A collection of various experiences of adult tonsillectomy patients on their first day of recovery
From thousands of post comments to the tonsillectomy recovery forum, I have assembled a sampling of various accounts and impressions of tonsillectomy recovery for each day. We shall start with tonsillectomy day 1. These comments are taken from tonsillectomy patients who were kind enough to share their experiences to help others as they navigate the bumpy road of tonsillectomy recovery.
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Please feel free to add your own experience with tonsillectomy day 1.
-Greg Tooke My short bio
Tonsillectomy Day 1
Tonsillectomy Day 1: This is not too bad. Pussies on the forum!
Tonsillectomy Day 1:(surgery day): Thank God I woke up! Whoa – drugs.
Tonsillectomy Day 1: I had a freezie when I got home and lots of water. I watched some television and took the amoxicillin that I was prescribed to prevent infection. I decided to try to swallow the capsules because they looked small enough…BIG MISTAKE! After the first one, it felt like it was stuck in my throat, but I tried to take the second one…even bigger mistake. So I start getting anxious because I feel like the pills are stuck in my throat and not going down – even with loads of water. It turns out they did go down, but because my throat was swollen, they felt like they were just sitting there. I was prescribed liquid codeine and told to buy liquid Tylenol. However, the only liquid Tylenol my mom could find was for children, so instead, she decided to buy Tylenol caplets that melt in your mouth – which turned out to be for children as well. The first night I only took Tylenol because I wasn’t in that much pain at first. Needless to say, I was in pain during the night and slept maybe 1-2 hours in total.
Tonsillectomy Day 1: i had the surgery at 3:20 pm ( they were over an hour behind schedule).I woke up feeling like crap and the nurse had to give me lots of morphine through the IV drip. I spent the night in a hospital and it was the worst night ever. My throat was in pain all night even though they gave me the liquid codeine. There was only 2 of us in the “day surgery” ward ( where they keep the overnight patients) but the other lady was snoring all through the night! which made things even worse haha. I only got about 4 hours of on and off sleep. My mom picked me up at 6am and i went home and slept for a bit.
Tonsillectomy Day 1 : My surgery was at 9:30am ET this morning and I was home by 1:30pm which included a 20 minute drive home. I had a tonsillectomy and he just trimmed a little of my extremely long uvula. I woke right up from the surgery with no problems at all. The pain I had was a 1or 2 on a scale of 10. hardly any pain after the surgery and I was able to eat apple sauce, ice and water immediately after waking. No side effects from the surgery med’s. They did give me some anti-nausea drugs. I still feel like I have just a mild sore throat.
Tonsillectomy Day 1 : Days 1&2 were definitely the honeymoon phase. All was grand in tonsil land
Tonsillectomy Day 1 : I just had it done this morning, massively consming water, pain meds every 4 hours, popsicles, little apple sauce and trying to maintain a healthy probiotic regimine. Its weird because it feels like a bad case of strep throat….so far. But I do feel instant relief with my breathing.
Tonsillectomy Day 1 : Well i just got home from surgery. I had my tonsils removed, deviated septum fixed, uvula removed and turbinates (nasal wall tissue) reduced. I have no recall of surgery, only remember maybe a minute of being in the operating room, then waking up in the recovery center.
Pain is not what i expected it to be. I think i have worse pain from strep throat
Tonsillectomy Day 1 : Post op eight hours……everything feels fine but I’m scared for the horrible days ahead. Sandra you developed ear pain at 3rd day? That makes me nervous
Tonsillectomy Day 1 : (Day of surgery) I actually felt pretty darn good, was able to eat a little, but I wish someone would have told me that I needed to re-learn how to swallow. VERY SMALL sips is the key.
Tonsillectomy Day 1 : Slept only about 2 hours due to still being very restless and fidgety from the effects of the anesthesia. Stayed on a steady dose every 4 hours of pain med’s which seemed to edge my pain. Still in a great deal of pain all day. I ate more Popsicle and jello and applesauce and was able to eat some luke warm soup which tasted great and drank 2 ensure shakes and a yogurt shake. The anesthesia effects seemed to finally wear off sometime in the early evening making me a bit more comfortable. Still in a good deal of pain. My entire mouth now hurts along with the throat and I am having jaw pain and slight ear pain and tongue pain from the clamps they used during the surgery.
So today I had surgery and I am up. I have ear ache, headache and hurts to swallow my own salvia. Help!!! The doctor put me on nucynta 50 mg but it doesn’t seem to work. I also take percocet 10 mg for chronic back pain but still very little relief. I don’t recommend anything with dairy since it is cause me to have mucus buildup.
Day 1. I am 32 years old. Never had strep in my life, then had it three confirmed times within 8 months. Yuck! The swelling caused sleep apnea. Tonsillectomy/adednoiectomy scheduled at 9:15am on 01/18/2013 (yesterday) via electro-cauterography . There were 2 doctors performing a total of 16 surgeries. 14 children and 4 adults. To say I was nervous is an understatement. My last surgery was an appendectomy 15 years ago. I’ve been stressing about this for over a month, hearing nothing but horror stories from friends. I have a very powerful gag reflex and the idea of tools down my throat is menacing. On the way to the clinic my heart was racing and my knees weak. I didn’t sleep a wink the night before and I was fidgeting in the waiting room. I’m also a chronic pain patient. I have been taking 10/325 Percocet twice each night for pain for over 3 years for nerve entrapment in my pelvis, which is something no doctor has been able to fix. This gives me a high tolerance to pain medication. The surgery started an hour late, and took 30 minutes. I fought the anesthetic but fell asleep within one minute of the gas and IV. Woke up in not too much pain considering he didn’t use local numbing, maybe 4/10. The adenoid removal was the most noticeable. The only thing in the world I cared about was ice chips. I chewed 5 cups worth and swallowed as much as possible. It wasn’t too painful yet. They gave me liquid 7.5/500 Lortab. I’m able to whisper and swallow with great effort, but it’s not terrible. I had a few cups of applesauce, chicken broth, and even one whole scrambled egg tonight for dinner! I must have peed 10 times since arriving home. And breathing up water vapor from my humidifier. I’m terrified of drying out so I’m keeping that throat wet! The pain medication doesn’t even make me drowsy. I’m in the least pain about one hour after taking it, and that’s when I down as much water as possible. So far the worst pain is 6/10, best 3/10.
Hello everyone.. I had my tonsillectomy 12 hours ago and the pain has slowly increased from tolerable to moderate to now severe. I was prescribed Lortab every 4 hours but am finding it lasts no more than 2 and just barely takes the edge off. I woke up about an hour ago and was in absolute tears. I’d like to think I have a high pain tolerance after giving birth w/ no meds but this is horrific; I waved the white flag and took my Lortab after only 3 hours. I know I should follow the schedule but I had to this one time.
Popsicles and ice cold water help but swallowing in general in unbearable so the relief is minimal. Talking is nearly out of the question and what is with all this thick saliva?! It’s only forcing me to be more aware of the need to swallow.
I envy those of you who are sailing right through this and sympathize with those with me in the same boat. Best wishes to everyone, and Greg thank you for this site. I felt so prepared as to what to expect and relieved to have a place to come to, if only to vent.
Speedy recoveries to all.
My tonsillectomy was performed on January 14th by a Colorado ENT surgeon. He did a fantastic job. I was put on several different anesthetics, and I came back to consciousness crying. Sometimes that happens. Ice chips and cran-apple juice were given to me and I was given an hour or so to just relax and come to gently. That first day was great, I had liquid hydrocodone (vicodin) to take every four hours, which we decided to back up to every three hours. Unfortunately, one of my pre-op blood tests got lost and the results were not present for the surgery. It was for Factor 8 hemophilia. That night I slept very little because I felt as though there was liquid running down my throat. I woke up at 7am and to my horror, my throat started bleeding. I went to the ER, they used Neo-Synephrine on my throat, gave me an IV with pain killers, and did everything they could to slow the bleeding. I then had the clots removed from my throat, a numbing medication sprayed in my throat, and the bleeding was stopped by silver nitrate. The silver nitrate looks like a giant match with a silver head instead of red. Of course my gag reflex was triggered, and my throat closed down around it, but I still felt nothing. If you, like me, have post-tonsillectomy bleeding: Do not panic. Lean forward and let it drain into a bucket or a big bowl. Bite a towel, and keep it there. That will slow the bleeding by allowing the blood to clot in your mouth. Try not to vomit. The human body is designed to have an aversion to the taste, sight, and smell of its own blood, but vomiting may harm the surgical site. Bleeding does not hinder healing time. Swallowing blood will make your stomach quite upset, but sometimes it can’t be helped. You need to go to the ER, and they will get control of the bleeding. Just make sure to take slow, deep breaths and not panic. You will be fine. I’ll continue my posting on day 2.
I had my tonsillectomy today morning at 9am and was discharged from hospital by 3:30ish. So far so good-just like having sore throat. Managed to have some food down and lots of water! (Tried apple juice too at home, but just one sip as it was stinging so no more for sure!) Even had cottege pie for dinner!:) And the painkillers to swallow which was not so much fun though. My stomach is full cant believe it!:) I was so scared of this operation, and no problem so far. Havent slept since woke up from GA tho. I dont dare to fall a sleep-having read some bad stories. Dont want to wake up in lots of pain and with dry throat.:( Hope I will say the same tomorrow too-that Im fine!! Wish you guys all well here and a speedy recovery! 🙂
Hey, I’m no doctor, but i’m not too sure you should be taking ibuprofen. Take tylenol instead – ibuprofen increases the risk of bleeding. I went for my pre-op evaluation the other day (I’m having my surgery in like 9 hours!!) and when he told me that I should stop taking the pain meds after a week or so and take tylenol instead, I asked if Advil (ibuprofen) was ok too – he quickly snapped back saying noo!!! It increases the risk of bleeding, unlike tylenol which is a different drug that helps relieve most of the same symptoms. Hope this helps
So today I had surgery and I am up. I have ear ache, headache and hurts to swallow my own salvia. Help!!! The doctor put me on nucynta 50 mg but it doesn’t seem to work. I also take percocet 10 mg for chronic back pain but still very little relief. I don’t recommend anything with dairy since it is cause me to have mucus buildup.
Day 1. I am 32 years old. Never had strep in my life, then had it three confirmed times within 8 months. Yuck! The swelling caused sleep apnea. Tonsillectomy/adednoiectomy scheduled at 9:15am on 01/18/2013 (yesterday) via electro-cauterography . There were 2 doctors performing a total of 16 surgeries. 14 children and 4 adults. To say I was nervous is an understatement. My last surgery was an appendectomy 15 years ago. I’ve been stressing about this for over a month, hearing nothing but horror stories from friends. I have a very powerful gag reflex and the idea of tools down my throat is menacing. On the way to the clinic my heart was racing and my knees weak. I didn’t sleep a wink the night before and I was fidgeting in the waiting room. I’m also a chronic pain patient. I have been taking 10/325 Percocet twice each night for pain for over 3 years for nerve entrapment in my pelvis, which is something no doctor has been able to fix. This gives me a high tolerance to pain medication. The surgery started an hour late, and took 30 minutes. I fought the anesthetic but fell asleep within one minute of the gas and IV. Woke up in not too much pain considering he didn’t use local numbing, maybe 4/10. The adenoid removal was the most noticeable. The only thing in the world I cared about was ice chips. I chewed 5 cups worth and swallowed as much as possible. It wasn’t too painful yet. They gave me liquid 7.5/500 Lortab. I’m able to whisper and swallow with great effort, but it’s not terrible. I had a few cups of applesauce, chicken broth, and even one whole scrambled egg tonight for dinner! I must have peed 10 times since arriving home. And breathing up water vapor from my humidifier. I’m terrified of drying out so I’m keeping that throat wet! The pain medication doesn’t even make me drowsy. I’m in the least pain about one hour after taking it, and that’s when I down as much water as possible. So far the worst pain is 6/10, best 3/10.
Hello everyone.. I had my tonsillectomy 12 hours ago and the pain has slowly increased from tolerable to moderate to now severe. I was prescribed Lortab every 4 hours but am finding it lasts no more than 2 and just barely takes the edge off. I woke up about an hour ago and was in absolute tears. I’d like to think I have a high pain tolerance after giving birth w/ no meds but this is horrific; I waved the white flag and took my Lortab after only 3 hours. I know I should follow the schedule but I had to this one time.
Popsicles and ice cold water help but swallowing in general in unbearable so the relief is minimal. Talking is nearly out of the question and what is with all this thick saliva?! It’s only forcing me to be more aware of the need to swallow.
I envy those of you who are sailing right through this and sympathize with those with me in the same boat. Best wishes to everyone, and Greg thank you for this site. I felt so prepared as to what to expect and relieved to have a place to come to, if only to vent.
Speedy recoveries to all.
My tonsillectomy was performed on January 14th by a Colorado ENT surgeon. He did a fantastic job. I was put on several different anesthetics, and I came back to consciousness crying. Sometimes that happens. Ice chips and cran-apple juice were given to me and I was given an hour or so to just relax and come to gently. That first day was great, I had liquid hydrocodone (vicodin) to take every four hours, which we decided to back up to every three hours. Unfortunately, one of my pre-op blood tests got lost and the results were not present for the surgery. It was for Factor 8 hemophilia. That night I slept very little because I felt as though there was liquid running down my throat. I woke up at 7am and to my horror, my throat started bleeding. I went to the ER, they used Neo-Synephrine on my throat, gave me an IV with pain killers, and did everything they could to slow the bleeding. I then had the clots removed from my throat, a numbing medication sprayed in my throat, and the bleeding was stopped by silver nitrate. The silver nitrate looks like a giant match with a silver head instead of red. Of course my gag reflex was triggered, and my throat closed down around it, but I still felt nothing. If you, like me, have post-tonsillectomy bleeding: Do not panic. Lean forward and let it drain into a bucket or a big bowl. Bite a towel, and keep it there. That will slow the bleeding by allowing the blood to clot in your mouth. Try not to vomit. The human body is designed to have an aversion to the taste, sight, and smell of its own blood, but vomiting may harm the surgical site. Bleeding does not hinder healing time. Swallowing blood will make your stomach quite upset, but sometimes it can’t be helped. You need to go to the ER, and they will get control of the bleeding. Just make sure to take slow, deep breaths and not panic. You will be fine. I’ll continue my posting on day 2.
I had my tonsillectomy today morning at 9am and was discharged from hospital by 3:30ish. So far so good-just like having sore throat. Managed to have some food down and lots of water! (Tried apple juice too at home, but just one sip as it was stinging so no more for sure!) Even had cottege pie for dinner!:) And the painkillers to swallow which was not so much fun though. My stomach is full cant believe it!:) I was so scared of this operation, and no problem so far. Havent slept since woke up from GA tho. I dont dare to fall a sleep-having read some bad stories. Dont want to wake up in lots of pain and with dry throat.:( Hope I will say the same tomorrow too-that Im fine!! Wish you guys all well here and a speedy recovery! 🙂
Thanks for sharing. Are you running a humidifier?
No nothing, just paracetamol and ibuprofen in every 4hrs. Its 9:30am at UK time, Im still fine, Im sooooo lucky! 🙂
Hey, I’m no doctor, but i’m not too sure you should be taking ibuprofen. Take tylenol instead – ibuprofen increases the risk of bleeding. I went for my pre-op evaluation the other day (I’m having my surgery in like 9 hours!!) and when he told me that I should stop taking the pain meds after a week or so and take tylenol instead, I asked if Advil (ibuprofen) was ok too – he quickly snapped back saying noo!!! It increases the risk of bleeding, unlike tylenol which is a different drug that helps relieve most of the same symptoms. Hope this helps