Tonsillectomy Recovery Day by Day
Day 8
A collection of various experiences of adult tonsillectomy patients on their eighth day of recovery
Check out our new tonsillectomy recovery video- Caution: Not always pretty
Please feel free to add your own experience with tonsillectomy day 8.
-Greg Tooke My short bio
Tonsillectomy Day 8 : Crying. Just… Crying
Tonsillectomy Day 8 : So I woke up this morning with a dry throat. I wasn’t able to sleep more than 30 minutes at a time without coughing. Even while drinking water, my throat has been so dry, it’s like it just isn’t staying moist. I got so fed up, I asked my mom to go buy me a humidifier today. I know I’m a little late, I should have had it from the beginning, but I guess I thought I really didn’t need it. My post-op appointment is in 1 week and I really can’t wait. I definitely have a few questions to ask him! So, I finally got the nerve up to look into my throat, and even though it was a little hard to see, I do see a lot of gray areas. I thought I lost more scabs than I see in my throat, so I was wondering whether or not all of the gray areas are scabs, or if some of it is not scabs. I was told that it is all scabs, so I guess the scabs are going to take longer to fall off than I thought. So, I thought I was doing really well today and then all of a sudden my throat started squeezing really tightly when I swallowed. I slept for about an hour and woke up and it was gone. After talking to my dad who has dealt with panic attacks his whole life, he confirmed that he has had the same thing before and it is in fact mini panic attacks. Great, panic attacks – that’s all I need! I had one in the afternoon and then another one at night. The best way for me to deal with it is to sleep through it.
Tonsillectomy Day 8 : day 8..I thought someone had tried to bite off the back of my tongue and tried to scrape the white spots off with a nail filer…Also my feet were swelling, and I began to have a migraine and vomit, I was afraid i was going to rip my stitches..they had become so big me and my bf had named them “shrek ” feet
Tonsillectomy Day 8 : day 8 today and I felt terrible when I woke up! The pain was like a bruised/burning pain. I also feel like I have hay fever(which I don’t). However it’s now lunchtime and I feel considerably better. It feels like day 7 which I can cope with. Hoping day 10 will be the major turnaround day. I swear this feels like the longest recovery!
Tonsillectomy Day 8 : Day 8. 33 yrs old. Thanks for the info on the swollen tongue and the marks on it from my teeth. That makes total sense!! My throat feels much better, but the difficulty in eating seems to be coming from the underside of my tongue and my jaw. I will continue to take it easy in hopes that everything will continue to heal up. Im down 12 pounds. Its going to be hard not to put all of the weight back on. I’m starving!! lol
Tonsillectomy Day 8 : Days 8 – today – Pain has slowly begun to decrease, however, it’s remained at about a 3/4 for the last two days. However, my body has slowly begun to feel better. I feel like a human again. That’s a refreshing feeling.
Tonsillectomy Day 8 : Days 8-10–able to eat a little bit more everyday, but it was different every day. Pudding and mac & cheese were good one day, bad the next. Chicken noodle soup was also good, couldn’t eat anymore jello 😛 Throat still sore, still doing the Advil/Tylenol rotation. Waiting for scabs to fall off, but throat still all white.
Tonsillectomy Day 8 : Day 8, Ok I am feeling much better. Last night was rough. I had taken my pain meds around 11:30 PM , and around 12:15 my earache was unbearable. I had a problem eating yesterday. I just wanted to eat a Popsicle. I got down on my knees and prayed to God to let the pain go away so i could eat. A few minutes later, the pain in my ears subsided (Thanks God!). I ate 2 Popsicles.
Tonsillectomy Day 8 :Day 8- while I felt really crappy all day long I stayed home all day & rested and this evening I feel just a lil better.
Tonsillectomy Day 8 : Recovery Day 8 (post-op day 9):
Had another relapse of pain today on my right side and into my right ear. At this point I am just so exhausted from lack of sleep and lack of proper food. I had my post-op appointment with my surgeon today. He said i still have a ways to go but it is beginning to heal. He said my tonsils were extremely large and that the tonsil beds (where the tonsils were) that are now left behind are so massive that it will take extra time to heal since there is so much damaged tissue back there from the cauterization. I was able to eat some of a baked potato today with cheese and bacon.
Day 8 of my recovery. this experience has been worse than my natural home birth of my son like 10 x over – I am so not kidding. It just goes on and on and on. What I’ve realized the most is that despite all the immense overwhelming pain at times when I literally thought I might die from jaw, tongue, ear and throat pain, I was not prepared for the psychological challenge of this. I think my first memory of waking up in the recovery room struggling to swallow, looking the nurse in the eyes crying, saying “are you serious? what is going on in my throat, this cannot be happening” should have tipped me off to what was to come. Today however, I have hit my bottom and just need a good cry.
Let me explain, I had my surgery July 19/14. Day 1-3 were okay, uncomfortable but the pain and discomfort were manageable. I somehow managed to stay calm with the bizzare feeling of something being stuck in the back of my throat, sleeping upright, sipping ice chips constantly and even tolerating the unimaginable hunger pains. Eating only liquids (minus a few hard boiled eggs and a cup of mr. noodles hardly counts lol).
So as a single mom of a 4 year old so I arranged for my sister to fly across the country to help out, well she left on the morning of day7 which was my first real day from hell. I had some help with our caregiver but it’s just not the same. I have been taking my pain killers (mainly tramacet) religiously every 3.5 to 4 hours but on day 7 I called the surgeon and was like I need something stronger so went to see him yesterday. He looked in my mouth and said that it didn’t look too bad, still lots of scabs and the white coating on my tongue may be thrush but to wait a while to see if it goes away on its own. Soooooooooooooooo…. last night – oh, and I have not slept longer than 20 min intervals since this started, sleeping upright and coughing and the pain prevented me from anything longer than this. So last night I went to bed on my side for the first time uttlerly exhausted (I learned today that I was mistaken in thinking you had to lie upright on your back lol) and yes, an hour later 🙂 I woke to a liquid pouring down the back of my throat and me continuously swallowing it. After about 10 gulps I was like Oh I should check this maybe its blood. I have been so determined not to bleed. Ugh of course I spit up bright red blood in the sink for like 5 mins, not even cold ice water was helping. So the only night out of 14 I DO NOT HAVE SOMEONE in the house overnight was last night. I woke up my 4 year old and we went to the hospital in our pyjamas. To the hospital where I work none the less – was seen and ER doc sent me to another hospital where the original ENT surgeon who was going to do my surgery was going to meet me at 8am.
I went home at 5am – my son refused to sleep, I sat upright in bed with my eyes closed while I let him watch videos and his dad agreed to take me to the hospital apt in the morning. I am so utterly beyond starving and exhausted at this point, as well I start to feel angry and sad and just want some help. When will this be over? So I saw the ENT today and he was awesome. He was shocked he said to see how much of the scabs are still in my mouth (and my own ENT didn’t say anything yesterday). He suspected it may be an infection likely bacterial and gave me biaxin and nystatin oral rinse and told me to gargle with a tsp of salt water 4x per day. I had to stop clindimyacin after 5 days due to diarrhea.
I did get a few answers to my ridiculous questions I”ll share in case you have them too: you can sleep any way you like, side or back, whichever it doesn’t affect anything, the food you eat after surgery will not get “stuck” in the tonsil beds (my new obsession the past few days) and its ok to continue to take my pain meds til day 10 or 11 if needed. Interestingly, the pain is like a 2/10 today, thank god. Oh and there were not clots he could see waiting to burst.
So I am home now, my son with his dad and I am laying in bed. Have had water, my entire new regimen of new meds and am back on the tramacet every 4 hours for today. I’m going to relax for an hour before my son likely comes home – oh and life just keeps comin’ – my caregiver just called and her sisters water just broke…so looks like I’m on my own today with a 4 year old 🙂
I did the surgery due to tonsil stones, sore throats and bad breath. I have hated this entire process and suspect my recovery will be delayed now with his possible bacterial infection and delayed coming off of scabs, but I am glad I did it. At least I took action, whether or not it helps my problem is yet to be seen, but I am hopeful.
Hi Michelle, I’m on day 8 today and its been by far the worst pain. I was doing really well eating and drinking until now. It hurts so bad just to swallow water. I hate sleeping cause I know when I wake up it’ll be so dry. The other worst part is not knowing if I have thrush or not. My tongue has hurt terribly from the beginning cause of that clamp they use but now it burns in some spots and has a white film. From what I’ve read almost everyone has the white tongue. I guess I’ll have to call the doc mon morning. I agree this surgery is not for the weak and has been equally as painful as having my son. I just keep waiting for that hump day that people say you wake up and its not that bad.
I’m on day 8 of recovery. This has sure been a roller coaster ride with up and downs. The first few days weren’t too bad. Then on day four the jaw pain gripped me. That has been the most difficult part for me by far. I am surprised how much pain is going on in so many different places. Anyone else find the jaw pain to be difficult?
I’m suffering from a little bit of jaw pain, but most ear and throat pain. I had my tonsils out 6 days ago and am also surprised with the amount of pain that I’m feeling everywhere. Is the worst of your recovery over do you think?
Today was day 8 after a coblation tonsillectomy on 6/20. The last week was really a lost week – I spent the whole time in my house. I did shower regularly, but today was the first time I actually got dressed in real clothes (workout clothes) and put on shoes. I took my dog on a short walk outside, and it was nice to get out. Even though I still had pain in my throat that was occasionally very sharp, I felt as if I had turned a corner. I didn’t have to nap at all today, and I did a little work from home. I am still sticking to very soft foods, but thanks to a suggestion above, I tried an over-baked baked potato with sour cream and cheese (and no skin), and it worked well and felt more like real food than what I’ve been eating. It still took me like 30 minutes to eat a half of a baked potato, but it felt like progress.
I’ve been peering into the back of my throat. One tonsil bed looks especially deep, almost like a socket – it was the side that had the worse tonsil on it – so I’m interested in how long that will take to completely heal. It does look as if some of the scabs have come off. The ones that are remaining are the darker/grayer areas where the tonsil must have been attached originally. My uvula also looks like it has returned to a more normal size, maybe not all the way back, but better. My voice still sounds a little weird, and it hurts if I talk too much or at anything above a medium-low volume.
I guess now I am just hoping for continued healing and no major bleeding. We’ll see. But today I felt like I was on the upswing for sure.
You’re definitely recovering your energy quicker than I did, which says loads about your recovery overall. Today, day 11, was the first day I didn’t nap. Doesn’t it feel good to know you’re almost there? 🙂
Day 8 of recovery from coblation tonsillectomy: This morning I woke up without increased pain! I’ve been dosing 400mg ibuprofen every 3 hours and did that through the night. I woke up for a dose and felt a scab tear away a bit. There was more bleeding than previous times and it worried me wide awake. So I sipped cold water, ate frozen yogurt, sipped more water. Just about asleep and I would feel that prick again. Nothing bad happened but a loss of sleep. When I got out of bed, I had the same pain as when I laid down.
The scabs can come off any day now. Lately, the sensation is like getting a shot of novocaine at the dentist, minus the numbing. It was downright awful at times. Each time I’d think that was it and hope the next swallow would leave me scab free, but no.
My ear pain is minimal now, only bothering me if I have too big a bite I’m swallowing. My jaw aches, though. I don’t know if I’ve been clenching at night, or if my chewing muscles have been weakened by those days of little activity, but especially when I lay down, I find it hard to get comfortable on my pillow.
My swallowing aches, not raw, but like I’ve got a lump in my throat from crying. Again, I wonder if several days of little use have rendered it weak. Today I ate three meals! Plus I’m still pushing fluids to chase that fever away. Plus, I have what feels like an entire scab or two hanging in the back of my throat, two days now.
Be wary of feeling depressed. I cried a lot these last two days. I’m humbled by the help I’ve received from so many places, I miss being able to parent my kids, it hurts to be so far away from Life. I have really gained a lot of empathy for people living with chronic pain, and this is such a short pain compared to that.
I am still very fatigued and took two smaller naps today. Nighttime sleep is not as restful as it could be, with alarms going off several times, but I actually feel I am getting better!
Day 8 and I am still miserable. The pain is different now – it’s a horrible burning sensation at the back of my tongue. It feels like it does when you drink hot tea too soon and it burns your mouth. The Lortab doesn’t seem to help the burning sensation.
Yesterday was the roughest for me emotionally. I’m so tired of the pain and I don’t know how much more I can take. The hardest part is not knowing when relief will come. I feel like I will always have this pain.
Clara you have no idea how common all of this is. You are at the worst point right now. The nice thing about hitting the bottom? You have something to push off from. Hang in there. Give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve been through a lot. Plan to reward yourself with your favorite food. The end of the tunnel is just ahead !!!!
Thanks for the encouragement! It makes me feel like I’m not alone.
You are certainly NOT alone my dear. Have you read this article? Watch out for the blues…https://tonsillectomyrecovery.com/depression-after-tonsillectomy/