Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Speach/Voice Recovery time

A recent posting inquired about when I regained my normal speech, or voice.

I reviewed my journal and was surprised to find that I never noted when my voice was back to normal. My wife says it wasn't until the end of my recovery, although, she also says I was a baby about the whole thing and drove her nuts. Taking her colorful comments into account, I think it was during the third week that I was speaking comfortably again.

I'd like to hear what others have to say about this, so if you've recently, or currently, are going through recovery from a tonsillectomy, please comment.

In any case, you should be back to normal after about three weeks. My voice didn't change permanently and is back to it's normal tone and range.

47 comments:

  1. Hi Robert, I am on day 11 of my recovery and I have found your blog quite informative... Both in reassuring me that what I am experiencing is normal and in letting me know what to expect down the road.
    On your most recent post, I think my voice sounds like it is back to normal already. Just when I talk a lot or loudly (to my son mostly) I get that nagging tickle in the back of my throat... and of course coughing is still pretty painful so I have to stop. I'm hoping that by sometime next week I will be able to speak without much discomfort, especially since I am an instructor and I go back to work in 4 days. :/
    Thanks so much for the website... I'm going to refer my curious friends to your page.

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    1. Emily 47
      I'm 47 and today is the 5th day in and when I talk it hurts so bad and my ears I have not had such bad ear aches since I was a child I can't believe it could take that long to heal I go in for my check up. It even hurts to chew or yawn.

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    2. Emily 47
      I'm 47 and today is the 5th day in and when I talk it hurts so bad and my ears I have not had such bad ear aches since I was a child I can't believe it could take that long to heal I go in for my check up. It even hurts to chew or yawn.

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  2. I am on day 6 and I wish I had found your blog earlier. I am blogging about my experience. It does hurt and I have to say I would expect anyone to be a baby bout it. Tell your wife, I bet my husband has been saying the same thing!

    I can't wait to get back to normal!

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  3. Thank you for journaling your experience Robert. My son is 21 and just had his tonsils out 2 days ago, so I guess this would be recovery day 2 for him. Before this, I had no idea just how difficult and painful a recovery this can be for adults. So far everything you have written sounds very familiar, and it is comforting to know that what he is experiencing is normal (headache etc.). I am going to have him read your blog when wakes up for his next dose of Codine. So far he's been an excellent patient ..... hopefully that continues LOL! Poor guy :-(

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  4. Hi,

    I am 10 days post op. I was wondering if you experienced taste distortion and if so, for how long? Right now, I can only taste salty things and can only detect the "essence" of sweetness and every other flavor.

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  5. I had my tonsillectomy 6 weeks ago and my uvula is still swollen, making it impossible to speak French -- disaster for a languages student. Anyone else had such a long recovery time?

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  6. my son had tonsils out 8 days ago and his voice sounds so high pitched and nasally, i'm worried about sending him back to school, he sounds so funny. is this normal and how long until he sounds like himself? I'm worried about it being permanent!

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  7. oh my goodness i really wish i read this before my surgery! I am 22 years old and on day 6, which by FAR is my worst day! everything you reported is exactly what i am experiancing. it is such a relief to know im not the only one going thru this.(sorry, its horrible experiance i know) dr. should really inform you about days 5-7! if i would have know i could have prepared for it, but waking up every 2.5 hours in excruciating pain and not knowing why is pretty scary and disheartening.
    MY BLOG FOR TODAY(DAY 6): Strated last night at 10:30pm took my Tylenol 3 & 600mg of ibruprofin, gave some relief but not enough to fall asleep. because i havent been eating my stomach was cramping up so i waited 3.5 hours until my next dose and took a gravol as well. was able to sleep until 5am when i woke up in excruciating pain since then been crying all day. feels like swallowing razor blades when i try to sip water :-( do not want to do eat drink or anything...since then i have been on the net searching for answers, i found out that when sleeping i have my mouth open there for drying my throat out, so when i wake up my scabs are cracked and bleeding....so i asked a friend to get my a cold humidifyer.... now i havent been able to sleep yet, but just being in that room "soothes" my throat. i also agree that hot compress on the ears helps as i feel the most sever pain comes from the ears (also try warm baby oil in ears with cotton pad over night & hot shower in the morning)thats all i know about dreadful day 6 but your blog gives me hope for tomorrow!

    Thank you so much for all you info, it really helped!! Best wishes to all enduring the pain of tonsillectomy and the ones taking care of us!

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    1. What does swallowing razor blades feel like?

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  8. Just got my tonsils takin out week on yesterday.(on day 8) Your blog is soooo helpful. On about day 4 i notice a yellow-white coating on my tongue and flipped out because i was thinking it was thrush and to hear you say its tissue rebuilding itself really calmed me down and over the past few days it has washed off. My taste has been improving for the past few days I've only gotten hints of flavors. Also my pain level would be good for like 2 days and then sky rocket the day after and the first time i thought something was wrong. My voice went back to normal on about the 6th day. For ear pain taking a cotton pad and putting vicks vapor rub on it help alot.

    Once again thank you for taking the time to write this blog during your time of pain.

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  9. Thank you so much for your blog, Robert! And all those who left comments. It was a blessing during my recovery. I started getting my voice back exactly at 2 weeks post-op. By three weeks I was speaking quite comfortably. Yawning hurt really badly until week 4. It's been 4 weeks for me and I just about forgot I ever had the surgery :) Two weeks of hell was sure worth it!

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  10. How i wish i found this journal off yours before deciding on tonsillectomy.. Just had that yesterday... never thought the recovery time will be such a pain. now the painkiller is my only hope.
    only today i noticed that my tongue is swollen and has sort of ulcer beneath it. swallowing (even ice and ice cream) is such a pain but i still did it. but i do wonder if anybodyelse is like me,; lots of saliva?

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  11. im currently on day 1 post op.... as above ive got lots os saliva but it seems more thick and sticky compared to normal salive.

    Managed to eat a egg sandwich and sum cereal (for sum reason bigger mouthfulls hurt lets to swallow), keeping away from reli hot and reli cold foods.

    The pain isnt too bad bar the pain in my ears every time i swallow... going to try a few of the tips above to try n sort my ears out.

    Be glad when the swelling in my tongue goes down as it feels like i have flem in the back of my throat at the moment.

    If anyone has any more tips spesh on the sleeping side and not waking up with a dry mouth n cracked lips would help allot :)

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  12. I wish I had foud this blog before, I am on day 2 of recovery and think I was quite naive about the pain after. Everyone kept telling me it was a pinful recovery and I kept thinking well I have been through childbirth so this will be fine.....I was wrong!! This is far worse! Painkillers help and the nurses have told me to eat toast as it will help scrape the bacteria off the back of the throat. Painful initially but once the first few mouthfuls are done it kinda gets easier.

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  13. hi,
    i am on day 9 post tonsillectomy and my voice is horrible is sounds liked a bit squeaky coming from the back and its hard for ppl to understand me at times. i sound like i have a muffled voice... will this get better or am i stuck with this voice?????

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  14. For the person who last wrote on 10/16/2010: how are you feeling now? I'm scheduled for a Tonsillectomy and sinus surgery to correct a deviated septum on December 7th. I'm very concerned about the pain. Sinus surgery was pretty brutal the last time I had it in June. Are you happy to have gotten this surgery despite the pain associated with it? I really want to hear from those who have had a Tonsillectomy what long term benefits they have experienced. Thanks!!

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  15. Hello u guys, I just got my tonsils out 4 days ago, it is sooo painful to swallow, but i do eat, a lil here and ther...jello, popsicles, toast, coffee, lots of water...cant take the tylenol codeine cause it gets me nauseas...im going to be straight up...i would rather give birth 5 times than do this again, if i wouldve know, i wouldnt never done this, ughhh...everything i put in my mouth, even water, tastes like medicine, its horrible....my hubby got the deviated septum surgery 6 wks ago, it went much better for him, but yes its also painful, not going to be able to eat for thanksgiving, that sux!

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  16. Hi, I’m looking for some opinions because I’ll be having a tonsillectomy on January 3rd, the thing is I’m invited to a wedding 5 days later (January 7). What do you think? Will I be able to go? I know I wont be able to eat or dance that much, but I’d still like to go… should I RSVP?? I mean, will I be able to get up, get dressed, get my hair done and talk with other guests for a while?
    Regards from Chile!!
    Francisca (28)

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  17. No, I wouldn't recommend going to the wedding. You won't want to get up, eat, drink, and you may not feel comfortable walking let alone dancing if you're taking any kind of pain killer. Don't put yourself through the agony of trying to go to the wedding. Relax, stay home and recover. That's my opinion.
    Best of luck.

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  18. I just want to thank you so much for posting this blog. I had my tonsils out 7 days ago (can't believe it's already been a week!) and believe me, I was in the most pain I have ever experienced. However, having this blog to follow along with during my experience 1)made it easier knowing I wasn't alone and 2) gave me an idea of what to expect. Day 4 was by far the worst day--I did not eat, drink or anything. But it's progressively getting better and better and I know that in the long run this will be for the better and the lesser of 2 evils (strep multiple times a year, sleep apnea AND tonsil stones). I just looked at my throat for the first time since the surgery (was too much of a pansy to see it immediately after the operation, let alone not being able to open my mouth wide enough) and it's incredible knowing they're out. Thank you again so much for sharing your experience.

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  19. Hi guys, I'm 19 years old, and its been a week since I've had my tonsils removed, its really painful and I am still not able to eat anything without pain!.. My scabs seem to have moved further down my throat and it feels as if they are scraping against my adams apple, is this normal?

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  20. I'm 17 years old and I'm on the 7th day post op. I cannot swallow anything. Luckily chewing gum has kept my mouth kinda moist. Every movement I take is just painful. I believe the pain is increasing too. Please someone shoot me !

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  21. I am on day 7 post op recovery of my tonsillectomy. This has been the most painful experience of my life thus far and yes I am a mother and not even giving birth was this bad..my tongue is still very swollen, my speech sounds funny and the pain meds don't even begin to help the ear pain, however all my symptoms sound pretty normal according to the blog, which eases my mind some, thanks for sharing.

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  22. I am 28 years old and I am on day 6 of recovery. My throat is sore and swollen. It is worse when the pain meds start to wear off. I find that even when I am not in so much pain I still cannot swallow normally. Even if its a small amount I have to swallow 2 or 3 times. Sometimes it "goes down the wrong pipe" so to speak. Also my tongue and jaw are swollen and painful. Mostly my tongue. I don't have much taste and what I can taste, taste different than normal. I also get alot of phlegm or mucus build up in my throat at night, anyone else have that problem? I took 10 days off work, I am hoping this will be enough. I cannot afford to miss anymore so I may have to just tough it out. I have to say I was expecting the recovery process to go alot quicker and smoother, lets just say I was wrong. Hoping to completely recover soon.

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  23. I'm 36 years old and I had a tonsillectomy 7 days ago and am typing this from work. I had about 5 episodes of quinsy before I finally got my tonsils taken out and this was only as the infection wasn't being helped in any way by the intraveneous antibiotics I was receiving in hopsital so the operation was done whilst there was an infection present. They found a pocket of pus that would have filled a yoghurt pot evidently (nice) and then did the tonsillectomy. I have to say that the tonsillectomy has been a lot less painful than the quinsy before it. I've been making sure I eat and drink as normally as I can although cold water is the best thing and food tastes weird at the moment. The thing I have found the most is how tired i am.

    I think it must be quite an individual thing, how your body reacts to the surgery. I think I got used to being in pain so often that this really was a relief. I also feel a lot less tired and depressed than I have been in a while and I think having all that poison inside my body for so long was obviously affecting me in a lot of different ways.

    So, I think what I'm trying to say is it can be ok! Try not to work yourself up about it too much - just lots of cold water and rest. If I had an ok time then other people will too!

    Good luck and remember its all worth it in the end : )

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  24. hi, i am 28 years old and 10th day of recovery, first week was quiet painful. but painkillers helped alot to reduce my pain, you should must keep drinking water as it will help you to reduce pain. i was dissolving codeine into water and drinking it which was pretty helpful. i tried eating rough food as well ...but after 2-3 tries i gave up as it gave lot of pain. so keep drinking water as much as you can, keep taking your medicines on time ..and dont starve yourself, always try to eat something otherwise taking medicines in empty stomach makes you so weak. .. so i am waiting for a week more hope everything would be alright and i will be in normal condition :)

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  25. I had a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy on October 7, 2011. It was an awful experience, I'm not going to lie. I read this whole blog, and I would honestly say that my first 10 days were horribly painful and I ate very little.

    My tongue and uvula were very swollen for several days...so much so that I couldn't even see the back of my throat. My tongue was literally black and blue and I swear I thought my uvula was going to pop it was so big. The scabs on the back of the throat were disgusting, and every time one fell off, the new fresh skin underneath would sting and ache even without drinking or eating. The ear pain and headaches were also quite unpleasant. I did not understand that the part of the brain in charge of the tonsils is also in charge of the ears and so without the tonsils, my pain receptors were screaming out, thereby affecting my ears. At least that's what the nurse said!

    Drinking or eating very cold things or very hot things was very painful, and the doctor suggested just drinking room temperature water, which I tried and it was easier to take down. I could not eat ice cream or soup, not unless they were near room temperature, for a couple of weeks after surgery.

    At two weeks, I had my first REAL food...a ham sandwich that I tore apart and ate with my hands because my jaw was so sore. But the nourishment was wonderful and made me feel human again.

    It is January 6, 2012, and my tastebuds are still not back to normal. Due to the clamp on my tongue during surgery, my tongue was a little disfigured and the tastebuds were damaged. My ENT has assured me that this will go back to normal but it could take 4 months.

    Also, my voice is still not back to normal. I feel sometimes like my tongue is swollen or heavy and a little like I have a speech impediment. My singing voice is not back to normal either. I have not spoken with my ENT about this yet, and I will give it a few more months before I begin to worry that it will not go back to normal.

    My tonsils were extremely large and were obstructing my airway a great deal, so my recovery may have been worse due to that.

    It is still too soon to ask if I would have this procedure done again. It's like asking a woman who just gave birth if she wants to do it again. Time needs to pass and the memory needs to fade. I have given birth and I can tell you that, in my opinion, this pain was MUCH worse.

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    1. Agreed that giving birth was much less painful. :)

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  26. I have had choronic cryptic tonsils (tonsil stones) for a few years now and it SUCKS! Bad breath is so much more inhibiting than you would think if you dont have cryptic tonsils. I cant speak directly to people at work, dont like speaking directly to people when im out, even embarassed around my wife. I recently got insurance so I think I am going to go to an ENT and see if they can remove my tonsils. Pain sucks for a few weeks but I definnitely think it will be worth it. The only thing I am really worried about is my voice changing. I am not a great singer or anything so no biggie about a singing voice, I just dont want to get squeeky or high pitched. How many people have really had an experience that resulted in a funny voice? How long did it last? It seems like some people say their voice got raspy, some didnt notice anything and some got squeeky

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    1. Hey anonimous Jan 24 , I also had cryptic tonsils with the naasty smelly stones. I too was soo embarrased to talk close up to people especially my husband. I had my tonsils out December 2, 2011, and rather have birth pain than tonsilectomy recovery pain . It was the worse pain EVER especially the first week. I lost more than 10 pounds . The only way I could deal with the pain some was by taking vicodyn every 3 hours instead of the recommended 4. But after the second week that I fully healed, I realized it was the best decision ever! My breath is soo fresh that If it wasnt for my teeth, I would not have to brush and rinse lol...My saliva tastes like clean water. My husband is very pleased also ;-) I'm 24 years old , I don't sing but I'm glad my voice did not change at all, my voice was back to normal after 2 weeks.

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  27. I just had mine removed both my tonsills and adenoids, they told me it would be super painful, It took me a while to really do it because of everything I got told would happen specially pain, but after years of bad breath and being single I went for it today is my third day I have a litte disconfort but was able to eat a chicken noodle soup, and I soaked some crackers, the only annoying thing is that everything tastes salty even water, but in all is not as painful as they said I'm not in pain medication but I do have a slight fever.

    I hope this helps

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  28. I just had my tonsils removed on Friday March 16, 2012. I was supposed to have it done 4 years ago, but chickened out because of the horror stories. I'm surprised because everyone says its horrible. I'm 33. I have throat pain, but I drank 1 gallon of iced water on day 1 and it really only feels like I have tonsillitis now. I'm talking pretty close to normal too. I feel better today, and I only took my pain medication Tylenol with codeine for 2 doses on day 1 and stopped. The medication didn't make me tired, just dizzy. I also ate mashed potatoes, small amounts and took some time to do, but not to awful. My taste buds taste different too. I'm also softly gargling every hour with iced water, I think this is why I don't feel bad, plus all the iced water I'm drinking. My uvula is swollen, but it should go down in the next couple of days. I've given birth, and didn't use any pain medications and I have to see giving birth was worse than having my tonsils out.

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  29. I am 40 and just had a T&A done. Wish they did it when I was a kid like they were supposed to. I read all these blogs beforehand and was expecting the worse but am pleasantly surprised so far I haven't been in severe pain. I am on day 2 post op (was on Tuesday and today is Thursday). First day I was just reating badly to the anesthesia...very nauseaus, dizzy, etc. WAs glad when that wore off but second day I had phlegm like you wouldn't believe backing up in my throat, adn couldn't really swallow without water, was very painful, and woke up congested. With a lot of water, and I mean a lot, that seemed to die down. I think the trick is to keep everything lubricated back there. I have been able to drink coffee and tea thank god and the hot and colds seemed to help me more than room temp but everyone is different. I've been able to eat soup and mashed potatoes but was surprised it is hard to chew (tried a corn sized piece of chicken and I had a hell of a time chewing that). I can't seem to taste anything adn I can't talk yet...when I tried I sound rediculous. I am nervous about days 5-7...what causes the pain? So far I haven't even taken my pain meds. I react badly to meds so figure right now I don't need them until I am crying from pain. I can't say whetehr or not I'm thankful to have it done yet, but after battling 2 bouts of tonsillitis in a month, and living through 3 abcessed tonsils, this has to be a better option. I am very tired too which I didn't expect, especially since I'm not taking the meds, but guess body is trying to heal so anything I do isn't helping (hard for me to sit still). I definitely think water is helping and a humidifier.

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  30. Thank you for writing this blog. I had my tonsils out 10 days ago. I foun this on day 2 and it has been immensely helpful just to know that the pain was normal and that it would eventually end.

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  31. I'm kind of glad I hadn't seen all these comments pre-op, otherwise I probably wouldn't have gone through with it!

    I'm 19, currently on day 10 post-op. When I got home from hospital I felt fine, and I couldn't understand what everyone was complaining about. But sure enough, the pain sets in. It got progressively worse from day 2 to day 7.

    Day 7 was my limit. I literally wanted to kill myself! The whole right side of my face, neck, ear, were throbbing. None of my painkillers were working, and I couldn't stop crying. It was the worst pain I'd ever felt. Eventually that night, at about 11pm, my dad drove me into emergency. I never had any bleeding or anything, but the pain was just ridiculous, and since I couldn't even swallow water, I'd become so dehydrated (drink as much water as you can on days 1, 2 and 3 because after that it gets harder). So the nurses gave me a different painkiller and hooked me up to an IV for about 3 hours.
    I was in heaven.
    I'd forgotten what it felt like to feel that relaxed. Painless!

    The ENT doctor in emergency gave me a new prescription for Endone and Tremado. Which was amazing.
    Day 8 I woke up feeling a million times better after being hydrated, and my scabs had started dissolving so my throat didn't feel so hard. It got better from there!
    Now on day 10 I don't need any painkillers and can eat normally (still a bit of pain obviously, but it's manageable). There's also blisters where the scabs used to be, but it's a good pain. A 'finally getting better' pain.
    It hurts to yawn. And I sound silly when I try to talk. I'm hoping my voice goes back to normal soon because I'm a singer.

    My words of wisdom:
    Days 1 and 2 (before the pain really sets in) eat hard foods to scrape the bacteria, and to stretch the throat muscles so it doesn't heal tightly. Save the jelly and ice cream for the real pain. Use your pain meds when needed, and drink lots of water because they WILL hurt your stomach. Get stronger stuff for later in the week, because you'll need it.

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  32. I had experienced that too, it’s really hilarious but after a week my voice went back to normal.

    Best regards,
    Rachel
    seattle chiropractors

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  33. What I haven't noticed anyone talking about is to make sure you take a stool softener as well and lots of water! While on oxycodone, it almost like shuts down your stomach and makes out so you don't have a bowel movement. I hadn't had a bowel movement in 11 days and apparently when talking to my triage nurse it put her in a panic and she said I should probably go to ER. I had only taken Colace (1) for two nights prior to calling her. That evening was when I finally had a bowel movement. It's very important to make sure you talk to your doctor or nurse of you don't go or it may be another surgery you have to go in for.

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  34. Is it normal on day 10 to still have a really bad pain in your throat when swallowing? As on websites and what I've heard, is your meant to be feeling alot better, whereas im still in really bad pain and still have to to my full medication as been told. This isn't an infection is it?

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  35. I am on day 6 of my recovery. I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel after eating jello, soup, water, and meds for so long. I threw up a couple times from the Tylenol w/codeine and not having too much food in my stomach. I'm 18 years old and my voice is very high pitched because it hurts too much to get out anything else. When will my voice be back to normal? Also how long does it usualy take for the scabs to come off and will I cough them up or will I swallow them?!

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  36. how long until the swelling in the back of your tongue goes away? I am currently on day 15

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  37. I am on day 7 of my recovery and am 20 years old. And I can't talk without wanting to burst into tears because of frustration. My tongue feels huge and swollen in my mouth, and it sounds like I have a horrible speech impediment. I sound so bad is this normal?!? When will my voice go back to normal or is this okay? I sound horrible :(

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  38. I'm currently on day 5 post-op. The pain is less than yesterday. I can say from experience that day 3 and 4 are the worst. Now my ears are aching so much and I feel like popping my ears. Every time I swallow it hurts. My uvula is huge and I'm wondering when the swelling goes down. After the surgery I was admitted to stay one night and I actually didn't feel much pain. I thought my recovery would fly by, but I was wrong. As soon as the anesthesia wore off I was crying like no tomorrow. I'm very moody. I just want all this pain to go away. I really need some tips on how to lessen the pain. Good luck everyone.

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  39. I just wanted to say thank you so much for posting all of this. I am on day 7 and you give me hope!

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  40. Thank you so much. Even in 2016 people like me are reading this and giving us hope

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  41. I just wanted to say thank you so much for posting all of this. I am on day 7 and you give me hope!

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  42. Somebody please tell me how long until my voice comes back? I'm on day 14 and I still have absolutely nothing come out when I open my mouth. Barely can whisper. It's weird because I am reading that people went through all this excruciating pain but entirely had their voice back day 6 or 7 . I however am eating regular meals and didn't even need my pain killers except for the first 3 days kinda. I've had no pain. This was a breeze. So something does not seem normal because how is it that I've been pain free this whole time including right out of surgery not even needing meds but my voice is nowhere to be found! Help me I'm scared that I'm going to me mute for the rest of my life!!

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