I’m a 31 year old that had my tonsils removed 16 days ago. Luckily, my mom flew in to help take care of me after. The doc told my mom that my tonsils were the largest she had seen, so I would take longer to heal and be in more pain.
Here was my experience:
Day 1- not so bad…surgery at 7 am, and they kept me in the hospital until the evening to monitor my pain levels.
Day 2–pain in throat was bearable—only drank water and took liquid hydrocodone every 6 hours or so. HOWEVER, I had the worst migraine of my life—my head felt like it was literally splitting open. The doc called to check up and told my mom that this surgery can trigger migraines if you are susceptible. My mom went out and got Excedrin Migraine and crushed it in applesauce for me. This helped SO MUCH!!! Trust me, you do not want to experience a migraine on top of your throat pain. Also, I started to run a low-grade fever.
Day 3- Still rain a low grade fever. Still only drank water—tried eating a milkshake and it was too difficult to swallow. The positive side is I was drinking a ton of water to stay hydrated. Negative side—it did not help my fever.
Day 4- Fever was climbing higher. I could feel my body burning. Once it hit 102.5, my mom called the doc, and they put me on liquid antibiotics right away. Throat pain still bad—drinking water and eating applesauce. 4 days of pretty much just water at this point.
Day 5- Fever back down…throat feeling a bit better during the day. Drank a frappachino—weird metallic taste in my mouth made it taste really funky. Ate soup at night. Finally getting some nutrients, but still not enough.
Day 6- no fever! BUT, antibiotic started to upset my stomach…ate some Mac and Cheese, but couldn’t get much down…resorted to soup. Still taking the hydrocodone at night when the pain is the worst—liquid Advil during the day.
Day 7- Pain in throat is tolerable during the day if I stay on schedule with meds. Still can’t eat much— ate Mac and cheese and soup. Still can’t really talk.
Days 8-10– throat is tolerable during the day with meds, gets painful at night. Antibiotic made my stomach so upset—nausea, bloating, etc. Still sticking to soups and soft foods.
Day 11-13- throat is pretty good during the day with meds, was able to eat french fries and a soft grilled cheese sandwich, but throat would get sore and back to soup I went. Still painful at night
Day 14 – Went to work—voice went horse from talking and went home early
Day 15- follow up appmnt with doc—she said throat hasn’t healed and still at risk of bleeding. Recommended I stay on a soft diet for another week. Developed a cough and headache returned.
Day 16- My voice is gone, coughing up gunk, drainage from nose—I must have caught something while my body was trying to heal. Tired of being sick. Wondering when I will feel myself again. I woke up in the middle of the night and cried when I was hacking up stuff…my body just can’t seem to get it together, and I feel mentally drained.
A note: I never felt my scabs come off. My worst days as far as throat pain were days 1-7, and then it went uphill.
Some tips—
1) Get a big pillow that lets you sleep upright.
2) The humidifier did NOT help me the first 2 weeks—it made me cough and that was painful. However, it is helping me on week 3 now that my throat isn’t so raw.
3) If you are prone to migraines, make sure you have medicine for migraines handy!!
4) Icing the outside of your throat feels amazing. Do this.
5) Chocolate ice cream/milkshakes taste weird ever since my surgery. It is unpleasant—maybe stick to vanilla flavors?