Okay so I’m going to start from the beginning: I’m only on day 4 but I feel like I have enough information as to how it is.
I am an 18 year old female, I suffered from reoccurring tonsillitis and tonsil stones (almost twice a month sometimes!) So the doctors finally decided to refer me to an ENT.
Night before:
Okay so the night before, me and my boyfriend got a huge Pizza takeaway with sides and everything ( I’d kill to be able to eat this rn!!)
So obviously the next morning I was starving and I forgot to wake up early so that I could eat before 7AM, so I was really hungry/nervous/moody lol.
Day of surgery:
I arrived at the hospital at 12 noon and had to wait for about 2 hours before I had a bed in the ward. After this, some of the nurses, anesthetic nurse and my surgeon came round to see how I was doing, they took my temp, pulse etc and reassured me about everything – they were all really nice! Apart from one doctor who kept on staring at me, she made me feel really at unease, and the fact that I could see all of the other drugged up patients who had just come out of various different operations scared the shit out of me but I just went on my phone and tried to ignore everyone else.
Finally it was time to go through to the anesthetics room, I was really nervous, but the people in that room were really funny so I felt relaxed after a few minutes.They explained everything that was going to happen as well. They were counting down and then I can’t remember anything from there haha.
Next thing I know I’m in the recovery room, and i have the WORSE itchy face ever, and there was a surgeon standing next to me asking how I was feeling and said my face will be itchy as a side affect from the drugs. Then he wheeled me back to my place in the ward where I started. They then took my oxygen mask off and gave me a jug of water, a yogurt and a chicken mayo sandwich. I couldn’t even eat the sandwich I have no idea why they gave me chicken when I could only just about swallow my own spit haha. I tried to eat it though but it really hurt, so I asked for more pain killers and they gave me some straight away. Also, I don’t know what the surgeons did in that room but my mouth had split either side from the clamp, so that was very painful and I had small cuts on the inside of my lip. Then i hadn’t noticed since I showered, I have a fat purple bruise on the top of my thigh! Very odd!
Anyway, after about 3 hours in recovery, they let me go home. I thought I would be very drugged up and dopey but I was actually fine, they handed me my meds and off we went.
That night I got home, didn’t really speak mainly because my lips were so chapped haha, then I had an egg mayo sandwich,
BTW I WOULD ADVISE NOT TO EAT MAYO OR ANY DAIRY! Dairy really clogged my throat and made it hard to breath and every time I laughed i would start choking on the mucus, it was very disgusting lol. Also, don’t blow your nose because it will hurt!And try not to cough.
That night I slept okay, I used about 5 pillows and kept my head upright, I’ve heard some people have woke up coughing from this position but I was okay. I woke up on my side anyway so I must of moved in my sleep.
Day 2:
The next day I had toast for breakfast because I really want to heal quickly and I read that scratchy foods help the scabs develop and disappear quicker, it was a struggle but I managed about a slice which is quite good. I got it down with a lot of water; water is my life atm, I’ve been drinking around 5L a day and my skin is looking amazing for it!
For lunch I had some rice and noodles, went down like a treat with a lot of water.
Dinner was more noodle soup, this was quite soothing.
That night was a struggle to sleep and my ears were hurting soooo bad, but i took my meds, watched some films, had cuddles from the bf then fell asleep.
Day three:
Yesterday was pretty much the same for pain, still there and annoying but not unbearable. For breakfast I had a crumpet with raspberry jam (no butter of course). Then for lunch i had a fry up (well some of it haha).
The thing is, it is really painful to eat but i love food too much so I’ve been forcing myself to eat even if it takes me hours, because eating and drinking speeds up the recovery time soo much and I’m determined to recover ASAP!
For dinner I had noodles again, although I was really craving McDonald’s I don’t think I was ready for that yet.
I fell asleep around 9PM for about an hour then woke up in the worse pain as i forgot to take my meds before i fell asleep, so it then took me a few hours to get back to sleep.
Today is now day 4, I still have a long road ahead of me but I know it will get better with time, it has been the worse experience of my life so far but i know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and that it will be worth it in the end!
My throat seems to look better already and i can already open it a little wider.
Top tips:
Eat a lot of ice lollies as they numb the area.
Difflam spray is a must for numbing the earea before meals.
Do not eat dairy unless you want to choke on phlegm all night.
Do not eat tomatoes, they burn!!!
Stay positive and stock up on TV shows/films.
Good luck to anyone who is going through this, i feel your pain!!
Hi April! You and I had a very similar situation. I also found that dairy was not my friend and that a numbing spray is really helpful. I’m on day four right now actually and it’s turning out to be better than I had imagined. I just hope I don’t wake up tomorrow in tears!