I’m scheduled for surgery on Friday and doing my final prep. I’ve got my wedge pillow, gel ice packs, streaming services, a lap desk, and a positive mental attitude!
All that’s left is to figure out some soft foods for the first days after surgery. I know that doesn’t sound hard, but I’m AWFUL at meal planning…and deciding what to eat altogether…
Smoothies, soups, yogurt, and ALL OF THE ICE CREAM! That’s all I can think of… Does anyone have any suggestions on how to eat like an adult in the first few days? Thanks in advance!
Hi DocHoliday,
The first few days post op, you should just eat what you feel like having (& don’t worry about eating like an adult ). You can add pudding/custard & mashed potatoes (sweet or white), to your soft foods list. I had “blender meals” where cooked veggies & meat were put in a blender w/ (almond) milk added to make a nasty looking smoothie, but it tasted pretty doggone good. The meal smoothie can be made while the food is warm, & if the liquid is preheated, then you get a warm meal rather than a cold one. Make sure you have protein powder for your smoothies as protein in each meal will help your body recover more handily. There is also a chance you won’t need the soft foods unless you’re having intraoral surgery. Some people can eat normally after external surgery. I couldn’t after my first surgery but was able to after my second one.
Ginger & turmeric are natural anti-inflammatories so if those are flavors you can tolerate, you could try ginger turmeric “tea” a couple of times/day. I prefer a little sweetener in mine (I’m a fan of stevia). Try to keep sugar on the lower side initially as sugar can be inflammatory.
Remember that days 3-5 (or 6) are when you’ll have the worst post op swelling & pain. You should start noticing improvements in the second week. Symptoms may come & go for a couple of months post op but eventually there will be many more good days than hard ones. Listening to your body & not pushing yourself but resting when it says to will also expedite healing.
I hope this helps! I’ll put you on my calendar & pray for you on Friday in particular.
I agree with Isaiah, if you can get the opportunity to eat ice cream for a few days, go for it! It could be a good oportunity to try some unusual juice recipes…my favourite was pineapple & spinach juice (you can’t taste the spinach!), then made into a smoothie with banana & yogurt, yum…
I ate grown up food that was soft, like cauliflower cheese, macaroni cheese after the 1st few days. But 2nd surgery, I didn’t have any trouble eating at all!
Best wishes, I hope that it goes well for you, who’s doing your surgery?
Good luck. Dont forget to take pix so we can see your incision site…if you want of course. Im having surgery in about a month and eyeing items at the grocery store that will be easy and microwavable as Ill be in hotel for a week. The pre-packaged applesauce, orange segments and jello look easy. Mac and cheese sounds good as I didnt think of that. If you have a trader joes there or probably can find at whole foods type store are pre-boxed soups that you just heat up. I also bought myself a nutri-bullet to make some smoothies if I feel up to the effort. Good luck with the surgery! we all will be rooting for you.
Jello, soups, and a great protein shake were my go to! Smoothness was important…I had intra oral so stitches in my throat… Anything with texture kind of stuck to the stitches and made me gag!
So I hate to be a bummer here but it’s been 4 weeks and I am still not eating. I had mine through throat. It’s too painful to eat and while I’m drinking shakes it’s sooo painful. They did a cat scan last week and found abscess which they drained but still no relief from throat pain. Any ideas?
Poor you, that’s rotten…the intra-oral approach can be very painful to recover from. They often remove your tonsils, even if they haven’t for you I think the surgery/ recovery will be similar. There are sites online about recovery of tonsillectomy as an adult, there might be useful tips there.
Ice, popsicles, icecream… but I guess that you’ve already done all that.
Have they taken swabs of the abcess to give you specific antibiotics?
Really hope that things improve for you soon, gentle hugs & will be praying for you…
I’m so sorry you ended up w/ an abscess. I do hope it wasn’t just drained & left to heal but that you were given antibiotics.
As Jules said, intraoral surgery can have a slower recovery than external surgery, The reason is that the incision(s) are in a place that’s constantly being irritated as you swallow whether just saliva or food/drink. The fact you need to eat/drink introduces external bacteria & food particles into the surgical area as well so infection rates tend to be higher. I expect that in a few weeks, you’ll begin to notice your pain decreasing.
We have had other members who struggled w/ throat pain for quite awhile post op after intraoral surgery. I don’t think you’re out of range for what’s normal yet. Are you taking any pain meds? (I think I asked this before & you said they aren’t working). If they aren’t working, you can ask your doctor for some other suggestions. I do recommend gently gargling or rinsing w/ warm salt water. That will help healing, promote circulation & will help remove any food particles that might be hanging out in/around your incision. If you do this for a minute or two after each time you eat, it might really help.
Thank you for the update especially so soon post op!
WOWEE! That’s a scary looking styloid! Glad that thing is out of your neck! Any droopy facial features will recover over the next few weeks to months. Do not fear. As you said, it could also be from anesthesia. Your incision looks fairly small which is also a great thing. That likely indicates your surgery was pretty straight forward.
Expect this week to be tough from a pain standpoint. Stick w/ your pain meds for at least the first 3-5 days post op & ice 15 min on & at least 45 off w/ a thin towel between you & the ice pack. Head elevated to 30º for sleeping. You can start taking short walks (10-15 min) tomorrow but listen to your body & don’t push yourself.
I’m praying for you to have a good & quick recovery.
). You can add pudding/custard & mashed potatoes (sweet or white), to your soft foods list. I had “blender meals” where cooked veggies & meat were put in a blender w/ (almond) milk added to make a nasty looking smoothie, but it tasted pretty doggone good. The meal smoothie can be made while the food is warm, & if the liquid is preheated, then you get a warm meal rather than a cold one. Make sure you have protein powder for your smoothies as protein in each meal will help your body recover more handily. There is also a chance you won’t need the soft foods unless you’re having intraoral surgery. Some people can eat normally after external surgery. I couldn’t after my first surgery but was able to after my second one.
