Hey all!

As I've mentioned here and here, I had a tonsillectomy last tuesday (a week and a few days ago). As I'm about to hit the 10th day after the surgery, I'm still finding myself unable to eat anything but liquids. I haven't had anything substantial, excluding a cup of jello and small bowl of ice cream, and have lost 27 pounds since the surgery. So, in short, I'm really hungry and don't know what to do about it.

So, any ideas from people who have had tonsillectomies at a stage in life closer to mine? I'm still taking Ibuprofen and Tylenol, but stopped the Oxy as soon as I felt comfortable doing so. I'm seeing huge improvements every day, and know that I'll be able to comfortably eat within 4 days or so, but I'm hungry enough that 4 days really doesn't sound like a good plan.

So, again, any tips or tricks? I tried a smoothie today, and even that didn't go down very well. I only got a couple sips in before it started getting minorly painful. I believe it's because the scabs are supposed to start coming off tomorrow, so some of the corners are loose (meaning that I could have had one a couple days ago, but it's simply the timing that has me out of wack), but I'm very ready to eat something substantial.

Stop gargling mayonnaise, its what got you the throat infection in the first place.

In all seriousness, dont eat anything thats overly hot or cold, keep it moderately room temperature. Also, stay away from things that are creamy in any way. Smoothies are a bad idea.

I told you that my sister had this a year ago right... she would get angry at us and throw things cuz we had no idea what she was trying to tell us lmao.

Things that are hot or cold will cause you to be more likely to feel your throat soreness. Things that are creamy will cause flem to build up in your throat. Smoothies have little bits of ice in them, which could actually hurt your throat if the ice hits the sore part.

I've heard of the B.R.A.T. diet, but i dont think it'll work. its just Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. Which is what gives it the name. I've never used it as i've never got my tonsils sore but try it out and if it works, great! if not.....i tried my best.


#theofficialmrfe...issick

Sounds horrible. That is one of those surgeries that are harder to recover from the older you are. Seeing how long it is taking for you to be able to eat anything doesn't bode well for the future. My wife needs to get one. Her plan is to get it sometime next school year, and she will be 27 at that point. She will be in for a rough one...

Sorry I don't have advice. Don't really have much experience with tonsillectomy

A good way to get filled up is a protein drink. It will also provide you with energy. You can pick up standard powders for this at grocery stores in some areas like Wal-Mart. All's you have to do is mix with water in some cases. You can get already mixed ones from lines like monster, bolthouse farms, and naked drinks. 50 grams of protein is the daily value for 2000 calorie diet standard. In your case I recommend looking at percent daily values for your health needs at this point and going by them as much as you can since you are reduced to more of a liquid diet. It will help your body maintain functions and regulation. Good luck.

Mega Mewtwo X : Honestly, out of that list, the only thing I could have eaten was the applesauce (maybe). Basically, there were scabs in the back of my throat, and anything with a thick texture caused a ton of pain.

rcarter2 : Ouch, I won't envy her (I don't envy myself a month ago either). Definitely pick up some healthy chicken broth (just broth), and serve that at warm (but not hot). That was a main staple of my 'diet' once I discovered it, and ended up being a great way to relax the muscles in my throat. Jello was also a life-saver, but only if I felt up to eating it (rarely). Once I could start eating semi-solid foods again, I went straight for the soup with noodles. The worst thing I did, though, was eat a ton the day of my surgery. I still had all the pain meds working their magic, and so I downed an entire pot of soup. Of course, within about 30 mins, i saw it again. That was really painful, and undoubtedly caused extra damage. I'd encourage your wife to not rush eating, sleep as much as possible (even though it's super boring), and drink a lot of broth. When on pain meds, simply existing isn't intensely painful. It's swallowing that really hurts. However, the worst part of the entire recovery is taking the pain meds. I had Oxy, and also added Tylenol and Ibuprofen. I found the Ibuprofen especially helpful, as it acted fast.

tl;dr: Don't rush eating again, drink a lot of broth, and meds will hurt the worst.

mrfe : Haha. You pointed out one of the things that disgusts her. She absolutely hates broth. When she eats ramen, she drains ALL the water out and stirs the powder in the noodles. No way she can do the broth thing unless she wants to vomit. And she has a very small esophagus, so eating is already difficult for her. She has to eat slowly and carefully. Because of it, she can't take pills. All of her medicine has to be in some kind of liquid form. So she is stuck with only the prescription meds and can't take over the counter meds like tylonal (unless there is any in liquid form. I always have to crush pills and put it in water, which is still difficult because it doesn't really dissolve). Horrible conditions for her because the things that helped for you aren't possible for her.

rcarter2 : Ooo, I didn't know it was possible to dislike broth. Still, warm water should have similar benefits when it comes to relaxing the throat, it'll just lack the nutritional value (and when going without eating, you take what nutrition you can get lol). Perhaps try smashing vitamin pills into dust, putting it in warm water, and letting her drink that? Though she won't be eating, she'll still need vitamins and stuff, so perhaps that's an option to explore? I'm sure you guys have it figured out, though.

Protip: You learn to hate Oxy after a few days. Keep her taking it, even though she won't want to, because it really will help the pain. Taking it right before sleep seems to be a great way to go.

Also, I'm sure you know this, but I feel obligated to mention it anyway. Don't crush and give her time-release pills of any kind. Their designed to dissolve at different rates, so giving here those will potentially cause a fatal overdose.

Random fact - I was taking twice the recommended dose of Ibuprofen and Tylenol, because I had to. Definitely keep her on the pain meds regularly, even if it means waking her up.

mrfe : Yeah. She hasn't been able to take time release pills ever since she first started getting pills stuck in her throat. Sucks, but we deal with that. The vitamin pills sounds like a good idea. Won't likely help her with her hunger, but at least she will have some kind of nutrition in her system. I will definitely explore that.

As for the oxy, she will do it. It is bad, but she is used to it. Crushed Tylenol, Ibuprofen, or Aleve soaking undissolved in water does not taste good, but she has to do it. And when she had her wisdom teeth removed, every time she has strep throat (which is very often, which is why she will be getting the tonsils removed) she gets horrid tasting medicine. She usually has Omoxy, but she has done liquid Oxy before too. My only worry right now is that we have a repeat of when she had her wisdom teeth removed. For some reason, she started having bad reactions to the pain meds. They literally made her uncontrollably pass out. She had to be taken off of them, so she spent the rest of the recovery time with no pain meds. Don't want to imagine if she had to be taken off of prescription pain meds for a tonsilectomy.

Think you can tell I am fairly worried about when that time comes for her. It sucks enough for people who have normal reactions to stuff, as you well personally.

mrfe :
"Say Ahhhh"???
I try to keep as many organs as I can.
I bet the apendix, the extra kidney, and others being disposable are a conspiracy.
(I'm Joking Here.)

Good Luck With the Visit.
I'm certain everything will be fine.

Good Luck To All.
Peace.

rcarter2 : Haha, there really isn't anything that helps with the hunger. I honestly just slept for most of the first 4 days, and that was definitely the best thing I could have done. Oxy helps knock you out, as you know, so I'd take it every 4-6 hours and just sleep in-between doses. After a week or so, your stomach stops hurting as much, so it's easier to go without food. Still, though, I wouldn't recommend eating much around her. xD

I have a relatively large throat, I think, and taking the pills was probably the most painful thing I did for the first week. It'd have hurt worse if I wasn't taking it on a regular schedule though, so definitely wake her up for pills. My mom was smart, and stayed with me until I took it all, because she knew that it hurt enough that I'd probably just try to put it off until the pain was unbearable. I'd suggest doing the same, because it'll save her a lot of pain in the long run.

Your doctor will (and may have) mention this, but don't let her do anything physically strenuous at all. She'll be able to tell what her limit is, but until she's been awake long enough to fully understand those limits, there's the potential for over-straining her throat and causing bleeding (she'll have to go back to the ER for patching up). Even something as simple as going 'number 2' can cause that bleeding, but thankfully the Oxy (as well as the lack of food) helps plug up your system a little until her throat has healed enough to allow that kind of activity. :V I found that bending over to pick up stuff I dropped or whatever also put a lot of stress on my throat, so I wouldn't recommend that either. lol.

Despite how bad it probably sounds from what I'm saying, it's already worth it for me. I had moderate sleep apnea going in, and I am seeing amazing differences after just a month. It's incredible to have sleep that is actually resting, rather than simply enough to survive the next day. Undoubtedly, the pros will outweigh the cons by far. Still, it's definitely best to be prepared, lol.

I forgot to mention this before, but melted popsicles could be a good way to enjoy something with flavor without hurting her throat. Right after I woke up from the anesthesia, the nurse gave me some popsicles (still frozen). I remember it feeling like heaven when I took a bite, and downed two before I was checked out (an hour later, and I slept for a lot of it too). Allowing something like that to melt down into a cool liquid might help alleviate a little pain as well, so that's something to consider. I was told that I'll either adore warm or cold, but not both. For me, it was warm mainly, but downing some cold water definitely helped numb the pain for pills and such. If you have them, protein shakes were recommended to me by quite a few people, but we never had any around. Regardless of what you guys choose, though, keep her drinking water (more than she should be before the surgery, even). It hurts, but it's certainly better than ending up in the hospital with an IV in your arm (our doctor had known someone who didn't drink enough, and ended up collapsing and needing an IV). Pain is pain, and it sucks, but it's worth the extra pain to continue drinking.

Oh, before I forget, nothing spicy. That's like playing with the scabs, tbh. Even toothpaste hurts if it gets back there, so I just brushed without it (after I could open my mouth far enough to do so, lol). Bland, comfortable temperature liquids is definitely the best route to take.

Yikes! I hadn't heard of that kind of a reaction before! I mean, she'll be passed out anyway for the first few days, so I guess it's not too big of a deal (unless it's causing other issues), but I'm pretty sure they have other options. I got liquid oxy, so they definitely have that. At my pre-op, I think they mentioned a second type of pain med that worked similarly to oxy, so perhaps ask if there are alternatives? I can't remember it's name, unfortunately.

Yeah, it was probably the most pain I've been in thus far in my life. I mean, the pain meds (when taken well, my mom organized a great pattern for taking meds) definitely helped keep it bearable, but I still vividly remember sitting in bed in the middle of the night crying because taking pills hurt so much. :/ Thankfully, that's over, and I don't regret a minute of it. I'm enjoying the positive effects already.

Good gosh, I almost wrote a book. :V

tornadocam : Thanks for your prayers! I had my post-op yesterday, and my throat is officially fully healed. I haven't heard of rinsing with salt water, but that sounds horrifically painful. It might help, I guess, but I didn't drink anything salty (like non-natural broth) for over a week and a half.

orionfoxgibson : Thanks! Now that I'm through it, I'm very happy to have had it done.

mrfe :  I knew that the surgery would be and was an ordeal for you, but reading through your last post just made me cringe over and over and over again. That sounds like the WORST nightmare.  Oh my gosh... there are so many things I never knew you would be affected by after a tonsillectomy!  That's absolutely terrifying.  I hope I never, ever need one, because the doctors will probably have to restrain me to get me in. XD

Seriously.... when I had my wisdom teeth pulled, I was so terrified that I freaked the nurses out. I only knew of two people that had had theirs pulled, and their experiences were just awful.  I remember my mother especially, had a horrific time of it.  Since my parents never really took us to see dentists or doctors all that often, it was all totally new to me.  I got put under a high... dosage (?) of laughing gas and was still shaking like a leaf. The nurse freaked out and thought she was hurting me, asking repeatedly if I was okay and if I was really SURE I was okay.  They ended up turning the laughing gas even higher, so that I almost passed out, because I just couldn't stay still even under the original dosage.  Of course, I found out afterwards that it was all no big deal (for me) at all.

But reading your post.... ohmygosh!

I'm a spammer.

I hate long words.

Local Mods :

Wasn't as bad as the others but still

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