Some of you know that I'm in my second week recovering from mine, and it was wonderful to have a fellow OSPer Jessica Messer help me with some great advice.

Let me tell you if you don't know--most people don't know:

ADULT TONSILLECTOMY IS THE WORST MOST PAINFUL SURGERY AN ADULT CAN HAVE.

I'm not whining. It's just good for you to know in case you know someone who is going to face it. It's not only painful but includes other issues as: [list=1]
[*]being nearly unable to breathe well the first few days lying down b/c of a humongous uvula choking you.
[*]being unable to drink/eat comfortably for days and days--I've lost 8 lbs already...
[*]having to deal with the possibility of nausea and or vomitting. I didn't thank God.
[*]having to deal with the possibility of a bleeding eruption taking you back in to the hospital. I haven't yet, thank God.
[*}having thrush. I did.
[*]ETC.

This is a post to help those who are facing it or have loved ones. I know that Crystal Coates is facing one this week....

UGH! Carole, I feel for ya chick!

I'm sorry you had to have this, but now I don't feel like such a weeny. I thought it was just me.

My speech is back to normal now. No more funky talking.

I can drink fine too, but its different than before. I have had to change the way I swallow....hard to describe, but its more deliberate than before.

I can eat anything I ate before.

I used to never drink anything with a meal, only after I finished I'd take a few sips of something. So I would order at a drive thru and rarely get a drink...thats def changed. I always have a drink when I eat because occasionally food will sort of stick behind where my tonsils were and no amount of swallowing will make it budge. It doesn't hurt or choke you or anything like that. It just feels weird.

My surgery was 12-27-06. So we're now at the 2 month mark. Its was ok, then horrible, then even MORE horrible, but then it got better. It takes a while for things to get back to normal.

DON'T EXPECT TO BE NORMAL FOR ABOUT 2 MONTHS. It sucks those first 6 wks. I bet I called the Dr. 10 times asking if this or that was normal. It DOES get better.

Okay ladies thanks for the information...now I am a wee bit nervous. All the doctor said was that I would need to take it easy for the first 2 weeks.... So this is an eye opener. Is it more painful then childbirth? Seriously though thanks for the feedback it helps to know what I am getting into. I have to have the surgery. I get tonsilitis a few times every year and am becoming immune to antibotics...and my tonsils are incredably big. The only thing I don't get is why they wait til now to suggest this. After this surgery I have to have 1 more for the inside of my nose, to help be breath better. Maybe then I will be considered healthy again?! I go in this Friday morning to get them out. I would appreciate prayers for my family, it has already been a hard year (with 2 months of bedrest, and the death of our twins), my girls are nervous, and my husband will have a lot more to do with me down. Thanks guys, you all are awesome.

Grace,
Crystal

I am sorry to hear youre in pain. My son just had the surgery too. Although he is six and half, so I am sure his recovery was better then yours, but still bad.
He had it on the 15th of February. He got an allergic reaction to the painkiller which was acetaminophen with codein. He got a rash on the trunk of his body that looks like a bad case of hive. The the dr on call would only call in a prescription for a steroid to help it heal faster. The only pain killer he had from day two and on was tylenol.
I think the hardest for him has been the eating part. He is so skinny, and has probably lost some by not eating much. We are finally getting back to better. Still complain some when eating, but not as much. His voice do sound kind of funny though now that you mentioned it Jess. I did not know if that was permanent due to surgery or not?

Carole,

I didn't want to scare Jess when she asked about it before she had her surgery. I had mine out as a senior in high school. It was awful! I loose my voice easily and I only whispered for weeks.

I hope you feel better soon.

God Bless,
regina

It gets better.
I had mine out at 21, it was not fun. Pretty much same stuff as you but no thrush. The uvula thing was horrible, I had to sleep sitting up so it would hang into my mouth and not choke me. They ended up giving me steroids to help the swelling go down because it got so big that if it went down my throat I couldn't breath. Good times.

Here's the good news- I didn't get a serious sickness for 5 years after my surgery and have only required antibiotics twice since then (once for brochitis on my wedding day but that's another thread). After having some sort of throat infection 7-10x per year all my life it was a big relief. It also greatly freed up my breathing as mine were so big they touched.
Keep your spirits up, it will be worth it.

Thanks, Regina. Colin, thank you for the encouragement. I'm looking forward to not having cooties!

I unlike most everyone didn't suffer much. I carried scarlet fever. I never suffered with sore throats, but would find a slight rash on my trunk and arms and know that I had it--twice the past 2 years, but no symptoms like fever or sore throat. But my daughter had strep 5 times last winter, which is sad b/c I was the carrier.

My tonsils looked normal. Not swollen or puss-covered (sorry!) or anything, but as I learned, scarlet fever is very dangerous and can cause organ damage in the heart, kidneys, etc. So, it's really scary that I carried strep/scarlet without really showing other symptoms--it silently crept up on me, so to speak. That's another reason I started this thread in case anyone else is weird like me and needs to be vigilent in case you might be a carrier.

The report from my tonsillectomy showed that I had a type of bacteria (had never heard of the name) very deep inside of them that would have never been healed by antibiotics, so tonsillectomy was the only thing to do. I'm glad this wasn't done in vain...

hehe, I had puss, you had cooties, it's all even now


That's pretty wild. I wonder if that was the deal with mine because sometimes I would be on antibiotics for 4 or more courses before it would go away? I'm just glad that now I just get normal sick like everyone else!
BTW- start eating icecream! How many times in your adult life have you had a legit excuse to chow down a pint of ben and jerry's?! Mmmmmm....

Colin, no kidding about the ice cream. Now that the gunk is gone back there and the uvula has shrunk somewhat to its normal size, I CAN EAT ICE CREAM. i don't often afford myself that luxury, but having lost 8 lbs and the cold feeling so good--I'm gonna eat it!

I guess that is the silver lining in having the surgery.

*gasp* Who knew that it could be so traumatic?!? Sounds like you're on the road to recovery! I say eat that ice cream girlfriend!

Heads up Crystal, don't eat icecream...and in general limit dairy products until you heal up pretty well. Dairy products cause an increase in mucus, and it will be painful to manage that in the beginning...sorry , but thought you'd be better off knowing that going into it. Now...you can have popsicles, slurpies, and sorbet, just skip the dairy in the beginning.

Laurie

Carole,

In case you didn't get my blog comment...I'm sorry I haven't sent you any well wishes yet...I'm a terrible fellow North Alabamian.

I hope you...and Jessica as well...continue to get over this mess!

By the way...I'm still not very comfortable with the use of the word "uvula".

Dave

I'm having my tonsils out in May but I've got a rare blood disease so theres a bigger risk of me bleeding, and I'm also a Jehovahs Witness, so I don't accept blood transfusions, but my surgeon is more than happy to operate on me. Operations suck, because I have to change my life around for it, I.E, Weddings to shoot, and my stag weekend.

Thanks for telling us what its actually like Carole, cos everyone else has made it out to be a simple snip snip here, bobs your uncle.

Laure, yes--no Ice cream in the beginning--not until all the gunky/scabby stuff has subsided. It took about 10 days for me until I could have any.

David, I did get your blog comment--thank you--you're not a slacker. You're just a big uvula! haha

Joseph, I wish you the best. I don't think a blood transfusion would be necessary. Just notice if bleeding happens, notice if the bleeding becomes profuse, get back to the hospital, they'll probably put you under again to cauterize and stop the bleeding.

Be sure to get all your doctor's numbers.

Clear your schedule for at least 3 weeks after.

Those are other thoughts...

Thanks alot for telling me these things, makes me feel slightly....better?..not sure really.

I mentioned the blood transfusion because I'm more prone to bleeding than most people. I should be ok tho

Oh my!! I feel horrible for you guys!

I had mine out at 21 and barely remember it. I lived on a steady diet of mashed potato's and beer to keep the calories in. Even though I was on some pretty strong pain killers I felt nothing like you all did. Maybe I should find my doctor and go thank him?

HOW IS CRYSTAL COATES SINCE HER SURGERY ON FRIDAY???? GREG??

Hi, Carole. I actually started a thread on Friday, but it got buried.

Crystal is doing fine. She's sitting in our recliner playing Yahtzee with our girls as I type this.

Her surgery went very smoothly, and she tells me that she can already breathe easier than she could before. Her tonsils were HUGE! She's annoyed that she can't eat the same good food as the rest of us, but she seems to be recovering just fine. The pain meds are keeping things under control!

That's awesome! She was probably used to alot of stuff back there. I wasn't. Mine were normal sized until after the surgery. Different experienc already. But I DO know that today-day 3 can start a rough time of pain. Keep the pain med going! Sorry I missed the other thread--I was busy all weekend....So glad she is doing well!