Monday, September 15, 2008

Post-Op Post

My adult tonsilectomy and adenoidectomy went well. I'm ambulatory, but the after-affects of anesthesia and motor vehicles do not agree well with my stomach. I haven't tried solid foods yet. I can speak softly (which is a boon, since I've read that some people have pain with even whisperting), although saying consonants at the back of my throat like "x" is occasionally interesting.

As far as how it feels, right now it's as if I have a bunch of mucus at the back of my throat that I can't hawk up. Beyond that, there's a bit of pain, but I've got an extra-viscous liquid painkiller to help with that. I have a week of drinking lots of fluid and eating Popsicles and ice-cream ahead of me. :-D

Thanks for the well-wishes.

5 comments:

rknil said...

Wow. I, too, had my tonsils removed as an adult. No adenoidectomy, though. For some reason, every ENT I've ever seen wanted no part of that.

Just be sure to take it easy for a while. I had one genius call me at the crack of dawn -- two or three days after the operation -- wondering why I was still asleep. Idiot.

Anonymous said...

I had both done a few years ago, and the recovery was the worst two weeks of my life. I ran out of painkiller after the first week, called the nurse to ask for more, and she yelled at me to suck it up and drink more water and stop whining. It was awful.

Hopefully yours is better - my tonsils were the size of golf balls when they finally pulled them out. My voice is still noticeably different than it was before the surgeries.

But I'll certainly be thinking of you. Good luck and speedy recovery....

The Squire said...

My tonsils were almost touching each other, and had been for over a year, which is why my physician wanted them removed. The ENT took one look in my mouth and agreed.

They've got me on liquid meds, both for antibiotics and painkillers. I remember the taste of the antibiotic from when I was 5 years old. I've cut back to the minimum dose on the painkiller, so hopefully that'll last. Popsicles and ice cream go a long way when the throat's getting achy.

rknil said...

I was foolish enough to think I could go without the painkiller. That decision lasted until about one hour after I got home. Driving would have been unsafe, so I had to walk a decent distance to a store for some liquid Tylenol. Not fun.

The Squire said...

Without a prescription painkiller? Ouch.

I've recently noticed that I can smell some things a lot better than I used to be able to. This probably has more to do with my adenoids being gone rather than my tonsils, but is one of the earliest pluses I've received from the surgery (beyond being able to see my uvula again, of course).