About Me: I am a 28 year old Female with a history of throat problems while sick, and most recently 3 cases of antibiotic- resistant strep throat and tonsillitis within 2 months. I have large 4+ tonsils and also suffer from frequent tonsil stones. A couple weeks ago I saw an ENT who let me know that my tonsils and I needed to go our separate ways. I want to share my day-by-day recovery story because other’s stories have helped me a TON, both prior to surgery while preparing and during recovery. I hope mine does the same for someone else.
Wednesday—Day 1— (Surgery Day @ 2 pm) After surgery I woke up with a mouthful of mucous and I was unable to swallow. They gave me a suction cannula which helped a lot and then I was able to eat a popsicle, have a couple sips of water, and get up to use the bathroom within an hour or so. I was pretty uncomfortable after surgery. I couldn’t really open my mouth, and half of my throat and most of my tongue was numb. I felt like my mouth and throat was full of cotton balls and I had a terrible headache. They gave me some Tylenol before I left but it didn’t really touch the headache pain. When I got home I tried to eat some scrambled eggs but I was only able to get down probably half of an egg. It just felt like they were getting stuck in my throat. I was able to drink cold water and that felt good. That night I woke up about every 3 hours or so and drank a couple sips of water. Around 3 am I woke up in a lot of pain because my numbness had worn off in my mouth and tongue. I took some of my liquid Tylenol and codeine and fell back asleep until about 630 AM.
Thursday— Day 2 — At 630 AM I woke up in a good amount of pain. I drank some water and a bit of a protein shake then took my first Percocet and it helped a lot. Most of the pain went away except it still hurt a bit when I swallowed or opened my mouth and talked. I was able to go on a little walk outside to get some blood flow to help with healing which my doctor recommended. I kept on my medicine schedule all day alternating Percocet and Tylenol with codeine every 3 hours. I was able to go walk around Walmart with my mom for about 20 minutes. That night was about the same as the night before, I woke up every couple of hours and drank some water and around midnight needed pain meds again.
Friday—Day 3—I woke up around 6 am with a HORRIBLE migraine and feeling very nauseous. Thankfully, my doctor prescribed me a medicine to dissolve on my tongue that helped with nausea. That day was just a lot of rest and drinking water. I tried to get down some protein shakes when I could but I was in a good amount of pain at this point. That night I was able to eat two small bowls of watery mashed potatoes with gravy and it felt good to eat actual food because I was feeling pretty drained and drowsy. I was able to take another walk around the block before going to bed.
Saturday—Day 4—I woke up at around 9 am with an unbearable migraine again, sweating, and vomited once. Vomiting was about as painful as you would think it would be. I took a regular Tylenol 500 mg tablet and an anti-nausea pill. All day I was trying to steer away from taking the Percocet or Codeine because I’ve read it can be the cause of ‘rebound headaches’. Not sure which was worse at this point, the headaches or the pain when not taking the drugs. Recovery is pretty miserable at this point. I can’t really speak or open my mouth, my tongue feels weird and the inner ear pain is horrible. My boyfriend came over and was my nurse for the day, he made me a fresh fruit and vegetable juice and I was able to drink about half of it. I ate about 1/4 a cup of soup from Panera for dinner but ended up in a lot of pain from doing that. I took half a Percocet in the evening and then a Tylenol 500 mg pill before going to bed. That night I didn’t sleep very well because of the headache and inner ear pain.
Sunday—Day 5— I woke up with a pretty bad headache and terrible ear pain as usual. It hurts terribly to swallow and speak but I was able to force myself to eat some baby food and water so I could take a Percocet. It makes me feel pretty loopy, drowsy, and out of it, but definitely helps with the pain. I slept on and off for the majority of the day, was feeling extremely exhausted and couldn’t even keep my eyes open. Around lunch time I was able to eat a small piece of pizza(!!!) cut into really really small pieces and chasing it with water. This was exciting because I am starving! Around 3 pm I felt nauseous and dizzy, very “weird”, and took some anti-nausea medicine which helped me greatly. Luckily I did not vomit and have not since yesterday morning. Knock on wood! That night I ate a little bit of Mac and cheese which caused me a lot of pain in my tongue, throat, and ears, so I had to take a Percocet. I feel like I am pushing myself too much to eat actual food and need to try and stick with easier things to eat for a couple days. I feel like my tongue is still numb in some areas and I’m not sure if this is normal or not 4 days after surgery. I also feel like I might have sores on my tongue where it touches my molars in the back. It’s hard to open my mouth and brush my teeth as well so at this point my mouth overall is in pretty rough shape.
Monday—Day 6— I woke up around 1 AM in the most excruciating pain thus far and in my entire life. My right ear and throat felt the worst, but everything from my neck up was in pain. My jaw, teeth, tongue. Everything.I have never felt anything like it. I would compare the ear pain to someone taking a large hot needle and sticking it in my ear. I tried to eat some applesauce just because I knew I NEEDED to take a Percocet but gave up after one small bite. Although I wasn’t able to eat anything, I took a Percocet, laid back down and slept on and off in pain for a couple hours before giving in and taking another pill around 4 or so. I knew waking up and feeling that amount of pain that my “really bad days” that everyone talks about were starting. I slept on and off all day and took Percocet as needed, drank as much water as I could but didn’t eat much of anything. I had couple sips of a protein shake here and there because i forced myself. At this point swallowing is about the most painful thing I can do. I continue to have really bad headaches, i don’t think its really gone away fully for a couple days now. Ear pain is much worse as well. I didn’t think this could all get much worse but I definitely understand now what people are talking about when they have the “bad days”. I have found that ice packs pressed lightly on my ears helps a little. I am careful not to apply to much pressure though as it causes more pain. At this point I still can’t open my mouth up much either, brushing my teeth is a very painful chore and even trying to get a spoon in there to take my liquid antibiotic is a challenge. At this point I hope i can just get through these horrible painful days and see the light at the end of the tunnel soon. Thanksgiving is on Thursday so I really hope I can at least eat a little by then!
Tuesday — Day 7 — Pain level was pretty similar to yesterday, but I tried to combat it with keeping on top of my pain medicine schedule as to not let them wear off entirely. This morning I felt very drowsy, I slept until about 10 AM on and off and it was difficult to force myself to get out of bed and move to the couch(the struggle…) I had ordered a humidifier online at Walmart, so as an excuse to get up and move around a bit I went with my mom to pick it up. I would recommend investing in one for your recovery. I purchased mine for only about $20. After returning home I watched TV on the couch for a while. My best friend came to visit which was a good pick me up. Swallowing was feeling comfortable enough on the Percocet today to eat an Italian Ice, a small bowl of soup, and a small bowl of watery applesauce. It definitely felt good to eat, even if it wasn’t much, because I didn’t eat anything yesterday. Today I noticed two new symptoms. One, my hair is falling out more. I have big globs coming out in the shower now. I would assume this is from not getting proper nutrition from food at the moment. Two, I am noticing that everything is very loud. I think this is from swelling in my ears? I’m no doctor but this is the only reason I can think of. I am going to give Jello and canned fruit a shot tonight for dinner. On a positive note, I want to give myself a pat on the back for my ability to drink water throughout this process! I think I have done a pretty good job with staying as hydrated as possible, even now that I have begun the more difficult recovery days days. Go Me!