I continue to post on behalf of my wife [Cindy Lou] because computer monitors still spark vertigo for her.
As reminder, Cindy Lou [CL] had intra-oral bi-lateral partial styloidectomy + tonsillectomy on February 14. Since then, she has been coping with a throat that feels like it’s peppered with shards of broken glass, this complicated by the need to balance her blood sugar levels with her insulin-dependent diabetes….IE: she cannot just not eat.
CL had a follow-up with a member of the surgical team this past Friday; he debrided the surgical site & assures that it appears to be healing on schedule with no sign of infection. Still some weeks of healing to unfold.
Cindy Lou has experienced 2 fairly immediate outcomes from the surgery vis-a-vis her E.S. symptoms. She no longer experiences the feeling of 2 points jabbing her in the throat. She also no longer experiences the struggle with breathing that had plagued her these past 3 years [prior to surgery, she had always felt like there was a partial blockage, or swelling, that made breathing an effort & always hinted @ the possibility of more complete blockage]. These 2 changes have already put some bounce in her step that I haven’t seen in over 4 years.
Cindy Lou wanted to pass on some thoughts for anyone who, in particular, is anticipating intra-oral surgery & wondering about managing their diabetes in the process. She remained in hospital for 2 days post-surgery, especially because of the added surgery with the tonsillectomy. She very quickly realized that she was better off to manage her own insulin & glucose testing & nursing staff conceded this readily. She also realized that it was very important to ensure clarity re diet with hospital food services. After receiving foodstuffs like lasagna, an apple, etc on her tray [these qualify as something they called “dental soft”….they certainly didn’t qualify as “sliding-smoothly-past-a-throat-raw-with-surgery soft”], so she requested [in the hospital parlance] a “fluid” diet.
Since then, jello became the rock star of her diet, also joined by: green smoothies [a blended mix of almond milk/spinach/tofu/green grapes/flax meal has been a good one], pudding, apple sauce, tofu pillows [especially squares of tofu roasted with cinnamon & stevia], porridge, Boost, ginger ale, fish, soups, eggs, bananas, yogurt have all been prominent in her post-surgery diet.
She continues to manage pain with dilaudid, ibuprofen + weaning her way onto gabapentin [hopefully to replace the long-term use of dilaudid in her regimen, if needed over time]. She is taking vitamin C [liquid] regularly & sleeping++. She is also starting to steal back some of her life after feeling like it’s been on hold for over 4 years. Today, I made a reservation for what will be our first multi-day back-country canoe trip in 3 years, planned for mid-July. Hoping…yay!
Overall, we are both pleased with the process & outcome so far. Just wish pain didn’t hurt so much!
Sorry about being so long-winded!
David