Tonsillectomy Tips From Laura

Tips For Tonsillectomy Recovery – Laura’s Story

Im 21, had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy on December 22. Day 1 I woke up from surgery and was immediately given meds through my IV. I felt pretty good the entire day and was still able to talk. Waking up on day 2 my uvula was extremely swollen and like everyone else, it felt like it was trying to kill me. Day’s three and four were bad but not unbearable (I was given Lortabs as my painkillers). Now on day five I woke up and my head, jaw and eyes were so swollen and the pressure that had built up was insane. It hurt more than my throat did. Turns out I’m allergic to the painkillers so the Doc had to prescribe a steroid to make the swelling go down. Now continue on with the rest of recovery with only motrin and occasional small doses of steroids only meant for swelling and not pain management. Days five, six and seven were my worst days being the most painful. From dry throat after waking up, to trying to eat anything or drink water. I couldn’t eat anything until day seven. I lost ten pounds and literally survived off of water and apple juice for a whole week. MASHED POTATOES ARE THE ENEMY until at least day 8. Day’s seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven I’ve had scabs at the back of my throat that feel like i’m being cut every time I try to talk or swallow. Doc said its completely normal even if extremely irritating and painful. Unfortunately my day eleven being new years, around four in the morning I was with the hubby celebrating when I started swallowing blood. Run to the bathroom and blood starts pouring out of my mouth for a good five minutes. Fast forward to ten in the morning after getting up and brushing my teeth, more blood started to gush out. Turns out its again, normal. Just scabs sloughing off. Just really really gross.

Now some tips on what to eat or drink:

Water is an absolute must. Some people really like ice with everything, for me room temperature was best because it didn’t shock my nerves.
Apple juice gave me the sugars I needed since I couldn’t actually eat anything.
When I did attempt to eat it was mashed potatoes first, big mistake. It was impossible to swallow and they kept getting stuck in my holes. The more I tried to swallow the more my throat hurt.
I did manage to eat some really soupy mac and cheese and crushed up ramen noodles so I didn’t have to chew, but that was on day three or four.
Now i’m not a huge fan of jello, but omg was it my friend. It required no chewing, it was cold enough that it felt good but didn’t hurt, and it literally slid right down.
Fast forward to days seven and so on. I could eat soft noodles as long as it was one or two noodles at a time so that it didn’t catch on any of the scabs or get stuck in the holes.
Now on day eleven I was able to eat a slice of pizza!!! YAY.

Unfortunately all taste buds are out of commission so my joy was short lived.

Now for pain management, Ice packs will be your best friend. Whether for swelling, pain or pressure. I made sure to have ice with me at all times, including when it came time to sleep.
I would have ice under my chin, on my head and pressed against my ears and boy oh boy did that feel amazing. As soon as the ice was gone i’d be miserable again.

NETFLIX WILL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND I PROMISE.

This overall experience has been one that I wish I never would have had to experience, but since feeling better its already starting to show that it was worth it. From being extremely painful and slow mending to never having tonsillitis and tonsil stones again. I can get with that.

But for those that think they’ll be able to cruise through this surgery because of a high pain tolerance or they’ve had something “Worse”, you might want to think again. You’ll need a minimum of a week off work to recover, and having someone take care of you is a huge plus.

Good luck to everyone that’s about to get the surgery or is recovering! It’s one hell of a ride!