I'm 39 and getting my tonsils removed next month - any advice?

Don't miss a pain med dose for at least the first five days. Set your alarm t night to take them. Also, make sure you take a stool softener with them.....pain meds bind you up. Keep the throat hydrated. I had mine out at 39, and I'm 41 now. I don't regret it a bit! Wish I had done it years ago. Good luck, OP

Suggestions?

Bluebell, honey! BLUEBELL!! Tons and tons of Bluebell!!

I had mine removed in my early 20's and they burned them out of my throat. My entire throat was white, burned flesh and I had two huge holes where they used to be.
The worst pain I have known. I remember crying every night for 2 weeks because of the pain. Couldn't swallow my own saliva, never mind food.

I would definitely advise strong pain relief.

It was worth it though, I've had very few throat infections since.

you will probably die from a MRSA infection youll get in the hospital. or most likely nothing will happen, im no doctor and neither is anyone on here!

This^^^

Don't try to eat any white powdered sugar donuts.

But you're Canadian, why do you have rotten teeth? Don't you have free health care?

You may want to try sleeping in a comfy recliner to be more upright than you would in a bed. Definitely stay on top of your dosing schedule for whatever you are taking, because that time waiting for meds to kick in SUCKS.

I loved applesauce, jello, chicken broth (not too hot though), and after the first few days, macaroni that was overcooked so it was really soft. Drink lots of water too :)

Got mine out 6 years ago when I was 18, no regrets. No more infections, way easier to breath, etc. Take care of yourself and I hope you feel much better soon!

Make sure they wheel you into theater the correct way up Op!

Leave them be, unless it's life threatening.
Is your dr. in his 80's or what?

Don't do it. Your tonsils are glands that your body needs to fight off infections & sickness.

There are many alternatives to doing that.

If you do decide to go thru with it, don't fall for the lie that you get to eat as much ice cream as you want.

Jello will be on your menu for at least 24 hours.

Wow! lots of great replies. Thanks much! I've had some NASTY cases of strep that were excruciating pain. I'm hoping the pain from the procedure will be no worse. I've managed to handle quite a bit of pain in my throat from those infections over the past couple decades. I'll be sure to come back and post after the procedure during my recovery and let you all know how it's going. Probably not until late December or even January.

Problems with your tonsils tend to subside with age. I use to have sore and inflamed tonsils all the time when I was younger. It started to go away in my 40's. I'm now in my early 50's and I honestly can't remember the last sure throat I've had.

If you don't know that then it does indeed seem like the tonsils need to come out before the sore throats stop but I'm one person who is glad that I never got them taken out.

Surgery is always risky and unless it's life threatening, why chance it?

This sums it up nicely I think:

"Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance."

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

I had mine out at 33. They were rotting and always sore. Gave me very bad breath. Was a no brainer.

I sort of regret it but would probably do it again. Mainly regret because I never realized your body is never the same after have a piece of it removed. I've felt different since. Maybe even 'older' since. Its very very hard to explain. I'm not getting metaphysical I'm just saying my body feels and reacts different now.

Advice.

1. The pain is borderline unbearable. You'll be counting the clock between pills. Makes hours feel like days and days feel like weeks. Don't expect to get anything done. I found it hard to concentrate on a rerun of gunsmoke.

2. Recovery does not progress in a deescalating pattern. By that I mean day 6 may be worse than 5, etc. As I remember days 2-5 were pretty bad overall. Expect about 10+ days to recover.

3. Get a room away from the family. Something about the healing lymphatic tissue smells awful. My wife says it was the worst thing she ever smelled. And its not like you can gargle Listerine.

4. Get a variety of soft foods. What you can tolerate may not make sense. I couldn't do potatoes but could do other things.

5. You'll lose weight because you the pain will be so bad it will be at at level 100 and hunger at level 10.

6. Prepare you family. It is hell. My wife broke down and thought I was dying by day 7 becuase I couldn't eat.

7. It fucks with your mind. No food and that much pain. I didnt think it would end and I was in some sort of hell. Don't let the doctors tell you you'll have a really bad sore throat. They've never had it done as an adult.

I would agree with the AC... lots of icicles on hand would definately make your life less painful... You'll want to numb your throat as much as possible and the ice melting in your throat will help with that. Good luck OP

I wish I had had them removed while young. No nasty tonsil stones...

the pain in the days after your surgery will not be greater than a nasty case of strep - and it will not have the accompaning fever and sickness of strep

don't talk for two days after the surgery, not even for ten minutes - it makes a difference - and just a few minutes talking will increase the immediate pain for at least a few hours

you wont eat for a few days - no big deal . a few days in , eat something like mashed potatoes watered down into a slush. for vitamins you can get a liquid .

enjoy the experience. really I mean it. a week after the surgery, you will be amazed at how healthy your body is when it doesn't have to devote resources to diseased tissue

have fun !

Horrible pain. The very thought of eating was too painful to consider. NO ice cream. Mucous producing. POPSICLES and jello. You'll need the sugar. Don't worry about your weight eating sugary stuff, I went from 165 to 150 in a week. I had no desire at all for anything that wasn't cold, no soup, no potatoes, nothing, for a week.

POPSICLES. Lots of popsicles.

Go and see Tor Eckman.

Had mine removed at 37..4 Day hospital stay...Bleeding is the biggest threat...for about a month no matter what you eat will taste like cardboard...But Left the Hospital with a quart bottle of liquid demoral..with a refill..which had to be filled at the hospital the pharmacies didn't carry it.but that was 17 years ago and I havn't had a sore throat since..Good luck..

Tonsilith---the hard stinky greenish-yellow gunk that comes
out of scarred up tonsils.

I agree 100% Evil Cretin.. I too lost 25 pounds in 2 weeks.. water was the only thing I swallowed for the first week... lived rurally and didn't have anything cold in the house.. didn't even think of it, or I'd have made ice cubes .. then my kids came home and they had been given an icicle at thier friend's house.. I sent my hubby out, to the nearest store that carried them.. 45 miles away... and he came home with a case of them.. Oh what a relief those icicles were. Worked far better than any pain killer did.

edit for spelling... sorry about the double post..don't know what is happening but it took forever to load and then again to edit.

Last Edited by my2centsworth on 11/25/2012 10:32 PM

I agree 100% Evil Cretin.. I too lost 25 pounds in 2 weeks.. water was the only thing I swallowed for the first week... lived rurally and didn't have anything cold in the house.. didn't even think of it, or I'd have made ice cubes .. then my kids came home and they had been given an icicle at thier friend's house.. I sent my hubby out, to the nearest store that carried them.. 45 miles away... and he came home with a case of them.. Oh what a relief those icilcles were. Worked far better than any pain killer did.

Had mine out at 21. Eat ice cream a lot.

Just make sure you have an Archie comic, some little toy cowboys, and a vanilla shake waiting for you when you wake up after surgery. I did and it made all the difference in the world. But I was only 5 years old at the time.