Sorry to hear about your challenges @buddysmom sounds awful. Thoughts and prayers are with you, we’ll get through this together!
1 Like
Hi Weezie,
Just want you to know I’m thinking about you & hope you’re home & recovering well. I know it’s very soon after surgery but we look forward to hearing how everything went for you when you feel up to posting.
1 Like
Thanks @Isaiah_40_31, I am home now completely wiped, although I think the meds are making me feel out of it. Surgery went well, Dr O’Connell removed the entire left SP and tonsil. I felt pretty good after surgery, morphine helped.
Yesterday was a bit tougher as the nausea and vomiting set in, the ear and throat pain was intense too but has eased off now. I cut my Tramadol dose in half which is still managing the pain quite well and no vomiting since early hours this morning. I have very little swelling, I think mostly because I used ice packs as soon as I was released from the hospital.
All in all I think everything has gone according to my expectations, so I am happy about that. I’ll post again when I am much less drowsy. Thanks for all the thoughts and well wishes. 
1 Like
Thanks for the support Bryan, how are you doing now, feeling any better?
Good news, hope things improve, take care of yourself & God Bless… 
1 Like
Well things are still rolling along, I would say Day 3 was my worst, then Day 5 was feeing better… then last night (Day 6?) I had part of a scab fall off. So that was super painful. No real bleeding, just raw skin. Swelling is down inside and you can really see the sutures where the tonsil used to be. In comparing notes and stories I’m starting to believe the worst pain from the intra oral surgery is from the tonsillectomy and not the removal of the styloid. That’s my theory anyway! But I’m slowly recovering, some good days and some bad. Tongue still quite numb, I think from a clamp they use to secure it during surgery. Cycling meds, drinking well, all in all I think I’m doing well and recovering reasonably well.
Thanks for the update @Weezie65 Glad to hear you’re home and doing okay. Take it easy, take all the support you can get, stay hydrated, etc. one day at a time and we’ll make it!
2 Likes
Hi BFresh!
So glad to hear you’re starting to see recovery moving in a positive direction! About your tongue…the numbness can come from irritation to the glossopharyngeal or hypoglossal nerves during surgery, or, as you suggested, something used to keep it out of the way during the tonsillectomy. I actually had tongue paralysis on the right half of my tongue after my first surgery because my glossopharyngeal nerve was wrapped around my styloid & had to be unwrapped so the styloid could be removed. This, of course, irritated the nerve which affected my tongue. My tongue wasn’t numb, the motor part of it just didn’t work. It took 6-9 months for it to mostly recover. Eating & talking were challenging during that time. I have since learned some exercises I could have done that would have expedited the motor recovery. If you find your tongue in a similar state, please let me know & I’ll PM you the videos I made of the tongue exercises. They are simple but you’ll want to wait till your throat isn’t so sore to start up something like that.
Again, so glad to read that you have a routine that is working & you’re seeing recovery progress.
Thank you for the update, Weezie. I’m so glad you’ve found a solution to stop the nausea. Good job being resourceful. You may find that swelling increases over the next few days. If it does, it will begin decreasing early next week. I’m glad the ice is working for you. Keep it up through next week for the best results. The first 1-2 weeks post op are the worst. You will begin to see improvement soon.
I’m so glad you feel your surgery went according to what you expected.
Tonsillectomy as an adult is supposed to be a pretty tough surgery to recover from, so sounds like you’re doing pretty well…take care, keep healing, thinking of you & praying for you!
Continuing my updates. This has truly been a brutal recovery. One week today. Woke up at 5am with a mouth full of blood. Most terrifying experience ever! 
Woke my wife, she phoned 911 while I got ice from our fridge. I placed an ice back outside on my neck and began sucking ice cubes to try and clot the wound. I kept spitting and gagging and just tried to stay calm, keep my head up and freeze the area. It worked. Before emergency response arrived we had it under control. They still took me to the hospital to check things over. They said it looked good, pocket of blood from surgery likely had burst. They kept me for about 4-5 hours and sent me home.
It seemed like a blood bath, it seemed like a ton of blood. But I’m aware it mixes with saliva and water and looks worse than it is. Still, emergency response guessed it was about a cup from what they observed. Single most terrifying experience of my life. I’m thankful my wife and I kept our wits and handled it well.
ER doc says it’s not uncommon to see in Days 5-10 after tonsillectomy’s. They weren’t particularly concerned. What a day. And it’s only 1:23pm.
that sounds awful, really scary- you did so well to keep calm! so glad that at least it’s not uncommon & that the doctors weren’t worried…hope that it doesn’t happen again & the rest of your healing is less dramatic! Thinking of you, praying for you & God Bless!
WOW! You’re sure running the gamut of things that can go wrong after surgery, BFresh! I’m sorry for the things you’ve endured but am also thankful that you’re sharing them as your situation will be helpful to others who may go through similar post op experiences.
I, too, congratulate you & your wife for keeping your wits about you when you had that awful experience this morning. Wish we could all be so adept in the face of unexpected & scary challenges. (I’m speaking for myself here 
).
I will also keep praying for your recovery to progress & especially w/o further hitches or surprises.
2 Likes
Oh my goodness @BFresh, how terrifying for you. I hope things are moving in a positive direction for you now?
I agree that the tonsillectomy seems to be the worst part of recovery, that is clearly where my pain and discomfort is. I have been taking it super easy; basically resting since surgery, ice packs, meds, lots of fluids, smoothies, and binge-watching Netflix. Today was my first day being able to eat something somewhat solid, it was a lovely thin pancake, a very small one, that’s all I could bear. I can barely get my mouth open, so eating is a challenge. Tomorrow is another day. Hope you are doing better today Bryan, stay strong, we are thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery.
2 Likes
I couldn’t eat well after external surgery either, couldn’t open my mouth wide, others have had that too, if that’s any consolation, mine improved in under 2 weeks…but the throat pain obvs is alot worse with intra-oral, hope that improves for you soon. Good you’re taking it easy, & taking care of yourself! God bless
Weezie,
It’s good to hear that your recovery is going smoothly so far. Glad you’re listening to your body & taking it easy. Good attitude - abt “tomorrow is another day”. YES!! That’s what recovery is all about…baby steps which add up over time to full healing. You will get there. The first few weeks are by far the worst. I second what Jules said about eating difficulty even w/ external surgery. I had the same problem.
1 Like
Thanks for all the positive kind thoughts! Glad to hear your doing okay @Weezie65! I’m continuing to recover gradually, yesterday was a better day, today is about the same. I reduced my pain killers so I’m only taking the narcotics at night now, it’s been a manageable transition so far. My eating is improving, just enjoyed a meal of scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes and broccoli soup. It still hurts every swallow but it tastes so good it’s worth it!
I have the same issue with my mouth opening, first few days I could barely open it wide enough to drink and take meds. Now I can open it just enough to brush my teeth. It’s a slow grind but we’re getting there. Thanks again all!
3 Likes
Glad that there’s a weenie improvement at least…keep healing!
Day 12 update
-
tongue still numb, I can definitely see where the clamp was for surgery, I have a dent in my tongue along the side, I think it’s improving though
-
I can open my mouth fully and without jaw pain, yay!
-
Pain level continues to improve, I’ve reduced pain killers a lot, I’m no longer watching the clock waiting for the next pill
-
I’m eating better, not quite solid food yet but closer
-
The white goopy scabs continue to fall off revealing red raw skin underneath and then the scabs reform again, it’s a cycle every 2-3 days. Apparently this cont8nues for about three weeks.
All in all, I’m making progress slowly but surely.
2 Likes
wow, we are all over the map on recoveries. Given you guys/girls had tonsils out, I cannot imagine doing intra-oral and tonsils at same time. I had my tonsils out at age 17 and still remember the horrible pain to this day. Ill never forget my son who was about 3 getting his out. He was waking up after surgery and asked the anesthesiologist to put them back in because of the pain. Glad to hear you all are in various stages of recovery. Its been 30 days since mine which was external. Im still dealing with jaw hurting and TMJ ache which doc warned would kick up after surgery. The jaw was a problem from the start after surgery but the TMJ area and ear pain seems to be more increased. I can open my mouth better but still tweaks a little if I bite down hard on anything so Im sticking to soft foods or less chewing. Im hoping this dies down soon. If it doesnt get better Im gonna talk to doc about some nerve meds. Wishing you all a speedy recovery. Bfresh, I hope you dont have any more scares!
1 Like
Fantastic to read about your progress after such a rough post op start, BFresh! I’m so glad you’re noticing definite improvement & are able to cut back on pain meds.
Thank you for keeping us updated. 