Honestly sleep was the best thing for me the first several days post surgery. Let yourself sleep! I do tend to keep a notebook, drink and my meds next to my bed for easy access so I don’t have to go too far in the beginning.
redfaery,
I’m so glad to hear your surgery went well! Cold drinks are ideal for the sore throat, & of course, icing your neck. I agree w/ anharris - SLEEP! Rest, rest, rest allows your body to deal w/ healing instead of putting a lot of energy into helping you do other things. I do recommend that, if you can, tomorrow start taking a few short walks, even just around the inside of your house, to keep your blood circulating. It will also help reduce the risk of developing blood clots in your legs from keeping too still. Sadly, as we age, we’re more prone to that problem.
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Lots of rest & icing, hope you heal well 
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I’ve been up walking almost every hour to the bathroom, does that count Isaiah_40_31? 
I think I’ve had more to drink this last few hours than I have in most of a month. I remember when I was a kid and got my tonsils out I didn’t drink like I should and ended up with a blood clot in my incision site, which hemorrhaged, scaring my 8 yr old self and my mother at the time. So trying to do what the doctor tells me, drink as much as possible, etc.
Blessed that my husband took the day off to help me with surgery, and my mother came down to spend a week to help me first few days after surgery. They both have been fantastic. My mother even went to the store middle of the day to purchase soft foods she thought I’d like to have, or could eat.
It’s 2:30am roughly here and I just took my 3rd pain pill since surgery this past morning. Trying to make sure I keep on top of the pain. I can’t take NSAIDs (motrin, aspirin, ibuprofen, etc) as they severely attack my asthma, so I may call the Dr in the morning and see if there is anything I can do other than drink lots of cold and cool water.
Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions everyone! I have to say even though my throat is really painful, this has so far been one of my easier surgeries,
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Pleased that it’s going to plan & you’re well cared for 
redfaery,
So glad you have great family support! That helps so much. Your tonsillectomy story sounds pretty horrendous. Good job learning a lesson back then that you can apply now. Also it’s great that you’re keeping w/ the pain meds protocol. Are you taking a prescription pain med or an OTC NSAID? Curious that they affect your asthma. I can’t take them because they eat my stomach. I hope your doctor has other options for you.
As far as drinking goes, you can drink other cold drinks besides water. Ice tea, fruit juice or water w/ fruit or cucumber or herbs in it for flavor. I would stay away from exceptionally sweet drinks for the moment as the sugar could irritate your throat.
Yes, I’d count your many trips to the bathroom as walking. 
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Hi @redfaery, glad to hear your surgery went well. I had intra-oral tonsillectomy/styloidectomy 5 months ago now. I feel I have healed quite well, still some nerve pain and still feel like something is stuck in my throat, so many symptoms resolved though that I can live with this. The healing process was quite long for me, I believe due to the tonsillectomy at the same time, you can read my post surgery posts if you’d like a better idea.
For your healing process, SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP, use your ice pack frequently, and keep up with the fluids, I found chamomile tea with honey very helpful. For a better idea of what to expect you can reach out to @Diasy she had both sides intra-oral and had her tonsils out as a child, so her recovery experience would be closer to what you may experience. Best of luck with your recovery!
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Hi!
I had my right done sept 2019 and my left June 2020 both intra oral. I had my tonsils out when I was 12! I suffered with eagle for who knows how long… I was a wreck! But since my first surgery I am a new person!
My first recovery was very smooth. My second a bit bumpier because my pain management was not as good, …I had Extra swelling, pain and a bit of an allergic reaction to codeine but on the whole went well.
My advice: Surgery definitely hurts,at first… but it’s worth it!! take the all drugs on time and full dose! Lots of fluids, lots of rest, lots of ice packs!
Jello, puréed cauliflower, Smooth soups. Don’t try to talk too much.
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Update, surgery was on 20th. I was steadily doing better until today, 1st day with no pain meds, and I woke up to pain that was up to a 6 out of 10 level in my throat and sinus drainage, which may be contributing. Had husband call dr who I found out is out with COVID, so dr covering for him is giving me a new Rx for pain and wants me to come on earlier to be seen, as in 2 days. Not sure why I would have a setback like this.
Hi redfaery,
What you’re experiencing is not uncommon during recovery. Pain does come & go during after surgery & sometimes can be gone for a bit then come back fiercely for a bit before it goes away again. You made the right decision to contact your doctor (so sorry he’s out w/ COVID!), & I’m glad the back-up doctor is being proactive in helping you.
With external surgery, days 3-5 post op are when inflammation is the worst. That may not hold true w/ intraoral surgery so you may be in a period of greater post op swelling right now which will make your pain worse. I suspect it’s just part of the healing process, but getting checked out in case there’s an infection brewing is a good idea.
Ice your neck & drink cold things today. If that makes things worse, try alternating heat & cold or just use heat. It can take some experimentation to figure out what works best.
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good that you’re being seen earlier, as infections are more common with intraoral. As Isaiah says, days 3-5 are bad for swelling, so you’re only a day after that, so that could be making pain worse. Also as Isaiah says recovery is very much up & down- have a think back to what you’ve been doing- if you’ve been doing a bit too much that can set healing back. I felt really good & overdid things, did a bit of housework a few days after surgery & paid for that!! Even talking a long time has set pain off for some people, so maybe there might have been something you’ve done?
There could well be more setbacks, so be prepared, as long as things go generally in the right direction, that’s the main thing!
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I’ve been trying to think if I’ve overdone it. I pretty much have only left the house once, my mother drove me around for 10 minutes on one of the few days we had sunshine, on day 3 after surgery, plus my mother is here and I probably have been talking more than I should. It would have been easier not to if my voice was rough, but it hasn’t been. Spent last two days pretty much in bed most of the time, with a few minutes slowly walking around the house. Honestly even today feeling like crap I still feel tons better than most surgeries I’ve had in this general area. Hopefully the other doctor will be able to look and make sure everything looks like it’s healing ok, from my eye looking inside my mouth it doesn’t look infected, I finished the antibiotics a day ago. Here’s hoping this is the only setback!
I got more pain pills from the Dr and I’m taking them for now, we’ll see what this one says, even if he’s not familiar with Eagles’, he’s an ENT so should at least be familiar with post op healing in the throat area. Overall I’m pretty pleased with Dr. Bumpous. Right before surgery on the 20th, he came in and made sure I knew exactly what was going on, answered questions again on predictions for post op recovery and the like. My husband said it was only 45 minutes between the call saying they were about to begin surgery and when I got out. Looking at my throat, there are tons of teeny tiny dissolvable stitches in there, Dr. Bumpous is also a plastic surgeon and he told me he would try to stitch me in such a way I’d have minimal scarring that would cause problems after. he definitely redeemed himself from my first visit where he said I didn’t have Eagles.
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I’m glad that you’re pleased with Dr Bumpous, & it sounds like he’s done a good job of your throat! I hope you do start feeling better soon, I’m sure it’s just a blip
Hi redfaery,
I was on prescription pain pills for a month after my ES surgeries. Granted, I was spreading them out pretty far after about 2 weeks, but I needed them to help me sleep at night & occasionally during the day. I was very thankful to have them. I eventually cut them in half then into quarters to gradually reduce my dose.
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Saw Dr who is overseeing things while Dr Bumpous is out. She told me that I’m healing normally, but my allergies are most likely just going to make things more miserable and take a bit longer. She said I’d probably have a few more peaks and valleys on my pain levels for at least 2 more weeks. So spoke to my boss at work after, I haven’t been there long enough here for our FMLA benefit, but my job is definitely not in danger, I was told to take what time I needed, I just might have some time unpaid if i run out of my Paid Time Off. So going back home to do more resting, drinking of the cold stuff and eating of the soft foods.
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I’m glad that things are healing & no infection there, that’s good. And hopefully knowing the doctor expects ups & down will be reassuring when you do have worse days…And very pleased that you have a supportive boss & don’t need to worry about rushing back to work! Gentle hugs & prayers!
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So my main issue right now is pain, specifically of my ear on the side I had the surgery. Logically I know my ear wasn’t touched, but I know how all that is connected. The pain pills aren’t touching it, cold thing make it worse. Anyone have any tips for dealing with horrible ear pain?
Hi redfaery,
Have you tried heat? In the “olden days” (when I was a child) we used hot water bottles for earaches. Some of the gel packs available can be either heated or frozen. You might try getting a hot/cold gel pack & warming up it then laying your ear on it. So sorry that’s the next step of healing for you. I’m pretty confident that the ear pain will go as the post op swelling subsides.
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That was a good call. I have a heated “sock” thing I put in the microwave and that helped soothe it. So cold on my neck and heat on my ear.
Pain is a little better today, only one period where the pain was intense enough to make me cry. Dr. told me a few days ago when I saw them that normally they have people alternate NSAIDs with pain pills, but since NSAIDs cause asthma attacks in me, it’s just going to take longer for the inflammation to go down. I am trying to stay on soft foods and as close to the anti-inflammation diet my dentist gave me during my TMJ treatment, so here’s hoping. Also started on Turmeric as that is supposed to help with inflammation as well.
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I’m glad using heat is helping your ear. It sounds like you’re doing all the right things to help your body heal. Just keep doing that. Healing is slow but bit by bit you’ll notice your symptoms disappearing. I also take turmeric in capsule form as well as adding it to my warm morning drink.
I hope your swelling starts settling down in earnest so your pain will go away soon.