Day Before Surgery
Tomorrow is my tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy surgery, I have my ice pack popsicles, mac and cheese, ice chips, fruit drinks, applesauce, cheese rice, chicken broth, baby food, blender and straws ready to go. We picked up all the medicine including liquid hydrocodone (narcotic pain reliever), a tetracaine lollipop (pain reliever), augmentin (antibiotic), and prometh (nausea gel for the wrist).
I'm nervous about the procedure, but I'm also ready to 'guerilla attack' the area with ice, cold water and proper nutrition. It will be interesting to see if my recovery is as horrible as the stories I've read on the web. For someone my age (thirty something), I hear tonsillectomy recovery is a real nightmare. So we'll see!
Day 1 - Surgery Day (Friday)
I got to the hospital at 6:45am and they took me in within a few minutes. My surgery was scheduled at 8:15 so the nurses would have time to prep me and put an IV in. They also put special cuffs on my legs to pump blood back to my heart and keep my blood pressure up during surgery. It was like having a blood pressure cuff on both legs from my ankle to my knee, but the squeezing wasn't as tight as an arm blood pressure cuff.
After I got my IV and hospital "bear paws" gown on (they hook a hose into your gown and it pumps warm air to your body), a couple nurses came in and put a sedative in my IV. I remember feeling a bit loopy, then someone put a gas mask over my mouth and told me to breathe deep. And that's all I remember.
I woke up in the recovery area and felt pretty good. My vision was blurry and my throat felt a bit swollen and full, but it didn't keep me from talking to the nurse. I was in a little pain (4 out of 10), so they gave me some hydrocodone which worked within minutes. They also gave me ice chips to eat and an ice pack for under my chin.
I got up out of the bed within 10 minutes to use the restroom and found that I could walk pretty well, but my vision was still blurry and I was a bit disoriented. Once I returned to the bed, my senses soon came back to normal. I think I was in recovery about an hour. My family came to the recovery room to see me and soon the hospital staff let me go home.
Just before I got home I had some nausea, so I rubbed the prometh gel on my wrist before I got out of the vehicle. By the time I got into the house and settled down, my nausea was gone.
Before my surgery I did some online research that said to keep the tonsil area as moist as possible after surgery, so I started to drink ice water like crazy. Then I put an ice pack underneath my chin towards my neck and left it there. I also put pieces of ice in my mouth and strategically placed it near the back of my throat as far as I could without swallowing it. I did this periodically throughout the day to help reduce swelling. I changed the ice pack from time to time - emptying the melted water and refilling it with ice. The ice pack I've been using is the one the hospital gave me. It doesn't burn my skin if I leave it on too long, so that's been a big help. Usually when I make my own ice pack at home, I can only leave it on for 20 minutes before it literally burns my skin. Oftentimes the burn hurts for days, more so than whatever pain I was trying to cure, so this ice pack is a welcomed healing tool.
I was nervous about eating anything, but I knew that if I didn't eat something, I wouldn't heal as quick. I had my husband put some chicken, banana, broccoli and water in the blender and make me a 'lunch' smoothie. It tasted pretty good and it gave me the energy I needed because I hadn't eaten since the night before.
I made my dinner that way too - I blended chicken, baked potato slices (baked homemade in the oven, no oil), broccoli and water together in the blender. The homemade potato slices made the mixture taste like potato soup, which wasn't bad at all. By the end of the night, I felt well fed and was in little pain. Of course I kept resting in bed and taking my meds on time, which made a big difference.
Since I have a five month old that I usually take care of throughout the night (waking up every 2 hours to feed him), I found I got more sleep the night of the surgery - thankfully my husband took care of the baby while I slept! I went to bed around 10pm, but I still got up every 2 hours or so to drink ice water, put a new ice pack on and take meds as necessary. It wasn't the most sound sleep I've ever gotten, but I did feel rested when I got up.
Day 2 - Day After Surgery (Saturday)
I woke up at 7am (my usually rise), took my meds, and drank a lot of ice water. I knew I'd have to eat some kind of breakfast so I made scrambled eggs and put the cooked eggs in the blender with water and some leftover potato slices from dinner the night before. It tasted like potato soup again, so I didn't mind. I know I need to keep eating protein to not only fill me up and maintain my weight, but to also help fight off nausea.
The ENT doctor called me today and asked me how I was doing. It was a pleasant surprise. I let him know I was doing fine, had no pain, and actually got more sleep the night before because I wasn't tending to the baby. He said the night and 3rd day would probably be worse, so he'd call me then to see how I was progressing.
For snack I had a fruit smoothie (banana, blueberries, strawberries, water and ice) that my husband blended up for me. For lunch I had chicken, cheese rice, broccoli and chicken broth blended up in the blender. The lunch was good - it tasted like a thanksgiving meal all blended up into one cup.
I attempted to eat a blueberry muffin without blending it and it felt like sandpaper going down my throat. It wasn't too painful, probably a 5 out of 10 pain, but it was enough for me not to try to eat normally for a few more days. The blended meals seem to go down quick and painless, so I'll stick with that for a while. Throughout the rest of the day I had jello and applesauce for snacks. Dinner was the usual chicken, chicken broth, cheese rice and broccoli in the blender.
I've been up and about more today than yesterday, but I feel a bit loopy from the meds so I'm not going to try to go anywhere outside the house yet. I hope to discontinue the meds in a couple days.
Day 3 (Sunday)
Last night I slept peacefully, but still woke up every few hours to take my meds. Without the pain medicine, I'm sure I'd be in a lot of pain. I didn't ice my neck throughout the night like the night before so I noticed more soreness when I got out of bed this morning.
Today my neck and throat has been really sore, but probably just a 3 out of 10 pain - I've had strep throat that has felt worse than this. Even burning your throat with coffee hurts more, so I'm still feeling fairly good. I'm able to get up and about of course, but I've slept more today than I did yesterday. The meds make me tired so I think that has something to do with it.
I've been blending up my meals the same way as previous days and that's working out well for me. I eat three blended meals a day and have a couple of soft food snacks, so I'm not feeling hungry at all.
Looking in the back of my throat I can see two long white strips of skin surrounded by red inflamed skin. It's hard to open my mouth because my neck and throat is sore, so I've only been checking once a day or so. I gargle with salt water at least 3 times a day to help keep the area moist and free of food debris. Brushing my teeth helps too, but it's too painful to use the toothbrush to clean anything but my teeth, so the salt water helps out a lot.
I'm thankful my recovery is smooth so far. This really isn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Day 4 (Monday)
I slept really well last night and only got up once to take my meds. Although my throat and tonsil area is really sore, I can hardly feel it, especially after I take my meds. I blended up my breakfast this morning and it was pretty disgusting actually. I put scrambled eggs, cheese, 1 piece of whole wheat bread, 1/2 banana and water in the blender and mixed it up. I guess drinking that stuff is better than not eating at all. I got it all down within 15 minutes or so and I didn't get nauseous, so that's good.
I slept a few hours today. I have more energy today than yesterday since my throat isn't all that sore. The pain is probably a 3 out of 10 pain as long as I take my meds. I continued with the blended meals today. I'm looking forward to taking my meds and getting more sleep tonight! I've heard stories about how other people don't get any sleep after their surgery, but that's not the case with me! The meds make me tired.
Day 5 (Tuesday)
My throat is sore and it's hard to open my mouth to talk or brush my teeth. It was sore like this yesterday, but it's just now becoming annoying. It's not painful, just uncomfortable and sore. My tongue hurts when I talk on the phone even a little bit, so I'm staying off of it for now. The ENT nurse told me last week I shouldn't pick up anything, including my son for about a week, but I don't feel like I'm straining anything when I pick him up. He only weighs about 17 pounds so I think I’ll be ok.
I actually ate a bacon, egg and cheese bagel this morning without blending it! It wasn't that comfortable, but it didn't hurt. The only problem was that bits of food got stuck where my tonsils were and I had to wash it out with salt water, then brush my teeth thoroughly. I think it's best to stick to blended foods for a few more days. Getting the food out of my tonsils was a little painful. Plus I couldn't open my mouth that much so I had to rely on the salt water to swish everything out.
I blended my meal for lunch and took a nap with my son after I took my meds. I'm up and about - picking up around the house today. I feel fine other than the annoying soreness in my mouth. It's also annoying that I can't talk that well - I feel like I have to learn how to pronounce words again, but I know it's only because of the inflammation. I think my speech will be fine after everything is healed.
Day 6 (Wednesday)
I still can't eat solid food yet, but I can tell my throat is healing. When I get closer to the time I should take my pain medicine, the level of pain is less than it was a few days ago. I'm still getting adequate sleep at night. Only waking up 1 or 2 times to take meds and drink water. I ate blended meals again today, especially after the bagel incident yesterday. I'll probably eat blended meals for a few more days. I want to get back in the gym, but I know I need to hold off on doing any weightlifting. I'll try walking instead, but I won't try it until Friday or Saturday. I'm taking 1 or 2 naps during the day this week, so I don't feel like I'm missing any sleep.
It's still hard to talk, but I can tell the soreness is letting up a little bit. It's even uncomfortable to move my tongue around to brush my teeth. I still don't think this experience is as bad as other people made it sound, but it's definitely ANNOYING that I can't talk right or get solid food down.
Day 7 and 8 (Thursday and Friday)
These two days have been the worst so far. Either I'm getting used to the pain meds or my pain is increasing as the 'scabs' fall off (the pain is 8 out of 10). They are not really scabs though. It's more of a thin white film covering my tonsils and I've found that when a piece of it falls off or is pulled off by food, it hurts like hell afterwards. It only hurts bad when I eat or drink food, so I have to make sure I take my pain meds RIGHT BEFORE I eat or it hurts too bad to get anything down. When I'm not eating or drinking, the pain is minimal.
I'm still eating blended meals, but even the blended meals are hurting parts of my throat now. I'm calling my ENT today to get a refill on the tylenol/codeine elixer. I hate to take more meds, but if this pain is going to persist throughout the weekend, I don't want to be left empty handed.
I got good sleep last night since I'm in minimal pain when I'm not eating. I'm looking forward to next week when the worst of this is supposed to be over! The doctor told me day 3 would be the worst, but the past two days have actually been the worst for me. I guess everyone's experience is different.
I must mention that I have referred pain in my ears from time to time, but it's not painful at all - mostly annoying.
Day 9 (Saturday)
I feel a little more normal today - I suppose it had to get worse before it got better. I figured out that the pain I was experiencing the last two days was due to a part of the "scab" (although it's more of a thin white film over my tonsils, not really a scab) coming off. There is a tall strip missing from the back of my left tonsil and that is exposing raw skin underneath (the source of my pain when eating). Today that pain is not as bad, but it's still bad enough for me to eat (yes, I actually ate solid food today!) on my left side.
So, yes, I had scrambled eggs and cantaloupe for breakfast and then chicken soft tacos and rice for lunch! Hooray! Some sense of normally finally. I'll probably have soft tacos for dinner since the lunch went so well.
My throat overall is less sore today, perhaps because I am now chewing my food. I suspect the sore muscles around my throat are getting back to normal too. I hope to get rid of the meds by Tuesday, but we'll see how that goes.
Day 10 (Sunday)
The pain is slowly decreasing, but in small increments that I can hardly notice. Although I avoided ice cream this past week, I couldn't take it anymore and ate three bowls of Blue Bell's Dutch Chocolate tonight. I think it actually helped my throat feel better. Well it numbed it up, so I couldn't feel anything at least. I think the milky film it leaves in my throat actually coats the sore area and makes it less painful. I would definitely recommend avoiding it after surgery (especially because the sugar in it can make the inflammation worse), but it's probably ok to eat ice cream after the first 7 days or so.
I ate solid food all day today, so I know I must be getting better, although I have to say it was still painful to swallow. As long as I took my pain meds about 20 minutes before I ate, everything was tolerable. Without the meds, I would starve myself - it's just too painful.
The "scabs" (thin white strips over my tonsil area) haven't fallen off yet. I thought that was supposed to happen by now, but most of it is still there. Maybe that's to come in the next few days. I have some referred ear pain, but I'm not sure how to distinguish it between referred pain and TMJ pain. It doesn't really matter - the pain is a 1 or 2 out of 10, so it's tolerable.
We'll see what tomorrow brings. I feel like the worst is now over.
Days 11-14 (Monday -Thursday)
Well, the worst is over, but the last three days of eating was still painful. I resorted back to blended meals a few times in the past few days - the raw spots on the left side of my throat made it very painful to eat without taking my meds. Even soft solid foods were painful to eat, but it was more tolerable as long as I took my meds. I ran out of the tylenol/codeine elixer at one point and my doc's office "forgot" to send it in to the pharmacy, so I was without pain meds for 16 hours. It wasn't fun.
I was hoping to be off the meds by now, but the left side of my throat still has raw spots where the "scab" has come off. I will probably be on the meds for a couple more days.
Today I feel MUCH better, although the left side still has some raw patches, they aren't as painful as the last few days. I'm still eating soft foods as much as possible. Last night I ate a half a gallon of ice cream! Shame on me.
I'm finding that each day is tolerable, but I am REALLY getting tired of this! Taking two weeks to heal really takes a toll on you. I've birthed two children and have healed quicker after their births! I'll just be glad when this nuisance is over!
I started wearing my retainer last night (I used to have braces) and somehow I slept with my mouth open during the night. I think this helped heal the left side of my throat because the raw areas are not as sore today. Also, I think I was biting my tongue at night (without the retainer) because it was swollen after surgery. So today my tongue doesn't feel as swollen - the retainer apparently kept me from biting down on it. I'm predicting that I'll be healed by this Monday, but we'll see!
Days 14-17 (Friday - Monday)
Friday I had my two week checkup and the doctor cleared me for exercise! Finally! And I ate solid food all day, but my throat was still sore and a bit painful in patchy areas, but it was definitely tolerable considering how it felt just days earlier. Saturday and Sunday were much of the same.
It's Monday now and my throat is still sore - maybe a 2 or 3 out of 10 pain - but only when I eat coarse foods like whole wheat bread. I ate tortilla chips at my favorite Mexican restaurant last night, so I consider myself healed now!
All in all, the experience wasn't all that bad until the "scabs" came off and left raw skin patches in the back of my throat. I consider myself lucky to not have any bleeding anytime after the surgery, but I attribute that to drinking tons of ice water and icing my neck as much as possible.
I'm glad I had the surgery - NO MORE CRYPTIC TONSILS, TONSIL STONES OR CHRONIC TONSILITIS! Hooray!
Here are some tips I put together on how to successfully recover from a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy:
- frequently ice underneath the chin
- suck on ice in the back of your throat
- brush your teeth 3 times a day
- gargle with salt water once a day
- take your meds on time
- avoid milk products for the first 7 days (yogurt, milk, ice cream, etc.)
- drink LOTS of ice water
- eat jello, applesauce and other soft foods for snacks
- blend up your meals (protein, carbs and vegetables)
- get plenty of rest even if you feel like you could run a marathon
- sleep on a 45 degree angle to help reduce swelling
- rest your voice
- take a shower twice a day and let warm water run down the front of your chin and neck
