How To: Quickly Recover from a Tonsillectomy as an Adult
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I had my tonsils removed Tuesday. Today, I’m mostly up and around (but still not handling computer work because mucking with live databases and codeine do NOT mix.) and active. Sure, I’m not talking much, but I’m also not in crippling pain. Not bad for four days after a major surgery…
First off: Yes, tough guy, you need your mother or girlfriend to come take care of you for at least the first week after the surgery. There’s no driving yourself home after this one. In fact, the hospital won’t even let you. I definitely needed the wheelchair to get out of the recovery room.
Ice. Lots of ice.
Make sure your icemaker is full and your ice trays have frozen over before you leave for the hospital. You’ll want all the ice you can get, and then some.
The biggest single thing that we did right when I came home from the hospital was to get ice on the outside of my neck right away, and to keep it there for 48 hours in a pretty constant stream. This managed the swelling (and therefore the damage) that was done to the tissue throughout my neck. You’ll want to put ice packs around your entire neck, not just on the outside of where the surgery was done; the surgery will make the back of your neck sore as well… and you really don’t need any more pain.
I sucked on ice chips in a constant stream for the first four days. The few times that I tried to push it and consume somewhat solid food (chicken broth, yogurt, or mashed potatoes) were unfortunate experiences.
Drink until your eyeballs float.
They tell you this over and over again, but let me reiterate it — get the coldest non-acidic liquid drinks that you can get, and pour them down your throat in a constant stream. No straws. I like cold gatorade the best. You should drink about 16 ounces of clear liquid an hour. Fruit juice was too acidic for me and burnt m throat. Ensure worked great as a coating, especially when I needed to take medicines.
Don’t sleep.
The most important thing right off the bat for me was not sleeping. Mom let me sleep for an hour at the most. You need to stay hydrated as your first priority. If you sleep, you can’t stay ahead of the swelling and you’ll get hurt worse.
Don’t skip doses of painkiller.
If you accidentally sleep through a dose, you’ll be in a major amount of pain. Don’t do it. Stay hydrated, stay awake as much as you can, and take all of your medications at the right times.
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Ashley; I believe the procedure was the regular ol scapel and cut method. But, I called my Drs. office a few days before I had the procedure done, and asked what exactly the procedure was he uses, and if it was coblation, they said it was very similar to that. By no means is it a piece of cake. But the horror stories really scared me. I know this is only day two…but I’m praying it doesn’t take a turn on me for the worst. Best of luck to you Ashley.
Thanks Lisa. Hope all goes well for you too! I’m so nervous about the whole thing. I just want it to heal ok and no bleeding. I wish I could just go now and get it over with, but the earliest date was Oct 1st. Sorry I said Oct 30 (Wishful thinking)! Let me know how you make out.
ok tomorrow is the big day!!
have to be at the hospital at 5:45, yikes.
i’ll keep everyone posted and look forward to hearing from those going through this at the same time!!
Hi All!
I’m the new girl that has been officially been dying slow exactly 7 days now! Im gonna give you guys a mini breakdown of my experience of after surgery.. now with some things i may seem to be exaggerating but trust me its true!
Day 1 and 2: painful but bearable, lots of sleep and took my meds like clockwork.
Day 3 and 4: started getting really painful,trying to drink but my ears and throat felt like razors. Nausea began
Day 5: I woke up to throwing up 4 times..needless to say my throat was inside out…everything hurt all day long…my ear felt like knives were hanging from both ears especially the left ear. i think this was the absolutely worst day!
yesterday: was pretty bad too! i went to the doctors and cried my eyes out constantly, i just feel like my recovery is taking way longer than normal..i mean im 21 yrs old arent i suppose to bounce bak quickly?? im in college and missing weeks of school for this terrible experience. I almost feel like i was better off with my constant swollen tonsils. Please someone help me to see the light at the end of the tunnel! oh yeah and to top it off today was my best friends 21 st birthday, guess where i spent it? ding ding ding ! at home dying slowly! :_( omg im miserable
oh yeah i forgot an important part…i got septal recontruction also..which means they shaved the middle bone part of my nose! Well that meant that my nose was bleeding heavily for the first 3 or 4 days, its sensitive to touch and has a huge annoyed scab in it. So i feel like i cant breathe from my nose or mouth! terrible terrible experience for me !
ok it has been a week for me since i had the dang things removed and i have to say today was the worst i have felt so far i had my check up and dr said all looks good but i dont feel good
i told him i have this pressure on my ears and i feel like my head is gonna explode eh said it is normal due to the removal of the tonsils he told me to suck on throat lozengers which is a temp fix
here it is 11:21 at night and i am so tired but i cant sleep due to the pain i am still not taking my pain meds but i will try some ibuprophen tonight. i had the work on my nose too so it is still pretty sore but breathing that way is getting easier i had hoped to get back to work on monday but like i seen on here i get tired so fast my 22 month old is wearing me down quickly and with no one to help watch him right now i am out of luck on the resting all day
i hope tomorrow is a better day for me
ill keep you posted
Wow, Max, sorry to hear everything you are going through. In my opinion, your nose is making it even worse for you…that just sounds like it hurts. I’m on my third day after surgery (tonsillectomy) and yes my 1st and 2nd day were better then today. So, they are right…the third day to the fifth you take a turn (call it the storm before the calm I guess). Today it has set in my ears too, and that truly sucks and my throat is so enlarged taking my meds makes me gag. But, from some posts on here, I could be so much worse.
Michelle: You should get someone to help you with your baby…you really do need your rest or it will catch up with you…a friend or family member? Or both…taking turns. I can’t imagine going through this and having a baby to take care of. My thoughts are with all of you, in one way or another we are all in the same boat and just talking to all of you helps somewhat – misery loves company
WOW – God bless all of you here. I was just told today that I need to have my tonsils out and I did a google search which brought me here. Can I just tell you that I am like Murphy’s Law….. if it can go wrong, it will go wrong to me. I don’t heal well from surgery, I already know this. Am I going to have a rough recovery? I have not scheduled the proceedure yet, and after reading these horror stories I may not!
I am officially scared. I am looking forward to going home and reading Stef’s my space page! (I can’t access it here at work) Will go back to the ENT in a week and see how the ” hashed golf ball” in my throat looks….. You guys are now my new friends and I hope the best for you all!!
I’m 24yrs old about 4 hrs post-op…This was not even close to as bad as I thought. I refused the pain meds and opted for the childrens motrin instead. They prescribed an antiboitic and steriods and I will follow the inst. to the T. I brought a hudmifier from Roses for $15, and keep a cup of ice water beside me(your urine should be clear to pale yellow) I’m eating Italian ice (pops, not in the cup), I have some cherry chloraseptic spray (seems to help a little). I have some Boost w/protein meal replacement drinks(walmart) in the fridge I’m prepared to eat/drink them for 3 days, but I’ll see how I’m doing. It is uncomfortable to swollow *TIP OF THE YEAR…Bite down on all your teeth and press your tounge into your roof when you do and it hurts less(idk why but it does)! I took 5 days off work, hope I dont need more. I thank God I was able to finally get this done, I look forward to the great end results. Get it done you wont regret it. for now I’m am about to watch movies and study for a couple of days. I pray that everything goes well with all of you, and myself. God Bless
Teresa,
Believe me, I was thinking the exact same way you are now before my surgery! But honestly, it wasn’t that bad! Stay optimistic about it
I am about to update my Myspace page with a sort of “summary” of the whole ordeal. So you’ll have lots to read 
I have just read most of the posted and just me me say….OMG. what the “F” have I gotten myself into?! Lemme introduce myself. I am a 35 y/o female that has a 17 mth old and a hubby that works FT so I hear ya, Michelle.
I have to get my tonsils out becuz they are gross and attract all kinds of things with all the holes in them. My last strep attack was in December, but I’ve had tonsillitis, post-nasal drip, chronic, disgusting hacking, stuffy ears, etc., for years. The last straw was when I passed the strep onto my then 9 month old. Also, I have some kind of weird growth directly under my tonsils on the right that I’ve had for over a year and does not hurt a bit.
Naturally, the doc is concerned about the growth and said that removing the tonsils will aleviate it, plus they can check to see if it’s something they need to be concerned about. I’m sure it’s nothing. You see, I am a veteran patient. I’ve had about 12 major surgeries since 2003. Name the pain killer and I’ve been on it. I had a kidney transplant in ’05, then went on to have a child via C-section in ’07. Have occasional migraines. Have had three different surgeries on my arm (last one in May), 5 different abdominal surgeries (C-section was the last one, and I mopped the floors the day I got home) and more ports, IVs, and drains than you can shake a stick at. Yet I get to my pre-Op appointment yesterday and the doc tells me that all that ain’t nada compared to what I will be going through come 9/25. If it wasn’t for the growth (that doesn’t bother me in the least) I WOULD NOT be doing this.
How the hell am I going to care for my kid? Hubby will be around for the 1st 5 days, then just me and my baby. I know all about being on pain medication and the only thing that ever helped was dilauded in all the above cases except the C as I didn’t need it. Unfortunately for me, it only works in IV or IM form. The pills are caca. I will be requesting 2 – 4mg IV right after I start to wake up, but then what? Can’t take Motrin due to the kidney Tx. They just want to give me Roxicet, the liquid painkiller. And Zofran, the best anti-nausea medication, will already be on-board and I’ll have an Rx in hand. My mom is taking care of the baby the first night, and my hubby will be around through Monday, then I’ll be on my own….with a very active toddler. I’m more worried about how I am going to take care of him while being zoned outta my mind. Back in the day I could just lie around to recover….not anymore.
So from what I gather, these are the things I should stock-up on:
-Ice, in crushed form
-Tons of water that I have to drink anyway
-Ensure or Boost
-Broth or crushed up Ramen noodles
-Pops
-Ice bags or frozen peas for the outside of my throat
-Lozenges (cough ones can raise your BP, though)
-Plenty of salt water
-Jello?
-Baby food?
Well at least I can kick-start my diet (haha), but no exercise….boo-hoo.
I don’t drink anything but water and they occasional strawberry smoothie, so I guess I’ll buy some fruit, too. And maybe even a Magic Bullet at WalMart.
And I’ve been under more times than everyone here put together. Do yourself a HUGE favor and stop eating AND drinking waaaay before the procedure – like more than just before midnight. If you must take medicine, only with a sip of water. And request that Zofran be given to you when you speak with anesthesia. PS: This stuff also makes you sleepy.
Well, thanks for listening to my scardy-cat rant. I hope that I can come back here and let you all know that they were just trying to prepare me. Oh God, help us all. Until then….take care and God bless….
greetings yet again all well the weekend is near so my oldest will be able to help with little brother. today was better than yesterday for sure and yes lozengers has helped the pressure a ton but it still is killing me,. i made chicken noodle casarole homemade tonight and it was awesome nice to eat and get full i am not able to handle the milk stuff much yet waater and gatorade are still my choice of drinks i keep a coffe cup the insulated kind next to me full all day
good luck to all those getting ready to have this done ill keep you posted goodnight and sweet dreams
Mev,
Wow…you’ve been through the works. Kudos for making it through! It doesn’t sound like it’s been easy.
The tonsillectomy was my 10th surgery. People thought I was nuts because I had lived through open heart surgery and the removal of one kidney, yet I was scared to death of this. (Uh, hello people, I was a week old for the kidney surgery and I was 2 when I had my heart surgery. I remember bits and pieces of the heart surgery, but not much.) But yeah, I’ve heard that this surgery is the worst because whatever you do, you can’t just stop swallowing! (Oddly enough it wasn’t awful for me. See, you still have hope!)
I agree with you about being careful not to eat or drink. For the surgeries I’ve had as an adult I’ve always pushed it and drank right up until midnight with no problem. However, when I was younger and needed to take some medication with water *right* before surgery, I had some issues. (I actually aspirated some of my stomach contents and got pneumonia. Not fun.) This time I told the anesthesiologist about it all and he gave me some Pepcid through my IV, said that should ward off any problems. (It worked.)
I felt silly because before I’ve literally walked myself into the OR like it was nothing. This time I needed Versed to calm me down. I’m a chicken.
Hi again all. I’m now on my 14th post op day and I’m still so, so TIRED! Is this normal? I can easily sleep 12-13 hours in one go and then I feel tired an hour after waking up? Did any of you experience this? Thanks.
Hi Paula
I am now on day 16 post op. Although the pain has reduced, I still feel very tired and weak. I still keep having dizzy spells. I am due back to work next week and wonder how I am going to get on!
thanks Aarti, I know how you feel, I dread going back as I’ve already been off two weeks! I keep having dizzy spells just like you but also blurred vision, as if I can’t focus on the tv or what I’m reading…. It’s kind of scary. Anyway, good luck to us both and everyone else returning to work!
I am on day 24 and mostly doing really well. First thing in the morning my throat is pretty dry, but as soon as I eat some breakfast I feel loads better. My throat still gets tired at the end of the day if I have to talk a lot at work, but it is never really sore any more.
My only concern is that I am having trouble swallowing. I know this is a common problem, I had just hoped I was going to dodge it. I didn’t have this issue until about day 17 or so (after I had started eating pretty normal foods). Did anyone have it start late like this, and how long did it last? Has anyone permanently had this problem?
Erica,
We must have had our surgeries on the same day
I, too, have experienced this. Certain foods are worse than others. It also depends on how dry my throat is that day, etc. I think it is because like you, I started on solid foods late (after the first 2 weeks).
I’m crossing my fingers that it will go away. My doctor didn’t seem too concerned about it. I think it just takes time. Us “older folks” (ha!) don’t bounce back nearly as quickly as kids do.
Stef, I had my surgery on the 27th of August. My problem is mostly with liquids. If I take more than a tiny sip, half of it tries to go up my nose. I know there is still some swelling and maybe that is the problem, but I almost feel like I can’t shut the right stuff anymore. If that makes sense.
I hope you have a full recovery soon and that everything keeps improving for you!
Erica,
Yeah, I know what you mean. I rarely have *that* problem anymore though, it was really the first few days. Did you have your adenoids removed? I didn’t, so maybe that makes a difference…I don’t know.
I’ve found that I can’t take pills the way I used to anymore. I used to put the water in my mouth, tilt my head back, and drop the pill in. Now if I try to do that the water flows right down my throat (whether I want it to or not) and sort of chokes me. It’s strange.
@Erica
I had my surgery on Aug. 1 & I am still having a problem with liquids going straight up my nose. I’ve been to see 2 different doctors already & they both say this is normal. My recovery time has been a lot longer than most (I still have trouble talking) but so far they say it’s normal. I know how you feel. It can be very discouraging sometimes & I really miss being able to take really big gulps of liquid. I miss carbonated drinks too!! Hang in there!!
Had my surgery yesterday stayed overnight cuz I have mild sleep apnea. That was the best. I mean IV morphine was great and the ice chips at the press of a button was wonderful. So far I’m feeling so sleepy because im trying to stay hydrated and on a medication schedule. I also had my sinuses done so I have to breath out my mouth which gives me the dry throat. Think I will get a humidifier. Doc gave me the benadryl/maalox/lidocaine mixture to swish and swallow and my god it helps between pain doses and soothes the throat from some of the dryness. Started the ice packs on the throat and yes it really helps. Thanks for that advice. I was supposed to have a UPPP as well but was not convinced of the success rate and decided since my tonsils wanted to be kissing cousins I would opt for that instead. Im a OR nurse and have seen this procedure many times and guess what? Doesnt matter. Sometimes too much knoweldge is a bad thing. I’m allergic to vicoden so Im on T3 and its cool. The pain is somewhat bearable and I dont regret the procedure at all. That uvula is getting on my last nerve just hanging out all swollen and red, blocking my throat. Once that sucker shrinks I know I will feel better. Anyway Im rambling and Im sleepy. Thanks for this forum. Its awesome.
OMG – Whatever you do, don’t miss your pain medicine doses. I was doing decently well (I’m on my 5th day) but I slept so long last night(just got up) about 10 hours and missed almost 3 doses of my pain medicine and now I’m in so much friggin pain. And the pain in my ears is terrible. So word of advice is don’t miss your pain medicine and try and sleep propped up because I think laying flat really affects your ears when you do get up. God, I do hope this is worth it in the long run because it sucks to say the least! But, I still stand by…it’s better then what I had anticipated
Well…I did it and I’m day 5 post-op. (Surgery tues a.m.) Honestly, not as bad as I feared but no picnic by any means. Still on meds schedule (setting my alarm)and thinking I’m hanging tough.
Doc just switched antibiotic as I have 100 fever that is making me chilly and feel flu-like- in fact, its worst then the throat, because I get all shaky and upset with fevers. Anyone else have this? They put me on Augmentin which they said will help, but I’ve been pulled off that in the past because it never helped with the throat, so I’m nervous that the fever’s gonna be around for a while.
As for all of you, thanks for the advice! The ice, drinking, gatorade, etc. has all helped!!!!!!! And even so far, I’m not sorry I did it—-not fun, but it only hurts when I swallow (and I can only take Darvocet- I’m allergic to the good stuff!!!) I do think I’m one of the lucky ones though…and prayers for everyone else who’s having a painful recovery (actually for all recoveries)Definitely wishing they would have come out at 5, not 35!!!
To Stef:
I have two kids (5 and 3 also)…my mom has been here all week and my husband has been home after work…I’ll be on my own next week too….sorry no advice, just planning on lots of Elmo’s World!!!!Good luck—I know its making my kids sad to see mommy “sick” so I’m trying to keep that brave face on!!!
Sorry, I meant that last post to be to Mev (who has the little one)…guess these meds are working!!!!
Stef and Amber, thanks for the responses, I guess the healing process is just different for everyone!
wow i fell alseep somewhat last night and today i feel a ton better i dont know what happened but i hoope it keeps up on me feeling better i got to start a new job on moonday so i am looking forward to that. keep up and good luck ill still keep you posted hopefully we dont backslide over night keeping my fingers crossed i dont
Hey all. Day 19 now, still sore. I am still having really bad headaches dizzyness. Anyone else have them too?
Hi Aarti and everybody else. I’m on my 16th post op day and I still have dizzy spells all the time but also blurred vision. Do you have that? A lot of people have told me it’s down to the anaesthetics but only a gp can tell you for sure. I aslo get super tired and kind of moody, Is that just me?
Hey everyone…Doing much better today. I had my surgery 11 days ago. I actually was still doing fine on my 5th day contrary to what the doctor said about it being the worst day. I was actually eating a hamburger and pretty much anything else i wanted, but beware it comes back to haunt you. My 8th day was by far the VERY worst day since I had my surgery. I was no longer taking anything for the pain except for the occasional tylenol. I am now on tylenol with codiene since I had built up a tolerance to the demerol. I have found though that ibuprophen 800 works better than any narcotic pain med I have been on. I also learned the hard way that you still need to continue to drink TONZ of water and this will definitly help down the road when your scabs start to bother you. Also I have stitches in there that I can feel and it is driving me crazy!!! I thought for awhile that I should have just kept the damn things in there because I was in so much pain, but now I have noticed that the achiness I have felt all over my body in the evenings for a very very long time is now gone. Those things must have really been putting some bad stuff in my body?!?!? Well anyway good luck to all. I am eating softer foods again but I do see there is a light at the end of the tunnel after all!!
Hi Paula
Yes I remember you saying about the headaches on the earlier posts. Today has been really bad, like my head is going to rip/explode. It’s a bit like a migraine. Yes, I am also getting very tired and have had emotional outburts. Sounds similar to you. Maybe time will sort it, if not a trip down to the GP maybe due. The problem with that is they make you feel really silly for going and don’t really care.
@All,
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to give an update. It has been 6 weeks since I had my T&A done. The road has been tough. I have had thrush 3 times!
My doc said that was why food did not taste right. Also, thrush can be hard to get rid off and it is very important to finish all the meds. I would stil do it again if i had to. For those of you just getting started, DRINK, DRINK, DRINK, TIL YOUR EYEBALLS FLOAT!Also, if your mouth taste and smells like crap, I mean REALLY BAD
call your doc, you could have a secondary infection that can be easily fixed with a change in antibiotics. If your tongue is white, it is probably thrush. Call your doc for this too. Finally, if it has been a month or so and food still doesn’t taste right, then call your doc. I hope everyone takes it slow. I KNOW THAT IT IS A BITCH AT FIRST! But eventually, it does get better.
Aarti,
I had headaches for about 5-6 days after I stopped taking my pain meds. I think there were two things that caused them. The first thing was that I had to stop my pain meds cold turkey. I was so out of it and so sick to my stomach from my meds that I couldn’t even sip water. I think there were some withdrawal issues that caused some of the trouble. Also, once I stopped taking the pain meds, I was able to eat and sleep a little better. I was only able to sleep on one side with my head tipped back so that I could breathe. I kept waking up with really bad tension pain in my neck which I think was also causing the headaches. I found that really cold or hot washcloths(depending on the day) felt really good on my forehead.
Well, I’ve spent the last 3 hours reading these responses. I am 45 years old and on October 10 I am scheduled to have a tonsillectomy and have my diviated septum repaired. My main complaint is constant sinus infections, but my tonsils become enlarged quite regularly. My ENT says if he’s going to correct my nose, he won’t do it without taking my tonsils, too. I knew it would be pretty bad, after all, I almost died from a kidney infection. I was in bed for two months and and I burned my throat and the roof of my mouth from vomiting so much. It took 3 months for me to be able to eat solid food again, so I thought I could surely make it through the tonsillectomy.
After reading this, I don’t think I can do it. My biggest problem is that I am horribly allergic to Tylenol, and almost every pain medication contains tylenol. I was in a bad accident and had several surgeries, and they never found a pain medication that worked, except a morphine drip in the hospital. I think the pain from the tonsillectomy sounds worse that having my ankle mangled, so how on earth am I going to survive this recovery on Motrin alone?
Can any of you who have been through this say you cpuld do it without the prescription pain medications? This step seems to be heavily emphasized! Also – I am impervious to lidocaine – it has no effect whatsoever.
Sucks to be me.
Theresa: I am on my 6th day after surgery (had mine done last Tues) and I hate how the pain meds make me feel, so beginning today, I am weening myself off of it (Liquid Vicodin w/Codeine – not off the antibiotic though by any means) and I’m starting to take a prescription of 800 mg of Ibuprofin – it is an Anti-inflammatory among other things. If you have a high tolerance to pain this might work for you. First thing I asked my doc when I saw him before surgery is if there was a liquid morphine. I had that after a surgery too and it worked perfectly. But, no such luck in a liquid form
or so he says. I am sucking on a throat lozenger as we speak and it feels good on my throat…just another tip. And, don’t let all these horror stories frighten you, I did too and no doubt…it’s not a picnic but I didn’t experience a lot of the horror story stuff…thank God! Best of Luck To You!
woohoo i feel so much better now i actually slept in my bed last and i woke up feeling refreshed i am still a little sore but nothing i cant handle i am eating full solid food i lend this advice it may hurt but i kept pushing to keep on back tomy solid food faster maybe that was waht helped me out i dunno or the fact that my son keeps me so busy either way i wish you all the best of luck ill stop back in and give an update when i see the doctor for my next check up
I’m on day 6 and the pain is at its worst. I had a tonsillectomy and septoplasty (and decided to use this opportunity to quit smoking, as well!)Everything these accounts have mentioned is true… the scabs, the pain, the sore ears, the swelling, etc. Worst pain EVER!
I have one question, though:
ALL LIQUIDS IMMEDIATELY SHOOT OUT OF MY NOSE EVERY TIME I DRINK ANYTHING!!! I haven’t read anything about that. I even dipped some bread into tomato soup, hoping that would help get the liquids down… THE BREAD CRUMBS CAME OUT OF MY NOSE!!!! Unbelievable. Is this happening to anyone else? If I take medicine, I have to stand over the sink, because it shoots out of my nostrils… Gatorade, water, meds, EVERYTHING! So, I’m becoming dehydrated and thinking about going back to the hospital for an I.V. except my boss won’t let me out of work tomorrow. Help!
Theresa,
First of all, you can do it! Have faith in yourself. Everyone tried to tell me the same thing but I wouldn’t listen to them. I had to prove it to myself. And I did: I was just fine
I did take my pain meds for 10 days, but I think it was mostly unnecessary. (No, this is not a brag or an exaggeration.) Yes it took the edge off and I would have been a lot more miserable without them, but I think I only *really* needed them for 3-5 days. The rest of the time all they did was make me spaced out and sick to my stomach.
The hospital did offer me morphine but I declined. Honestly, the only reason I started taking my vicodin was because I was afraid that I wouldn’t “stay ahead of the pain” if I didn’t. It wasn’t like I was screaming for it or anything
The whole time I spaced out my doses farther than the normal 4 hours (I think I waited 5 hours on a bad day and 8 hours on a good day / when I slept through the night.) The doctor was very surprised and recommended I take it every 4 hours “just in case.” I did for a few doses and then disregarded his advice 
I know it’s scary, but try to stay strong. You CAN do it. Sounds like you’ve lived through hell already! For *me,* it wasn’t nearly as bad as anything you’ve described here.
Alan,
Tell your boss to go…well, use your imagination. You just had surgery and need the time off to rest and recover. Especially if you are having complications! Your health comes first.
I’m on Day 4 after my Tonsillectomy. Day 1 was okay. I was in quite the daze after the surgery from the anesthesia and morphine. Day 2 was horrible, and it’s just getting worse. They gave me codeine which did not even TOUCH the pain. So hubby called for something stronger and they gave me Lortab. It’s working a bit better. I’ve been eating pudding, popsicles, smoothies, and lots of soup. I try to drink ice water but it HURTS. My whole neck and throat area hurts, and my ears are pounding. I would take child birth over this any day. I didn’t think it would be this bad, but yeah it is. So far, it’s not worth it. I just can’t wait till this is over. And I generally tolerate pain pretty well! I can’t wait to eat some real food! I’ve lost 6 lbs so far, so I guess that isn’t a bad thing
Good luck to everyone!
Due to the whopping 840 comments that have been left here in the last year, I created a forum to handle your advice and stories about your own tonsils.
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