Friday, August 04, 2006

Recovery Days 8 & 9

What's there to say, yesterday was mostly like day 7, pain swallowing and chewing. I didn't eat much but was able to get down some mashed potatoes later in the evening. I think I had three maybe four tablespoons in all.

Last night was pretty good. I went without any medication and slept through the night . Well, I was woken up at 3:30 AM when our son came in because he had a bad dream.

When I woke up this morning my mouth was a little dry and I hacked up some disgusting stuff, which hurt a little so I took a dose of medication around 8:30 AM.

I've been pretty good ever since. I haven't had any more medication. It still hurts to swallow but I think that is more a muscular discomfort in the lower part of my neck, closer to the Adams apple. Again, I think that this is related to the scope they had to put down my throat during the procedure.

I ate the rest of my mashed potatoes this afternoon and didn't have any other discomfort so I got daring for dinner. For whatever reason I had a craving for Wendy's Chili. Yes, I had chili for dinner and survived. I did have the swallowing discomfort but nothing else. And yes, I ate the whole thing, with hot sauce.

I think what gets to me more than anything right now is talking. It seems that after talking for a bit my jaw begins to hurt. Good for my wife, bad for me. lol...

Anyway, it seems that I am finally over the worst.

123 comments:

  1. This was very informative. my 5 year old daughter just went through a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy five days ago. I feel she has been going through the same issues. I just noticed the white film on her tongue today, did you find out what that was all about? her follow up with the doctor is in two days and im worried about this. day 5 has been the worst so far and i cant wait til this gets better for her.

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  2. Hi,

    Ai am a 37 y/old guy who is on day 6 & appear to have been 1 of the lucky ones, as I havent experienced anything like the pain others describe. Whilst it hasnt been pain free & I have reduced my eating due to painful swallowing, I only experience pain when I swallow & it is bearable - certainly not like swallowing glass as others have described. I ate toast the morning after the op & have just limited myself to regular, frequent meals since. Ive been on 1 Panadiene (contains Codiene) & 1 Panadol every 4 - 6hrs, but think ill be weaning myself off them in the next few days. I know I'll be 1 of those who people will hate & Im not trying t rub anyone's face in it, but when I was reading other comments prior to my op, they were 100% bad & I just wanted to get the message out that there that not experiences are horrendous. Good luck to anyone about to have an op. I hope it goes well.

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  3. i am 19 on day 10.pain has deffinently decreased am able to eat and can almost talk.This was hell turns out i was the unluky one whose int he 2 percent that bleed 5 days after.was woke up 2 a mouthful of blood and a red pillow.Picked up by an ambulance and the who shabang,back to hospital was the worst experience of my life lost about a litre of blood.but glad to say no more bleeding after that and am on the road to a recovery FINALY,was starting to think i should have just put up with the tonsilitis.

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  4. Ok, I had nightmares leading up to this but I unfonrtunately even have to report that this is worse tahn antcipated! I don't say it lightly as I had Trigeminal Neuralgia and brain surgery two years ago... This pain is unrelenting, cruel and punishing. I am on day 5. First two days were bearable(day of surgery counting as one as I had it in the early morning and was cognicent the rest of the day). However the last 3 have been progressively worse, particularly at night, I am having problems swallowing and breathing. Yes, I am drinking constantly and yes, I went to the Doc to make sure I was ok. I have spit up scrabs, I am hoping that this is the last round of them. The only thing I can recommend is 1/2 an ambien and hot water with honey. My heart goes out to all of you!!

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  5. So I'm 18 and on my 2nd day of recovery from a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. I've found the best thing for me is to not speak (Im having a fun time writing down everything, and I even have a little bell I ring when I need something!) I also got a paper towel and put it near my mouth so I don't have to constantly swallow my saliva throughout the day. (sounds gross but it has helped out a bunch!) Been drinking a lot, and I found warm broth has helped a lot more than anything cold. It hasn't been THAT bad. A really horrible sore throat, and keeping the meds down is the most important thing. Lying still has helped the most with that one!

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  6. Wow -- So I am 27 years old and on day 7. I just found this blog and wish I would have earlier. I was just repremanding myself for being such a wus, but now at least I know I'm not alone and this is normal. I haven't scabbed or anything yet, but I think it is right around the corner as this afternoon is some of the worst pain yet.
    Thanks for all of your help -- misery really does love company.

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  7. Hi, I'm age 35 and on day 7. The pain is starting to get better, more pain in my jaw and tongue, and also when swallowing. My tonsil area is completely white, anyone know what that is all about? Hopefully this will all soon go away.

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    1. Hi,I am on day 9 and it is just now starting to ease. The pain peaked day 7-9. The white stuff on your throat are scabs.everything I eat or drink burns but was told that was the healing and the new tissue. Last night was the first night I didn't wake up and was able to sleep all night. I hope this was helpful. Just remember one day at a time

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  8. Hi, I'm age 35 and on day 7. The pain is starting to get better, more pain in my jaw and tongue, and also when swallowing. My tonsil area is completely white, anyone know what that is all about? Hopefully this will all soon go away.

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  9. I took my tonsils out 9 days ago on July 7, 2008. I am glad I found your blog and read it in its entirety before going into surgery. I must say that somethings I underwent and somethings I didn't. I suffered some mouth pain and still do, but This may sound strange, but you MUST drink. I over-hydrated myself, by sipping ice cold water every 15 seconds and it worked for me. Do not be afraid to drink, I cannot over emphasize how important it is to be hydrated as you heal. It will help your uvula return to its normal size and it will also shrink the inflammation in your throat. I find that ice cold liquids especially water does the trick. I also suffered ear aches between days 3-5, after that it reduced greatly. Luckily for me, the pain medication prescribed by the doctor has not adversely affected me like some people, and I take them on time. My doctor says that my recovery so far is better than most people half my age. (I am 39), so I dunno. The scabs haven't fallen off yet, but my uvula has started to shrink and I am now talking and returned to the job on day 8, of course I do take it easy. Foodwise, I eat cornmeal porridge, scrambled eggs, creamed potatoes and soup. If you drink soup make sure that acid forming vegetables like tomatoes are not put in there. Avoid any acid like tomatoes, citrus fruits etc as they burn BADLY. I ate a croissant today and it took some work but it was worth it. I am improving slowly everyday and that is important. To all those about to have one or just had one, hang tough, if you can see through the first 7 days it does get better. It is also ok to feel sorry for yourself, but, a positive attitude helps with the healing process.

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  10. Thank you for this blog. I'm on day 8 now and am discovering new symptoms every day. Day 4 was the worst headache I'd ever had which landed me in the ER. Day 6 was horrible stomach problems, seemingly due to an infection in my throat that is travelling to my stomach every time I swallow. And finally on Day 8 now, the worst day for my tongue. It hurts so bad I've opted not to eat.

    But overall I'm feeling much better and the "scabs" I can only assume are finally falling off. I refuse to look at my throat for fear that I will not eat. Well, I guess that's happening anyway.

    Good luck to you, and thanks again!

    -Beth

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  11. Hey all.

    I must say that this has been the worst experience ever. I am 23. Have not had much of an appetite. Day 1 was very uncomfortable. When I woke up I kept coughing and spitting blood. The next few days were awful. I kept vomiting and all I could do was sleep to avoid the nausea. Today is my 9th day i must admit i am feeling much better but I think the scabs are coming off. Still cant swallowing properly. I have a bad taste in my mouth and a funny smell. Apparently it is all normal and should gargle with ice cold salt water. It Helps...Best advice is to keep hydrated and rest. Take care all...

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  12. Hello All. My name is Jason Wright from the Gold Coast in Australia. I am 43 yrs old & now on day 8 of my recovery. Lots of rest, Paracetamol/Codeine & Antibiotics, cold water, yoghurt and soup/toast. Avoid citrus juice & any spicy food. I rang my doctor as I was concerned with the amount of pain relief (2 X 500mg paracetamol/10mg codeine every 4hrs) I was taking to survive. He assured me that this was normal for adult recovery. Hang in there, it beats ending up in hospital on an IV drip everytime you get a sore throat/quinsy. Good luck.

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  13. oh my god... i am 20 years old and i'm on day 4, i am in the most excruciating pain i have ever been in. This is a horrible experience, i know it will be worth it in the end but if i had have known what i was getting myself into, i definately would not have gone through with this...
    I'm allergic to penicillan so my ENT decided not to put me on anti biotics at all... all im using is panadol rapid because anything stronger just makes me pass out...
    I'm hoping this will improve very shortly...
    PS... the inside of my throat looks absolutely disgusting...!

    I think the ear pain is making it ten times worse!

    SOOOOOOOOOO FRUSTRATED and PISSED OFF!

    I just want this to end!

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    1. I'm 19 on day 7, the doctor told me this was no walk in the park but he never told me just how awful this procedure is!! Day 1-2 were OK I slept most of them and did not eat, day 3 I sipped water and forced mashed potatoes down mypain on day 3 was an 8, pain on day 4 was a 9, day 5-6 pain was over a 10!! My pain meds didn't work and made me sick so unfortunately I'm suffering through this using I bproffen every 4 hours. It takes the edge odd but a vicoden would help so much more :( today is day 7, I woke up twice last night and was very sore, I switched my ice packs and went back to sleep. I woke up at 6 this morning with my son, my pain right now is around a 6. Hurts like hell to swallow I haven't talked in 7 days it hurts way to much. Pretty sure I've lost 10 pounds from not eating and only being able to Handel a half bottle of water per day. :/ I'm hopping today starts my road to recovery of feeling better. Its deffinatly been miserable and I never would have done it knowing it would be Thia bad. Hope all you get better fast. Theirs no way to rush it.

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    2. Hi there i know your post is like 2 years old but I'm feeling the same way where if I knew it would be this bad I probably wouldn't have done it. I'm getting depressed and I wish it was over already. Day 9 from nz.

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    3. I too have been reading all these and even tho old I am glad this is normal. The ear pain is killing me the last couple of days all I can do is cry.. day 8 and not coping... ��

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    4. I am a 44 year old female who had a tonsillectomy on 1-19-16. So I am on day 7 of recovery and feel worse than ever. I had stopped with my pain meds last Friday thinking the worst was over ��. Wrong!! I was right back on them Sunday..... Every four hours.....still am ��. My ears are constantly hurting not too mention my throat feels like its on fire and hurts to swallow. My tongue is still swollen and I feel like I have a mouth full of cold sores ��. I was able to eat last week but not so lucky this week. Did anyone else get an annoying cough??? Mine was so bad that I jumped out of bed for fear of vomiting. Didn't think recovery was going to be this bad. Staying positive is Key ��

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    5. Hi anom,
      I am similar in dates to you. I had mine on 18/1/16 so i am now day 10. I feel a bit better today. Have had on/off pain in my throat/ear but I can drink better now although still only eating plain food as it burns otherwise. I have found the whole experience, traumatic and painful. I never appreciated how bad it would be. I would give birth again over two weeks of this pain! It really is hell. I couldnt see a light at the end of the tunnel but i finally feel like i can. I still have a lot of white patches on my throat but can also see raw red now which i think means my scabbing is slowly coming off. Good luck. Keep drinking and taking meds!

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    6. Hello All,

      31 y/o male one day 7. Day 1 made me believe that this would be a piece of cake. I danced out of the operating room but that was surely short lived. I was told to consume copious amounts of water but for some reason everything kept trying to go down the wrong pipe and I would choke! That was very painful, so from day 2-4 I didn't drink much of anything, let alone try to swallow pain meds. The mucus build up is ridiculous and would choke me randomly. It was pooling in some crevice, that I'm assuming used to be filled by my tonsil. It's hard to get out but when I do it feels good. Reading several forums, I read that the less you drink the more pain you will have when the scabs fall off. So day 5 I decided I would give drinking another try and thankfully my little valve was working better. The pain, if managed correctly (take something ahead of the curve, which for me is every 3 hours) doesn't get too bad. But overnight the pain would increase to about an 8. I read that people set their alarms for every 3 hours just to wake up and take the meds-- smart! Day 6 was horrible, I woke up in the morning with a small pool of blood on my pillow and I was coughing up a little blood. I got in the habit of crushing my meds and sprinkling the powder back in my throat and the pain would subside within 3 minutes. AMAZING, BUT... it would sting a little at first and I think it dries out the scabs a little so it's important to make sure you rinse it down with water if you do that. There was a couple nights where I sprinkled the meds back there and went to sleep without drinking. DO NOT DO THIS!!!!!! I woke up today, day 7, and decided to look at the back of my throat and noticed a small chard of a pill infused into the scab. This is what was causing bad pain to wake me up at night. Today I crushed the pill and diluted with a little warm water, it works okay but I'm used to the instant pain relief so I kind of screwed myself. Once you feel better, take advantage while you can, I eat as much jello as I can and then I eat ice chips. The ice chis are soooo soothing when your pain isn't at max level, you can feel them sliding down the scabs, it's amazing, and how I consume most of my water. Drinking is good too but for me after 2 gulps the rest are extremely painful-- and it's hard for me to just take a gulp at a time. The ice kind of slides down on its own without you having to use too many muscles. I canT say any day is better than any other because it seems like I learn something new/ make a new mistake every day making my pain vary. Kudos to all the folks that can eat real food, I've pretty much only been able to eat jello and apple sauce. I was compelled to write this after seeing so much useful information in other stories and hope I can help at least one person.

      Do: set an alarm to stay ahead of the curve with meds. Eat Ice chips. Hydrate, in the shower don't be afraid to let water run into your mouth a little (the humidity is good for the scabs too), take your meds crushed if you can (maybe not directly on the throat like me, but it does absorb faster under the tongue) if you do crush and pour on your throat, let it sit for 5 minutes max and make sure to rinse and swallow. Rest!

      Don't: don't continue gulping water if the pain feels like you are stretching or tearing the scars prematurely (that is how I woke up to the pool of blood) don't crush the meds and pour it in your throat and go to sleep, you MUST get it off within 5 minutes or your pain will go to 10 really fast over night.

      Good luck! I can't wait until this is over

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    7. Never crush your pills. If you crush an extended release pain killer you get the entire dose at once which could be fatal. Take as presecribed - don't play chemist.

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  14. Hi I am 19 and on day three of recovery, i am on loratab elixer every four hours but don't take it that much normally just at night and in the morning, as that is when it hurts the most. i am on a pretty steady diet of mashed potatoes, pudding, and popsicles! I have found that water feels much better than juice and really cuts down on the mucus. Good luck to all, Hope you feel better soon!

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  15. Thanks for your blog, has been a lot of help to read. I was one of the unlucky ones who started spitting out lots of bllod and blood clots in the middle of the night on day five. Was traumatic. Got to a&e and stayed in hospital for another 2 days. I am now on day 8 and in pain but praying things will improve and no more setbacks.

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  16. Im 20 yrs old and on my 8th day of recovery. Now i heard it was going to be painful but I didnt think it would be this bad. And how long it is lasting is just driving me crazy!!! I find that at night it is at its worse especially if i awake in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning after i a couple of hours tho it seems to settle down and the pain is bearable. however the constant stinging is really getting me down. On day 5 I was admitted into hospital after experiecing a bleed. This was damn scary apparently it was caused by me not eating the subsequent days after surgeory and therefore not pushing the scabs down gross i know but the lesson learnt is EAT!!! even if it is painful push it down trust me its better then having a mouth full of blood!! Good luck to anyone going to have this in the future I pity you lol and i pray that this horrible journey for me will end real soon cos im hungry!!! :D

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  17. I had my surgery on the 26th so I'm right at day six now as it's well into the "next day" am hours here. I had strep(it grew like it was on freaking miracle grow or something) wound up in the hospital and had to have the right tonsil taken out and two abscesses removed from my neck. I thought the 13 days I put up with that pain was bad but my GOD...I've never experienced anything like this and I gave birth naturally!

    Day one was great, anethesia and pain pills on the reg in the hospital, day two I was having visitors and just a whoopin it up I felt so much better having that nasty diseased crap out of me! Day three I was released and by the night of day three I had the most excruciating headache I've ever had and it's been with me every since. I'm talking up all night moaning and rocking in pain with ice packs on my eye and temple to ease the pain. And I have a very very high pain threshold! Then I got the coughing/choking/razor blade raking/spasming thing and that had me sitting straight up in the bed fearing for my very life!

    Day four barely any pain at all and I felt good. Day five and my throat feels like it's caught in a perpetual muscle spasm and I feel as if I have a pole lodged in the back of my throat. I have been coughing like crazy, sneezed and almost saw Jesus I swear it hurt so bad.

    I keep thinking and dreaming about day seven. It's become like some kind of holy place for me, where I will go and there will be no more pain as most of the posts I've read have said by day 7 it's much better. Please please!

    I've been drinking water like a fish, eating solid foods even got pissed off enough at being so hungry all the time and sick of bland food I ordered some chinese. I managed to get it down though I think I reheated it several times.

    Humidifiers helps a LOT! DRINK DRINK DRINK Ice cold water....it really does help. Warm Miso soup has been my manna! Lemon tea works great also! And ice cream causes all kinds of problems but if you mix it with mix and fruit cocktail god it's WONDERFUL in small portions! It's wonderful stuff! But THE MISO is by far the best! Gentle enough in the mornings to get the hunger pangs away and give me time to get the meds going and everything else.

    I have found being quiet the first hour in the morning helps. I do jaw exercises to keep my muscles strong in my throat as the juice from gum burns. And mouth wash...it's like having acid in my mouth but it's supposed to prevent thrush. Wish someone had told me that BEFORE! I brush all the stuff away and just use diluted mouthwash. It still stings though.

    I'm more frustrated because it feels as though I've been in pain forever. My comfort at night is boards and posts like these; I've learned so much that has helped me get through this.

    It has been hell, but what I went through before keeps me hanging on even when I break down and it takes a lot. That was awful. I gets chills everytime I think about what my throat and neck looked like BEFORE the surgery. It was truly horrific! "SHUDDERS"

    Caffeine also helps at night with the headaches. About two cups and I feel the headache receding. GREEN RUBBING alcohol sometimes called winter green helps too with the ear thing. If you run it around the jaw area near the ear, behind the ear and beneath the ear down the neck it does help. Trust me.

    Pressing on the eye bone area helps also as there are pressure points in there. Not talking so much or getting upset helps too. I try to stay as quiet as I can for the most part. I'll talk enough when I go back to work.

    I'm on tylenol rapid cause the percocet was giving me some horrible nightmares. And every 2 hours it seems to keep me ahead of the pain and liquid tylenol coats my throat in the morning so that awful kvives being jammed down my throat feeling gets numbed pretty quick. Don't overlap with scripts tho. I'm hoping I"m healing nicely and will be good soon. Hope I helped you all cause you have my sympathy. Mine was an emergency op, I don't think I'd ever volunteer to have the other one out unless I got sick again on that one. Otherwise, NO WAY!

    Good luck all and please stay hydrated!

    Shonda
    Survivor Day 6

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  18. hi! i had my tonsils out on monday the 5th, so i am currently on day 4 recovery! today has by far been the worst pain, but its bareable! im 19 years old so maybe thats why i am not feeling as ill as the rest of you!

    i've been reading some of your posts and it seems i was given completely different advice! i was told to stay away from anything hot! hot food and drink can increase your chance of bleeding, so i havn't had anything hot since i've had them taken out.i was also told to stay clear of hot showers.

    so far i havn't bled, and except for the morning, i have not been in much pain! this may be due to the fact that i make sure i eat 2 pieces of toast when i first get up to exercise my throat and to prevent swelling! although it hurts at first, it helps ease my throat for later during the day. the only other food i have ate is ice cream. doctor says cold food heals the throat quicker and cools down inflamation if there is any.

    i constantly have a glass of water by my bed which i make sure i have all the time. the doctor told me to make sure i drink or eat something atleast every 4 hours to stay hydrayted and to not dry out my throat.

    i also have co-codamol and anti biotics and a liquid to gargle to clean my throat.

    i do have one query.. i can;t seem to sleep straight through for more than an hour.. this is nothing to do with the pain though! does any one else have this problem?

    and how do you know when your scabs fall off?

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  19. Hey all,

    I just had septoplasty, bilateral inferior turbinoplasty, tonsillectomy and uvulopalatopharyngoplasty on Wednesday. Must say the pain is incredible. I've been managing it by drinking that damn Hydrocodone elixer , but I have to mix it with something so I don't end up vomiting. Peach juice works O.K., but I've found that Ensure (vanilla or chocolate shake flavors) mask the taste best. There are also added nutritional benefits since I haven't been able to eat much after the procedure. Looking forward to the weight loss, though, LOL.

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  20. Hey im an 18 year old female.
    I had my tonsils removed on the 20th of jan. I think everyone has a brush of attitude to everyone who has a tonsilectomy, that just think cause its so common it does not hurt but it does. Its horrible.I really think a new method needs to be invented to reduce the pain. I was fooled day 1-3 were a breeze and I thought I was going to get through it just fine. Then I got to day 4 and 5 I was in so much pain, ear aches were awful! I literally could not move. I curled up in a ball and cried silent tears. However now its day 10 I feel much better im in minimal pain. And I look back and it seems like it was nothing. I found ice water was the best and custard. How ever it is important to eat a normail diet. good luck

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  21. I am 22 yr old female, 8 days post surgery.
    I read through a lot of comments, watched the procedure on you-tube to try to fully prepare myself for what was to come!
    I was most concerned about the procedure and hadnt given the pain after much thought!! How I was wrong!!! The operation was a breeze and the pain after for the first few days wasnt so bad! I thought I was lucky and had got away with it all! WRONG!!!! It was VERY uncomfortable from then onwards and day six was the most awful pain of my life. I felt like I had burns and blisters all over my tonsils and tongue. I had managed to eat previous and drink as normal but not now. The evening of the surgery I ordered a pizza to hospital (I was on morphine after surgery and overnight which may be why I didnt feel the pain for first few days!!) Now I am in soooo much pain! Talking is an issue as well as eating and drinking! I have been dizzy, suffered headaches and severe ear pain - I could not possibly compare this pain to tonsilitus or sore throat - it is that times a million!!! I never thought pain like this was possible. I have tried to suffer in silence up until now but have booked a Dr appointment for tomorrow as I dont think I can carry on with this pain. I am taking codeine and paracettamol and neurofen as given by hospital!!! Someone please tell me this is all going to get better soon!!!
    My only advice for anyone having this surgery is invest in blue powerade drinks as they have been my saviour!! Also, take your pain medication half an hour before eating as feeling sick due to not being able to eat and vomiting is awful when your throat feels this bad! Good Luck

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  22. I am 33 and day 3 after my tonsillectomy. Finally decided to have it done because my right tonsil was ALWAYS swollen, food got stuck behind it all the time and have lately been getting strep and tonsilitis a lot.

    I thought I was lucky cause day 1,2 were EASY, except that Hydrocodone made my heart race, switched to Codeine which allows me to sleep. But i was thinking " this is it?" YAY no big deal. Day three has come and I AM IN PAIN!!! Oh my gosh! drinking hurts hurts hurts!

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  23. Hi everyone,
    I am on day 9 after tonsillectomy and sinus endoscopy- like Robert I am also 37. I had the procedures on june 22 - my wedding anniversary! By far, days 5-9 have been the worst thus far. I have been on percocet and HATE the side effects of this drug - but extra strength tylenol simply accomplishes nothing. Have others on this site felt that day 10 often brings relief? it seems like that's a turning point for many adults. i am sick of feeling like i am swallowing razor blades and would love to know that relief is in sight. I believe the scabs are now coming off and have been gargling w. water.

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  24. I am 20 years old and had my surgery 8 days ago. The first couple of days weren't that bad. In fact, I thought wow, this recovery really isn't going to be that bad. I proved myself wrong, because on day 5, the pain really began! I haven't eaten anything since before surgery. I drink lots and have popsicles. I attempted ice cream but that as well did not work. I have had to switch my pain killers three times because I keep throwing up. I think this is due to the lack of food in my stomach. I was told my day 8 things should start to get better. Unfortunately, things aren't looking positive yet. I started on an anti-biotic today because my doctor told me she's worried there's an infection. So far this has been a far worse experience than I ever imagined. I am hoping things start to improve soon...my best advice to everyone, drink lots, get lots of movies, and give yourself a good 2 weeks to recover.

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  25. You must eat! Even if it's just ensure shakes, the lack of nutrition will not aid your healing - it will only make it harder. On day 3 I had not eaten antyhing - so 3.5 days w. no real food except popsicles - and the doctor "yelled" at me. I got the point - and of course the side effects of the pain meds are even worse if you have nothing in your stomach. Now I am completing day 12 and the hardest problem I have is sleeping at night - I just cannot seem to be comfortable lying down b/c my throat is too swollen, but if I sleep sitting up, I'm also pretty miserable. I pray this gets better soon.

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  26. Hi all fellow patients.

    I am now on day 3, but let me tell you how I got here, as it is probably not the same as the rest of you. I ended up going to Europe at the beginning of the summer for a family vacation and within 24 hours of returning I was in hospital with epiglottis (look it up very scary!!!) this was caused by a rare form of Strep which I had picked up and it was attacking my tonsils, which is why 6 weeks later I ended up getting them out. The pain I had with my epiglottis was 12 out of 10 and I was on IV steroids, antibiotics and IV fluids for 3 days. So was I prepared to get my tonsils out...no..but thank you all for your blogs as I feel you have prepared me.

    Day 1 and 2 were not to bad and certainly not as bad a the pain I had previously, however it went all down hill last night, I ended up going to bed very early as I did not know what to do with myself, not sure if I was tired, going to stop breathing, hungry, going to faint or throw up!!!! Very frightening.

    This morning is not much better, I am not able to talk today and even swallowing water is incredibly painful. I am itchy all over (I think a reaction to the medication)

    Having read all the blogs I know I will get through this.

    Will let you know how I do

    Best wishes.

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  27. I am on my sixth day (1st September) of Surgery(Ops day 27th August). Its one hell of experience. I was ok for the first two days. Then pain start to increase rapidly at night and early morning. I have been told to have lots fluid and soft food like jelly, pudding and icecream. On my fifth day, I start coughing I guess this is due to cold ater and ice water, this breaks scab and start bleeding. I have to suck ice to stop bleeding and put ice pack around neck.
    Right now sixth day early in the morning. Pain was unbearable, I couldn't move. I have been having pain killer every 4 hrs.
    Advise to all: Make yourself hydrated with lots of water. Have ur painkiller on time to keep the pain away. Try avoid talking and human contact. Brush your teeth three times day and gragle with salt water after having food. Lots of bed rest.

    Good luck everyone.
    SS

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  28. hi, this is my 2nd day of recovery, i havent been in so much pain, my mouth, throat, tongue is so sore i can bearly talk and it hurts too much to even swallow water, the inside of my throat is horrible, i cant bearly look at it....i just hope the pain goes away real soon, dont know much more of it i can handle

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  29. Hi all,
    Just felt i had to post my recovery!! I am 39 and I am one of the unlucky ones - I had a full tonsillectomy in 1995 however at the beginning of this year i started to get really sore throats again. Saw ENT who noticed I had tonsil remnants so was booked in for 7th October to have them removed. Op was a bit more complicated than a tonsillectomy however thankfully i only had nodules on the right side. WEll....... this is now day 9 post op and ive got to say that the pain is unbearable, it feels like toothache, earache and a sore throat rolled into one. I am on diclofenac for the imflammation, co-codamol and tramadol if its really bad however they make me feel really sick. have also been put on penicillin as dr thinks there might be an infection now. Please someone tell me that this is all normal and that it WILL get better soon

    kat

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  30. Hi everybody:

    I am in Day 5 post-surgery. I have been having pain like most people have described. The Tylenol #3's are USELESS, but I found Ibuprofen has worked well. The one thing I wanted to mention is that I have been eating since Day 1. Soups all day on Day 1 and 2 (some ice cream, which in hindsight I wish I hadn't, from other comments here, although I never experienced any bad side effects). I managed to eat some scrambled eggs on Day 3, and even pasta on Day 4. My biggest problem really is first thing in the morning. My most extreme pain seems to occur immediately upon waking up from sleeping. My throat feels swollen, and raw. It THROBS. This morning, I woke up at 4 am, in a lot of pain, took some Tylenol. In about a half hour the pain started to ease away. I fell back asleep. Woke up two hours later and I was in throbbing pain again. Im thinking its the the way that my head is positioned at night, and maybe I am snoring which is causing more pain, but I am stumped. I actually have found that during the day, the pain is mostly manageable, and sometimes not even there. Any suggestions people (I don't even mind not going to work, but I seriously miss working out - at least Ill lose weight anyway from lack of food!)

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  31. Hi everybody,

    I am 33 years old and am frequently suffering with my tonsillitis. I had decided to go in for a tonsillectomy in December, but am now petrified after reading the posts on this blog. Have any one of you experienced a change in your voice after the operation? This is one of my concerns and has anybody increased your body weight because of the tonsillectomy?

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  32. aged 35 survived day 1, was drinking coke? and eating toast after overnight op. it hurts and I havnt had to top up on pain killers since the op. thats what they ordered. its a good eye opener to see whats to come...

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  33. Canadian Tonsillectomy Survivor??(Maybe)

    Hello Everyone,

    Your thoughts are most helpful. I am on day 9 of recovery. BTW for the person that asked about the voice changing. No mine has not. I started talking from the first day even a little bit. My voice is back to normal now. Overall from day 1-5 was okay minus the scary dreams from the meds and dizziness. Then day 6 to now have me on a roller-coaster ride of pain. I was eating by day 2 and this helped a lot to heal the throat. I have some larger scabs on the left of my throat that will not come off. I tried white toast yesterday and nothing just gave me the same horrible stabbing pain in my ear. I am at my wits end. I am trying brown toast this morning. But it's hard to stay hydrated and eating when everytime you swallow past the scab I get a shooting pain up the side of my face and stabbing in my ear. My husband looks at me in worry wanting to call the doctor but I know this is what it's like. Any suggestions folks? I have been eating food for days now. I'm at my wits end.

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  34. I'm on day 9 and everthing is pretty good, The first 5 days were a bit rough though. my tongue was pretty large and stiff giving me the choking sensation while tring to sleep. had a small bleed on day 5 that went away with cold water. off my pain meds now. i only used tylenol and skipped the codeine. i was alotted 3 weeks off work.

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  35. Hi, im 18 years old on day 6 today and i can say that this is one of the worse pains i have ever had.If i can go back i would have never got my tonsils removed. Ive had 4 other surgeries and i would get them all done at the same time before i get this.I lost my taste yesterday and my tounge is num at the top. Its completely white and covered with some type of thrush over it.Its so uncomfortable to eat or atleast try. I honestly havent ate since the day before my tonsils were removed. All ive had was a couple scoops of ice cream or sherbet a day which is terrible as well. It doesnt make my mouth feel any better. My suggestion is dont get them out if you dont def need them out and they said i really needed them out but it aint that much needin them out in the world. I would rather have a sore throat 3 times a year than go through this. Im in pain as i write this and now im going to take some medicine and pray i get better soon. Good luck.

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  36. Hello,

    This is day four for me. I have had 6 children and I tell you I rather go through labor than this. OMG... the first day I was sent home and I kept bleeding there was so much blood. Called Dr. and he said to go to the ER..they took forever and when the did get to me I had blood everywhere on the towel I brought and my shirt and pants.. then he ask me to open my mouth.. (the er dr) I spit out the biggest blood clot... I thought the worst was over. No..kept bleeding lost so much blood they had to admit me and give me a transfusion. I kept passing clots.. I finally stopped bleeding yesterday and was allowed to come home. I have been in pain and week ever snice. It hurts to eat and drink, I can get jello down ok but takes a long time. I just took more pain meds. This is horrible.

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  37. hello..i'm 18 on day 9 and i'm still in so much pain! I can't eat,i can't drink,it's awful:( I'm waiting for the day that i'll eat again solid food!

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  38. hi everyone,im 45 and had my tonsils out 7 days ago,and like you day 1 and 2 I was fine and thinking what rubbish I was reading! Then day 3 and 4 came pain in my ears my jaw my tongue is numb and the left side of my throat is so raw,my head aches so much and talking tires me out,im drinking ice cold water and lots of it having the odd yoghurt and few chips,but hell this is so painful. Im on cocodamol, difflam throat spray and dequadin lozenges,but in truth nothing is helping,im fed up now of whinging,hopefully by day 10 things should get better,after reading your posts.

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  39. I am 28 years old and after years of having HUGE tonsils, they were removed on March 22nd. After experiencing this kind of pain I am so upset with my pediatrician for not taking out my tonsils at the age of 5! I experienced the pain as of day one and went to the ER because I couldnt breathe. Day 2 and 3 the pain started to increase. Day 4-6 I was in tears!!! I went back to my ENT where he perscribed me some gargles that were made of compressed medicines....it was a miracle drug!!! On day 6 I started experiencing bloating and I realized because I had not had a bowel movement. On day 7 I went to an urgent care center where they diagnosed with costipation due to the Lortab pain killer. FYI, not the best pain killer to take and it is bad for your stomach! Now I am on day 8 and was able to eat something...not a full meal, but I have something in my stomach...I have been taking motrin and my gargles. I do get the sharp pains, like canker sore pains in my throat...but I am just waiting for the day I wake up and the pain is all gone. I have heard that it usually happens after day 10...Praying and Hoping!!! I want to get back to my normal routine!

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  40. I am 36 years old and 6 months ago I had rhinoplasty to fix my breathing and was off for 2 weeks. In 2 days I am going to get my tonsils out as well as a septoplasty to further fix my breathing. After reading all the posts, what I am about to go through sounds like it will be 100 times worse!! To say I am %^&$@(# my pants is an understatement. I do appreciate all the tips and have begun preparing for the recovery. I have made que cards to help me communicate with my wife, ie - Kill me, Can i have ice cold water, can I have a popsicle, can i have pain killers, etc. I guess unless you have gone through it one has no idea, till friday I remain one who has no clue... wish me luck!!

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  41. I am 39 years old and am on day 10 post surgery, it seems everyone,s experience is unique but with the common thread of "pain". I too have been less than happy this last week. I found the first couple of days reasonable - I knew there'd be pain, I'd just had surgery!, but was not at all prepared for the referred pain, and then a secondary infection. I had anticipated being back to normal by now but am still snuggled up in my PJ's, dressing-gown and so grateful to my Hubby and Mum for being here to take care of things for me. I've found Kids paracetamol - the suspension, (not the ellixer)sipped slowly so it coats the throat, to be the most helpful as I'm allergic to codien. I also used Endone which is morphine based which was great but care needs to be taken as this drug is addictive. All I can say is rest, give yourself time to heal and lots of ice cold water (also helps the bowels).

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  42. Hi. I'm 38, day 8 for me. Days 4,5,6 felt like Freddy Kruger had stuck his hand down my throat and kept shoving it back in and out all day. With that said for the past 2 days, the pain is slowly going away and some scabs have been coughed up. I sneezed today and thought that might effect the surgery, but it only hurt for a second.

    Some tips:

    -Force liquids down your throat and when I say force it, like you're trying to throw the liquid down your throat in one gulp.
    - Eat ice. For days 1 - 6, I went through over two 4 pound bag.
    - Lipton Chicken Noodle soup will be your friend.
    -Ice your throat constantly with ice packs
    -Chew Dentene Ice Gum
    -In the mornings and evenings, run hot water over a cloth wash and them hold it over your mouth and nose and breath deeply, in and out.
    - After you move from soup, try mac and cheese, rice and tunafish (packed in olive oil).

    Other than that, I have a bit of pain in the ear and some in the throat, but I am feeling better.

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  43. Hello fellow sufferers,
    Im 24 and would like to thank everybody for sharing their experiences. Helps to know I am not alone!! I am 6 days post surgery for a tonsilectomy and this has been without a doubt, a terrible, awful experience. I found days 3-6 unbearable, (so much so my sister could only watch me and cry in sympathy herself). I have found anti-inflam ibrofen has helped with the swelling and throbbing of my tongue and then a panadine forte for the pain. I moved back in with my parents for my recovery and this has helped too, love and care can provide that little bit of extra something when you are crippled by pain.
    Keep your chins up and take it easy, there is light at the end of the tunnel- regardless of how far away it seems!!!! :-)

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  44. im 15 and its day 8 for me , yesterday i couldn't eat anything i tried but everything stung my throat even water , but i still managed to drink the water knowing how important it is to heal . Today is not so bad although i still cant really eat anything without it stinging but water doesnt sting anymore and i ate the whites of a boiled egg fine. I also had my adenoids removed so my ears really hurt but not as bad today as they were the past few days . My throat was all white before and my uvula was swollen but the white is now turning into small white patches and my uvuala is just about back to its normal size . I have been using ice packs non stop and drinking as much water and liquids as i possibly can because i want to get better really fast , so i can finally enjoy the summer .
    so my best advice for anyone would be todrink as much water as you possibly can even if its sall sips at a time and use ice packs on your neck & also take your medicine that you were perscribed : )

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  45. I'm on Day 7(Day 1 surgery day). Think I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Just feel a bit less out of control. I have struggled with the pain from the beginning and normally I have a high threshold. Never, ever, expected pain like this. Was re-admitted back into hospital on Day 5 with bleeding and suspected infection, also I was being sick after injesting anything, so meds etc were getting no chance to work. Now out of hospital, just feel overwhelmingly tired. Throat and sides of tongue especially painful. Junk at tonsil site is not pure white, is a bit bubbly? and lumpy..... and seems happy to stay - no signs of it breaking away. Been wonderful to read this site and not feel alone. Good luck to all going through this torture at the moment.

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  46. On Day 5 now... had a vocal cord node removed too. Couldn't take liquid pain killers (allergic), so I've been swallowing them whole since day 1. Trying to crush them and eat them in baby food was beyond the torture anyone should endure! After reading above, i'm scared about the next couple days. Got thrush on Day 2, mouth turned all white and slimy and choked on everything. Night times are hard. i choke on my uvula so swollen and wake up choking, gasping for breath. This happens over and over again. Getting better each nite. I've been sleeping in a chair every nite. I haven't been able to talk at all yet, just force out a whisper. don't know if that is becuz of the vocal cord node being removed. Been drinking ginger-ale constantly and eating baby food. Good luck to the rest of you. I'm praying now for me and all who find themselves reading this in the near future! God Bless!

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  47. 41-old-male tonsillectomy currently on day 8.

    This blog has been very informative. As indicated by the majority of the members in my age range, the recovery is rough. This has been my experience so far...
    Procedure: Dont remember anything.
    Day 1, after surgery: Pain 4/10. Immediately after the surgery, i ate three popsicles and a vanilla pudding. I was constantly drinking cold water and had a large number of popsicles throughout the day. I would recommend banana popsicles and try to stay away from the citrus flavors including grape...it burns. Ice cream is fine while eating it but then the mucus production is intolerable, not worth it.
    A lot of discomfort while swallowing since my uvula was very inflammed.
    Days 2-3: Pain 5/10. As a lot of people mentioned, it is very sore right after waking up and immediately after eating. I found chicken broth to be very comforting. Continue with lots of water and popsicles. BTW, avoid sparkling water and sodas. Since i was feeling a little better at the end of the day, i went to the movies and got me a huge bottle of water. It was nice to get out of the house.
    Day 4: During the day the pain was still in the 5/10 range. The night was very tough. I woke up just two hours after falling asleep with a terrible sore throat(pain 8/10), low grade fever and the metallic taste of the scabs in my mouth. A little piece of the scab actually came off. The best way to describe them is as a layer of pus type material. Sorry for being that graphic but that is why taking the antibiotics is very important in order to control the localized infection.
    My doc didnt give me liquid med so i have been taking large tablets. It was very hard to swallow (I would recommend a pill crusher). I had to leave the TV on and was taking my medication at approximately 3 hour intervals.
    Day 5: Still bad pain (average of 6-7) I started to notice that cold water and popsicles were not as soothing. Probably an indication that my scabs have partially fallen off. But it was hard to say since my soft tissue was markedly inflammed...couldnt see anything.
    Day 6: Pain went down to 5/10. A little better during the day. I ate chicken noodle soup and scrambled eggs. Night was ok since i slept for long periods of time. I was feeling better and hoping to lower my pain medication soon.
    Day 7...pure misery. A few hours after eating lunch the pain went from 5 to 9/10. I had to double my pain medication and was pretty much out during the rest of the day and night. Every time i woke up at night my throat was very sore. This change took a toll on me also emotionally since i thought i was getting better.
    Day 8. Pain has is down to 4/10 and primarily concentrates on the left side of my soft palate and tonsil area. I ate chichen broth and just finish a single cold soft tortilla. After day 7, i keep my expectations very low and eat and drink as much as i can...
    Things to buy prior to surgery:
    Baby food, tons of water ( no bubbles), chicken broth, chicken noodles, pill crusher, fiber pills ( I started them on day 3 and worked well), popsicles ( i wouldnt recommend any dairy including ice cream), vanilla pudding (other flavors including chocolate irritated my throat), oatmeal.
    Also dont make changes in your pain meds if you feel some improvement since changes can be very radical and happen unexpectedly
    Good luck!

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  48. Day 8 post op for me. I have to say that day 1-3 wasn't too bad at all. I was able to eat & drink small & frequent amounts & this helped a lot with the pain. But day 4 to now has been a different story. Searing throat & ear pain has made it difficult to maintain regular intake of fluids & food which in turn causes more pain. I've been waking up in the night with terrible pain also. Not nice. I've found that chewing gum is helping a great deal & forcing water down will also help recovery. The scabs are coming off now but I must be swallowing them because I'm not spitting them up. This has been the most painful experience of my life, (I'm 34) but i don't regret going through with it. Those tonsils had to go!

    I hope this has been helpful. Good luck to anyone that's about to have surgery!

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  49. I had a tonsillectomy 9 days ago and it has been nothing but hell! the day of the surgery i was fine, woke up after the operation and within two hours i was drinking and eating...same the next day but on the 3rd day it really hit me. the pain was excrutiating, like nothing i have ever felt before and ive gone through labour and a c-section! day 4 i started to bleed but thankfully it stopped...day 5, 6 and 7 were the worst for pain...day 8 i started to bleed again so was back in hospital. i had two big blood clots at the back of my throat, i finally got to leave hospital today after being there two nights...the pain is now mild and im not relying on painkillers so much. this has been a very painful experience but once im properly healed il be thankful...i have definitly been one of the unlucky ones...its not the same for everyone. good luck

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  50. Hi I'm 23 and 8 days post op. I never imagined this to be this horrible! First few days were painful but 3-8 have been terrible. I'm taking the liquid lortab 7.5/500 and it doesn't seem to do much. It says every 4-7hrs but pharmacist says every 3. I've been taking it religiously. I've not been drinking too much it's hurts so bad although I know I should be drinking more. I've been eating mrs.grass soup but that's about it. This morning I woke up and had a white film over my tongue. Does anyone think it could be thrush?? I can't wait fir the day I don't need any pain meds and can sleep through the night. Only good thing that has come out of this is I quit smoking the day before surgery. Hoping things get better soon. Good luck to everybody!

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  51. i am on day nine of my tonsillectomy... as most of ya'll have mentioned day one through three were a piece of cake... but now i am very confused about how by day seven you are supposed to feel all better but you don't, or well i don't it just keeps getting worse and worse. my throat burns and stings and now my tounge hurts.. what is up with that???? i just wish that it will all be over. i am trying to get off of my pain killer, but the pain hasn't subsided... ahhh what i would do to have the pain killers they gave me at the hospital. i can't eat a thing. currently my only source of food are smoothies.
    well i wish the best for all of ya'll.... im told it will get better....

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  52. im another survivor, age 18, at day 8 too. day 5 was for me the worst. I eat pretty much normally, eated lasagna for supper. Even eated a double cheez yesterday. just had to chew it a lot.

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  53. I'm 34 and on day 8 of my tonsillectomy. The first three day were ok, but days four through eight have been nothing but hell for me. Today is the first day since day three I was finally able to eat something. I have had to force myself to drink the whole time. I found the only things I can eat are Popsicles and cream of chicken soup. I have steady drank two cases of deer park water. I am now on my third case. I can't wait till this is all over. I hope it's worth it in the end. Good to anyone else getting this done.

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  54. Hi all I am 24 y.o and I am on day 8 of my tonsillectomy. Day 1 in the hospital was fine, I was able to eat and my friends and family were surprised with how well I was going...Hmm but the next day I was in quite a lot of pain, more of an achy pain. Day 2 I just slept a lot and was able to eat a little. Day 3 I was able to eat some spaghetti but was very tired. That night things began to change, throat was killing me and then my ears started to cause me more pain than my throat. I managed to eat jelly, ice-poles, and some soup, but drinking fluids has been tricky. The doctor gave me Endone (morphine based) which I took every 3-4 hours until they run out. Then I was on codeine for the next couple of days ( I recommend getting the dis-solvable ones, which can make it easier) however this later became to hard to take as swallowing became harder, which caused me to cry on many occasions.

    Day 7 I was able to stop taking some pain killers, however I still have had bursts of sharp stabbing pains in my throat (and have been avoiding fluids because of the pain, which i would NOT recommend).

    I was fortunate enough to stay with my parents through this, and would recommend you have someone help you through your recovery.I have taken 2 weeks off work!

    Ice packs are also very good for your throat and ear aches!!! Hope this helps some of you out there! This has defiantly been a painful experience, I'm just hoping it has all been worth it!

    P.s I'm sooooooo hungry and constipated from the drugs, cant wait to eat something solid.

    Before you go for your operation, ensure you have a good last meal! I went out for a yummy Thai dinner...and have already made a list of things i want to eat!

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  55. Hi,
    I am a 22 year old female on day 8 post tonsillectomy. I have had everything you've experienced. My worse fear is this swollen Uvula that just wont go down, my dr said by day 10 all pain should be gone and that its unusual to have pain after that, so lets only hope that he was right. Anyway my uvula gets in the way of my talking and eating... i still can't eat anything except freezepops, anything else i try to eat gets stuck around my uvula, needless to say mu uvula is the sorest thing in my mouth, i am just concerned about it going down, when i talk i sound like i have a really muffled voice. I have 2 weeks off of owrk but the rate i am going idk it may be longer than that. Id rather not, bc trust me id love to go back to work. Im glad i found this site though bc im hoping maybe it gives me some hope......

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  56. Hi,
    I am 35 yrs old male. I am on day 8 of recovery. The worse experience of my life. I would rather have gone to jail for 6 mos than do this again. Day 1-3 .. not so bad. Day 4-7.. the absolute worse. Have only ate jello, pudding, freeze pops. Had mashed potatoes twice and mac and cheese once. Have drank only water. Today, woke up with alot of pain, but has seemed to be a little better as the day goes by. I did try some aloe vera juice today. Not sure if that has helped or just that it is day 8. The worse part about the whole thing is not being able to sleep more than 2 hrs a night. The anxiety that goes along with not wanting to fall asleep is horrible. Good luck to anyone who has this surgery.

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  57. Hello,
    I am a female, 46 years old. I am on day 8 post op tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy. This experience is not even close to the worst pain I've ever felt. The first 24 hours were really bad because I was so sick from the anesthesia. Otherwise, my terrible sore throat and throbbing ears were the only pain I felt. After I got over effects of anesthesia, I felt considerably better. I was unable to take the pain meds they prescribed, so they called in some Tetracaine .5% Lollipops---best thing ever. These made all the difference. You only use them for a few seconds at a time...very strong. They numb your mouth and throat, and also keep your mouth from being so dry. I have also been taking 2 extra strength Tylenol every 8 hours or so. Days 1-5, I lived on banana popsicles, a spoonful of instant mashed potatoes every now and then, and juiced vegetables (carrots, celery, apple, cucumbers). The celery and cucumbers are hydrating, and all the veggies I've used are known for their healing properties. Don't know if the juicing helped or not, but it sounded logical to me. I ate ice chips as well, but it was hard to drink water. I felt like I was going to drown! I took my pills with something thick, like my juices or a slim fast drink. They went down a lot easier. The pills I took are maintenance medication and not associated at all with the tonsillectomy. Those meds are liquid. Day 6 I was able to eat macaroni and cheese rather well, and I was pleased about this! On this day I also used a neti-pot (nasal irrigation) with a packet of saline. It helped me to breathe a lot easier. I don't know if that was the smartest thing to do or not, but I figured it's just a little salt water so why not. Yesterday, day 7, I actually ate an organic vegetable pot pie minus the hard part of the crust. Today I have had nothing to eat, and it's late afternoon. I don't know why I haven't tried to eat anything, actually. My throat is better than it was yesterday, and this is definitely my best day. My ears haven't hurt at all today, which is great. Still using the Lollipops, still taking Tylenol, still taking it easy. Oh yeah..I had to sleep basically sitting up for the first 6 nites, and only a couple of hours here and there. I was afraid I would choke if I tried to lie down. I would do this again...I was suffering a chronic infection in my tonsils that I was totally unaware of. I guess I got used to a certain amount of pain, and it went unnoticed. Suddenly I started having tonsil issues that made me go to an ENT. Guess they were ready to come out :). As far as having someone to play nurse, my husband took off day of surgery and the next day, and was with me thru the weekend to make sure I didn't bleed to death and that I took my antibiotics. I had a bugle horn to get his attention, and a dry erase board to write on which I think got on his nerves :). Good luck to everyone going thru this. It's really not that bad--be prepared, be as comfortable as possible, stay warm and cozy and just wait for it to be over. Cheers!

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  58. Hello, I'm 41 and on day 9 post op. My experience has been very similar to most others in my age range. Days 1 and 2 were fairly easy, then 3-6 were a roller coaster of hell and narcotic-induced sleep/coma. I had a septoplasty as well and had the nasal splints removed on day 7, which helped tremendously, although the drainage from the foreign body reaction has probably caused more morning pain. Yesterday, day 8, Was my worst morning but after liquid Lortab, some Demerol and Motrin, it ended being a much better day and I haven't taken any narcotics since. I'm trying to get by on Tylenol alone today. I think I'm over the hump though! The things that helped me the most have been: lots of fluids every day, apple juice, a humidifier, and getting enough nutrition in the liquids and soft foods I have eaten. Reading the experiences of other has helped me tremendously in staying positive. Good luck to everyone, Scott

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  59. Hi! I'm an 18 y/o and I am on day 7. Talking is still very hard for me, same with swallowing. I just finished eating a Tim Horton's chicken noodle soup, that went down easy at first.. but as I started eating more of it the right side of my throat started to get sore same with my right ear. Hopefully eating will get better, I am absolutely starving. I can't wait to eat two double cheese burgers or two popcorn chicken's with honey! I can't believe that I have ever wasted food right now.
    I haven't been taking my medicine in the early mornings.. I now only take it 3 times daily. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and HAVE to take it the pain gets so bad.
    I am hoping that this will get easier in the next few days, or even before I have to go back to work on the 20th.
    This is the worst pain ever. I wish it would just give up!
    Good luck to anyone that is going to get a tonsillectomy.. if I could go back in time I would never get one.

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  60. i took mine out on 9th dec 2010 im on day 9 atm. still on pain, mostly on my tongue and ears now. and scabs started fall off from day 6 and still falling off. worst part is when i cough or sneeze it hurts like hell and also i get blood when i spit aftr sneeze or cough. im not sure how long this will take fully recover i just cant see the end of this pain. if u r wanting to getting tonsillectomy think 5 times before u get it done.. im regretting fully..

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  61. Hi all! I am a 32 year old female and had my tonsils taken out on Dec. 23rd, so I'm on day 8 of my recovery (if you count surgery day as day 1). Despite reading all of these blogs and comments, I'm not sure I was truly prepared for what this would feel like. Day 1 and 2 was easy- minimal pain that was very controlled by the medicine. I slept with no problem and was able to drink without much pain. Then day 3 hit (Christmas). I was extremely nauseous and vomiting all day. My husband called the on-call doctor and got her to prescribe some anti-nausea medicine. After searching around for a pharmacy that was open on Christmas, I finally got those pills which helped a lot. I even was able to eat some scrambled eggs later that night. Day 5 is where things rapidly went down-hill and today has been awful. I feel like I'm swallowing knives.... I can't believe how hard it is to even swallow water. I know I have to keep drinking water, which I'm trying to do, but it is hard. I am really hoping that I will have that magic turn-around many people talk about by day 10. I am sick of not being able to eat and being in constant pain. I sure hope this helps me in the long run and I can see that going through all this was worth it. Good luck to all of you going through this..... reading other peoples' experiences is comforting at least in that I know I'm not alone. Hang in there!

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  62. People keep saying ice packs will help the throat and tongue pain but how can you use a ice pack to help your tongue? My son had his tonsills out 7 days age and the tongue pain is off the hook. Anything that can help I would apprectate.

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  63. Hi all!!! I agree so much with what many of you said about this being the most horrific, uncomfortable time of my life!!!! OMG... I really would not have went through with this if i would have know the different stages of pain you experience. I thought I had lost my dame mind at one point. I am at day 8 and things are slloooowwwwlllyyyy improving. Came from the ER yesterday with most excruciating ear pain i have ever felt in my 33 years. Since i couldn't take any fluids down my first seven days i was dihidrated bad. It still hurts to swallow and it feels like my jaw and throat hurts bad due to the scope they put down your throat. I must say hang in there STay HYdrated... Thats the key and Misery does love company.... So Happy to have found this sight....

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  64. I'm 17 and on day 7 . . . Last night was the best night I've had although the scabs are falling off and I can taste it when I swallow making me sick in the stomach . . . I was on oxynorm a morphine based pain killer but reacted and couldn't stop throwing up for 3 days so I'm on liquid panadol which is food because it soothes the throat as well as gets rid of the throbbing pain quite quickly . . . It is the most uncomfortable, painful feeling I've experienced in my life . . . I've found that lemonade helps and gets rid of the gross taste . . . I can't wait to get my life back . . . I'm missing my sport and have missed a whole stack of work at school . . . I really just want to pick the scabs off but then again I don't want to bleed . . . Anyways this site has been helpful . . . Nd remember it's not forever, it will eventually get better :)

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  65. Hi there, Im 23 and on day 8 of my tonsillectomy recovery and its been hell!! I had tumorised tonsils that took over my throat so larger area to heal. My first 2 days were so easy I was able to eat ice cream and day 2 was on soft pasta but then... Day 3 hit n straight down hill from there. I cant talk, cant eat so been living off ice water and ensure, my ears ache all the time, my tongue hurts and my teeth are extremely sensitive to cold. My dr perscribed liquid morphine for me but I used it for one day and it made me really sick. So Im taking this 100% no pain meds what so ever being tough. So here Iam day 8 n able to when feeling good in the day eat some pudding, mashed potatoes and anything pureed but cant chew food up n swallow it as the chunks are sticking in the massive cavities where my tonsils were. Good luck all its HELL! Im no wus when it comes to pain Im covered in tattoos n piercings have broken many bones n I work construction so back pain n pulled muscles are common in my life but nothing compares to this pain at all.

    Best wishes!

    Kristi

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  66. Hi there, im 19 and on day 8 today.. do i wish this was over? YES!!
    the 1st few days were fine obviously there was small amounts of pain but i had my prescribed meds..i dipped a slice of toast into tea (sounds weird i know) but this made it soft and i had something in my stomach..
    Days 4-6.. pain was bearable.. i ate a scoop of mash potato every 4 hrs i guess.. it has been so tough to swallow though.
    my uvula has gone back to normal size also.
    day 6 night i couldnt breathe with the throat and ear pain!! everything was stinging my throat.this continued through the night and the morning of day 7 i thought things had turned around,i ate scrambled eggs on toast and they were delicious! by the evening again though the pain was ridic... does anyone know why this stinging occurs? this might sound stupid also but what do the scabs look like? are they the white quincy type things in the throat?
    it is the afternoon of day 8 and im still in burning stinging pain.. my mum wanted me to go back to the doc but after reading all these posts it seems the pain is normal..i was told by my consultant that days 6-10 would be the worst, He was defo right.. still taking my meds at 4-6hr intervals hope it improves another bit..
    Good luck to everyone in there recovery and to those who will have the op in the future.. Lets hope all this pain we have gone through will be worth it!!
    PS I constantly drink water it is so important to keep HYDRATED!

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    1. The scabs look like blood, dark blood red blobs or slimy looking marks.

      The stinging around day 6-7-8 is from the scabs falling out from the deepest wounds, and the wound surface under the scabs is still quite tender, which stings. The rest of the wound areas have been slowly growing layers of new skin cells on top, which slowly reduces the pain as the raw flesh wound is less and less exposed.

      The white parts are actually just flesh, those are the edges of your tonsil beds where they have been cut by the surgeon's knife or laser.

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  67. Hi guys. I'm 24 and on my 10th day of recovery. Wow. I never imagined what this would be like, but it hasnt been easy. The first day wasnt bad, just pretty much slept. days 2-6 were by far the worst. The pain in my throat was so severe, it was all I could do to get water down. I was prescribed liquid loratab which made me sick & burned my throat when I took it. I also couldnt eat because I was nauseous from the pain meds so I was throwing up which made the pain worse. On the 4th day I had to go to E.R. for IV fluids & pain meds. I received IV fluids and pain meds and went home. From there I continued to go downhill. On day 6 I went back to E.R. from being very dehydrated and in so much pain & they admitted me. I was in the hospital for 3 days. I was kept on IV fluids & pain meds which pretty much saved me. I was also given steroids & nausea medicine. My ENT told me this is very rare and most people dont have this hard of a time. I dont see how people can go through this surgery without being in the hospital for recovery. You have to stay hydrated but in order to drink you have to swallow and it KILLS to swallow. Now i'm on day 10 and the pain has gotten a lot better. I'm down to minimal pain but i can feel scabs starting to fall off which stings. I also have this weird medal taste in my mouth which has gotten a little better over time but its still there. I can eat a little more now (pasta, mashed potatoes). But I cant taste anything which I heard is temporary. I'm continuing with the popsicles & ice water frequently. I pray that this will all be worth it in the end because this is by far the worst thing i've ever gone through. Having all 4 of my wisdom teeth out was nothing compared to this. So definately be prepared before you have this surgery done.

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  68. I am 21 years old and i am on day 5, i havent had much pain at all, i am still able to eat and drink, its different for everybody, please if u are getting this done do not listen to opinion, honestly. it just depends on what your body is like, and best part is mines nearly healed, from day 1 i have been garggling salt water twice a day and it has sped up the healing process.

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  69. I am 17 and had chronic tonsillitis for longer than I've ever heard anybody having it and it caused me to be constantly sick for over a year with maybe a few days to a week break if anything in between so we decided once I got insurance with my work it was time.. This has been the week of hell for me. I was on the Lortab Elixer ever four hours and it barely seemed to cool the pain so we switched liquid ibuprofen and the lortab every two hours which seemed to help a little.. it was harsh on my stomach and I would throw up. On the 3rd day I was throwing up blood this all kept up until I got Thrust all over my tongue, gums, roof of my mouth, and even looks like a few cold sores on my lips. This to me hurts WAY worse than my throat ever did. Swallowing my spit has become an issue and everything I eat or drink sets my mouth on fire. I am now on the lortab (to a minimal), ibuprofen, azithromycin, nystatin rinse diflucan, and the other medicine I was fed through the IV to last me 72 hours.These two weeks better be worth it.. but so far I am only on my 6th day. I don't sleep.. and if I can make my sleep last longer than 20 minutes I am in horrifying pain for hours. I wish luck to anybody getting tonsillectomy. Just do what they say and keep up fluids I know I havent and thats why I am worse and even went to the ER yesterday. I would rather die than ever have this surgery again. (not to scare anybody..) but better luck to whoever else gets it than I got!!(:

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  70. My name is Jackson and im 17. I got my tonsils out on the june 29th and tight now its early morning of day 8. i really do feel fine. dont judge me but i smoked pot a couple times and didnt feel bad at all. no bleeding or anything. ive been eating all the right foods. i feel physically fine its just my throat obviously, but the real problem is that.... my friends and i are taking a trip to arrow head from july 8-10. i really really want to drink. i feel fine. ive stayed in and i just want to get other opinions on this. this is supposed to be a raging weekend and i want to rage as well. haha. im a teenager and im irresponsible but judgement aside can you guys please post what you think. i would really appreciate it. i dont want to be at great risk. im going to stop taking my hydrocodone a day before i leave. Do you guys think i can get hammered like i was planning or what?????please get back to me i really do feel fine

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  71. Hello my name is Emily and im 19 0n day 9. an it is completely wretched. some of the worse pain ive ever experienced. i was lucky because i didnt bleed at all. but have felt ever ounce of pain day 4-9 has been the worst its like one issue after another. i drink water constantly but yet its always dry. my bigest issue is my nose and ears i think i have a cold cuase my nose is stuffy and runny and it suck having to breath jus thru your mouth and thn it gets all dry. im reaally at my witts end and cant wait to get better. im going to the hospital day 10 0r 11 if i dont feel bettter soon. :/

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  72. Hello,

    I just had my tonsillectomy on the 25th, i was terrified about all the blogs and posts about the operation, but in all, I havent had any pain, Im on day 8 and it is one of my best days, i did blled on day 5-6 lost lots of blood but the ER staff didnt do anything to me, but I also have a blog out there is anyone is interested. http://raulstonsillectomy.blogspot.com/

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  73. I am 18 and now on day 9 of recovery. The first two days were misery! The anthesia took a while to wear off and kept me down until. Thanksgiving morning, vomiting took its toll. I couldnt speak for the first four days, and even now I cant pronounce certain words clearly. My mom made sure I ate something with every dose of medication(lortab elixer) because otherwise I spent quality time vomiting. If I had known how terrible the recovery would be, I would never had had this done. Day by day I checked blogs to see what to expect, but it seems everyones' experience is so different. The recovery is surprising also, it doesnt just continue to get better, day five might seem perfect whereas day 6 and 7 feel like you are dying. The BEST THING I have done, is to replace my prescribed medication with a liquid child's pain reliever. It has made me less dependent on my meds and helped so much!

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  74. Well thank you Jackson from Weds July 6th. I think you just loosened my scab from laughter. This experience is bad. Make sure you HYDRATE until your urine is always light yellow, make sure you take 2 weeks off of week. I am surprised that the ENT tells you, "Oh you can be off work only a week." Day 9 here doing better. It was no picnic. Cried once. Make sure you get very strong pain med. I got Morphine 30 cc in a bottle and it comes with this clever 1 cc measuring device. Perfect. Also,ask for promethazine suppositories for the nausea that accompanies most pain meds, especially on empty stomachs. Ask your ENT for this cause they don't volunteer much I have found. Take Tylenol liquid in between and best to get off the strong stuff and switch to the Tylenol when able. Also get a cool mist humidifier and run it by your bedside.
    What I haven't figured out through all of this is the diet. When I ate 2 slices of bread my throat felt 100% better. But then when I looked at my tonsils it looked like there may have been some tearing in the scabs so I am back to soft foods. I keep reading that 'in the UK' they go straight to the hard foods. I wish I could get a straight answer on the foods.

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  75. Hello everyone. I'm an 18 year old majoring in acting, so clearly having a working throat is critical to my success in school. I'm on day 5, and compared to yesterday, I'm doing alright. Day 1 was fine...I was eating, drinking, and even talking without much problem. Day 2 went downhill because the liquid Percocet caused me to vomit 3 times...not fun. Day 3 I tried to take just Tylenol gel capsules which was an awful awful idea. Day 4 I got a different prescription, this time for liquid lortab. It really burns going down, as well as causing me a major toothache. However, it works quickly and I'm able to space it 1 tsp every 3 hours. I slept on a recliner instead of in my bed last night and my pain in the middle of the night was honestly much less severe than it was on the other nights. I do wake up around every 3-4 hours, but I'm able to sleep well enough. My diet has consisted of water, jello, Gatorade, pudding, and vitamin water at this point. Did have one coughing fit this morning, but the pain subsided fairly quickly. If I can say anything, it would be to get something squishy and squeeze it every time you swallow. I know it sounds silly, but it's helped me to transfer some of the tension that occurs with every gulp. This is for sure an awful experience, but I'm so glad to have those things out of my throat.

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  76. Hi everyone well i'm on day 9 today and feeling like my normal self just hurts to swallow stlll.

    Day 1-3 not much pain as soon as I was out of surgery I was sipping water and demanded food as I was not allowed to eat all day before the operation so I munched a Tuna sandwich down and it didn't hurt to much. I then sipped ice cold water all night until breakfast on Day 2 where I managed to eat again toast and scrambled eggs.
    from Day2- Day4 I found myself sleeping lots I was taking sopadol(codine+paracetamol dissolveable) and a anti-anti-inflammatory so guessing the codine was knocking me out.
    From Day 4 I found my breath was realy funky and was banished to the spare room by my other half who asked " Did the surgeon Sh#t in your mouth" then I was quickly removed and I started snoring really bad aswell..
    The hospital gave me a mouthwash called "Difflam Oral Rinse" it works wonders for a little wile numbing your entire mouth and no stinging on the wounds. I used this from day 4 and can be bought cheaply online.
    Day 4-6 the earache came and I have to admit I started feeling alittle sorrow for myself but then Day 7 a magical day I started feeling lots better and sleepign right through before this I was waking up every 2 hours which was good just to drink water and the snoring has stopped no the swelling has gone down. feeling better each day upto now Day 9.

    ( DAY 8 I was re-allowed into my bedroom to prove myself ( NO Snoring and bad breath) and I think I passed the recovery test with the otherhalf)

    I've managed to eat everyday, Chicken soup I found works wonders and if you can Eat slightly toasted toast with butter it helped my lots filling and mushes down easily with water. I had a bolognese last night and I could eat it still not a huge portion and only hurts when I swallowed it and feels like i'm gonna pass out but its sooo goooood.

    Good luck to everyone thats gonna get this done it is hard work and everyone has the recovery different I think i've been kinda lucky after things i've read but hey its 2 weeks and NO MORE TONSILLITIS PAIN AGAIN........

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  77. Hello, my 8yr old son had a Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy surgery. Today he is on day 6 post surgery. It has been the worst days of my life and for him of coarse. He started with ear ache since yesterday, doesn't want to eat but he's been drinking pedialyte, gatorade,water, and what has comforted him a lot is icee's from the gas station. I read that he has to be hydrated but I'm so worried because he doesn't want to eat anything, my fridge is full of goodies for him. I'm so worried and have been crying with him. I feel guilty for his pain, like if it was my fault that he's in so much pain. I didn't know he was gonna suffer a lot otherwise I wouldn't agreed to have him had this horrible surgery. I hope he's better tomorrow which he will be on his day 7, and so far I've read that thinks change to better on day seven, and so forth.Can't wait to see my baby as a normal kid again, as I said before this 6 days have been the worst days of my life :(

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  78. Hi everyone! Firstly well done to everyone that has decided to put themselves through this pain for the better of their own health! We all derserve a medal for going through this horrible pain by choice to improve our quality of life. I am on day four and im in alot of pain. Im waking every 4 hours at night when my pain meds wear off. My poor fiance is trying his best to look after me encourage me to eat... going out and buying me numbing throte lozengers, but i guess its the hardest part for him is theres not much he can do for me! Im dreading the days ahead as ive heard they are even more painful then what im going through now! Ive lost 4kilos already im down to 52kgs. Ive been eating mainly iceblocks, soft pasta, soft toast, and i forced two pieces of pizza down last night. It hurts real bad but i need my strength and it makes me feel alot better once ive eaten. If not i feel naseated. If there is one piece of advice i can give its stay hydrated and hang in there! Im waiting for the day that i wake up and not feel so crappy! I really am.... it feels like forever away but im trying to stay positive! Good luck with your recoverys! Anyone who hasnt had this done has no idea what we are going through... i am and I do! Stay strong people! It will be worth it .... hehehe after the pain has gone! xoxoxoxo good luck

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  79. 47 year old female. Well I know where I was last Friday and that was the day of my surgery. Today is day 8 and only tongue issues to deal with. Doctor called in something for thrush. I do feel a bit like one of the lucky ones in that I only took the prescribed pain meds one time and that was the evening of the surgery. Didn't help much because I threw it right up. I posted back a few days ago that Tylenol Extra Strength has managed my pain very well. I have been able to sleep well at night too. I usually don't tolerate pain very well but I think I have done pretty good all things considered. I miss eating real food!!!! I will be glad when my tongue gets back to normal maybe it is the thrush? Tried today to swallow bigger pieces of food but still feel like it gets stuck in my throat. I have a fear of choking. I think I have lost about 12 pounds since the surgery but I know I will gain that back when I am able to eat normally again. I haven't even tried to look at the back of my throat and don't want to! I do have bruises on my tongue at least on the front part which is all I am able to stick out of my mouth and see. I think I may have the scabs know because when I swallow it doesn't hurt but feels like something back there is touching the back of tongue. I am so happy I am this far into recovery and I keep praying that I have seen the worst of it. I will look back on this a few weeks from now and hope I can say that it was all worth it. For everyone suffering through this, I pray for you as well. One thing that has been constantly by my side and provided me with comfort is my 15 year old Chihuahua Abby. She may be tiny but she has not left my side for more than a few minutes at a time. I think she helps keep me calm.

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    1. I'm 38 years old and in the process of getting a tonsillectomy in the next few week. It's very comforting to read your post. Do you know what type of technique that your doctor performed the tonsillectomy? Was electrocautery (knife) or coblation (burn off) or intracapsular (laser)? Thank you!

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  80. Today I'm on day 8. I'm 17
    I think my doctor tried to give me the worst expectations for the pain I was going to feel, so that I could kind of prepare myself, and to tell you the truth, IT WAS NOT THAT BAD, I tried to keep myself ahead of the pain with the medicine, and I think it worked. Although, I WAS NOT PAIN FREE.
    The first 3 days, I was still feeling out of myself, on a kind of "high", my throat was sore, it hard to swallow, and I was throwing up a lot. On the first day, i did not eat anything other than ice. I could not find a comfortable way to sleep that night, and I ended up waking up on every hour. The second day felt so much more BETTER! I ate throughout the whole day, I remember I had capelleti soup, And i even ate hard stuff. On the third day, i paid the price of my little soup party, WAS TERRIBLE, i spent the whole day in bed, and the nausea was unbearable, i threw up a lot, the medicine was making me sick, and then i found out that i was almost having an overdose on the medicine, i had messed u 2 teaspoon for 2 tablespoon, so i was taking the dosage times 3 on a time spam of 4 hours during 3 days. I called the ER they told me to start taking the right dose, and they guaranteed to me that I was not dying. hahaha Day 4 and 5, I lost my voice, i could not speak a word, and if I tried, it would hurt so much, So again, I cameback to eating ice, i thought I was going to die, my breathing was so weak, Those were the worst days. Passed those days, on day 6,7, was like paradise. I started sleeping much more better, I had a nightmare and tried to scream, that was not fun at all. I was eating okay, and it was alright, the nausea came back, i threw up a little bit more, but it did not hurt, I also reduced the pain medication. Today, when i woke up, i forgot i had the surgery done, and I coughed hard, what ended up with me knocking on my mom's door crying and shaking of pain, she came spend the rest of the morning with me in my room, when i woke up again around 12 pm, the nausea started again, i throw up, and it was painful. I called the doctor because i had blood on my throat, she told me to go to the ER. When i got to the ER, they said that it was okay. So now I'm back to my room, and i feeling kind of nauseous again, i'll try to go to sleep. I know it sounds like it was painful and all, but I thought was going to be worse, by reading these kind of blogs and etc... Some people have some horror stories. Again, IT WAS NOT THAT BAD. It will be very uncomfortable and all of that, you are not going to be eating, but please DRINK LOTS OF WATER, it really makes a difference. It so much better to have a moist throat, it will make it easier trying to swallow, it will heal faster. And when you are in pain, you WILL pray for the time to pass fast. ICE will be your new best friend as well. LOTS OF ICE !!!! keep ice on your mouth, will help with the swelling of the tongue and uvula. LOTS OF ICE PACKS around your neck. I bought so much crap I heard that would be easy to eat like JELLO and Popsicle, but i ended up trying to eat them and giving up. You have to find what is good for you. For me, ice cream was really good, even though my doctor said to avoid it. Everything with ice was good for me. My scabs are still on the place my ginormous tonsils used to be, sometimes i heard that thy fall, but i have been noticing that one side ( the right) the scab is only fading away, hopefully that's what will happen to me. I'm afraid of bleeding when they do fall. They are absolutely disgusting!
    Now if you are thinking of having your surgery, just do it ! It's so worth it! It hurts, it stinks (literally, you will have problems pooping, ahaha but it pays off in the end. :D
    GOOD LUCK !

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  81. im 19 and on day 6 the pain isent as bad as it thought it was going to be i was quite unlucky the same day of the operation when i was still in hospital the right side wound opened up and we couldn't get the bleeding to stop so i had to go in for another operation so i ended up having two in the same day even tho iv had these twos my throat doesent feel that bad the same day they let me out we went to kfc and i got a chicken burger iv been eating pretty much fine the pain isent as bad as some people make it out to be but i think everyones bodys are different in how they heal the worst pain i get has been early in the mornings were i wake up with both of my ears hurting but this happens only for a short time i take a ibuprofen witch the doctors prescribed and go back to bed after the first time it bleed and they fixed it in surgery i haven't had any bleeding except from today after gargling there was slight blood from the left side i got ice water straight away and it stopped so its nothing to be worried about all a process of the healing stage hoping to be better by the end of this week

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  82. I am 20 and on day 9. This has been worse then hell! Between losing 10 pounds ( I am underweight as it is), not being able to talk, extream hunger, and constantly spitting this has been the worse experience of my life. I had to go back to the ER on day 2 because I wasn't getting enough fluids. Swallowing is still painful, I have been on five different prescriptions for pain relief. Oxicotten was the best to reduce pain, although it at maximum strength only lasted for three hours of pain relief before I felt the full force. I reccomend not going through the surgery unless absolutely nessesary. To put this way, I feel like this pain is never going to go away, I will be mute for the rest of my life and I will never be able to enjoy crunchy foods again, and I am on day 9 people! This has been such a long recovery and it's not over.

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  83. I am 27 year old female seven days out of surgery. To be honest the first few days were the easiest and I was expecting to get better from there...and then day 5 hit. Day 5 was by far the worst. No sleep, no food, and constant pain. I had been on Tylenol with Codeine, but called my MD to report the increasing pain that was unmanageable. After a few calls and crying on the phone, they called in Hydrocodone and Codeine (Lortab). Lortab offered the most comfort and made a day 6 better, but still miserable. All of these were liquids. I am still taking the pain meds every four hours even at day 7. Day 7 I woke up in as little of pain as I had been in the whole recovery. I just had pain and a dry mouth with a lot of saliva (I'm sure that made sense to those who have been through this). My scabs are starting to fall off, but I still have a long way to go. My recommendation is to put all your meds in applesauce. It is easier to swallow than a liquid, doesn't taste bad, and you can take your time. I am going to have to go off the Lortab at this point because my stomach is all torn up and hurts. I am going to to back to the Tylenol with Codeine since the pain is managed better and hoping my stomach will feel better. I am still having difficulty talking, but things are improving as of today.

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  84. Follow up...27 y/o female 8 days out...Last night was horrible. I am back on the Lortab. I kept waking up in excruciating pain. My MD called today to check on me and recommended that I continue using Lortab for the time being and that my pain may continue for a little while longer. The applesauce is great. I am getting a fruit and meds. I crush up any tablets I need to take and then add the liquid pain meds. Still on pain meds every four hours, but with that everything is managed pretty well. Still having difficulty talking.

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  85. Hi I'm Kevin 31 year old male. This will be my fourth night since surgery. Day one and two lead me into a false sense of security ! Not much pain apart from a sore throat, downhill from there I'm afraid. Hospital gave me codeine, brufen and paracetamol not really dealing with the pain, I have started taking tramadol I have in the drawer. Is it ok to mix this with codine and brufen, and secondly should I be using mouthwash at the moment. Would appreciate the help please ?

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  86. I am on day 8 right now and woke up in a lot of pain. I go to the doctor today for my follow up. My ears have been hurting as well. My worst periods are in the Morning and Middle of the night. What I find helpful with the pain is drinking fluids Water and Apple Juice, Also Apple sauce, and Water Ice. I also have been Chewing Gum since Yesterday this seems to help for the ears.

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  87. I am on day 10 today and have woken up with no pain....yes no pain at all!! Started to cut back on pain killers yesterday as felt better. Feel as though last ten days have been a blur really but pain filled. Days 3 to 6 were my worst and I threw up on day 6 twice because tablets were on empty stomach as couldn't eat that day so stressful. The pain, at it's height, is the worst pain and I feel for anyone going through that....but today is a good day for me, sun is shining so going for a walk.
    Get well soon everyone!!

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  88. Hiiii i am 12 and i am on day 4 yesterday i ate stirred potatoes and automattically started bleeding from the mouth i had to go to the hospital where they transffered me to another hospital and i had to stay overnight :( i felt SUPER uncomfortable but i handled it im wondering if anyone can give me any advice please for the pain to go away :) Am i gonna talk normal after recovering???? Am i going to eat normal?? Pleaseeee help!! Thank you and i hope everyone gets recovered!!!!

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  89. Hi, I'm 33 and have had bouts of Strep and tonsillitis repeatedly for the last 5 years. My ENT discovered an absess which was most lIkely the culprit. I am on day 15, but wanted assure those of you going through it now that it was not pleasant by any stretch of the imagination, but was not excruciating, either. Day 1, I slept alot, ate Campbell's soup at hand and made slushies, which my friend and recovery nurse showed be how to make: two single pops or a twin pop, microwave for 10 seconds. Scrape off the stick and add cold sprite, just enough that it's slushie=2 tsps or so. Day 2, slept alot, was on Hydrocodone every six hours, but still had soup and slushies and as much ice cold water as I could handle. Day 4, earaches started, but pain meds swapped out with Regular Motrin eased those. Day 8, went and saw the Dark Knight Rises, had an Icee at the movies and some Mashed potatoes and gravy at KFC. Day 11, went to an outdoor concert and had one beer as I had been off pain meds for two day. I can only stress this: DRINK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!! Water, juice ( avoid citrus) or whatever as long it's cold and doesn't sting! The more hydrated you stay, the better. I didn't even have my scabs fall off, it was just less and less white everyday till I was better. And for the first 3-4 days take meds as prescribed!! Even if your not hurting, it will help you drink which is SO IMPORTANT! I have returned to work and will resume my daily run next week. If you are having this done,don't be discouraged by the naysayers, you can do it. Just be prepared for it.

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  90. Well thank you guys for sharing. I am 42 and day 8 is my best day since day 3. I hope it gets better from here onwards. My experience re food is a bit different as I was able most times to eat regular food slowly. However when it got painful I would resort to soft food like soup or porridge, funny I find it harder to drink than eat. However the latter part of day 8 my vocals felt really tired and strained. Gonna rest now and hope for a better day tomorrow.
    Peace out and good luck to future tonsillectomy. Oh also take your painkillers as they r the only relief to pain.

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  91. I am on day 6 post tonsilectomy. Day 3 was my worst day so far.
    The worst part is the taste of burnt flesh.
    I wouldn't have had it done had I have known the pain.
    I find soft veg in gravey nice to eat.
    I have relied heavily on my pain medication.
    Though that stoped me going toilet for 5 days which worried me.
    I can't wait for this to be over!
    Steph

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  92. Wow - I must have been lucky.. I had my tonsils out at 21 and had nothing other than a bit of discomfort on Day 1 which was treated with children's Panadol liquid. I was served toast on the morning after the op and ate normal food thereafter. No nasty tastes, no ongoing pain or discomfort.

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  93. I'm 35 & just had a tonsilectomy & septoplasty 8 days ago... my pain was consistently terrible until late on day 7 when it finally eased off.

    Such a relief! It still hurts but it is a totally manageable pain. I can now eat almost anything and don't really need pain medication. After your scabs have fallen away there is a second round of really painful experiences, but it doesn't last as long as the first round.

    Just hang in there, everyone who is recovering. The pain eventually fades, although it seems like a miserable eternity while you are suffering through it.

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  94. Im on day 8 had my operation on the 11/12/12, days 6,5,7 was the worse for me I woke up crying in pain.. and cryed over a roast my dad made but i couldnt eat. Day 8 has been bearable..it stings more then anything.I tryed eating tomato soup but it hurt.I managed some chocolate drinking it down with water..Ive tryed to eat a normal diet as possible all the way through as my doctor advised. My meds being paracetomal ibrofen and codene phosphate.. which seems to be different to everyone else .I regretted this a couple of days ago but slowly starting to feel better.Looking forward to being able to have a drink and a smoke. Hopefully Il be better before christmas next week :/ :)

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  95. 27 year old female on day 6 of recovery and I feel like although there were moments where it's been crazy painful I was able to power through since I did a lot of research beforehand and my ENT put me on strong meds that I never miss. I'm working from home on day 6 and feel mostly good during the day. The nights and mornings are the worst, but I've learned how to ease in to the day with lots of ice and breakfast smoothies.

    Here's what has worked well for me:
    - humidifier when I sleep (the cool air kind is AMAZING as I haven't had dryness in the mouth since before the surgery)
    - always have a glass of ice and water
    - bags of ice in freezer
    - aloe vera juice (read about it online and LOVE it, think it helped heal faster)
    - chew gum when watching tv or movies (after a couple peritonislar abscess problems and countless strep issues I learned that stimulating the muscles in my throat wards off pain)
    - timer on my phone to remind me to take pain meds so I never miss
    - ice collar to go around my neck in the mornings and before I go to bed (helps an unbelievable amount)
    - smoothy recipes (including avocado, almond milk, banana, hemp seeds, anything nutritious, fresh and a good balance of protein)
    - sleeping slightly elevated
    - doing puzzles to have something else to focus on as I found just watching tv to pass the time would still allow for pain to sneak up, with puzzles at least my brain is busy
    - eating, drinking and talking frequently
    - had big problems with heartburn probably from the meds, but antacids and pepto bismal help
    - pain meds mean constipation so laxatives, prunes and apricots are really helpful
    - positive attitude (I made a list of reasons why pain now is better than life-long tonsil issues which have plagued me forever)

    Good luck to anyone who is planning on doing a tonsilectomy. It's not the funnest time, but as long as you're prepared and know that it's worth it you'll be ok :)

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  96. After reading these blogs every day to prepare me for the next day I thought it was about time I wrote my own one!

    I had my tonsillectomy on the 7th August and I'm currently on day 7. I'm a 22 year old female. For some reason when everybody was telling me how painful it would be after the surgery I dismissed them. 'I'll be stronger than that' I assumed. I like to think of myself as having a fairly high pain threshold and even though I was prepared, deep down I think I believed I'd be different!

    Even a few minutes after the surgery I was elated. I was right! I am a machine! This hardly hurts at all! I wolfed down a sandwich, sausage and mash and a yogurt in the hospital and was itching to get out and go home. That night I sent messages to all my friends and family 'I'll be fine in a few days, it's a walk in the park'

    How wrong I was.
    The pain seemed to creep up on me. Every morning it would be a bit worse. I was taking my two cocodamol tablets every four hours on the dot but although I kept the dosage the same the pain was increasing. The mornings are the worst, I'd wake up with throbbing pain in the sides of my throat and up to my ears. I'd have to get up and take my cocodamol or some liquid ibuprofen and then close my eyes and wait for the pain to subside, which it would in 10 or so minutes and i'd be able to drift back to sleep. At which point I would wake up a few hours later with the same excruciating pain and have to do it all over again. The afternoon's were always better, perhaps because I'd excersized my throat and had some food (I've been eating soups, some bread, pasta, mashed potato, yogurts and ice cream. I managed some sausage rolls on day 4 and even a Chilli flavoured crisp. BIG mistake) but the pain still comes and goes. The worst when I was faced with a beautiful linguine pasta and it hurt so much I got frustrated that I couldn't eat it and tensed up and it only exacerbated things.

    One minute I think I'm over the worst of it and the pain seems to have gone, and the next minute I'm swallowing daggers again and reaching for the ibuprofen. It's extremely frustrating! I assume its all scabbed over now because the inside of my throat feels like sandpaper but as much as I swallow the scabs aren't shifting. It is all I can do to reach for the cornflakes to get the hell rid of them. I am fed up, hungry and looking forward to this all being over.

    A few things that have helped me:

    A cold/icy flannel in the freezer for 15 minutes and then wrapped around my neck.
    The hospital gave me children's oral ibuprofen which is a syrup substrance which seems to ease the pain if i'm inbetween cocodamol doses. It's fairly week as an ibuprofen however it seems to calm the inflamation and you can have a fair amount of it because its meant for 1 year olds. (at least I hope you can have a fair amount of it other wise this might be the last thing I write! :P)
    Ice cold water, as many have said.

    Don't think that you are alone in feeling horrific, or that you are being pathetic or weak by being in a lot of pain. One thing I have learnt from reading these blogs is we all seem to be going through the same recovery and that a lot of people underestimate the tonsillectomy because children have it. It is a completely different procedure as an adult and it is NO walk in the park!

    We'll ever have this feeling again! When others get tonsillitis we can laugh and say 'oh, yes, i remember that! how horrible for you!' and know that we will never EVER have to feel this grim again. 2 weeks pain = a life time of feeling awesome.

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  97. Hi

    I am on day 6. I am a 46 year old male, same time as tonsillectomy I had entire lymph node system in left neck done so quite a busy couple of hours in theatre. My underlying condition is tonsil cancer that exhibited in one of the lymph nodes, the one that served the bad tonsil.

    My experience of the tonsillectomy are better than many so maybe I am lucky but thought I'd share what happened as maybe it can help. On day one I had a sore throat, not too bad at all and was talking normally soon after recovery. Now, due to the neck op, 200 staples holding it together, I did get some serious happy jabs and the following day 200 m paracetemol and one nurophen three times a day. I gave these up on day 4 and since have had only a couple of paracetomols when the throat started hurting a bit.

    Although very limited pain and discomfort, sort of thing you'd buy lozenges for, I have had swelling, tight jaw and some minor ear ache. Scabs have formed evenly and cleanly.

    So, this is what I have done and was advised to...GET EATING PROPERLY. I had hospital shepherds pie after recovery, Day 2 was toast and cereal for breakfast, fish and chips for lunch and a mild curry and rice for dinner. I also ate, around an hour after each meal when mouth started to feel furry or mucus started, a good size pack of salted crisps followed by warm salt water rinse, enough to not gag but not taste good! Each time a dozen good sloshes and gargles...then cleaned teeth.

    Day 1 and 2 was uncomfortable swallowing but not extreme pain, easily bearable. Same day 3 and 4, kept up eating, roast dinners with crispy potato's, fish and chips, the crisps, toast breakfast ad supper, crusty bread with soups etc. All food types that have some bulk, stretch the throat and scoured it.

    I think my luck is avoiding infection, maybe the regular salt washes but also after crisps especially, one can feel the rubbish in the throat stripped out. Again, I may have been lucky being able to do this the first 48 hours because of the extra pain meds due to the combined procedures.

    On top, loads of water, always hydrate until you are in the loo every hours. Get up at night every 4-5 hours and drink. Icy or chilled water is good as it takes edge f any soreness and also shrinks blood vessels so can help reduce likelihood of a bleed.

    The doc said, no matter what eat, eat, and eat from soon as done, your normal diet and don't rely on soft foods and liquids...if you do it will hurt a lot more and a lot longer.

    Of course we are all different but this is my experience...

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  98. I'm 22 yo, i'm on day 5 right now, just started getting pain in my ears today. Swallowing isn't so bad if I eat slow as hell. I've been able to eat soft tacos from taco bell. The only thing I'm waiting on is scabs to form, I still only have that white stuff in the back of my throat. Still dropping 2 percocets, 1 for when I wake up pain is unbearable and for some reason after I take a shower, which I don't understand because it's humid and moist in there. Can talk even though it sounds like I have a huge lisp. But other than morning and night pains I'm just waiting to be able to chow on some pizza

    I have a question for everyone though, has anybody had like mucus or cobweb like stuff around their stool?
    If its from all the crap that goes down with my food and stuff then I won't be too worried, but if nobody else has, its docs tomorrow.

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  99. Hi al... I had my toncils removed 7 days ago, day one & two were not as bad as i thoght, day three to seven have been the worst pain ever. I can just eat & drink & have problems sleeping as the pain is so bad. Had a reaction to pain meds & was throwing up. Taking panadene & panadoll now easier on stomach & just bares the pain. Ear achs are the worst, hope im over the worst of this now. Enjoying reading all coments & knowing im not alone. Good luck with your recovery everyone x

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  100. Can i ask... im on day 10 after surgery, did u have strong ear stabbing/ throbbing pain? Im worried something is wrong

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  101. I have been following your blog every night. I got my tonsils out and am currently on day 10. I am sooo happy I came across your blog. It is so nice to read about what the expect and what others go through. Sometimes you think you are going crazy and over-exaggerating. Reading this daily has helped me to know that I am not alone and that while it does suck others can relate. I look for days in advance to see what the next days to come will be. This has encouraged me to start my own blog of my own experiences for other individuals to relate to. Here is my link :) http://marriedwanderlustlove.com/2014/03/06/how-i-loathe-thee-tonsillectomy-adenoidectomy-at-25/

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  102. Hi guys

    Im on day 9 post op and ive HAD ENOUGH. Surgery day i was vomitting blood for 10 hours and once that settled down i finally got some IV fluids and pain relief i felt much better.

    Day 2-4 was really suffering and was up and down like a yoyo. Couldnt drink or swallow anything without holding it in my moutg for what seems minutes. Had to stop taking the codeine as had the worst constipation ever. So i just changed to paracetamol and ibuprofen but sadly only took the edge of the pain.

    Then day 5 came!! OMG!!! Felt like id been in a car crash and hit the windscreen. Thought this cant be right its only my tonsiles but thanks to blogs like this i knew it was natural if thats the right word. Day 7-8 i started to be able to drink more and more and eat a little better, although i am still only on toast, mashed potato, soggy cornflakes etc. Bloody starvin actually and lost 8lbs already.

    Well now im on day 9 and i wasnt as in as much pain this morning so did a bit of cleaning. Now its 7pm and im a wreck sat on my bed with a bowl because something keeps moving in my throat making me gag and vomit and its so painful. Im hoping this is the scabs that ive heard about but nothings coming up its just flapping about when i swallow.

    I can wait for this all to be over as its been horrendous...even more so as i have twin toddlers and no one could help mind them for me so im a right basket case at the minute

    Heres to a tonsile and pain free experience :-/

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  103. 39 year old male day 10...such a relief to read all the experiences and know im not alone.voltaren suppositories helps with easing the pain;all other pain killers the docs were trying in hospital was a waste.

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  104. 37 male, day 9 , I been eating steack since day 1, my dr and personal friend told me opus up with the pain and eat steack, would clean your scabs and keep surgery area clean, heating pad is the best secret on keep pain away, I been sleeping solid nights since day 1, heated pad under shirt Chest and touching my throat pain literally goes away like miracle. On day 5 I rode my motorcycle from texas to Florida 1139 miles, today day 9 almost all pain is gone, just some discomfort, I have Christmas dinner turkey ham and all the goodies, this post op is a bad as you make it, the pain and discomfort would be there so take it to the bank and go like nothing is on, o lay in bed crying your option, I been taking tramadol 1 in the morning, my antibiotics and a anti nausea pill, never got sick after surgery, people make this surgery sound worst, pain is bad but nothing like eating. So cry in bed or make the best is your choice.

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  105. I had my tonsils and addinoise taken out in 20o3.Did o.k. but later my throat gave me problems such as trouble swollowing pills,some foods and I have a slimmy film on my tongue.I've been treated for yeast infection but I still get this film on my tongue for the past four or five years.Does anyone else have this experience?

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  106. Hello. Had my tonsils removed Friday and it's Monday night now. So between my 4/-5th day. Spent the night in hospital and was pleased with the pain not being unbearable but then when I went home the next day the nausea kicked in and I ended up vomiting continuously for 2 days. Was unable to have a sip of water without throwing up. Changed my meds from endone to panadeine forte and an anti nausea pill which has helped me get food into me. Was very worried that I was withering away. Yesterday and today (day 4) I lived on coca cola, chewing gum, chia pods and managed to get some risoni down. My biggest problem is the constant ear pain so having to rely on heat packs on both ears to keep the main ok. I'm really worried about facing days 5-7 as I've heard they are the worst- so if you have any advice for those days and the scabs please PLEASE let me know!

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  107. I'm on day 7 recovery from tonsillectomy, I don't feel more painful before today, I woke up with painful throat as well as my ear, it's so horrible painful! Just had some yoghurt this morning, it's bearable to eat, but I had to finish my breakfast for the day, I will have to go back to work now, will ask the Canteen to make me some scrambled eggs for tea time and lunch time. I can't DAMN wait to get better, next week here I come! I always crave for some delicious food but I am not allowed to eat anything till I get 100% better.... #IAmWaiting

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  108. I'm on day 7 recovery from tonsillectomy, I don't feel more painful before today, I woke up with painful throat as well as my ear, it's so horrible painful! Just had some yoghurt this morning, it's bearable to eat, but I had to finish my breakfast for the day, I will have to go back to work now, will ask the Canteen to make me some scrambled eggs for tea time and lunch time. I can't DAMN wait to get better, next week here I come! I always crave for some delicious food but I am not allowed to eat anything till I get 100% better.... #IAmWaiting

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  109. Hey all....so wtf the pain is so hurting right now!!!! Im 15 male and had my tonsils removed on thursday...im on day 6 i feel alot better but stil cant swallow day 1 was a pice of cake...day 2 was also good....day 3 the pain started til day 5 omg i was so painfull i woke up around 4 am tod and omg a cried of pain..s.the pain isnt so bad tod...hoping tomorrow it wil be better.....

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  110. Entry from the UK. I'm a 51 year old female just had a large cyst and my tonsils removed on day 9 now. I was reading all the interesting comments and I probably had many similar issues, chronic pain in my throat obviously, oral thrush (which no one mentioned) can't go to the toilet, liquids I drink come out of my nose and I have been really sick ! Other than that I'm still alive. I have not eaten anything yet but definitely crave a Chinese and have been looking at menu's to cheer me up :-) it's been the worst pain I have so far physically endured in my life but I unfortunately just was not responding to antibiotics. I am tempted not to pay the surgeon. ..only joking. His words to me after surgery were "you had really awful horrible tonsils " and smiled, he knew I would suffer thereafter. ..I'm getting better slowly, my neighbour said I looked terrible, I am losing weight, love that bit. Keep strong everyone, blame the surgery :-) good luck and keep the fluids and pain meds up x

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  111. Okay I would have rather put up with the tonsillitis, I’m 25 and I’m on day 8. Right now it’s 8:30 am and I’m feeling okay. I had to take medicine when I woke and drink a ton of water, due to a dry throat from sleeping all night. Yesterday (day 7) I had some bleeding, not bad. I did call the doctor, though. I drank some cold water and ate a popsicle and they blood clotted on its own and went away completely within a few hours. All week (especially between days 3-6) were THE worst days and I mean like waking every 2 hours in the night. Also, sobbing when I woke up each time and also some more sobbing after I would have to swallow my liquid medicine. I had my girlfriend to cry to and to help me but I was feeling like a huge baby, the pain was so bad that I didn’t even care. Ears felt like they were being stabbed, stiff tongue that I could barely move and had sores on the back. I had these massive headaches. The doc has me on liquid oxycodone and I also bought liquid extra strength Tylenol. Honestly, the oxycodone wasn’t all that helpful and just drugged me up the first few days until my body got used to it, I could barely walk. The Tylenol burned going down but it helped a lot. Only bad thing is, it feels like the meds all wear off so quickly. I lost 12 pounds because I couldn’t eat at all. Some soup and pudding here and there but soup was even hard to swallow. Pudding was pretty much the best thing. I could barely swallow water but I obviously had to force myself because hydration is THE most important (I’m guessing that’s why I was bleeding because I was stubborn and my throat felt a bit better so I said ahh what the hell, F water) haha.... do not “F water” because I promise, you F-in need it. Anyway day 8 now, sore when I woke up, took medicine, drank water and it’s just a bit achy but overall I feel okay and my throat has less scabs and my uvula doesn’t have anymore white on it so I’m hopeful! Hoping I can get some food in today, that would be nice. Good luck all! P.S don’t plan on using the bathroom any time soon (if you know what I mean) it’s been over a week and I’ve honestly forgotten that pooping was even a thing haha

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