Apparently adult tonsillectomies are excruciatingly friggin' painful. I'm having one tomorrow at 6:30 AM, and I'm 29. I got two weeks off of work for this shit - the silver lining.
They told me I had to stop smoking and drinking two weeks before the surgery, so I haven't had either since the 26th. This is the longest I've gone without booze in almost a decade.
I'm using this blog to write down my experiences after each day of recovery. Two weeks of Hell for a lifetime free from tonsil stones.
If I don't make it through the anesthesia I want it on record that I demand vengeance.
Apparently adult tonsillectomies are excruciatingly friggin' painful. I'm having one tomorrow at 6:30 AM, and I'm 29. I got two weeks off of work for this shit - the silver lining.
They told me I had to stop smoking and drinking two weeks before the surgery, so I haven't had either since the 26th. This is the longest I've gone without booze in almost a decade.
I'm using this blog to write down my experiences after each day of recovery. Two weeks of Hell for a lifetime free from tonsil stones.
If I don't make it through the anesthesia I want it on record that I demand vengeance.
The pain is rough (a great soreness. not enough to make a man cry, but very very sore), but you only start to feel it as the medicine wears off as you near your next dose. I don't know about you but I was completely incapacitated for a full week after the surgery. I could barely move around and I couldn't read at all. I could only watch tv and try to get my health back up.
Just make sure you don't bust open the scabs, as I've heard a horror story about that. Don't do it. And drink milk to keep your strength up on the first day. I nearly passed out from lack of food after the surgery, but then again im hypoglycemic.
There was this one tape of Bill Cosby that we'd play on road trips when I was a kid. He had this one story about a kid who got his tonsils out, and it was awesome cuz he got like, all the ice cream in the fucking world, but then the surgery went horribly wrong and he died and there was blood EVERYWHERE ( I think maybe that was because like 3 other people died too, I dunno, I haven't listened to it in like a decade).
I guess my point is that Bill Cosby has low hopes for your survival, and that dude's a fucking doctor, he knows what he's talking about.
" There was this one tape of Bill Cosby that we'd play on road trips when I was a kid. He had this one story about a kid who got his tonsils out, and it was awesome cuz he got like, all the ice cream in the fucking world, but then the surgery went horribly wrong and he died and there was blood EVERYWHERE ( I think maybe that was because like 3 other people died too, I dunno, I haven't listened to it in like a decade).
I guess my point is that Bill Cosby has low hopes for your survival, and that dude's a fucking doctor, he knows what he's talking about. Also, The Chicken Heart That Ate New York. "
OH SHIT! I totally listened to that tape as a kid. That was literally the funniest thing ever to 5 year old me.
@BiffMcBlumpkin: i know it's different but when I got my tonsils out I was 4 you wanna know what I did, I watched He-Man and ate ice cream and Popsicles, thats right I was livin like a boss at 4
I sometimes get tonsil stones, it seems to run rampant when I'm about to get sick. They tend to get inflamed every once in a while, I've had a doctor tell me just to keep them in as an adult because supposedly they prevent other infections. Regardless, the stones suck and smell REALLY bad.
@buzz_clik: Damn, your avatar looks even more evil and cool with that medal, i have to wait for paypal since my debit card doesnt work with the pay system it seems. EDIT: sorry its way off topic and sorry for ya pain man (Biff) its just i needed to say that.
" I survived. I'm high as a kite on Dilaudid right now. "
Did they give you an anxiety medication right before the procedure? They did for me and right before I got the anesthetic and went under I made a really stupid joke to the Asian anesthesiologist and he gave me a dirty look, then I laughed really hard and passed out (from the anesthesia).
Glad to hear it went well, how is your throat? Does it hurt a lot?
Got there around 6:15AM, surgery actually went down around 8:30. Last thing I remember is the anesthesiologist putting a mask over my face and saying it was oxygen or something. Woke up in the recovery room, was given some ice chips to suck on. I wasn't nauseous in the slightest and the pain wasn't bad at all... couldn't talk above a whisper though. The surgeon said everything went well, apparently my tonsils were in horrendous shape, though. I was on my way home by 12:30 that afternoon.
Forced bucket-loads of ice water down my throat throughout the day and night... managed to choke down a bowl of chicken soup and a small amount of apple sauce. Sleeping was tough, I bought a cool air humidifier and stuck that fucker next to my bed; seemed to help keep my throat from drying out during the night. I hear the third and fourth days are when the pain really starts to grab you by the balls, but so far it hasn't been nearly half as bad as I was anticipating. Swallowing is an odd fucking thing now though - 25% of the time I take a drink it feels like it's going down the wrong way (and often does,) and when that happens you can't really cough to correct it because it hurts like Hell (and they explicitly told me not to cough if I could manage it, or blow my nose, etc.) I can barely manage to open my mouth more than an inch, but I did open it as much as I was able and looked at the back of my throat with a flashlight. Huge mistake, it's a fucking horror show back there. It looks like someone pinned me down and worked at that area with a razor sharp walnut-sized ice cream scoop
After talking with my doctor prior to the surgery we both agreed a pain medication completely without Acetaminophen was the way to go; I've dedicated the lion's share of the last several years to heavy drinking. This Dilaudid shit is pretty fucking magical, it draws into a syringe with a wide nozzle and you spray it into your mouth.
On a pain scale from 1 - 10 with 1 being "no pain," 5 being "very manageable, noticeable, but not extreme pain," and 10 being an "agonizing, immobilizing, fetal-position inducing" sort of pain...... yesterday was about a 5.
You fuckers are just jealous of my tonsil-free lifestyle.
My question, Biff, is your voice going to be any different? Now you will have much more real estate in the back of your throat I wonder what else could change... besides the special tonsil stone gifts you received frequently.
I haven't really talked normally yet. Haven't been answering my phone, and when I'm face to face with someone and I need something I write it down on a piece of paper. I've tried to talk normally and it doesn't sound all that different (in tone) when I can get a noise out, but it's hard to tell.... it sounds a little "shaky" but I think that's because it requires effort to push any sound out.
I was told my voice won't change at all. The surgeon said vocal change doesn't happen in adults... he said young kids are sometimes perceived to have a changed voice (higher pitched) post-surgery because their parents are so accustomed to hearing their voices muffled and forced through swollen tonsils.
My tonsils weren't swollen at all though, never had any tonsillitis or anything... I just couldn't deal with the never-ending tonsil stones and the constant irritation in the back of my throat anymore.
That's cool, I didn't really think that a tone change would occur. Good that you never got tonsillitis, I seem to get it once a year or so. I always thing I have the flu or strep, but I never do anything about it since it isn't contagious. Is insurance covering your operation?
Yesterday, Day 2, was a little rough. Woke up to my alarm at 5 AM to a pain of about a 7 so I could take my Dilaudid and Amoxicillin on schedule. Went back to bed and was able to catch of few more hours of fitful sleep. Starting to get fucking gassy, I'm like a punctured propane tank. The Dilaudid is binding me up and I haven't shit since Wed. afternoon.... so I've started eating boiled, mashed up prunes and Benefiber. Forced down 4 scrambled eggs and a bowl of applesauce mixed with prunes throughout the day, and about 8,000 gallons of ice water.
Still not as bad as everyone says it is, or what I was expecting it to be, but definitely worse than Day 1... today, day 3, is the worst yet. Throat is burning, not just when I swallow, but pretty much constantly.... my mouth smells like the inside of a coffin.... have to keep reminding myself this is the only way to completely get rid of tonsilloliths...
Log in to comment