Shreeya’s Tonsillectomy at Age 20
Hi I’m 20 years old and I have fully recovered from my tonsillectomy that happened exactly 3 weeks ago. It was the most painful experience of my life but looking back I am so glad I went through with it.
The first 7 days are the most painful, it is nearly impossible to eat and the codeine and painkillers made me extremely drowsy and depressed. I was restless all the time; being at home and not being able to do anything along with the side effects of the medicine were making me go crazy. Although it is important to eat to help the scabs fall off, I would say don’t try too hard to eat solid foods very early during the recovery as other people have recommended. For me, it lead to bleeding and slowed down my recovery. Looking back, I would have stuck with a liquid diet for the first 5 days (instead of 3) and started introducing solid foods from day 6.
I would also recommend taking painkillers and medicine regularly the first week and to never skip a time as the pain is excruciating if you go too long without medicine! Drinking at least 3 liters of water is extremely helpful and will soothe your throat. Water quickly became my best friend and drinking everything from a straw was SO much better and easier, I would tell everyone to drink from a straw! The painkiller my doctor gave me was codeine and I would say to anyone who is taking codeine to be careful as it has many side effects and try to wean of it after a week, when the pain goes down.
Although, during my recovery I thought the pain would never get better and I would wake up in the middle of the night crying, I can tell you now to remember that you will be completely fine by day 15 if you are careful and look after yourself. Take care and good luck!!