Guerrilla Tactics – Adult Tonsillectomy Tips
So you’ve read my top 10 tonsillectomy tips. Good. Those will get you through. But some of us like to operate outside of the conventional. The top ten are solid pearls of wisdom that anyone can benefit from, regardless of their personality. Let’s face it- not everyone is comfortable making demands on their doctor, pharmacist, employer, or family. For those of you who are though, I offer the following guerrilla tactic adult tonsillectomy tips.
Advocating for Yourself
The cornerstone of these tips is self advocacy. By researching the internet and finding this site, you’re already ahead of the masses. Like me a few years ago, most adults go into tonsillectomy surgery like sheep. They take the information from their doctor and perhaps nurse and press forward without questioning. Sometimes this works out fine. Some ENT doc’s and their staff do a great job of preparing their patients for tonsillectomy surgery and its subsequent recovery period. Some don’t. Some employers respect their employee’s judgement of what their needs are in regard to recovering from adult tonsillectomy. Some don’t. It’s up to us to make sure that we get what we need. Take those first 10 tips and you’ll be ahead of the pack. Take a few of these and lead it.
Work- Taking Time Off
I’ve researched the time required for adult tonsillectomy recovery. I can tell you that ten days is about the minimum. I would tell your boss that two weeks is the minimum. You may need two full weeks. You may not though. If not, you’ll look tough as nails as you come back to work ahead of schedule! If the boss gives you grief about two full weeks, refer him or her to this website. Let them read about the experiences people have. It will open their eyes the way it has yours.
Your Family- Asking for Help
This is a tough one. Most people struggle when it comes to asking for help. Get over it. You are going to be worthless for at least a week. Don’t spread yourself thin. You don’t want anyone counting on you. Have a heart to heart talk with your spouse, mother, brother- whoever might pick up the slack for you. You might be surprised. I was recently divorced with four children when I had my surgery. My ex wife and I were not on good terms. It was a jagged pill to swallow, but I asked for her help. She covered the kids for a full week and even took a nice video of a holiday concert I had to miss. Be direct. Be specific. Ask for help.
Your Doctor- Be Assertive
Here are few adult tonsillectomy tips that you won’t find in the literature in your doctor’s waiting room. They just might make your life a lot better though.
Medications:
- Ask for a steroid. I’m not giving medical advice here. I’m not a doctor. When you talk to your doctor, ask for a steroid. The first challenge most adults face after tonsillectomy is a hugely swollen uvula. No kidding- that thing can swell up so much that it’s hard to swallow and breath. Icing can help, so can gargling with ice cold water, but a steroid will do even more. Just ask.
- Ask for a stool softener. Narcotic pain medicines will constipate you. Many people go for over a week without a bowel movement.
- Ask for an anti nausea drug. Those pain killers that help so much can really do a number on your system. You won’t be eating much, so nausea is a pretty likely side effect.
- Get an order for ENOUGH PAIN MEDICINE TO LAST THROUGH RECOVERY. This one makes me furious. My doctor wrote an order for enough hydrocodone to last about four days. If you’ve read enough accounts, you know that that’s about the time the pain gets worst. I ran out in the middle of the night. I had to wait until morning to ask for a refill. The staff acted like I was some drug seeking junkie. Don’t accept this. I finally walked into the ER. The doctor there understood completely and thought my ENT was a jerk. He wrote a prescription to cover the next week. I did not become a drug addict.
- Ask for your pain medicine prescription to NOT include Acetaminophen. This is a tricky one. Most narcotic pain med’s contain Acetaminophen. That’s fine if it’s the only thing you’re taking. But at some point, you’ll want to ween off the heavy pain killers in favor of an over the counter pain medicine like Tylenol. (Acetaminophen) Suppose you try this and BAM- not cutting it. You’ll want to go back to the narcotic pain medicine. But wait, how much Acetaminophen do you have on board? Too much can be very dangerous. Keeping the two separate allows you to monitor this more easily.
- Ask for IV fluids. Yes, why not? A nurse on the forum suggested this and I thought it was brilliant. So many people become dehydrated while recovering from adult tonsillectomy because swallowing is so difficult. Knowing that she was seriously dehydrated, this brave and smart woman walked into an emergency room and asked for a bag of IV fluid. She got it and was no longer dehydrated. You might have a conversation with your doctor about this in advance.
- TETRACAINE MEDICATED LOLLIPOPS -I never got them but people rave about the relief they give. Ask your Doctor.
Well there you have it- the insider’s guide to adult tonsillectomy recovery. You may feel like a pain asking for these things. You may feel less pain because you do. I wish you well.
Do you have a Jedi mind trick or ninja tactic for getting the upper hand in tonsillectomy recovery? Please share in the comment section. Thanks, -Greg
November 11, 2014
I posted a comment last night and forgot to check the boxes below. I don’t want to miss out on any replies or posts.
Thanks again to you, Greg, for establishing and maintaining this site as well as all those who share.
I don’t see the November posts? They were there last night?
Hi FLo- if you subscribed to any of your other posts, you should still get a notification. Only most recent comments appear beneath the comment. Prevesious comments are still accessible by clicking the “
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Hi, Greg!
Thanks for letting me know. Now I see where you can click on “older comments”.
What a lovely photo of you!! What a handsome guy you are!! As my G/F would say——you’re a fox!!
HOW do you keep up with this all by yourself? You’re too young to be retired; right?
Your site is a Godsend!! I feel like I can get through this now. I wasn’t so sure at days past Day 3. I began your site @ Day 7. I can’t thank you enough.
Ha ha- Thank you for the kind words! I am not yet retired, though it sounds nice. I put lots of time into the site for a few years. These days I just review comments once/day and respond to those that address me directly or don’t seem to be getting answers.
Thanks for all you’ve been sharing!
HI, I cant get this link to work top “10 tonsillectomy tips”
Sorry about that Sara- I’ll see if I can fix….
Ok- it’s fixed- Thanks for the heads up! This page had all kinds of problems!!
This website has been so helpful for me. I am 25 years old and had my tonsils removed along with my uvula shaved down just over one month ago. Luckily, I found this website a few days before my surgery and it really helped me prepare. As a past time during recovery, I would visit the recovery forum and see what each day would bring to me. I have to admit that even though I was prepared for the surgery, there were some days when I was in so much pain. I agree that you need to ask for help. I have a great family and they helped me so much. Like Greg, I ran out of medicine after four days. My mom saw it coming and luckily had it refilled in time. Having a humidifier also helped the sore throat. The biggest pain that I had was the ear pain. At times, I felt like my head was going to explode. I found that using an ice pack over the ears and peppermint oil inside my ear really helped! Because they also tampered with my uvula, it was enlarged so much that I had to keep my mouth open. The numbing medicine really helped. I also had to sleep sitting up for the first two weeks. Personally, it took me a full two weeks before I could do anything. Definitely take at least two weeks off of work but you may need three. My tongue was severely burnt after surgery and I still can’t taste a lot of things. It’s getting better but many of the foods I eat, there is a main ingredient missing or all I can taste is salt. I have noticed that I am sleeping better so that is a plus. Overall, things are good. I still have some scabs and slight pain in the throat but I’m completely off medication and things are looking up. Thank you for creating this site. I hope my post is helpful as the other posts helped me out so much.
First, this site has been so helpful as I’ve been going through the recovery process, so I thank you greatly for all of the information here. I’m a 30 year old female and I had my tonsils and adenoids removed exactly one week ago. I don’t generally like taking steroids so I did not request any and my ENT did not offer, but I’m starting to wish that I had. Luckily the scabbing is starting to come off and that’s where my question comes in. I’m having a lot of the normal pain, especially the ear pain, but since the scabs have been coming off I’ve had this new, sharp pain that feels like perhaps the new skin is extremely sensitive. I’ve been taking the hydrocodone/acetaminophen 7.5/325 that was prescribed but that is doing nothing for this, nor are any of my various numbing agents. The ice chips that have been so amazing are starting to become painful too. Any suggestions?
Hi Jessica- thanks for the kind words. I remember those sharper pains. I think it is from the scabs pulling away. I’d be sure to keep the area moist. (water, ice, popsicles, humidifier…) Also, I used Chloroseptic (sp?) spray. Other speak very highly of a numbing lollipop- the brand escapes me. Perhaps someone else will remember..??
Best of luck and good health to you!
I will definitely look into that numbing lollipop. Most of my scabbing is gone now (yay!), but it is still unpleasant. The spray has been a life saver, but the lollipop sounds like it would be a nice addition. According to my surgeon they had to do a lot of additional removal so I had some extra scabbing, so I will take all of the numbing agents I can find. Thanks for your help!
Hi Greg! My name is Jen, I’m 24 y/o and I just got my tonsils out today! From shopping lists to guerrilla tactics, this site has done a lot to prepare me for the battle ahead. I just want to say THANKS for all of your great tips and advice.
Hi Jen ! Welcome to the site. Best of luck in your recovery.