Tonsillectomy Pre and Post Op Tips + Day 1 and Day 2 Post Op

Yesterday morning I finally got my tonsils removed after suffering from constant throat and tonsil infections along with tonsil stones. For the most part, the surgery was quick and easy.

I did my research on this surgery and watched videos on Youtube of what they do exactly, so I know what to expect and prepare for, and how it would be for me after the procedure was done.

This being my third surgery, I pretty much knew what to expect as far as pre and post op instructions go. They’re pretty common and straight forward.

My pre op instructions included:

• No food or drinks after midnight the day of surgery
• Wearing loose clothing to the surgical center or hospital
• Removing any body piercings as they could burn your skin if the doctor has to cauterize your throat to stop the bleeding. ( I actually had to keep a few of my piercings in because I tried my best but couldn’t get them out. These included the three tongue web piercings in my mouth and my nipple piercings.)
• Removing glasses or contacts if you wear them.
• Making sure you have a ride home.

My own pre op tips include:

• Being completely stocked on water or water bottles. YOU WILL NEED IT.
• Stock up on sherbert ice cream and popsicles. Stay away from anything dairy since milk will increase the thickness of mucus in your throat and make it uncomfortable.
• Buy soft foods that you like ahead of time so you can have something to eat after the procedure. Safe foods to eat include, scrambled eggs, macaroni and cheese, jello, pudding, rice, avocados, etc. Just be sure your food isn’t hot when you go to eat it. Instead it should be slightly warm so it won’t irritate your throat.
• Putting everything you’ll need close by where you’ll be staying; your bed or couch. That way you won’t have to go far for anything.

—

I had to be at the surgical center an hour and a half early for prep. After changing into that ever so fabulous hospital gown, I met with my doctor and he just explained that it’s a very quick surgery and it will only take 30 minutes, then I will be in the recovery room. He explained that the more I drink water and the more I swallow, the better I will feel and heal quicker. He also said that he doesn’t want me to wait on eating food. He told me to obviously drink lots of water all day, but to also start eating the same day when I get home and to start with soft food. This is to get used to swallowing more and getting used to the feeling again because that will also help me a lot.

They wheeled me away and took me to the operating room where they gave me the anesthetic. It’s kind of funny when they give it to you. Like I couldn’t stop laughing lol. Then soon enough I didn’t feel anything anymore and I slowly felt myself dosing off and going away. And for some reason at that moment, I thought to myself that this is probably how it feels when you die. You just feel like you’re fading away. And it’s weird.

I went in the OR at 7:30 am and woke up around 8:45. It took me longer to wake up this time maybe because I was actually tired since I got about 3 hours of sleep the night before. When I did wake up, I woke up all sad and crying. Not just because of the anesthetic, but because I was thinking of something that was making me sad. And I just kept crying for a minute.

The nurse helped me and gave me little bottles of water for me to start sipping on, and I haven’t stopped drinking water since. I stayed in the recovery room for another 15 minutes then got dressed to go home. And when I had to get up from the hospital bed, I basically couldn’t because of the blood clots in my calves. The nurse said to lift my feet up and down as if I’m driving to help loosen up the blood clots and it will feel better.

Then it was time for post op.

My doctor’s post op instructions included:

• Constantly drink water and swallow
• Take antibiotics and pain meds as instructed
• Start eating cool, soft foods the first day and work your way up to eating more and more food.
• Don’t violently try to clear your throat of mucus. Try to wash it down with water instead.
• For seven days after surgery, avoid strenuous physical activity, avoid prolonged exposure to cold air, and avoid exposure to crowds of people who may be ill.
• Slight fever may occur and last for a few days after the procedure.
• Ear pain is common following this surgery and nothing to worry about.

—

Before I went into the operating room, I asked my doctor about whether or not it’s alright to talk after surgery or if I should not talk for a week. And he said that it’s safe and fine for me to talk right after and that it’s not a problem. But even when I did go to talk a bit, I would only whisper because that’s what I feel comfortable with at the moment.

My own post op tips include:

• LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR. Whatever they say you should be doing for recovery, do it.
• Drink lots and lots of water every single second that you are awake. I cannot stress that enough. Yeah, you’ll have to pee every 30 minutes, but it will definitely help.
• Put an ice pack just under your throat and it will help keep the area slightly numb from pain.
• Stay in bed and don’t move around. Don’t get up or move around too much, if you even can. Have someone bring you what you need if it’s too far from you.

—

My first day coming home from the surgical center wasn’t too bad to be honest. The only problem I seemed to be having was walking and getting around. I couldn’t walk right on my own. I took my antibiotics as instructed and same with my liquid pain meds.

I think the anesthetic along with having to have an empty stomach the night before made me really sick because I did end up throwing up in the middle of the day. I had been resting and completely asleep and I woke up just to vomit ._. But after that, I didn’t feel sick or queasy anymore.

My throat was not in a lot of pain and it was easy for me to drink water and swallow. I did eat some scrambled eggs around noonish since I was absolutely starving and felt like I needed food or else I would die. Eating the cooled down, soft scrambled eggs wasn’t a problem at all and swallowing the food was easy.

But as the day progressed, my throat began to hurt more and more and soon enough it began to feel like I was swallowing little shards of glass every time I did swallow. And I noticed that my body was getting more and more achey and sore. I was having the hardest time making it across the hallway to get to the bathroom.

I ended up going to bed around 8:30 that night and slept through that entire night thanks to the last round of pain meds I had taken.

—

Now this morning though, was absolutely terrible. I woke up and my entire body was in a ridiculous amount of pain. EVERYTHING HURT. I couldn’t roll over onto my side, I couldn’t lift my arms, I couldn’t extend my arms, I couldn’t turn my body or legs, I couldn’t lift my legs, I couldn’t lift my body to sit up, my back, stomach and sides were all so sore, and I certainly couldn’t get out of bed AT ALL because it hurt so bad to move the slightest bit. I just lied there like wtf do I even do now?? ._. Eventually I had to suck it up and hurt myself to get up out of bed. Every time I moved, it was so painful. I felt like I had gotten beat up in my sleep and my whole body was covered in bruises and I just couldn’t see them. It wasn’t that kind of pain that sits on the surface of your skin, this pain was that pain deep in your bones. It was effecting me to the point where I just wanted to cry because I felt so helpless cause I couldn’t move or do anything.

I stayed on top of my antibiotics and pain meds and my throat was alright for the most part of today. It seems that my body is in more pain than the actual operation site. This is a constant, ongoing thing now. I’m completely unable to move my body and function correctly. When I am able to get up and walk around, I can’t even walk normally. I have to move very slowly, and waddle and limp around because it’s so painful. Like just looking at me trying to move around you can tell how painful it is for me.

I’m hoping that it doesn’t get any worse than this. If it stays like this I think I can handle it, but I’m so weirded out as to what this whole retarded body ache thing is.

I did drink water all day today and eat soft foods. I had some scrambled eggs again, and then some macaroni and cheese, and later on had a popsicle. All of which made me feel a lot better.

I’ve noticed that the pain in my throat gets progressively worse in the evening around the time I go to bed. Around 8-9pm. It starts to really hurt and burn and feels like it’s sort of tightening up.

As far as healing goes, I can definitely see a difference between yesterday and today. Looking at my throat yesterday, it was very raw and more flesh colored along with some blotches of blood. Which I didn’t get a picture of 😦

And today looking at my throat, you can see the white/yellow/green scabby stuff forming all over where my tonsils used to be.

I’m hoping for a better day tomorrow but I expect my pain levels to be the same.

I shall update on here again and share this recovery process with you guys.

But right now it’s time for me to say goodnight!

Thanks for stopping by!