Tonsillectomy in adults - question about recovery....

xxxBrookexxx · 17-07-2009 10:51pm

deisemum wrote: »

It was about a week after I had mine out that the pain peaked and lasted 2 or 3 days. It was worse than childbirth without any pain relief.

Just be careful with alcohol, I went on the drink about 6 weeks after having them out and I ended up bleeding from the wounds. Doctor said the lining hadn't fully mended and the alcohol aggavated my throat and I ended up with an awful sore throat.

When can ya drink? I have something on with college 3 weeks after i get mine out.... should i not touch a drink??

Blisterman · 20-07-2009 11:13pm

Day 11
Pain has stayed about the same level as friday for the last few days. Still quite sore to eat. I ate a curry on saturday. Bad idea. Even though it was a mild curry, my throat felt like it was on fire. Might have to wait a few weeks for another Vindaloo.
On the plus side, my head's been feeling a bit clearer, so I don't feel like I've just smoked a load of crappy hash. Rather than taking the painkillers at regular intervals like before, 4 or 5 at a time, I've been waiting until I feel some pain coming on, and then only taking one or two. Rather than 19 assorted pills a day, I'm down to about 12.
The back of my throat, where my tonsils were, is still covered in a kind of white crust. Anyone know what they look like after that, so I know that I'm onto the next stage of recovery?

Weidii · 21-07-2009 12:53am

Hey, I just had mine out over a month ago (I'm 22) and I'm fully recovered now. Blisterman, the white basically just starts to disappear and eventually it'll be totally gone. I found it became quite tickly at this point, so I was coughing a bit with it. It might become a bit raw and sore after that stuff falls off, but don't worry, that means you're near to the end.

pcurls · 21-07-2009 3:51pm

hey i got my tonsils out on the 9th of january and was back in work on the 11th. thats not to say it wasnt the sorest thing in the world cause it was, the first day is grand cause you're still on the morph, then day two is ok, day 3 is the worst day ever, i thought i was gonna pass out, crying and couldnt move! then after that it was just unbearable.

you're in for the worst 2weeks ever. thats not a threat. its just a fact.

Blisterman · 22-07-2009 9:04pm

Day 13
I'm down to 6 painkillers a day, from a high last week of about 19. (I sound like a recovering drug addict here.) And I would have been taking more, if it wouldn't have caused serious liver damage.

Not nearly as much pain eating as before, so I think I'm on the road to recovery.

Worst 2 weeks ever?
Not at all. At times the pain was agonising but 90% of the time the painkillers did their magic, and it felt like a normal sore throat. Worst times were waking up, eating and the couple of times I made the mistake of drinking orange juice.

LegacyUser · 25-07-2009 5:46am

neegie wrote: »

i got my tonsils out last monday, i'm 17. feel ok now except the painkillers dont seem to last long enough but they gave me a mouth rinse that numbs your throat, that helps...
as for smoking, after three days i ran out of will power!! i'm not sure if smoking is slowing my recovery, if anyone has any input on that it'd be helpfull!

you smoking is no good while your healing it will take longer to heal right.i just got mine out last week and trust me it's no pinic.now the mouth rinse that they gave you sounds good right now.try using the patch while your recovery it will help....good luck

Victor · 25-07-2009 6:16am

Unregistered wrote: »

you smoking is no good while your healing it will take longer to heal right.i just got mine out last week and trust me it's no pinic.now the mouth rinse that they gave you sounds good right now.try using the patch while your recovery it will help....good luck

No offence poster, but its normal to put a space after a full stop. If you don't take the time when posting, many people won't bother reading your post. Some people have reading difficulties - you aren't helping.

Blisterman · 27-07-2009 6:28pm

Day 18.
By Saturday, I was off the painkillers altogether, with some mild pain.

No pain at all today, even when eating. So I think I can safely say I'm fully recovered.

After reading all the stories on here, I was pretty nervous before I had it done. I anticipated 2 weeks of being bedridden in constant agony, But it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, and I'm happy to never have to worry about tonsillitis again.

LegacyUser · 31-07-2009 12:32pm

Hey everybody,I have red through the majority of the posts, I had mine out monday and im on my 4th day of recovery . To be honest its been awful, not only pain wise put im suffering with extreme nausea

.. day and night.. My stomach is in a complete mess.. I thought it was due to the painkillers, Difene and solphodol, but iv cut them out and still no improvement.. Just keep like cryin

cant sleep.. cant do anything without that constant feeling of a very upset stomach .. Did anyone else experience this? and how long does it last?.. Pain is bad but its bareable. just down in the dumps..My surgeon said that my op went excellent, and i was delighted to hear. Its a hard recovery

LegacyUser · 03-08-2009 3:46am

I had my tonsils removed on July 31st 2009, at half 8 the nurse came to get me and told me i had to take a difine suppositery before surgery so i did, i got a general anesthetic at 9.30 and they woke me in the recovery room at 10.30. My mouth was very very dry so I found it difficult to breath, a nurse gave me a long stick with a sponge on top to suck on like a lolly pop it tasted like a very bitter lemon which burned my throat when i swallowed it. My tongue feels swollen and it also has pins and needles feel in the tip of it.

I slept all day in the ward, only awaking when the nurses (who were so good to me) wanted to check my vital signs. This was every half an hour or so. At 3pm the surgeon came around and told me that when I eat something I can go home. 4o'clock i got 4 slices of toast and when I looked at them I got sick.. 5o'clock i had a yoghurt, i was very weak so the nurse had to bring me to the toilet, i felt as if i had motion sickness and i got sick again. I had a bad reaction to the general anisthetic so they kept giving me nausea medicine thru my iv drip.

6o'clock they told me I could go home, i was still very very sleepy and hadnt really eaten anything all day. When I got home it was straight to bed and i didnt wake til the following morning. That morning I had a glass of water and 2 tabs (very sore to swallow) I went back to sleep til 5pm that night and when I woke i felt a lot better, so i ate 2 bananas, a few strawberries, 2 yoghurts and even a small bar of chocolate. I really tot i was on the mend. Later that night I had a bowl of Special K, because the nurse said it would be good for my throat. FOOD DOES NOT TASTE THE SAME

Went to bed Saturday night and awoke Sunday morning in excreuting pain, I couldnt talk, drink, swallow (even though the day before I was doing brilliant) All day i drank sips of water and took my meds, slept most of the day but i did make myself eat a full slice of toast and 2 bananas.

I had a look down my throat and it looks awful where my tonsils used to be is covered in white goo (dont know how else to describe it) and behind that and down my throat is all black. I am coughing up phlem quite often which has a lot of black in it (not sure if this is dry blood or tar because i am a smoker)

Well this is all i have to report so far, hopefully i will get better very soon becasue I dont think I can handle this much longer, i think i wud rather have my tonsilitis every month instead of going thru this. But il let you know how I am doin over the next few days!!

LegacyUser · 10-08-2009 8:12pm

I had my tonsils taken out also its already been a week .. im 16 , after the first day it hurt really bad. I couldnt eat anything except soup for a week . so far its still painful but I hope it gets better soon. Its true what they say about eating ice cream or anything else dairy , it builds up mucus in the back of ur throat which kills to swallow .
Thank God its already been a week .
I cant wait to finally eat again , I've already lost 6 pound , I now weigh 126

LegacyUser · 14-08-2009 9:46pm

Hi all,

just wondering if you could give me some advice.

Been suffering with my tonsils for a few years now aft being in a bad car crash, just seemed to come on overnight, went to see consultant and was put on the waiting list to get them out, that took 3 years, had to cancel the 1st op due to other commitments and when i got the 2nd app they cancelled on me the night before. I have since taken my name off the list due to work commitments and college (for work) and being absolutely petrified i mean petrified do not like the thought of being put asleep.

my doctor laughed at me when i suggested laser tonsil removal as recovery process is not as long and no going asleep, cant seem to find anything on it here in ireland and am wondering if any of you have heard anything about it??

When i do get a tonsillitis, it is not sore or painful to eat my tonsils just swell up and get white spots all over them, they are quite big but it does not give me any pain more like a dry mouth and i seem to need to swallow more. have been having recurring bouts of it now since may and normally winter is my worst time,

any advice greatly appreciated....

LegacyUser · 23-08-2009 11:58pm

I just had mine out about 6 days ago.
This has been the most horrible experience of my life.

I have had four children without pain medicine and you know what? I'd rather have 8 more the same way than this.

I had a sever infection to start with, so that in itself made it dificult.
I left work early on a Thursday afternoon feeling really crappy, my throat was sp sore, felt like there was a nail protruding and each swallow and time I tried to talk it felt as though it were going to tear right through.
So, I went into the ER to see what they could do for me. The nurse did the usual swab of my tonsils (I hate that). The Dr. came in and I guess knew it all cos he said I had strep and he knew what it looked like and put her on these antibiotics and send her home.
He didnt even do the swab test the nurse had taken.

I went home and told my husband, took the medicine and layed down.
Friday evening I was feeling worse, but we held out thinking the Dr was right and I just needed to let the medicines take effect.

Saturday we drove our son to meet up with his Mom and they could have there weekend visit. On the way back I was hurting so much worse that my husband decided to pull into another hospital for a look. After they checked me in and did teh swab (again) they also ran a CT scan to make sure there wasn't a cyst or growth or anything behind the tonsils.
They didn't see anything, they gave yet another prescription for pain killers and a different antibiotic. By Monday I want to die. It has spread from the left side of my throat to both, I am so swollen and hurt so bad that I can't swallow water. I have not eaten in 5 days now.

We were house sitting for my husbands parents so, when we leave there my husband calls the referal Dr. that the hospital listed for us. He explains to the nurse how desperately I need help and they get me in that day. Within the hour actually!!! I highly recomend this Dr. by the way. Dr. Robert Butler ENT Austin,Tx.

We get to his office and wait for some time. Once we get to the back my husband and younger daughter do all the talking for me since I can't at all. The Dr. puts the q-tip with numbing stuff on it against my tonsil so he can inject a painkiller so he can try to withdraw some of the pus etc. It doesn't work, It leaves me sweating and shaking in pain and tears.

He sends us directly to the hospital across the street, has me admitted and instructathem to run another Ct and get me prepared for the pending surgury.
I am unable to breath laying down on my back because of the swelling so the CT has to be postponed for the next day as well as the surgury.mpt to get me somewhat comfortable and to reduce the swelling enough to perform the CT. Much less the surgury.
They pump antiobiotics, pain medications and steroids into me in an atempt to bring down the swelling, some of the infection and pain for the surgury.

Ok, now we go in for surgury. I am TERRIFIED!!!! I have never had a surgury like this before.
My husband can't come with me.
The anesthesiologist gives me what calls a valuum cocktail, then gives me the rest of the medicines needed to knock me out.

I wake up in the recovery room in massive pain. The nurse up there wasn't very nice. I was in so much pain and asked her for something stronger, she said I'm not giving you anything more than morphiene. My DR. had it set up for me to take dalodid (I know I am spelling that wrong) It's much stronger than morphiene, and with the pain I was in I needed it.
Well, she was very rude and wouldn't give it to me. Non the less, I get down to my room finally and they give it to me, nothing will take all of the pain away but this is closer at least.

Now here are some things I found strange about the medications etc.
The steroid-whenever the injected it into my IV it burned like fire, it burned my vagina and my tongue and my underarms and my nose and eyes. The nurse said this was normal. It caused blisters on these same areas which my nurse also said was normal.

So, my surgury was Tuesday evening, I was released from the hospital on thueday afternoon.
I don't feel I was ready to go home.
For one thing I still have not really been able to eat. I can injest a small amount (maybe 2-4 tbsp) of soup ot broth before the pain is so intense that I have to stop trying.
So its been about 10 days since I have actually eaten. My body is sooooo weeeeeek. But no matter how hard I try I can't eat. It has been hell to just swallow water. I'm sure I am dehydrated to a degree and I am getting weaker so I guess if I dont eat soon its gonna get worse.

I take the full dose of Lortab, wait for it to kick in. Then heat up some soup. I can get maybe a bite or two in before the pain returns. I dont know what to do anymore.
I am so weak, I can barely open the Lortab bottle.

My husband is calling the Dr. in the morning to schedule the follow up appt and ask him about nutrician since the hospital didnt add any nutrients to my IV or anything.

I would like to know if anyone else experience these "sores" or "blisters" whatever they are in those areas after the surgury as well. They are painful and annoying.

Ill add more if more information arrises.

LegacyUser · 28-08-2009 5:33am

Hi,
I am a 34 year old woman and I just had mine out on the 18th. It has been sheer HELL.
I still can't eat solid foods, and the medications they give you (especially the antibiotics) taste like you are swallowing a liquified dead animal found on the side of the road after about a week in 3 didget temperatures.

Aside from that I found the greatest things you can do to help yourself heal and get your strength back up. If you, like me had an ongoing infection for some time before your surgery, you couldn't eat befpre it either.

I found that baby food is better than almost any thing else you can buy because it is natural and contains NONE of those seasonings that WILL feel like you are injestin BATTERY ACID.

Another thing that has become my BEST friens is Cepacol. It comes in this little sprayer, and its not the greatest tasting thing on earth, tho a far cry from the other stuff.

And my wonderful Gramma gave me a container of " Alive" Whole food energizer shakes.
Another thing is as tempting as it is DO NOT use straws.

I have good days and I have bad days. Today has been a bad one. But all in all I am finally starting to heal.
Anyone have any other advice or questions as to where to get any of this stuff I can be emailed at tess_fuery@yahoo.com
Just make sure you put the subject line from this in the subject line of your email cos I erase anything that looks like spam.

Thanks all, Hope you all heal quickly,
Tess

LegacyUser · 17-09-2009 6:41pm

Some of these stories sound terrrible! Im 20 and had my tonsils out 1 week ago today. I didn't read many of the horror stories before-hand as quite frankly I preferred not to know the worst case scenario. Im more than glad im only visiting such sites as this now and I can tell anyone thats considering getting their tonsils out that they really should not worry! U go under the anesthetic so don't feel a thing...when I woke up I was was still heavily medicated so pain was minimal, i was in the recovery room for probably about 30mins and then I went back to my room in the clinic...I could drink water no problem in the recovery room and had two slices of toast and a cup of tea when I returned to my room, an hour later I was able to eat a plate of chips with brown sauce, tomato soup and two more slices of toast, followed by some ice-cream! Although i do think the secret to my painless experience was these tablets called arnica..I was taking them for about two months before my operation and am still continuing to take them as recommended by my reflexologist. The past week has not been completely painless but its definitely bearable, I'm a bit sore in the mornings, my jaw does be very tense and the mucus tissue that grows over the back of my mouth where the tonsils existed leaves a horrible stale taste in my mouth, needless-to-say quite bad breath... but on the whole I'm managing very well provided I have my painkillers every 6 hours, I can eat all the foods I'd normally eat: curry, steak and ale pie, even salt and vinegar crisps and Im going back to work tomorrow! I would thoroughly recommend arnica tablets to anyone going in for this operation and any operation in fact, obviously everyone is different; their circumstances and pain threshold but these tablets should definitely help.

xxxBrookexxx · 23-09-2009 7:41pm

OMG I was supposed to go to hospital today and have my tonsills out tomorrow, but I woke up this morning sick with a cole, sore troat, swollen gland the lot.. and my surgery was cancelled!!! I'm freaked, because I had myself all prepared, although I was terrified aboutr the anasthetic.. i was rescheduled till November.. I just wish I could have had it over and done with!!

Pretty_Pistol · 23-09-2009 7:59pm

I (early 20's) got my tonsils out a year or so ago. I think my biggest amount of pain came in a few days after the operation. I think the anaesthetic and whatever drug they used, begins with an M, were beginning to wear off. Anyway I just remember lying in bed and the worst part was a severe pain in my jaw.

Was it worth it? I'm not sure. In my case I seem to be getting sore throats again. And I've noticed that where my tonsils used to be bits of food/phelgm gets stuck and I have to hawk it up. Anyone else have this happening?

mariebeth · 26-09-2009 9:36am

I'm 25 and just got mine out on Thursday. So far, it hasn't been too bad, I'm in pain, but it's fairly manageable with the painkillers thank God. Actually I had the worst pain so far this morning when I woke up. I was left home yesterday morning after force feeding myself a slice of toast, otherwise the doctor would have made me stay in until I ate something and that just wasn't an option for me - it's much nicer to be at home healing in my own bed. I'd been told that the pain gets really bad between 6-10 days, hopefully though it won't get too bad. I'm off work sick for the next two weeks, and then I'm going to Disneyland Paris on October 7th so hopefully I'll be fully recovered by then!

blondiexox · 26-09-2009 3:59pm

I had my tonsils out about 6 months ago, I was 19 at the time. It was a horrible experience!

The pain wasn't too bad but about 15 days after the surgery I was at a friends house and felt very sick and a weird feeling in my throat so drove home. I wasn't sure what was wrong until I got home and vomited and it was all blood. After i got sick my scars must have opened because it was like someone turned on a tap in my throat and I couldn't stop the blood.

My poor mam nearly had a heart attack! She rang an ambulance for me anyways and at that stage I was lying on the bathroom in a cold sweat trying not to pass out. It was probably the worst feeling of my life!

I couldn't stand because I was so weak so had to be put on one of those stretcher things and carried to the ambulance. I think they put a drip in my arm with saline (not sure). They wanted to bring me to Waterford hospital but I had my tonsils out in Whitfield Clinic so I was brought there. It was about 12 at night and the doctor that did my surgery met me there and I stayed for two days. Thats a great hospital I have to say.

After I was alright again they said I lost alot of blood but I would be fine. After that whole ordeal I felt perfect again. Havn't been sick since then which is amazing! I used to be out of school for a week every few months with tonsilitus.

So even though my tonsils bled and I had one horrible night, it was definitely worth it!!

mariebeth · 29-09-2009 10:13am

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

eskimo · 30-09-2009 2:21am

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 · 01-10-2009 2:27am

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 · 01-10-2009 8:39pm

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 · 01-10-2009 8:46pm

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 · 25-10-2009 8:00am

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 · 25-10-2009 5:10pm

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 · 20-11-2009 1:21pm

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 · 24-11-2009 6:38pm

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 · 07-01-2010 9:56am

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 · 13-02-2010 7:29am

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 · 26-03-2010 7:03pm

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 · 20-04-2010 12:48am

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 · 22-05-2010 12:19am

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 · 22-05-2010 1:46am

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 · 22-05-2010 1:50am

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 · 23-05-2010 7:23pm

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 · 23-05-2010 7:51pm

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 · 23-05-2010 7:59pm

(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 · 23-05-2010 8:32pm

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 · 23-05-2010 9:32pm

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 · 23-05-2010 10:16pm

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

Shlippery · 23-05-2010 10:20pm

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 · 24-05-2010 12:05am

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 · 24-05-2010 12:29am

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 · 26-05-2010 12:17pm

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 · 28-05-2010 1:12am

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 · 28-05-2010 2:28pm

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 · 28-05-2010 3:00pm

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 · 25-06-2010 11:36pm

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 · 26-06-2010 2:05am

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!!

Tonsillectomy in adults - question about recovery....

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