Part 1: What to Expect from an Adult Tonsillectomy

I wanted to share my tonsillectomy experience for anybody who may be getting theirs out and want to know what to expect. Keep in mind, I'm 21 years old, and the surgery is a little different in adults than it is with children. This is like a journal, and that's exactly what it will sound like when you're reading it. Don't expect good grammar out of this one, because along with the pain medicine, I'm a little out of it while writing this. There might be some past tense and present tense mixed into the entries.

This is part 1 of my experience. I'll be writing about the day before my surgery up to the 2^nd day after surgery. I'll be finishing the experience once I'm healed and back to work.

April 7^th, 2008 - Day before surgery

My stomach had a big knot in it the entire day. I wasn't sure what I was so nervous about. I mean, I've had surgery before on my appendix and wisdom teeth. Well, I got through the day with no problem. I worked a full day to get as many hours as I could, because it was the only day I'd be working the entire week. Then I went to Giant Eagle to stock up on soft foods like Jell-O, Lipton soup, pudding, instant mashed potatoes and Slim Fast shakes, and I made sure Jon had plenty of foods that he could cook himself, especially with me laying around and not being able to cook for him for at least a few days. He'll be living on frozen pizzas, Hot Pockets, chicken nuggets and Steak-umms! I also picked my prescriptions up from the pharmacy; one for a pain medicine called Roxicet, and the other for liquid amoxicillin. That way, I wouldn't have to worry about picking them up after the surgery, or having Jon do it for me. That night, we made a big steak dinner. I had to enjoy my last 'real' meal before my throat was ripped apart and I wouldn't be able to eat for a week or two. So after a big dinner, I went to sleep and surprisingly slept well.

April 8^th, 2008 - Surgery Day

5:30 am I was awake, showered and ready to go to the surgery center. The nurse wanted us to be there at 6:30 for me to fill out paperwork and get prepared for the surgery. Even though my surgery wasn't scheduled until 8:00, there was a lot of prep beforehand. I felt bad making my boyfriend, aunt and uncle sit around in the waiting room while I was getting ready. At 6:30, the nurse asked me some questions like who my emergency contact was, and if they had permission to speak with somebody other than myself about the surgery, along with having me sign some papers. She made a copy of my insurance card, and then gave me a hospital bracelet. Then, I went back into the waiting room and waited for another nurse.

At 7:00, a nurse called my name and had me come back to another room, where she told my blood pressure and pulse. Then I had to sign even more papers. Lots of paper work to fill out. After I signed papers, the nurse had me change into a hospital gown. I also had to wear booties on my feet and a cap over my hair. My clothes went into a bag that the nurse kept for me. Next, the nurse brought me into another room where I got into a bed. She stuck heart monitor stickers on me, 2 on my chest and 3 on my stomach. She also put a thermometer sticker on my forehead. After that, she hooked up my IV which took a while because I hadn't had water or anything to eat yet, therefore my veins weren't 'awake' as she said. She flicked my right hand a few times to try to wake the vein up so she could put the needle in. Eventually, she got it in. That was the worst part I think, and it left a nice bruise on my hand after she took it out. Next, I met with the anesthesiologist to talk about what he was going to do before and during surgery. Then the nurse told me I could have one person sit with me until the operating room was ready for me. I asked her to bring Jon back with me. Once Jon came back, my doctor came in to talk to both of us about the surgery and what to expect afterwards. He told me the surgery would last about 45 minutes at the most. He told me the method of removal, but I don't remember the name of it. I do remember him saying that the method would result in less post-operative pain, which is all that really mattered to me. After that, Jon gave me a hug and kiss and I went off to the operating room. Once I was in that room, I don't remember too much after that. They gave me some medicine in my IV to help me relax, and an oxygen mask over my face, and I guess I was out after that.

I remember starting to wake up from the anesthesia around 9:45. I felt very groggy and out of it, and I still had the oxygen mask on. As I started to wake up more, I could feel the discomfort in my throat and ears. I also felt a little bit nauseous. The nurses checked on me, and made sure I could swallow water. They also gave me some ice chips to suck on. I had no problem swallowing, but I was starting to feel more pain. They let me get dressed and go home at around 10:30 am. Jon pulled his truck around back so I wouldn't have to walk back through the waiting room. It was a little challenging walking at first, so I needed some help to the truck. The nurse also gave me a bag to take home, in case I got sick. Well, I did get sick and I'm glad I had that bag with me. It was about a 20 minute drive home, and I get car sick so easily in general, so with an empty stomach, all those medications, and the bright sun blaring in my face, nausea just overwhelmed me and I threw up. Throwing up was the worst feeling, especially right after a tonsillectomy. When I got home, I took my first dose of Roxicet, along with some Lipton chicken noodle soup that Jon made me, a strawberry Jell-O cup and an ice cold bottle of water. It tasted so good, and it was nice to get some food into my empty stomach. I had no problem swallowing my first meal, and I managed to keep it all down. I was curious to see what my throat looked like, so I grabbed my flashlight and looked in the mirror. Big mistake! That alone made me want to throw up! The doctor told me my throat would like it was infected, and he was right. The back of my throat looks disgusting, like there is pus and yellowish stuff all over it. Sort of like a very bad case of strep throat or tonsillitis, but times 10. The hanging ball (I don't know the correct medical term of that thing) is swollen and red too. I'll skip looking down there for a while.

I lied on the couch the whole afternoon, e-mailed a few friends that were asking about me, and called my mom and dad to let them know I was okay. I limited my voice, since talking wasn't the easiest thing to do. When I talk, I sound like I'm underwater or I just have a bad cold. It puts a lot of strain on my neck and throat when I talk, so I just tried to limit talking. Jon is a great help to me, he made sure I was comfortable and got me whatever I needed or asked for. He even went to the store to buy me some chocolate pudding that I was craving, that I forgot to buy at the store Monday night. Oops! It's so nice to have him here for me. My aunt called a couple times to check in on me. I'm lucky to have such great family members, including Jon's family, that care about me.

After my second dose of Roxicet, I felt a little sick to my stomach and ended up throwing it back up. It was hard to keep the medicine down, even with some food in my stomach. I threw up 3 times total and I was scared that I was going to hurt something in my throat if I kept throwing up, so I limited my dosage from 2 teaspoons to 1 teaspoon. It seemed to help, because I didn't throw up the rest of the night. Thank God! I took my 2^nd dose of Amoxicillin, and then Jon and I relaxed that night and watched American Idol and Hell's Kitchen. He made me some mashed potatoes, which I didn't eat much of because they were a little thick and hard to swallow. So I put them in the fridge and saved them for when I felt hungry again. I ended up falling asleep halfway through Hell's Kitchen, around 9:30 pm.

April 9, 2008 - Day 1 after surgery

It was a rough night of sleep last night, I was up on and off throughout the night, waking up in pain. I kept water by my bedside all night, and sipped on it every time I woke up. I took a dose of pain medicine around 2 am, and then Jon gave me another dose before he left for work at around 6:30 am. I learned that I should've had my humidifier by my bed, because my throat was really dry when I woke up. I went to the living room and lied on the couch, with the humidifier this time. My aunt called me to see if she could stop down after work this afternoon, as long as I was awake. So far, today has been slightly worse than yesterday. I read that a lot of other adults who go through this surgery also have more pain the day after surgery than they did on the day of the surgery. I've been drinking as much fluids as I can; 2 bottles of water and some melon Propel water. For lunch, I had some of the leftover mashed potatoes, and this time I added some chicken gravy to make it a little smoother. It was still thick, so I had to wash it down with water after every bite. I took my antibiotics and pain medicine, and with a full stomach, I've been able to keep both of them down with no problem. No throwing up today. I took a warm bath, but I started to fall asleep so I just got out and lied back down on my couch. I've been lounging around in my Pittsburgh Penguins pajamas and watching back to back episodes of Whose Wedding is it Anyway. It's driving me crazy that I can't really get up and clean or go anywhere. I really have no energy today, except to pick up my bottle of water or to type on my laptop. The pain medicine is effective, but it seems like it doesn't last very long. I'm supposed to be taking it every 4 hours as needed, but after about 3 hours I'm in need of it again.

I slept a lot today, on and off throughout the day. My aunt stopped by after work with some pureed eggs and oatmeal. I saved them for later because I just got done eating soup before she came over. She stayed for about an hour, and it was nice to have some company after being by myself all day. After she left, I fell back asleep until Jon got home around 5. I ate more soup for dinner, and then we watched the first playoff game for the Penguins. I kept falling asleep throughout the game, waking up occasionally to catch a few minutes of play. I was up for the end of the game, to catch the score of 3-0 and to see that Fleury got a shutout. After the game, we went to lie in bed. Jon gave me my last dose of pain medicine for the night, and I fell asleep in no time.

April 10, 2008 - Day 2 after surgery

Last night was a little bit better than the night before. I slept a little better, and only woke up twice. When I woke up at 5:00 am, I had to take a dose of Roxicet because my throat felt so sore and swollen. My entire mouth was dry and gross. After being up for awhile, I was sleeping again within 10 minutes. I got out of bed and moved to the couch around 8:00. I took my first dose of antibiotics, and then ate some of the pureed eggs and oatmeal my aunt brought me yesterday. I was surprised how delicious it was, and how easy it was to swallow. It's important to eat protein while I'm recovering, and eggs are a great source of protein.

For the rest of the day, I felt pretty miserable and irritated. My breath was horrible, and the taste in my mouth is horrible too. I did brush my front teeth, but I was afraid to brush my back teeth because I didn't want to poke anything back there and make it bleed. The mint taste lasted about 5 minutes, and then it was bad again. My neck has been a little swollen today. I had an ice pack on there for a little but. My ears are still hurting. The pain isn't from my ears, it's just the pain from my throat, since it's all connected back there in some way.

For dinner, I was hungry for some real food. Jon made me dinner again, and I did manage to get some of the Kraft macaroni and cheese down, about 1 cup of it. It tasted good. I had to chew it up pretty good before swallowing it, but it was a nice change from Jell-O and soup. Tomorrow might be my last weekday off work before I go back, but if I feel the same Monday morning, I'll most likely be calling off another day. I can't rush it, especially working with kids and being active all day. I fell asleep around 10 pm, after I took my last dose of pain medicine for the night.

To be continued...