Tonsillectomy, Part 5

Now that I've made it through tonsillectomy surgery here's what I now know:

-Ice cream is too sweet and creamy to be enjoyable
-Cold feels best, but eating warm foods doesn't hurt
-A little blood in the beginning is okay
-Nausea is normal; depending on how bad it is, get meds
-You can use a straw without pain
-Pudding is a bit too sweet, but it works
-Applesauce and JELLO are your friends. I put in a cup of oj while making lemon JELLO and that was my favorite
-Popsicles; YES! A healthy, less sweet version is best
-You're not hungry at all the first week, but still need to eat with your meds and for strength
-It's best to have someone to help you out at least the first week. You're not in any shape to keep track of all your meds
-Walking around the house is a good idea; keeps you active
-Propping up your pillows at night feels nice
-Ice water feels the best to drink
-Some blogs say you eat ice 24/7, but that wasn't the case for me. I just liked it in my beverages.
-You sleep a ton
-Talking is difficult and comes out in a loud, mumbled whisper. After a week it gets stronger
-The first week you don't feel like doing anything at all
-Ear pain can start late in the game and bring you to your knees. Try colloidal silver in them.
-It can take awhile for your throat and scabs to fully heal. I'm two weeks out and still not quite up to 100%
-Relaxing in a jetted tub can help with soreness from surgery
-Thumbing through magazines helps pass the time
-The first week, you won't be up for much TV, reading, etc. at all.

Tonsillectomy, Part 4

With surgery, I couldn't talk above a mumbled, loud whisper. A week after surgery, my voice started coming back. Also, my tongue was swollen at least three times the normal size. By the weekend after my surgery, it started getting back to normal.

Little did I know the tide of misery was changing. Tremendous ear pain started four days after surgery, right in time for the weekend. It almost made me cry. So, we started putting colloidal silver in my ears a couple of times a day and that really helped.

I started having a bit of an appetite, though nothing sounded appetizing.

A week after surgery, I was off pain meds.

I thought I would read, watch TV, and be on the internet a lot, but I was wrong. I slept a ton. As I felt better, I watched TV, read dozens of magazines, spent sometime on the internet (Pinterest and Facebook).

Happy that the worst of it is over! I started back to work, Friday, a week and a half after surgery.

Tonsillectomy, Part 3

I woke feeling like I'd been beaten up. I had a yummy blueberry, banana, cinnamon, almond milk shake that my mom made with her new NutriBullet.

I was feeling pretty good other than the body soreness. For the soreness which triggered my fibromyalgia in my shoulders and neck, I hopped in my parent's Whirlpool. We added Epsom salt and a stress relief bubble bath. The jets really helped workout the extreme sensitivity I had in my shoulders and neck. Afterwards, I felt better and could move.

I had some oatmeal with chopped, dried apricot, almond milk, and honey for lunch. I took a little nap, but was up for most of the day.

Then evening hit :( Now the doctor had said the pain would get worse before it got better. I felt like I'd been punched in the throat and that it'd been stretched from the inside out.

For dinner, Mom made some terrific broccoli puree that I loved! Alas, the pain was getting real, so I had three blueberry slushies (homemade popsicles) with with a lemon-lime drink and that helped freeze the pain away.

These days were a blur of pain. Literally, in pain at all moments. Waking up several times a night to take pain pills was difficult as my throat had dried out in the hours I'd been sleeping. On top of that, I had to eat something with the meds, so I wouldn't get an upset tummy. Nothing sounded good to eat. I mainly only ate to take meds. With meds, I ate rotated eating what I thought wouldn't make me sick; lemon jello with orange juice, lime jello, chocolate pudding, and applesauce.

Also, during this time, I felt like I was drowning in mucus/phlegm. I had no idea this was even a possible side effect. I called the doctor and they said to drink more to dilute it. That wasn't a fun answer, but it helped.

Tonsillectomy, Part 2

I did some research ahead of time in preparation for my surgery. I stockpiled:
-Jello
-Pudding
-Frozen fruit
-Popsicle mold
-Juice
-Applesauce
-Gatorade
-Noodles
-Sodium-free chicken and beef broth
-Popsicles
-Etc.

I went for surgery, Monday, January 5th at the Manhattan Surgical Center. I've had several procedures there before. I checked in at 7:15 am for a 8:30 am surgery. The nurses were all really nice, which isn't always the case. My IV went in with very little pain, which was a pleasant surprise. The surgery was estimated to be 30 minutes to an hour. I was out in just under 30 minutes. The doctor told my parents it was a good thing I had my tonsils removed as when he took them out theyere were oozing. They weren't sent to From there I went to the recovery recliner area they gave me a popsicle slushy and I asked for water. Right away there were my parents. I had to spend about three hours in recovery during which time I had two slushies, three waters, and half a lemon-line drink. They were thrilled that I was drinking so much and so quickly. I felt pretty good and the time flew by.

I got home and slept for hours. Mid-afternoon, I ate a little applesauce. That wasn't acceptable to my tummy, so out that went. Then I tried egg drop soup jello. That went even worse. Next thing, I knew there was some fresh blood with it, which was on the list of things that required a trip to the hospital. I called my doctor and he said I should go to make sure, that he would let them know I was coming and that he'd see what they thought and we'd go from there. Mercy Regional Health Center has the worst check-in process. They get general info, send you to triage until someone decides to come see you, then send you back to registration for insurance stuff, etc. Next, you get to go to a room to wait until a nurse decides to see you. What they came up with was that I was probably dehydrated and had probably thrown up the pain meds. So, they started an IV to give me fluids and pain meds. Since the blood was dried and not fresh, they decided I was good to go. I was probably there for 3 hours.

I headed to bed once I got home and was woken up every few hours for meds. Thankfully, it was a pretty uneventful night.

Day one, check!

Tonsillectomy, Part 1

I've been wanting to get my tonsils out for years, I just wasn't "sick" enough. That was until I returned from my trip to Ireland. A day or two after returning, I took a four hour nap and woke up to my throat feeling awful. I called my mom and she suggested I grab a flashlight and look at it. Well, I did and was horrified. I grabbed my shoes, keys and was out the door in 15 seconds; a record for me. What did I see? A throat full of yellow pus! They tested for strep, but came up negative. Still, they saw what they saw in my throat, so I got on meds. When I would eat my throat would be yellow and red from the pus and blood.

Days later I was feeling worse and my mom wasn't so sure it was just strep. So, back we went to the doctor. I told her the left side of my throat felt immense pain. The doctor took a look and saw a cold sore on my tonsil. I had no idea that was even possible, but it was. It was worse than it sounds. They have me a numbing mouthwash that made my feel like my throat was closing. Getting over all that took over a week.

I talked to my primary care physician about getting my tonsils out. He said he'd make me a referral if I wanted, but they looked okay at present. My mom and grandma thought otherwise, so I asked for a referral.

In October, I had both a serious eye infection and an upper respiratory information. With that came back the ever-pleasant (*sarcasm) tonsil stones. Since my tonsils are cryptic, meaning they have holes/pockets in them, I started getting tonsil stones, which are about as fun as they sound. During that time was my appointment with the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Dr. Pease. I made sure to reference all my tonsil issues and even happened to have a stone in there during my appointment. His office waiting room was cheery on that cold October day with giant paintings of birds and flowers. It gave me a warm, comfortable vibe. He was straight-forward which I appreciated; he told me this would be the most pain I'd ever be in, in my whole life. He wanted to talk with my rheumatologist to make sure he was covering all bases, which I appreciated. He said with my immune issues to expect the normal healing time to be a week longer than most peoples; a total of two weeks. I knew we'd have to wait until Christmas break. That was hard at the time since I was having so many stones and pain. So we planned for January 5th.