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.
Day four – turned some kind of corner today. The scabs have formed in earnest today – they are thick and itchy, I cough occasionally as a result, but having them has profoundly changed pain levels. Was able to eat egg noodles and gravy last night along with some rice pudding. Today I have had a creamy chicken soup. Drinking a lot (sink of drinking, frankly), but staying ahead of hydration seems to be key. Today’s biggest change is going to be altering the overnight medication regiment. Waking up every four hours for Lortab appears to be doing more harm than good – I am responding well to Ibuprofen which also helps reduce some of the swelling of my uvula. Planning to take my dose at bedtime and then keep the ibuprofen if I wake up in middle of night. Pretty tired and drowsy today but all-in-all, not the nightmare I read this to be prior.
thanks! hope you feel better as well! my doctor prescribed me prednisone, a liquid antibiotic and vicodin for the pain. I have been suffering from a lot of mucus today and i have no idea how to get rid of it! i keep clearing my throat (which i know is a big “no no”) it is literally driving me nuts! i can’t wait for this to be over!
thanks! hope you feel better as well! i have been drinking lots of water and lukewarm tea. my doctor prescribed me prednisone, a liquid antibiotic and vicodin for the pain. I have been suffering from a lot of mucus today and i have no idea how to get rid of it! i keep clearing my throat (which i know is a big “no no”) it is literally driving me nuts! i can’t wait for this to be over! When i first got home from surgery the nurse told me i could eat french toast and i was thrilled! I went home and ate pancakes and afterwards was horrible because the morphine started to wear off. Pretty much all I’ve been able to eat is chicken noodle soup (cut up), oatmeal, popsicles. I had soft flounder with rice last night and that was another mistake and tonight I had chinese rice with cut up broccoli and brown sauce (another mistake). Looks like rice is not my friend right now. I keep getting ahead of myself but I just need to realize that liquids are really best for me right now. Have you been able to eat much?
whoops didn’t meant to post that twice :p
I’ve been eating pretty regularly but nothing elaborate – last night it was homemade macaroni and cheese and a side of applesauce. For lunch I had a creamy chicken soup and the day before had had oatmeal and scrambled eggs for lunch, egg noodles in gravy for dinner. So nothing elaborate – protein is the goal for today. I’ve had rice as well by way of rice pudding I find that getting it down is a bit of a task but helps me use those swallowing muscles. Today I’m feeling pretty well – made the decision to sleep through the night without rising to take meds – resulted in 12 hours sleep, woke up one time at 2:30AM and took some ibuprofen, nursed a popsicle and slept some more. I’m feeling like I’m coming around. Next goal is get off the codeine all together.
oh wow. yeah i guess i’m not keeping great track of my pain meds. I write down every single med that I take and what time but I do not set an alarm for them. I pretty much just wake up force myself to eat and then take the pain med. Then I take it usually every 4/5 hours. When I first wake up that is when the pain is the worst but like most people I can’t handle vicodin or anything like that on an empty stomach. So far today has been bad since I suffer from asthma and my wheezing and coughing is pretty bad. I took 1 pain pill so far about 2 hours ago and it has done nothing 🙁 Desperately counting down the days that this nightmare is over!
On Day 7 – still on Tylenol and Ibuprofen round the clock. Had diarrhea Day 3,4,5 and then 2 days off – now it is back. Anyone else having this issue? Eating very small amounts of boring food, soup, ices, noodles so nothing in system. Help!
I’m on day 4 also, mostly i am struggling with is so much mucus! I also got my adenoids removed. Yesterday my ears were hurting very badly and i was running a fever. Today i still have that fever my ears don’t hurt as much but the back of my head feels as if someone hit me with a bat. I really am wishing for thins to be all over soon!
I’m backtracking on purpose here to hopefully help others to not suffer like I did beginning on this day. Here is a ritual I have been using to soothe the scabs. From this day forward, tending to the scabs will become your life. If you don’t tend to them, they will let you know in a BIG way.
Steam became my friend. Fill your favorite mug 1/3 full and microwave it for 1-1 1/2 min. Inhale the steam opening your mouth as wide as you can inhaling deeply. Continue doing this until you feel relief. Sometimes, I had to reheat the cup of water a couple of times more.
Even water began to burn my throat. I found tepid/lukewarm (don’t make it hot—–could bring on bleeding)plain decaffeinated tea was a soothing lifesaver. The fancy flavored teas that I love had spices which burned. Insomnia is already a problem. Be sure to use decaffeinated. I would chase water with the tea, so that I could continue to stay hydrated. When my scabs screamed.
When ice doesn’t soothe anymore, turn your surgery ice pack bag into a hot water bottle. This is to soothe that resonating ear pain.
Chicken noodle soup with a heavy broth thoroughly coated my throat. If you live where you have a Hy-Vee grocery store, have someone pick up their brand of chicken noodle soup. It tastes homemade and works wonders. Campbell’s is okay, but the broth is thicker with the Hy-Vee brand. You might could use the Campbell’s and add chicken broth to it.
Acid and bacteria will build up in your mouth making you feel like you have hundreds of ulcers. Gargle with 1 tsp. of salt to 2 cups (500 ml) warm water 30 seconds for each sip twice a day (thank you to the person that noted that on this site).
If you follow this regimen, as well as be timely with your meds., you will be a survivor.
I called my doctor yesterday because the oxycodone isn’t cutting it. I nod out for 30 min then I’m i pain the rest of the 3 1/2 hours until I can repeat the process. The doctor gave me Celebrex… Reading up on that drug it doesn’t seem like it should Be used after surgery or for this kind of pain. I decided not to take them. Is this normal? Did anyone else get prescribed these? I also asked for a steroid for the extreme swelling of my tongue and uvula and was denied that. My throat looks much gnarlier that the pictures posted here. Kinda of concerned. Their are little cyls everywhere looks really sloppy
I’m on day 4and as we all know it when the real pain starts to peek into . It’s not like I’m trying to score drugs. I just want to not be in such intense pain.
Day 4 was not as bad as yesterday. Today was my first day back to taking care of the house and kids on my own again. My husband went back to work and my mom went back home. So long as I remember to drink my water and keep on top of my pain management, I’m ok. I did over do it a little in the morning. Trying to talk too much and not resting enough. It’s hard, though. By the end of the day, I was feeling pretty miserable and swollen and hurting. I was in bed as soon as my husband got home. I still can’t eat any food…. just ice water, and those Atkins french vanilla protein shakes. Tried pudding, too thick. Tried Jello, it stings. Maybe tomorrow.
Day four – turned some kind of corner today. The scabs have formed in earnest today – they are thick and itchy, I cough occasionally as a result, but having them has profoundly changed pain levels. Was able to eat egg noodles and gravy last night along with some rice pudding. Today I have had a creamy chicken soup. Drinking a lot (sink of drinking, frankly), but staying ahead of hydration seems to be key. Today’s biggest change is going to be altering the overnight medication regiment. Waking up every four hours for Lortab appears to be doing more harm than good – I am responding well to Ibuprofen which also helps reduce some of the swelling of my uvula. Planning to take my dose at bedtime and then keep the ibuprofen if I wake up in middle of night. Pretty tired and drowsy today but all-in-all, not the nightmare I read this to be prior.
i am on day 4 also and i am in soo much pain 🙁
Try crushing an NSAID to reduce swelling and keep hydrating. Feel better!!
thanks! hope you feel better as well! my doctor prescribed me prednisone, a liquid antibiotic and vicodin for the pain. I have been suffering from a lot of mucus today and i have no idea how to get rid of it! i keep clearing my throat (which i know is a big “no no”) it is literally driving me nuts! i can’t wait for this to be over!
thanks! hope you feel better as well! i have been drinking lots of water and lukewarm tea. my doctor prescribed me prednisone, a liquid antibiotic and vicodin for the pain. I have been suffering from a lot of mucus today and i have no idea how to get rid of it! i keep clearing my throat (which i know is a big “no no”) it is literally driving me nuts! i can’t wait for this to be over! When i first got home from surgery the nurse told me i could eat french toast and i was thrilled! I went home and ate pancakes and afterwards was horrible because the morphine started to wear off. Pretty much all I’ve been able to eat is chicken noodle soup (cut up), oatmeal, popsicles. I had soft flounder with rice last night and that was another mistake and tonight I had chinese rice with cut up broccoli and brown sauce (another mistake). Looks like rice is not my friend right now. I keep getting ahead of myself but I just need to realize that liquids are really best for me right now. Have you been able to eat much?
whoops didn’t meant to post that twice :p
I’ve been eating pretty regularly but nothing elaborate – last night it was homemade macaroni and cheese and a side of applesauce. For lunch I had a creamy chicken soup and the day before had had oatmeal and scrambled eggs for lunch, egg noodles in gravy for dinner. So nothing elaborate – protein is the goal for today. I’ve had rice as well by way of rice pudding I find that getting it down is a bit of a task but helps me use those swallowing muscles. Today I’m feeling pretty well – made the decision to sleep through the night without rising to take meds – resulted in 12 hours sleep, woke up one time at 2:30AM and took some ibuprofen, nursed a popsicle and slept some more. I’m feeling like I’m coming around. Next goal is get off the codeine all together.
oh wow. yeah i guess i’m not keeping great track of my pain meds. I write down every single med that I take and what time but I do not set an alarm for them. I pretty much just wake up force myself to eat and then take the pain med. Then I take it usually every 4/5 hours. When I first wake up that is when the pain is the worst but like most people I can’t handle vicodin or anything like that on an empty stomach. So far today has been bad since I suffer from asthma and my wheezing and coughing is pretty bad. I took 1 pain pill so far about 2 hours ago and it has done nothing 🙁 Desperately counting down the days that this nightmare is over!
On Day 7 – still on Tylenol and Ibuprofen round the clock. Had diarrhea Day 3,4,5 and then 2 days off – now it is back. Anyone else having this issue? Eating very small amounts of boring food, soup, ices, noodles so nothing in system. Help!
I’m on day 4 also, mostly i am struggling with is so much mucus! I also got my adenoids removed. Yesterday my ears were hurting very badly and i was running a fever. Today i still have that fever my ears don’t hurt as much but the back of my head feels as if someone hit me with a bat. I really am wishing for thins to be all over soon!
I’m backtracking on purpose here to hopefully help others to not suffer like I did beginning on this day. Here is a ritual I have been using to soothe the scabs. From this day forward, tending to the scabs will become your life. If you don’t tend to them, they will let you know in a BIG way.
Steam became my friend. Fill your favorite mug 1/3 full and microwave it for 1-1 1/2 min. Inhale the steam opening your mouth as wide as you can inhaling deeply. Continue doing this until you feel relief. Sometimes, I had to reheat the cup of water a couple of times more.
Even water began to burn my throat. I found tepid/lukewarm (don’t make it hot—–could bring on bleeding)plain decaffeinated tea was a soothing lifesaver. The fancy flavored teas that I love had spices which burned. Insomnia is already a problem. Be sure to use decaffeinated. I would chase water with the tea, so that I could continue to stay hydrated. When my scabs screamed.
When ice doesn’t soothe anymore, turn your surgery ice pack bag into a hot water bottle. This is to soothe that resonating ear pain.
Chicken noodle soup with a heavy broth thoroughly coated my throat. If you live where you have a Hy-Vee grocery store, have someone pick up their brand of chicken noodle soup. It tastes homemade and works wonders. Campbell’s is okay, but the broth is thicker with the Hy-Vee brand. You might could use the Campbell’s and add chicken broth to it.
Acid and bacteria will build up in your mouth making you feel like you have hundreds of ulcers. Gargle with 1 tsp. of salt to 2 cups (500 ml) warm water 30 seconds for each sip twice a day (thank you to the person that noted that on this site).
If you follow this regimen, as well as be timely with your meds., you will be a survivor.
Hope this helps.
I called my doctor yesterday because the oxycodone isn’t cutting it. I nod out for 30 min then I’m i pain the rest of the 3 1/2 hours until I can repeat the process. The doctor gave me Celebrex… Reading up on that drug it doesn’t seem like it should Be used after surgery or for this kind of pain. I decided not to take them. Is this normal? Did anyone else get prescribed these? I also asked for a steroid for the extreme swelling of my tongue and uvula and was denied that. My throat looks much gnarlier that the pictures posted here. Kinda of concerned. Their are little cyls everywhere looks really sloppy
I’m on day 4and as we all know it when the real pain starts to peek into . It’s not like I’m trying to score drugs. I just want to not be in such intense pain.
Day 4 was not as bad as yesterday. Today was my first day back to taking care of the house and kids on my own again. My husband went back to work and my mom went back home. So long as I remember to drink my water and keep on top of my pain management, I’m ok. I did over do it a little in the morning. Trying to talk too much and not resting enough. It’s hard, though. By the end of the day, I was feeling pretty miserable and swollen and hurting. I was in bed as soon as my husband got home. I still can’t eat any food…. just ice water, and those Atkins french vanilla protein shakes. Tried pudding, too thick. Tried Jello, it stings. Maybe tomorrow.