a dull bastard, it's only gonna be worse. look at it like a nice guilt free excuse to be a complete couch potato and try enjoy that.

obviously i am no doctor and have no advice the is of any merit, however this seems to be working for me, though from what i've read here, the worst might still be ahead, but i've got my water, my painkillers a comfy chair and a load of movies so bring it on. apologies if this is just boring ramblings but hopefully it might help.

LegacyUser

Hi, I am forty one years old and I had my tonsils removed one week ago today.I am doing fine not much pain nothing compared to what I suffer when I get a bad tonsillities.I was really tired and slept a lot for the first three or four days you really need to rest up , I tried to eat as normal as I could .I think the secret is to chew plenty of gum and I ate packets of silvermints,keep your mouth moist and drink plenty of water so far it has not being a very bad experience... I suppose everybody is different but at my age I was a bit worried.

xxxBrookexxx

Hi everyone, you have probably read my previous post. I had a Tonsillectomey in November 2009, ( 5 months ago!! ) and last week my throat seemed quite sore. It felt the way it did when I used to get tonsillitis, I went to my GP last Thursday, and when he looked down my throat he explained that my left tonsill had regenerated itself, and that I had in fact got "TONSILLITIS". I couldn't believe it, I knew there was a chance of tonsills growing back, but I didn't think it could happen so fast. The tonsill that has regrown is smaller than it was before it was removed the first time, but I can't believe I have tonsillitis AGAIN !! I thought I was finished with all that!! I am just wondering if anyone else on hear has had their tonsills grow back, or am I just very unlucky

Kind Regards.

xxxBrookexxx

Shlippery

Just want to say, this is the most depressing thread ever :eek: and has me in no way looking forward to the next few days!!
I'm a 19 year old dude who got em out yesterday in the regional in galway! Also got a sub mucosal diathermy thing too, somethin to my nose, i dunno, cos i used to get chronic rhinitis, the op means my nose is pretty much blocked for a while and i can't blow my nose for a while which is incredibly irritating on top of the lack of tonsils

However, i woke up grand , didn't even notice my tonsils were gone or anything, weird experience really being under the aneasthetic, strange sensation really, later that night was able to drink tea and toast no problem, slept perfect, didn't need meds or anything, took a panadol this morn for the sake of it, had more breakfast...spent the day at home and ready to go to bed now!!...

I've some difene in the house for when the real pain starts, but for now its jus paracetemols to keep me goin...really really not looking forward to the next few days though judging by this thread. . ...fingers crossed it ain't too bad!

Blisterman

Reading this thread, you'd think it was worse than getting kicked in the nuts while giving birth standing on a rusty nail im bare feet.

Honestly its not that bad. It's sore, but if you keep to the painkillers you'll get by.

Shlippery

Ha, cheers, I'm hopin to stick it out, although the whole test of pain tolerance sounds like it's gonna be torturous but ya,a lthough the post before mine is a real pain...THEY GREW BACK?

On some forum I read somewhere that some woman said she'd rather give birth again 8 times than go through the pain she suffered! Why must people exaggerate!! Jebus..


EDIT: Quick update for anyone that may care about this, day 4 now, still no real major pain yet, woke up to horrible cough and discomfort, but one difene sorted that and back to sleep i went! So far so good..the internet is very exaggerative..

xxxBrookexxx

Hi The Red Leper,

That's great that you arn't in too much pain, I found that my pain peeked on day 6, but I never found the pain unbearable. Before I had my tonsillectomy I was petrafied after reading some of the posts, but it wasnt at all as bad as I had anticipated! I got over it all quite quickley,as you have read in my previous post that one of mine have unfortunatley grown back! Try not to worry about this as it is EXTREMELY rare, I am just unfortunate. I found the experience not to be that bad at all, and If I needed to have mine out again, I would. Hope the rest of your recovery goes as well as the first part !!

xxxBrookexxx

Shlippery

xxxBrookexxx wrote: »

Hi The Red Leper,

That's great that you arn't in too much pain, I found that my pain peeked on day 6, but I never found the pain unbearable. Before I had my tonsillectomy I was petrafied after reading some of the posts, but it wasnt at all as bad as I had anticipated! I got over it all quite quickley,as you have read in my previous post that one of mine have unfortunatley grown back! Try not to worry about this as it is EXTREMELY rare, I am just unfortunate. I found the experience not to be that bad at all, and If I needed to have mine out again, I would. Hope the rest of your recovery goes as well as the first part !!

xxxBrookexxx

Happy Days!!

Just annoying missing out on this lovely hot weather by being stuck inside!! Think I'll give into my temptation and go for a rebellious drive around in circles later. Fingers crossed I don't get infected and die.

xxxBrookexxx

(The Red Lepper)

Fair play to you having the energy after 4 days post op, I ended up back in A&E on day 4 because of dehydration etc.. lol All I done was sleep, that anasthetic takes alot out of ye I think, anasthetics are mad though arn't they lol! My biggest fear of having my tonsills out was the thoughts of the anasthetic but I think they are great you have the best sleep ever !!! ha ha It is horrible being stuck in you get cabin feever ha! keep me updated on how you are getting on

xxxBrookexxx

Shlippery

I think it's strange though how everyones different, I don't doubt that the scabs'll hurt when they start. But, my sis got hers out last year, she was younger than me and she nearly died with pain etc. Whereas they're havin the opposite effect on me..i'm restless, hoppin round the place!! Only had one difene so far, didn't feel the need for anymore..!! No real problems sleeping at night, bar this morn when i was woken up by a nasty cough, but i had a lil flu pre-op so its probably that acting up. It's like there's a build up of phlegm in my throat I wanna cough up/clear but not too sure, don't wanna risk damagin the wound or anything! Overall, the only thing thats annoying me is my nose, as the doc performed a sub mucosal diathermy at the same time of takin out tonsils, which burned a layer of the skin on one side or somethin to clear my nose up, but that has to get worse before it'll get better. So i'm kinda left with a permanently stuffy nose which is wrecking my head and distracting me completely from the tonsils!

xxxBrookexxx

The Red Leper wrote: »

I think it's strange though how everyones different, I don't doubt that the scabs'll hurt when they start. But, my sis got hers out last year, she was younger than me and she nearly died with pain etc. Whereas they're havin the opposite effect on me..i'm restless, hoppin round the place!! Only had one difene so far, didn't feel the need for anymore..!! No real problems sleeping at night, bar this morn when i was woken up by a nasty cough, but i had a lil flu pre-op so its probably that acting up. It's like there's a build up of phlegm in my throat I wanna cough up/clear but not too sure, don't wanna risk damagin the wound or anything! Overall, the only thing thats annoying me is my nose, as the doc performed a sub mucosal diathermy at the same time of takin out tonsils, which burned a layer of the skin on one side or somethin to clear my nose up, but that has to get worse before it'll get better. So i'm kinda left with a permanently stuffy nose which is wrecking my head and distracting me completely from the tonsils!

Yeah I had the cough too, but I think It's from the breathing tube they put in while you have the anasthetic! Try not to do too much because it could hit you like a tun of bricks, and then you will regret not resting! just make sure you drink lots, (that was my downfall) that lead me to a&e :S

Blisterman

Stay well away from fruit juice. Acidy... Ouch.

Shlippery

Blisterman wrote: »

Stay well away from fruit juice. Acidy... Ouch.

Will do! I'd love a bowl of weetabix, but I read somewhere to avoid dairy stuff? I'm reading so much crap i'm just confusing myself at this stage!!

Think it'd be ok to down a bowl of them? :P

xxxBrookexxx

The Red Leper wrote: »

Will do! I'd love a bowl of weetabix, but I read somewhere to avoid dairy stuff? I'm reading so much crap i'm just confusing myself at this stage!!

Think it'd be ok to down a bowl of them? :P

I ate wheetabix but it stung my throat, try reddy break aswell, avoid eating stuff with sauce too, I remember I ate beans and they made my throat sting so bad !!

Blisterman

I've heard milk coats your throat and allows bacteria to grow.

Not sure how true that is, but I decided not to risk it.

Shlippery

My saga continues........

The perfect recovery is a myth! :P

What started out a glorious average pain free day, decided to take a turn for the worst on Monday afternoon!

Got up early, popped a few panadols, watched lost, went for a drive, did other stuff, went for a nap.

Two hours later. Woke up to the trickle of blood. Puked up roughly a pint of blood en route to hospital. A pretty sight.

Hello 48 hours in hospital on drips and the likes!

Right tonsil bled. Fun and frolics ensued, but I'm grand again, just rather pissed off that everything was going so sweetly! No surgery or anything required and it sort of healed itself. Only thing they did was load me up on lots of mystery IV stuff, antibiotics etc., and made me fast for the first night which was absolute torture.

I'm just home now, on day 6 or 7, not sure, whatever, op was last Thursday. Pain kicked in like a bitch for the first time since the op at 5am, so I'm guessing that's the beginning of the healing process! However, Difene is a miracle worker.

Either way, although I was one of the unlucky low percentage to bleed, overall it wasn't worth stressing about too much! I guess I deserved it for being so cocky bout how perfect everything was! :P

xxxBrookexxx

The Red Leper wrote: »

My saga continues........

The perfect recovery is a myth! :P

What started out a glorious average pain free day, decided to take a turn for the worst on Monday afternoon!

Got up early, popped a few panadols, watched lost, went for a drive, did other stuff, went for a nap.

Two hours later. Woke up to the trickle of blood. Puked up roughly a pint of blood en route to hospital. A pretty sight.

Hello 48 hours in hospital on drips and the likes!

Right tonsil bled. Fun and frolics ensued, but I'm grand again, just rather pissed off that everything was going so sweetly! No surgery or anything required and it sort of healed itself. Only thing they did was load me up on lots of mystery IV stuff, antibiotics etc., and made me fast for the first night which was absolute torture.

I'm just home now, on day 6 or 7, not sure, whatever, op was last Thursday. Pain kicked in like a bitch for the first time since the op at 5am, so I'm guessing that's the beginning of the healing process! However, Difene is a miracle worker.

Either way, although I was one of the unlucky low percentage to bleed, overall it wasn't worth stressing about too much! I guess I deserved it for being so cocky bout how perfect everything was! :P

Aw NO!! poor you I told you to be carfull because if you do too much it will hit you like a tun of pricks! The pain is really sore when it is at it's peak but then it begins to get better from then on , hopefully you will be on the road to recovery now, my set back was day 4 when I ended up back in hospital, and pain was at it's worst on day 6, I also got an infection, but antibiotics sorted that! try not to do much, and just let your body heal! Good Luck, and let me know how you are doing .x.x..x..

jenga-jen

While I'm sorry to hear some of you have been having problems afterwards, I'm so relieved I'm not the only one!

I woke up on the 13th May after the op with the usual sore throat and some happy morphine feelngs. I was sore but by no means unbearable and was let go home the following morning as planned (Friday)

Sunday - bleeding, just a little but enough (ie more than none) to warrant a trip to A&E and 48hrs observation. No more bleeds and on Tuesday was told I'd be discharged. Waiting for the paperwork to get signed and..... another bleed.

24hrs observation again and the following morning, Wednesday, I bled again. Still not a huge amount and the hydrogen peroxide gargle and ice water stopped it. Hour later it bled, more this time and I had to go down to be re-cauterised. Joy! And they cauterised a bit of my 2 lips by accident as well :rolleyes:

Thursday morning and after much lolling from the ENT team at me being 'a bit unusual' I got sent home.

Saturday (day 8) another bleed and another 24hrs on a trolley in A&E on a drip.

Thankfully it's day 15 now and it all seems to have calmed down, just some pain lingering.

I just keep telling myself that these few weeks are worth it in place of the months i was losing to the tonsillitis!!

Shlippery

So i'm exactly one week behind you so jenga-jen, I got mine out on thurs the 20th..and mine bled on the monday! so similar enough with the 48hrs observation! cept I was fortunate enough to stop bleeding the first time! Also had the trolley in a&e experience which was so much fun. ...I loved when I was getting discharged after the 2 days, and the whole ENT team jus filled into my room, there was like millions of them..just kinda funny how so many needed to come in! Anyways, day 8 for me and i'm grand, no pain or anything, still haven't taken any tablets today, I only get pain if i move my tongue in a certain way! and lookin in the mirror my throat looks clear enough, aside from a tiny bitta yellow stuff still on my uvula!

friendface

I'm 22 and had my tonsils out on Monday 21st June. Everything was going surprisingly well up until lastnight - I knew the recovery was too good to be true. Anyway, lastnight (Thursday) I started bleeding slightly from the tonsil wounds. I spat up some fresh blood so decided it was best to go back to the hospital. It was about 11pm when I arrived at the hospital and I wasn't seen by a doctor til 2am by which stage the bleeding had stopped. The doctor examined me and noticed a blood clot had formed in the back of my throat on one side. This morning, it was decided that they would take me in to the ENT clinic to remove the clot. When I went down to the clinic though, the head ENT surgeon just sent me back up to the ward. Anway, since then, I've been on painkillers and a hydrogen peroxide mouth rinse.

That hydrogen peroxide stuff seems lethal though. I just gargled it for a few seconds just now and the clot in my throat broke up nearly immediately. Caused me to get sick though which was not a nice experience. I think I had quite a large blood clot, most of which is not removed. Can still feel something in te back of my throat though but I'm afraid to even look at it in case I start bleeding heavily. Have to use the peroxide rinse gain in the morning, not looking forward to that

scars22

I had mine out when I was 21! Not as painful as I imagined but still pretty painful! take all the meds they can give u! also u need to eat hard things so that it cleans your throat! they forced me to eat snacks and hard food to stop infection but i was in a dingy country hospital that shall not be named!!