Post tonsillectomy- day 2+3

So surgery was yesterday and I felt surprisingly ok after it. I’ve woken up today again feeling ok.

The pain is like bad tonsillitis but with none of the other symptoms; fever etc. I was taking pain relief every 4 hours as the doctor suggested and felt quite full of energy. I even helped my dad a bit with putting up the Christmas tree.

I managed to eat mashed up eggs for breakfast, lots of ice cream and fresh tortellini pasta with no sauce.

I didn’t nap as much this day and was feeling like recovery was going to be a breeze!

I did have 2 waves of nausea on this day which weren’t nice but passed with no actual sickness.

That night I went to bed feeling great but the pain soon came. I was up that whole night in a lot of pain and eventually slept at about 7am for an hour. This was only after being able to finally take my next lot of pain relief.

After waking up not only was I tired but my whole face had swelled up. My throat felt like it had doubled in size and my ears were in the most pain. Even ice cream was too much at this point so I really survived this day on ice chips. I had about 4 pint glasses of the stuff and it really helped with the pain and to keep me hydrated.

That night I switched from paracetamol to cocodamol and the pain became much more manageable. I was able to sleep that night but only ever for a few hours at a time.

I had a stack of magazines and an iPad with Netflix on it by my bed. This really got me through the long nights so make sure you have plenty to hand. Bending down was also quite hard as it put pressure on my throat so have things up high rather than down low!

Day 3 was my bad dip so be prepared for it to come. Even if the first couple of days feel like a breeze.

Tonsillectomy surgery let’s be having you!

So after waiting 29 long years and a long battle, the surgery was finally here!

I read lots of blogs online about the recovery process and I will share mine as well but I also wanted to explain what surgery is like.

First off my surgery time was 7:15am. I arrived at the hospital in comfy but smart pjs, with a book, downloaded films on my iPad and a change of underwear. You never know! Everyone else waiting for surgery seemed to be dressed in normal clothes but I would recommend being comfy.

Once I arrived I sat in the waiting room for about half an hour. A nurse took my name and then left me be. I wasn’t sure when I was going in but tried to just take my mind off it.

I then met my anaesthetist who spoke really quickly and didn’t really give me much information. Luckily I didn’t really want to know much about the process but if you do then I would recommend writing down any questions you have to remember them. Her speed in going through things put me off. I did however relay to her my concerns about waking up. I wasn’t scared at all about going under but I was scared about waking up too early. She reassured me that she would be in the theatre the whole time monitoring me and would give me more drugs if I appeared to be coming round. I felt reassured knowing she would be monitoring me and went back out to the waiting room.

I then met with a nurse who took measurements, carried out a pregnancy test due to my age and went through a series of questions. She explained that I was first in which was a relief. I didn’t get a chance to wait around but make sure you are prepared in case you are lower down the list.

She gave me my surgery gowns, paper underwear and socks and sent me into the loo to change. This took me longer than I thought so make sure you pay attention to which bit goes where. I had come to the hospital on my own and was a bit overwhelmed.

When I left the loo the doctor was waiting to explain the procedure and get my consent. Again he spoke very quickly and I didn’t get a chance to ask any of my questions. I wanted to know how many people would be in the operating room, what procedure he was going to do and how long until I wake up. Really it didn’t matter not knowing but if you do want to know again writing it down may help.

I was then given a pillow and walked to surgery. I began in the recovery room where I met lots of lovely nurses. They couldn’t have made me feel more at ease and for the first time actually checked if I had questions. Doctors do an amazing job but I cannot speak highly enough for nurses. They give so much care and it made a huge difference to me. I had about 3 nurses who all had to ask me the same set of questions; what is your name and DOB, what surgery are you expecting to have, is this your signature, are you pregnant, are you diabetic and do you have dentures.

Once all that was finished my anaesthetist nurse walked me into the theatre. Inside there were 2 rooms; the prep room and the surgery room. Once in the prep room I got on the bed and before I knew it the anaesthetist had put a canular into my hand. I’m terrified of needles but it all happened so fast I didn’t have a chance to get upset. The nurse and doctor started trying to distract me with questions about work which lasted for a couple of minutes. The anaesthetist then told me she was going to give me a really strong pain killer which would make me feel weird. Well it certainly did that! It took seconds to go from answering questions to feeling very woozy and spaced out. I started hysterically laughing and told her I thought I was going to pass out. Well that is the last thing I remember so I’m pretty sure I did pass out. From the point onwards I had no idea what was going on which was perfect.

I looked at the clock as I went into the surgery prep room and it was 8:50 the next time I remember being awake was 11:20. Although the nurses told me I had been awake for some time and had spoken to the doctor, I have no memory of this. When I woke up I was really sleepy and in a little pain. Probably about 7/10 on the pain scale. The nurse gave me some pain relief and stood with me until the pain had gone down to a 1 or 2. This took a matter of minutes.

They then took me up to the ward. I was so out of it I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I just remember feeling really frustrated because I wanted to thank the nurses but I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

On the ward I basically slept. The doctor came down and was much calmer this time. He went through what he had done and finally answered my questions. I was sat up right and able to speak straight away. I felt alright to be honest, just so woozy.

They bought me ice cream and water but really let me have as much or as little as I wanted. This was a huge relief as I’d read from many others that you had to eat a sandwich and drink juice which sounded awful. The nurse asked me to go to the loo which I apparently needed to do before I would be discharged.

By 2 o’clock I was discharged and on my way home. The nurse gave me some oral morphine before I left so the pain was still very minimal.

I got home and pretty much slept all day. I didn’t manage any more than ice cream that night but was feeling well considering.

Surgery was so much easier than I expected. I don’t cope well with medical things but everything is so routine there wasn’t time for me to panic.

Doc: how long have you had problems with your tonsils?

As like many people I have suffered with tonsillitis for years. 29 to be exact. It’s been a long battle with the doctors and I’ve had to fight to get referred to the ENT specialists.

Over the years I’ve had some nasty bouts of tonsillitis which have resulted with me being hospitalised, sick on the hour every hour for 3 days straight and left with my heavily scared tonsils which I not so lovingly have nicknamed my Grand Canyon. I also suffer with a reoccurring ulcer on my tonsils.

As a child I was simply told my tonsillitis wasn’t bad enough. Even though I have a long family history of all my closest relatives having had their tonsils removed. Our family GP would simply prescribe me with penicillin each time and hope for the best. It usually took 2-3 rounds of antibiotics to kick each flare up, which seems like a huge waste of resources when looking back. Then unfortunately at 17 I had a bad allergic reaction to penicillin and was no longer allowed to have it. This is when my journey really took on a whole new turn.

Being allergic to penicillin and suffering with acute tonsillitis makes life very difficult. It took about 8-9 years for the doctors to find a mix of antibiotics which would work. During which I was suffering from tonsillitis a minimum of 10 times a year. They finally decided upon giving me 2 lots of antibiotics at once which equated to 2500mg a day. Needless to say I was an absolute space cadet when I was on these. Yet the doctors continually told me I was not a candidate for tonsillectomy and put it down to the fact that I clearly ‘didn’t take good enough care of my throat.’ I mean come on!

I was also struggling a lot with work. As a former teacher and current children’s charity worker I am exposed to all sorts of germs and have to project my voice on a daily basis. Having acute tonsillitis has resulted in a fair few sick days as you can imagine. Employers have always started off as understanding but then completely turned on me after a while. Tonsillitis is often seen as a young persons illness and i don’t think you can understand how debilitating it is unless you suffer with it.

Despite the battle and despite the set backs I preserved and finally just before my 30th birthday I got a doctor to see sense! I don’t know if he understood or was just sick of seeing me but either way he agreed to refer me to the specialists. He made it clear the the specialist was unlikely to offer me surgery but said he had little left to do for me than offer a referral. Despite his lack of enthusiasm I was absolutely elated!

I waited about 2 months for my initial appointment and spent this time preparing my best sales pitch to get the surgery.

Please mr specialist I’m in pain every month, I work with children and have to use my voice, it is affecting my job….on and on my planned speech went.

Well I didn’t need it. The specialist wasn’t exactly friendly but he did ask me lots of questions to build up a picture of the problem. He took a look down my throat and within 5 minutes he offered me surgery. I could of cried there and then.

The funniest thing was that he kept telling me that it was completely my choice and I didn’t have to go for surgery. Little did he know, I would have gone under the knife that day!

I then had to wait another couple of months for my pre surgery assessment. I wasn’t really sure what this would entail but I went along with my speech prepared again, you know just in case! Well before I’d even had a chance to have my pre assessment they had offered me a date for surgery the following week.

I was terrified but I confirmed the appointment straight away.

After 29 years I was finally getting the surgery!