A collection of various experiences of adult tonsillectomy patients on their fourth day post op 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. Below I share comments about tonsillectomy day 4. 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.
Please feel free to add your own experience with tonsillectomy day 4.
-Greg Tooke My short bio
Tonsillectomy Day 4
I’m currently at the end of Day 4 since my combined tonsillectomy, balloon sinuplasty, and septoplasty. I’m 25 years old This has by no means been a walk in the park so far, but it honestly isn’t as bad as I had feared it would be. Back in October I had an abscess inside my tonsil that I had to get lanced, and the pain from this recovery so far has not been quite as severe as the pain from the abscess. On the day of my surgery when I got home, I slept for 95% of the rest of the day. Woke up around 2am in a lot of pain and had to migrate from my bed to the recliner and continued to wake up every 45 minutes or so. I think this first night was definitely the worst for me because I had packing in my nose from the sinus surgery so I had literally no choice but to breathe out of my mouth. My tongue was like sandpaper (gross I know) even though I tried to drink as frequently as possible. I did not eat anything that first day and just drank water when I could. At 8:30 the next morning I saw my ENT to get the packing removed from my nose thank God. It took most of the second day for the congestion to clear up but once it did it was a big relief for me. Day 2 I would say my pain was around a 4 or so during the day. I was able to eat some popsicles and cream of wheat which tasted like heaven. Again, the middle of the night and first thing in the morning were the worst for me. I was prescribed liquid hydrocodone and a steroid for the swelling. I alternated the hydro every 6 hours with extra strength liquid Tylenol. That seemed to help most of the time. Day 3 was pretty uneventful, tried to incorporate mashed potatoes into my diet but it made my jaw pretty tired and sore. Went to bed, woke up at like 2am again in a lot of pain so I took more meds and put ice packs on my neck which helped me go back to sleep. Today, day 4, the morning sucked as usual but once the steroid kicked in I was feeling much better. Pain was probably at a 3 most of the day. Today I was also able to leave the house to grab a couple of things from the store and made an appearance at a family gathering. I was able to eat some more “real” food there which included potato salad and a roll. After being out of the house for about 1 1/2 I was EXHAUSTED. I guess I’m still building up stamina. Tomorrow will day 5 and hopefully things continue to go smoothly. I know a lot of people say the pain is worse when the scabs fall off so I won’t be super shocked if I start to go downhill but I’m trying my best to stay positive and am overall pleasantly surprised at how well I’ve been doing!
Tonsillectomy Day 4 post op : OMG! I am dying!
Tonsillectomy Day 4 post op: Oh, so THIS is the pain everyone’s talking about.
Tonsillectomy Day 4 : Well, last night was the best night so far – which is nothing to brag about. The ear pain last night was even worse; so far, that is the nastiest part of this recovery. I did however wake up coughing due to a tickle in my throat. As most of you know, coughing and clearing your throat is a no-no…but to me, it was a yes-yes. There was absolutely nothing I could do, but cough! I was drinking water, but it wouldn’t stop. Thankfully, that didn’t trigger any bleeding! The morning was alright minus the _ _ _ _ _ _ _. That’s right; you got it, the EAR PAIN! And I ended up thinking that I made the wrong decision about just sticking to children’s Tylenol. I decided to nix the child Tylenol idea, as it was doing almost nothing for me and moved to taking extra strength Tylenol – obviously I had to crush it up and mix with it with ice cream. I got my mom to call the doctors office to see if there was anything else I could be prescribed. The doctor faxed a prescription for Percocet’s to my pharmacy and I was extremely happy. At this point I could talk a little bit, but very low and even then it hurt, so I had a pad of paper and a pen with me at all times (I guess I’m lucky I got 100% on all of the spelling bees in elementary school)! My mom came home with the Percocet’s and I could have kissed her! It said I could take 1 to 2 pills every 4 hours, but decided to start with one because I heard that they were super strong. I couldn’t swallow it so I crushed it up into applesauce and consumed it that way. Not even 10 minutes later I started getting a stomach ache and got incredibly dizzy. So dizzy that I couldn’t see straight and my eyes felt like they were crossing. My mom called the doctor’s office up and explained the symptoms. He confirmed that it was normal. NORMAL? Is that what you call normal? I felt like I was seeing double (I have glasses, so would that be considered quadruple?) Nevertheless, if I knew of the severity of the symptoms I would have battled with the codeine! I decided to lie down for about 2 hours and woke up with pain still in my stomach; I guess the only good news is the dizziness was gone. Once the Percocet wore off, I dumped the rest of the prescription in the toilet (or the majestic bowl – however you want to refer to it). I ate some chicken broth today, with a cracker that I broke up into a million pieces and softened it in the soup. I got most of it down, so it was pretty good. The ear pain was getting a little hard to manage so I decided to use ear plugs and a heating pad. Both of them together helped to muffle and alleviate the pain. As of right now, I need 2 Tylenol every 4 hours, but it does work better than the children’s Tylenol!
Tonsillectomy Day 4 : 4th morning..and I was miserable…
Tonsillectomy Day 4 : 4 days post-op and overall it’s not as bad as it could be. As long as I take the Roxicet every 4 hours (even in the middle of the night) and the steroids every morning, the pain is bearable.
Tonsillectomy Day 4 : 4 days post op and today was the worst as far as just pain. I’m attempting Mac n cheese here in 5 min. But overall the pain isn’t too bad. 🙂 but then again I’m only 4 days out.
Tonsillectomy Day 4 : To date the hardest part of the recovery are the panic attacks i get. I believe they come from my inability to clear my nasal airway. My nose has splints in it to keep the septum straight, so along with the swelling my nose is constantly congested. The pain has not been an issue yet, but i did a little research and heard from the doctors office that the pain comes typically around days 5-10
Tonsillectomy Day 4 : Day four–out of anti-nausea meds, felt like sick again after taking pain meds. Decided to forgo the pain meds and take advil and tylenol alternating, like my doctor recommended. Throat hurt A LOT but I felt like a human being. Still not eating much, popsicles and smoothies too cold, soft boiled eggs were the BOMB!
Tonsillectomy Day 4 : Day 4- woke up in pain, felt better during day- night was painful.
Tonsillectomy Day 4 : Days 4-6: Very small, almost imperceptible, improvements each day. I was able to drop my Lortab doses from 15ml down to 10ml and even stop taking it during the days and just took Tylenol. The evenings were rough for me though, and I still needed the Lortab (hydrocodone and acetaminophen). Sleep was intermittant, and required me to get up and re-hydrate and take more Lortab. Food intake during these days was very very little. I did OK with oatmeal and instant pudding, but that’s about it. Make no mistake – these were difficult days.
Tonsillectomy Day 4 : I was able to sleep a little bit during the night. Taking the liquid benadryl helps. Pain was bad. Started to be able to feel the scabs in the back of my throat very well today. Ear pain increased a bit and chewing Dentyne Ice gum helps a bit for that. Had horrible diarrhea during the afternoon but was also relieved at the same time because it was the first time I was able to go number two since the morning of surgery. I was able to actually eat a bowl of cream of wheat today and ate some chicken broth with soggy oyster crackers in it. I get bad hiccups at times which hurt really bad. Swallowing is still very tough to do.
Tonsillectomy Day 4 : Day 4: I am out of pain meds and I want to cry. I have been taking 2 vicoden pills every four hours and it is barely helping with the pain. The pain meds are making me very tired and itchy all over so my husband has went to the doctor’s office to get me something different. The nurse at the doctor’s office told my husband that I was not going to feel better for at least a week. Wow, I feel hopeless right now. I was relieved when the hubster came home with Percocet. Percocet has worked a little better and now the pain is bearable.
I am four days out of surgery. I spent the night after in the hospital and left with the feeling that this wasn’t going to be as bad as everyone warned me about…boy was I wrong. As time goes by the pain is worse. I have almost a constant headache and a spit cup by my bed because it hurts to even swallow my own saliva. I am sleeping off and on and trying to stay hydrated. Ginger Ale seems to be working as it is vey refreshing as long as I do tiny sips. Pudding and ice cream do not help as they cause too much mucus build up and cause me to cough. I have found that Ramen noodles with a lot of both and cooled down considerably and rainbow sherbet are the best things. The noodles tend to just slide down my throat with little effort on my part and the sherbet is really cold and soothing without the residue of milk products. The best pain reliever I have found besides the magic mouthwash is the ice pack on my throat, it’s calming and it takes the swelling down. I sleep with a CPAP machine and the humidifier in it is a God send, the times I have fallen asleep without it I have woken up in excruciating pain from my throat drying out, the humidifier helps keep everything moist and lubricated and helps everything not be so painful. I’m really nervous about the coming days with the scabs coming off and bleeding being an issue. I guess I will try to keep those scabs as long as possible, even though they are uncomfortable, so that the skin underneath has enough time to heal.
31 year old female, tonsillectomy 5/22, traditional cauterization method
Morning of Day 4: My experience so far.
Everyone says to get ahead of the game while the effects of anesthesia are still working right? So I thought it was a smart idea to bring a cooler to the surgery center and upon discharge, I immediately began drinking coconut water. Aaahhhh, coconut water. Better for hydration than regular water and way more soothing to the throat. Highly, highly recommend. I think I drank 6 bottles on the first day.
I was originally prescribed liquid Tylenol with codeine but after the first two doses on the first day, knew it wasn’t going to cut it. Called my surgeon that evening and he switched me to liquid Lortab. Sooooo much better!
After the switch in meds, days 1 and 2 weren’t so bad. Able to eat applesauce, those Liptons soup packets, and coconut water. Played mind games out of a book and worked on a puzzle. Found these are particularly helpful because the pain starts to intensify about an hour before the next scheduled pain med dose and the games help to stay distracted so that I’m not focusing on the pain.
Yesterday however, day 3, I made a mistake and took the codeine instead of the Lortab for my morning dose. This was because when I woke up overnight to take my scheduled pain meds, I found that I had chest congestion and an intense urge to cough (big no, no with wounds in the throat!). I thought maybe it was a side effect of the Lortab and wanted to be safe so I took the codeine. Big mistake and the worst way to start day 3. The pain must have spiked to an 8 and it took the next two doses (8 hours) to get it back under control. After talking (well someone else talking for me) to the surgeon, turns out that the chest congestion was being caused by sleeping while lying flat. Staying elevated helps to keep fluid out of the lungs. Tried sleeping that way last night and much better now.
Day 4 tonsillectomy on 5/16/2014. Today was by far the worst of all and by that I do not mean any throat pain. This entire time my throat has felt completely fine (except for the 8 hour hiccup fits I’ve been getting), but because of the nausea I’m experiencing, I can’t get food in and because of no food, the amoxicillin and hydrocodon haven’t been playing well with my stomach. So, let’s just say that as soon as I attempted to eat some French onion soup, the kitchen had been covered in all liquids taken within the last 5 days. The vomiting went on for about three hours straight and after having raging ups and downs of pain, my entire family decided to make my favorite meal that they rarely will make, and little old me can’t eat it, let alone smell it without tearing up. So off to the bedroom for me to have another netflix marathon and hopefully dream of fried eggplant, cordon bleu, and all the other tasty foods I can’t consume for another week. The terrible stomach acid burning is not only I my throat, but also in my nose (GRAPHIC SCENE ABOUT TO COME UP) I’m assuming because without my tonsils, everything will just come right out wherever it can (except the one place I want it to. Stupid constipation) and ten to twenty tissues now have onion pieces on them. Hey, at least with all the water I’m drinking my pee is coming out crystal clear. Maybe this whole thing will convince me to drink and eat healthier in the long run.
Nah. I’ll probably just remember the taste of a mcdouble and forget about all things liquid and or sauce like.
Day 4: I am able to walk around my house and shower without feeling like I’m going to pass out, so I would say that’s improvement. Attempted to eat fish and a baked potato today. Forced down mice-sized bites despite the pain. It is better to stick to frozen things, although it’s killing me! The jaw and ear pain today is ridiculous. It feels like someone has their hands wrapped around my throat while they are stabbing me with a knife. Also, I’ve had difficulty breathing, probably because my throat is swollen to the size of an NFL players’ thigh. I have high hopes for tomorrow..
Female (36) – cauterizing method, constant tonsillitis since I was four, tonsil abscess last month
So today I am at the end of day 4 (tonsillectomy on Friday 5/9). So far, no pain really to speak of (like a constant 1). I keep up with my minimum roxicet dose every 4 hours just in case, but I probably will just try regular Tylenol tomorrow. I read practically every post on this website a month before my surgery and it has really helped. The few things I am doing I think are working, 1) during the day I keep ice on my neck all the time – ice pack held on with a simple neck-collar thing. I change the ice pack every 30 minutes or so, 2) I started eating solid food right away – I had 2 McDonald cheeseburgers on the way home from the hospital and two the next day, and I have also been eating Stouffer’s mac-n-cheese, pot-pies, muffins, ravioli in a can … (I am usually a kale-shake/salad kind of girl ), 3) during the day I drink water and Gatorade all the time, but the weirdest thing I am doing is 4) sleeping in the basement bathroom on a comfy lawn-chair thing and blankets with the cool-mist humidifier pretty much all the way up (meter says it gets to something like 80-90% humidity in the room) – I wake up every hour to drink water and every 3-4 hours I also have some apple sauce squeeze pack and roxicet. Seriously, I wake up in no pain – although my blankets are slightly damp!
I am four days out of surgery. I spent the night after in the hospital and left with the feeling that this wasn’t going to be as bad as everyone warned me about…boy was I wrong. As time goes by the pain is worse. I have almost a constant headache and a spit cup by my bed because it hurts to even swallow my own saliva. I am sleeping off and on and trying to stay hydrated. Ginger Ale seems to be working as it is vey refreshing as long as I do tiny sips. Pudding and ice cream do not help as they cause too much mucus build up and cause me to cough. I have found that Ramen noodles with a lot of both and cooled down considerably and rainbow sherbet are the best things. The noodles tend to just slide down my throat with little effort on my part and the sherbet is really cold and soothing without the residue of milk products. The best pain reliever I have found besides the magic mouthwash is the ice pack on my throat, it’s calming and it takes the swelling down. I sleep with a CPAP machine and the humidifier in it is a God send, the times I have fallen asleep without it I have woken up in excruciating pain from my throat drying out, the humidifier helps keep everything moist and lubricated and helps everything not be so painful. I’m really nervous about the coming days with the scabs coming off and bleeding being an issue. I guess I will try to keep those scabs as long as possible, even though they are uncomfortable, so that the skin underneath has enough time to heal.
31 year old female, tonsillectomy 5/22, traditional cauterization method
Morning of Day 4: My experience so far.
Everyone says to get ahead of the game while the effects of anesthesia are still working right? So I thought it was a smart idea to bring a cooler to the surgery center and upon discharge, I immediately began drinking coconut water. Aaahhhh, coconut water. Better for hydration than regular water and way more soothing to the throat. Highly, highly recommend. I think I drank 6 bottles on the first day.
I was originally prescribed liquid Tylenol with codeine but after the first two doses on the first day, knew it wasn’t going to cut it. Called my surgeon that evening and he switched me to liquid Lortab. Sooooo much better!
After the switch in meds, days 1 and 2 weren’t so bad. Able to eat applesauce, those Liptons soup packets, and coconut water. Played mind games out of a book and worked on a puzzle. Found these are particularly helpful because the pain starts to intensify about an hour before the next scheduled pain med dose and the games help to stay distracted so that I’m not focusing on the pain.
Yesterday however, day 3, I made a mistake and took the codeine instead of the Lortab for my morning dose. This was because when I woke up overnight to take my scheduled pain meds, I found that I had chest congestion and an intense urge to cough (big no, no with wounds in the throat!). I thought maybe it was a side effect of the Lortab and wanted to be safe so I took the codeine. Big mistake and the worst way to start day 3. The pain must have spiked to an 8 and it took the next two doses (8 hours) to get it back under control. After talking (well someone else talking for me) to the surgeon, turns out that the chest congestion was being caused by sleeping while lying flat. Staying elevated helps to keep fluid out of the lungs. Tried sleeping that way last night and much better now.
Thanks for the update. It sounds like you have a handle on things Katy. Remember: This is temporary!
Day 4 tonsillectomy on 5/16/2014. Today was by far the worst of all and by that I do not mean any throat pain. This entire time my throat has felt completely fine (except for the 8 hour hiccup fits I’ve been getting), but because of the nausea I’m experiencing, I can’t get food in and because of no food, the amoxicillin and hydrocodon haven’t been playing well with my stomach. So, let’s just say that as soon as I attempted to eat some French onion soup, the kitchen had been covered in all liquids taken within the last 5 days. The vomiting went on for about three hours straight and after having raging ups and downs of pain, my entire family decided to make my favorite meal that they rarely will make, and little old me can’t eat it, let alone smell it without tearing up. So off to the bedroom for me to have another netflix marathon and hopefully dream of fried eggplant, cordon bleu, and all the other tasty foods I can’t consume for another week. The terrible stomach acid burning is not only I my throat, but also in my nose (GRAPHIC SCENE ABOUT TO COME UP) I’m assuming because without my tonsils, everything will just come right out wherever it can (except the one place I want it to. Stupid constipation) and ten to twenty tissues now have onion pieces on them. Hey, at least with all the water I’m drinking my pee is coming out crystal clear. Maybe this whole thing will convince me to drink and eat healthier in the long run.
Nah. I’ll probably just remember the taste of a mcdouble and forget about all things liquid and or sauce like.
Day 4: I am able to walk around my house and shower without feeling like I’m going to pass out, so I would say that’s improvement. Attempted to eat fish and a baked potato today. Forced down mice-sized bites despite the pain. It is better to stick to frozen things, although it’s killing me! The jaw and ear pain today is ridiculous. It feels like someone has their hands wrapped around my throat while they are stabbing me with a knife. Also, I’ve had difficulty breathing, probably because my throat is swollen to the size of an NFL players’ thigh. I have high hopes for tomorrow..
Female (36) – cauterizing method, constant tonsillitis since I was four, tonsil abscess last month
So today I am at the end of day 4 (tonsillectomy on Friday 5/9). So far, no pain really to speak of (like a constant 1). I keep up with my minimum roxicet dose every 4 hours just in case, but I probably will just try regular Tylenol tomorrow. I read practically every post on this website a month before my surgery and it has really helped. The few things I am doing I think are working, 1) during the day I keep ice on my neck all the time – ice pack held on with a simple neck-collar thing. I change the ice pack every 30 minutes or so, 2) I started eating solid food right away – I had 2 McDonald cheeseburgers on the way home from the hospital and two the next day, and I have also been eating Stouffer’s mac-n-cheese, pot-pies, muffins, ravioli in a can … (I am usually a kale-shake/salad kind of girl ), 3) during the day I drink water and Gatorade all the time, but the weirdest thing I am doing is 4) sleeping in the basement bathroom on a comfy lawn-chair thing and blankets with the cool-mist humidifier pretty much all the way up (meter says it gets to something like 80-90% humidity in the room) – I wake up every hour to drink water and every 3-4 hours I also have some apple sauce squeeze pack and roxicet. Seriously, I wake up in no pain – although my blankets are slightly damp!