**Note - this post was written while I'm on narcotics. In my head it reads okay (choppy and all over the place, but okay) but it may, in fact, be a complete mess when you read it. Be gentle with me. :)
My tonsils and I have never been friends. All my life they've caused me trouble, but instead of having the pesky buggers removed at age 8 like I should have, we soldiered on and they kept their position of power until one week ago today.
The last straw was three cases of confirmed strep this summer - within a seven week time frame. Which meant that I was on antibiotics for 30 of 56 days which, well, was not fun. At all.
I was very fortunate to get a quick referral in to see a great ENT in Oshawa, and surgery to have them removed was scheduled for September 22.
He told me two things at our initial appointment that kind of shocked me. One, I'd need to take at least two weeks off of work to recuperate. At least. What? For tonsils? Come on. And two, that this was extremely painful for adults, and I should imagine the worst sore throat I'd ever had and magnify that by ten to prepare.
Well thanks.
So here I sit, one week post surgery, and I'm here to tell you they were wrong. It's not ten times as bad. It's worse. Way worse.
I'm writing this all in a blog post for a few reasons. One, if someone else is considering or preparing for an adult tonsillectomy, perhaps google will bring them to this post and help better prepare them for what's to come. Two, I feel like all I do is complain (on social media, etc) about how painful this is so I thought I'd dump it all into one post that people could either read or not read as they see fit. Hell, I'm tired of listening to me, I'm sure everyone else is, too. And three, so that when this is all said and done and I'm finally feeling myself again, I can go back and re-read it to remind myself that it's behind me now and was all worth it in the end.
Surgery itself went very well and was quite quick - like, 20 minutes total quick. I woke up and remember feeling pain but only on the left side of my mouth. Actually made me ask the nurse if they'd only done the one side but nope, they got both, so that was good. She gave me a bit of morphine and the next thing I knew I was in recovery and Micheal was coming in to sit with me.
I felt awful. My jaw ached like never before, my throat hurt of course, and my stomach was not at all happy with me. They gave me some gravol which helped me sleep and took away the nausea, and I just remember drifting in and out of consciousness for hours. They keep you for 4-6 hours after tonsillectomies - one of the longest hold times for day surgery - to ensure you don't start bleeding, so I was there for a while.
They gave me some water to sip (which was both delicious and excruciating all at the same time) and eventually a popsicle to see how that would go down. Eventually they sprung me and I was so happy to be on my way home.
I don't remember much of the rest of surgery day. I'd been prescribed Percocet to deal with the pain since I can't take codeine and would spend the next few days figuring out how much to take when.
Dealing with the pain meds has been a learning curve in and of itself. Percocet shouldn't be taken on an empty stomach or else it can cause nausea. Well, I can't really eat, so my stomach is perennially empty, which means that I had to add gravol into the mix more often than not to prevent myself from puking - which I can imagine would be about the worst thing on the planet to deal with when they've just ripped your throat open. Shudder. Both the percs and the gravol made me woozy and sleepy, so I feel like I'm in a never ending fog. Good times.
Other fun side effects? I'm itchy! Like, all the time! Apparently it can create a histamine response in some people - yay me, I'm that people. My skin is also insanely dry, both from the drugs and the fact that I simply can't drink the 5L of water I did pre-surgery. And then there's the constipation. I won't go into vivid detail here but let me just say this. When they tell you to consider taking a stool softener while on these medications, LISTEN TO THEM. Do not wait until it's six days after surgery and you still haven't pooped. M'kay? Take the damned stool softeners.
Okay then.
What I think still surprises me the most is the intensity and seemingly neverendedness (I know that's not a word - that's the Percocet typing) of the pain. Even with the drugs - and I'm now taking 1.5 pills every 5 hours, so a serious dosage - there's still so much pain, the edges are only blurred. Do you know how often you swallow in a day? Even just sitting there, doing nothing? Then factor in the eating and drinking you do - it's A LOT. Now imagine there are shards of glass embedded in your throat for every single one of those swallows...
And it's not just the throat itself that hurts. My jaw is still a bit sore from being propped open. The two stringy things that hold your tongue in place, underneath it? Those hurt. I can't open my mouth all the way - not that I'd really want to, anyway, because my breath is so bad it's toxic. And that's with me brushing my teeth as often as humanly possible. A random burp or cough springs up? You guessed it, agony.
I keep telling myself I did this willingly. I didn't have to, but I went for it. Feeling the way I do right now, I wholeheartedly believe that had I known it would be this bad I wouldn't have done it - I would have dealt with the strep and all the antibiotics instead of this.
I think what surprises me the most is not necessarily the degree of pain but the duration. I'm seven days post op and am in just as much pain today as I've been in for each of the preceding days. I guess in my mind I thought this would get, like most other things, better by degrees with each passing day. But according to my own experience and that of other people who've shared what they went through with me, you kind of go from feeling like serious shit for a long time, then turn a corner rather abruptly.
I can't wait until I get to my corner.
Until then, I continue to do what I can to take it easy and recover. I'm not sleeping all that well as I have to sleep almost sitting up to reduce the pain and strain on my neck. But I have to sleep on my side or else I can end up choking as I breathe. The longer I'm on my side, propped up like that, the more pressure I put on my hips, so they hurt now, too, and that pain can wake me up.
The benefit of having nowhere to be or nothing to do means I can nap whenever and wherever I need to, so I spend a lot of sleepy time on our couch which is divinely comfortable. And I have my awesome fuzzy friend Finn who's never left my side the entire time I've been home. This face makes everything better!!
I've been watching lots of tv...when Mom's over we watch Downton Abbey together and when M's home we're blazing through Game of Thrones. Binge watching those two series while on Percocet, you can imagine the sorts of dreams I'm having.
I've had great support over this past week from so many. Friends that are reaching out with care packages full of stuff I can eat and drivel to read, a book and a dry erase board from colleagues to help me pass the time, friends offering to do a Menchies run if I need it, or drive from far flung places to hang out with me and maybe even bring me more drugs if I needed them (thankfully I was able to get a refill). My sister bringing me a case of Costco shakes since they're pretty much the only actually nutritious thing I can stomach, and my mom coming to hang out with me for full days when M has to go to work so I don't have to be alone.
And my husband - this amazing man who is literally at my beck and call every minute he can be. Making multiple trips to Shoppers and Menchies as need be, making me weird concoctions for dinner that I think I just might be able to stomach, calling the doctor's office as I was running low on medication to ensure I didn't have to go a day in more pain than necessary, or just being here to hold my hand when I hurt and cry.
There is no way on earth I would have gotten through this past week if it were not for him, my family and friends. I had no clue how bad this would be, was totally prepared to look after myself, and was completely blindsided when I realized just how incapacitated I truly am. So a huge thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who's been there for me in big ways or small ones - it's mattered, and is so appreciated.
So it's approaching noon and I'm still trying to make my way through my Costco shake. If things go well today, I might have a pudding, more Menchies, and a strange but satisfying melange of scrambled eggs and instant potatoes for dinner. That, plus some G2 Gatorade and water, is likely the sum total of what I'll consume today. Thankfully my appetite has shrunk over this past week so this pretty much is more than fine for me for a day's worth of food. Which has lead to the one silver lining in all this - I've lost just under 15lbs in the one week since surgery. Crazy but true. I'll take it!
So there you have it. The first week is under my belt, with 1.5 more to go before I'm scheduled to return to work. Everything is day by day at this point, and I'm hoping that in the days to come I finally turn my corner and start to feel better.
Thanks again for all the support and good wishes!
My tonsils and I have never been friends. All my life they've caused me trouble, but instead of having the pesky buggers removed at age 8 like I should have, we soldiered on and they kept their position of power until one week ago today.
The last straw was three cases of confirmed strep this summer - within a seven week time frame. Which meant that I was on antibiotics for 30 of 56 days which, well, was not fun. At all.
I was very fortunate to get a quick referral in to see a great ENT in Oshawa, and surgery to have them removed was scheduled for September 22.
He told me two things at our initial appointment that kind of shocked me. One, I'd need to take at least two weeks off of work to recuperate. At least. What? For tonsils? Come on. And two, that this was extremely painful for adults, and I should imagine the worst sore throat I'd ever had and magnify that by ten to prepare.
Well thanks.
So here I sit, one week post surgery, and I'm here to tell you they were wrong. It's not ten times as bad. It's worse. Way worse.
I'm writing this all in a blog post for a few reasons. One, if someone else is considering or preparing for an adult tonsillectomy, perhaps google will bring them to this post and help better prepare them for what's to come. Two, I feel like all I do is complain (on social media, etc) about how painful this is so I thought I'd dump it all into one post that people could either read or not read as they see fit. Hell, I'm tired of listening to me, I'm sure everyone else is, too. And three, so that when this is all said and done and I'm finally feeling myself again, I can go back and re-read it to remind myself that it's behind me now and was all worth it in the end.
Surgery itself went very well and was quite quick - like, 20 minutes total quick. I woke up and remember feeling pain but only on the left side of my mouth. Actually made me ask the nurse if they'd only done the one side but nope, they got both, so that was good. She gave me a bit of morphine and the next thing I knew I was in recovery and Micheal was coming in to sit with me.I felt awful. My jaw ached like never before, my throat hurt of course, and my stomach was not at all happy with me. They gave me some gravol which helped me sleep and took away the nausea, and I just remember drifting in and out of consciousness for hours. They keep you for 4-6 hours after tonsillectomies - one of the longest hold times for day surgery - to ensure you don't start bleeding, so I was there for a while.
They gave me some water to sip (which was both delicious and excruciating all at the same time) and eventually a popsicle to see how that would go down. Eventually they sprung me and I was so happy to be on my way home.
I don't remember much of the rest of surgery day. I'd been prescribed Percocet to deal with the pain since I can't take codeine and would spend the next few days figuring out how much to take when.
Dealing with the pain meds has been a learning curve in and of itself. Percocet shouldn't be taken on an empty stomach or else it can cause nausea. Well, I can't really eat, so my stomach is perennially empty, which means that I had to add gravol into the mix more often than not to prevent myself from puking - which I can imagine would be about the worst thing on the planet to deal with when they've just ripped your throat open. Shudder. Both the percs and the gravol made me woozy and sleepy, so I feel like I'm in a never ending fog. Good times.
Other fun side effects? I'm itchy! Like, all the time! Apparently it can create a histamine response in some people - yay me, I'm that people. My skin is also insanely dry, both from the drugs and the fact that I simply can't drink the 5L of water I did pre-surgery. And then there's the constipation. I won't go into vivid detail here but let me just say this. When they tell you to consider taking a stool softener while on these medications, LISTEN TO THEM. Do not wait until it's six days after surgery and you still haven't pooped. M'kay? Take the damned stool softeners.
Okay then.
What I think still surprises me the most is the intensity and seemingly neverendedness (I know that's not a word - that's the Percocet typing) of the pain. Even with the drugs - and I'm now taking 1.5 pills every 5 hours, so a serious dosage - there's still so much pain, the edges are only blurred. Do you know how often you swallow in a day? Even just sitting there, doing nothing? Then factor in the eating and drinking you do - it's A LOT. Now imagine there are shards of glass embedded in your throat for every single one of those swallows...
And it's not just the throat itself that hurts. My jaw is still a bit sore from being propped open. The two stringy things that hold your tongue in place, underneath it? Those hurt. I can't open my mouth all the way - not that I'd really want to, anyway, because my breath is so bad it's toxic. And that's with me brushing my teeth as often as humanly possible. A random burp or cough springs up? You guessed it, agony.
I keep telling myself I did this willingly. I didn't have to, but I went for it. Feeling the way I do right now, I wholeheartedly believe that had I known it would be this bad I wouldn't have done it - I would have dealt with the strep and all the antibiotics instead of this.
I think what surprises me the most is not necessarily the degree of pain but the duration. I'm seven days post op and am in just as much pain today as I've been in for each of the preceding days. I guess in my mind I thought this would get, like most other things, better by degrees with each passing day. But according to my own experience and that of other people who've shared what they went through with me, you kind of go from feeling like serious shit for a long time, then turn a corner rather abruptly.
I can't wait until I get to my corner.
Until then, I continue to do what I can to take it easy and recover. I'm not sleeping all that well as I have to sleep almost sitting up to reduce the pain and strain on my neck. But I have to sleep on my side or else I can end up choking as I breathe. The longer I'm on my side, propped up like that, the more pressure I put on my hips, so they hurt now, too, and that pain can wake me up.
The benefit of having nowhere to be or nothing to do means I can nap whenever and wherever I need to, so I spend a lot of sleepy time on our couch which is divinely comfortable. And I have my awesome fuzzy friend Finn who's never left my side the entire time I've been home. This face makes everything better!!
I've been watching lots of tv...when Mom's over we watch Downton Abbey together and when M's home we're blazing through Game of Thrones. Binge watching those two series while on Percocet, you can imagine the sorts of dreams I'm having.
I've had great support over this past week from so many. Friends that are reaching out with care packages full of stuff I can eat and drivel to read, a book and a dry erase board from colleagues to help me pass the time, friends offering to do a Menchies run if I need it, or drive from far flung places to hang out with me and maybe even bring me more drugs if I needed them (thankfully I was able to get a refill). My sister bringing me a case of Costco shakes since they're pretty much the only actually nutritious thing I can stomach, and my mom coming to hang out with me for full days when M has to go to work so I don't have to be alone.
And my husband - this amazing man who is literally at my beck and call every minute he can be. Making multiple trips to Shoppers and Menchies as need be, making me weird concoctions for dinner that I think I just might be able to stomach, calling the doctor's office as I was running low on medication to ensure I didn't have to go a day in more pain than necessary, or just being here to hold my hand when I hurt and cry.
There is no way on earth I would have gotten through this past week if it were not for him, my family and friends. I had no clue how bad this would be, was totally prepared to look after myself, and was completely blindsided when I realized just how incapacitated I truly am. So a huge thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who's been there for me in big ways or small ones - it's mattered, and is so appreciated.
So it's approaching noon and I'm still trying to make my way through my Costco shake. If things go well today, I might have a pudding, more Menchies, and a strange but satisfying melange of scrambled eggs and instant potatoes for dinner. That, plus some G2 Gatorade and water, is likely the sum total of what I'll consume today. Thankfully my appetite has shrunk over this past week so this pretty much is more than fine for me for a day's worth of food. Which has lead to the one silver lining in all this - I've lost just under 15lbs in the one week since surgery. Crazy but true. I'll take it!
So there you have it. The first week is under my belt, with 1.5 more to go before I'm scheduled to return to work. Everything is day by day at this point, and I'm hoping that in the days to come I finally turn my corner and start to feel better.
Thanks again for all the support and good wishes!
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