Abscessed Tonsil... (update: TONSILS are OUT!)

[CanBeGrumpy]

I had my tonsils out when I was 21 and the recovery was not that bad. Obviously you will have a really bad sore throat for a few days, but I think I could have gone to the beach 3 or 4 days after surgery. If you have had those other surgeries you mentioned and recovered quickly, you will probably recover quickly from this one. I was eating a burger and fries the night I had my tonsils out (it took me two hours to eat it, though! Slow is the key word when eating after a tonsillectomy!) Do NOT eat anything acidic, like tomato sauce, which I was stupid enough to do and it caused severe pain!! Good luck, I think you will bounce back pretty quickly from this. It wasn't nearly as bad as any of the horror stories I had heard before I had it done!

 

[suzannen]

I was 30 when I had mine out and my surgeon told me to expect to feel horrible for two weeks and she was right. I also lost quite a bit of weight since it was so hard to eat - plain meatloaf with mashed potatoes and eggs were the easiest for me. But, it was really, really worth it since I use to get tonsillitis 2 to 3 times a year and now I don't get sick very often.

Now, Aneille - the good news for you, my DD had hers out at age 5 and she was literally jumping on the sofa the next day and by day three, you would never have known she'd even had an operation. The older you are, the harder the recovery.

 

[OK!]

I had my tonsils out at 25 and it was horrible. Make sure that your ENT does a caulderazation instead of stitches if that is possible. I think having the stitches just makes healing that much more difficult and prolonged.

It was at least a week before I could even think about being alone. I was doped up for a good 4 days with my mom staying with me. The liquid pain killer they prescribe. Get it filled ahead of time and take it on schedule. I couldn't even eat the ice cream, I was eating melted popsicles.

This sounds about like how I was. I got mine out when I was 18 and home from school for Thanksgiving. If I can be gross for a sec, my throat hurt so badly that spitting was much more appealing than dealing with the pain of swallowing my own saliva. I had to take Tylenol 3 ground up in yogurt, and eating it (or anything else) was excruciating, so I stopped eating and drinking for the most part. Only the threat of hospitalization got me to start choking things down. Ugh.

I don't remember if mine were abscessed or not, but my left one was so swollen it was touching the little punching-bag doodad in the back of my throat and the right one was about 1/4" away from it. My snoring was so awful that my roommate moved next door for the last few days before break. And after I had the surgery, the doctors were so impressed with the sheer disgustingness of my tonsils that they asked if they could keep them to be studied in Washington University's med school. Yay me. If you're gonna do something, give it 100%, I guess.


Good luck with the surgery and recovery!!

 

[C.Ann]

Hoping your surgery goes well - and you make a speedy recovery..

I hear you about the "weight" issues.. Will they allow you to drink Boost afterwords? If so, it might help you to at least "maintain" - rather than lose weight..

Hang in there!

 

[arminnie]

I had my tonsils out at 23 - it was HORRIBLE.

About 2 decades later I had major head surgery - removed part of soft palate, moved my tongue forward, etc. I spent 2 days in ICU after this surgery - but it was a snap compared to the tonsils.

But too many people wait to get tonsils out. I was sick for a year before I did it and then after the recovery I don't think I ever even had a sore throat again.

As bad as the tonsil surgery was - it wasn't really any worse than being sick with tonsillitis.

 

[vettechick99]

Had my tonsillectomy yesterday and it went great! I honestly can't believe how good I feel. I was expecting the worst, but either I'm a great patient or my surgeon was really talented because I had no bleeding, and the Lortab is taking care of any pain I have. Loooooove Lortab!

Thanks to everyone who sent pixie dust and gave me comments and advice. Much, much appreciated!!

 

[monkey68]

Glad to hear you're doing well! Go and get yourself some popsicles. When I had my tonsils taken out, I was bribed into it by the promise of lots of ice cream and popsicles. I was under strict orders to not eat anything else until my throat was feeling better, I kinda made my mom believe that it was sore for a few days longer than it was just so I could keep getting more of it. But hey, I was 10! Young enough to still want the good stuff, smart enough to realize how to get it!

 

[Maridw]

I hope my ENT Dr. is as good as yours was. I get my tonsils out on the 26th. They are taking mine out due to snoring. I guess from what my sleep study determined, I snore like a freight train (& according to my Dr.)

I'm 48 and I know it wasn't too bad for my DD at 5. I did alright after my hysterectomy, until the pain meds made me sick and I got dehydrated. I guess I'll just make sure I have lots of pudding and popsicles.

Glad your surgery went well.

 

[Maridw]

Had mine done Friday. I agree "I love Lortab". They have me on two pain killers and a lidocaine mixture. Been sleeping a lot. Any recommendations?