I finally had the tonsillectomy that I have spent 20 years avoiding. The were periods of time in the last 10 years when I had a sore throat for literally months. They have always been enlarged, but as I age they have gotten progressively worse to where I couldn’t breath, swallow, sleep, or talk. I finally realized that two weeks of pain would be worth it if all these issues were resolved. I spent a year researching methods and surgeons. I saw 3 local surgeons, but finally found one 180 miles away who used the “tissue welding” method. I had the procedure 30 days ago. I am old enough to qualify for the senior discount, so I didn’t have age on my side. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected, and wish I had it done much sooner!!
That’s not to say it wasn’t painful, but it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. The low points were the 3 hour drive home with nausea, vomiting twice on the night after surgery, inability to sleep because it hurt way more during sleep, and the constipation from the narcotics.
Yes, it was painful, but it was only 10 days out of my life. I prepared my husband with details from this website, and he got an A+ in caretaking. He kept my water bottle filled with ice and water, kept track of and administered my medications, filled the humidifier, shopped for and prepared food and kept my spirits up. He didn’t make me feel like a slacker for mostly staying in bed for 8 days or living in pajamas.
If you have the luxury, take two weeks off work. I could have gone back on day 10, but the extra week just felt better. The best foods were tapioca pudding and popsicles, neither of which I have ever liked that much. I initially avoided ice cream because of the increased risk of mucous, but found it was very tasty and soothing. Ice water was a life saver and the tylenol/ibuprofen combination every 4 hours was enough to make the pain tolerable. I only took the narcotic before bed and again around 4 am. I’m not sure the narcotic was any more effective than the Tylenol/ibuprofen. Because of the constipation, I recommend avoiding the narcotic if you can.
Day 5 was probably the worst because of the swelling and cumulative lack of sleep. I had no bleeding or dehydration or any other complications. I felt 95% normal by day 12.
The surgeon said the tonsils were full of pus and “debris”. Why did I wait so long to do this? I’m happy they are gone now and should definitely have done this at least 10 years ago.