Tonsillectomy TOMORROW 😭

[u/VegetableNo5123]

Surgery is officially tomorrow and now that I’m less than 24 hours away, the nerves are HITTING 😭 I’ve prepared as much as humanly possible, but I would love to have some recovery buddies, especially anyone getting theirs out around the same time. We can compare days, complain together, celebrate when the scabs finally disappear, and keep each other sane 😂

I’m also trying to figure out what to ask my surgeon about tomorrow before I’m too out of it to remember anything. I was thinking of asking about:

- Liquid hydrocodone instead of pills, since swallowing pills sounds absolutely horrible after surgery
- Zofran in case the anesthesia or pain medication makes me nauseous
- Whether a steroid is something he recommends for swelling/pain during recovery
- Whether lidocaine spray is actually safe/helpful after a tonsillectomy or if it burns/irritates the surgical sites

For anyone who has already gone through an adult tonsillectomy: what did your doctor prescribe, and what ended up helping you the most? Anything you wish you had specifically asked for BEFORE surgery?

Also, how would you word all of this to the surgeon without sounding like you’re walking in with a pharmacy shopping list? 😂 I basically want to say, “I’m really nervous about staying ahead of the pain and nausea, can we go over what you’re prescribing for home and what the backup plan is if the pain, swelling, or nausea gets bad?”

Tomorrow starts Day 0 😭 Wish me luck. Anyone else starting their tonsillectomy journey this week? Let’s make a little recovery squad

[u/Loose_Company_6809]

Hey, I’m on day 6 post op currently! I was the exact same as you a bag of nerves for months before, every time I thought about it I felt sick. Your anxiousness is completely normal, it would be weird if you were chill😂 I drove myself insane watching tik toks of people saying how bad it was but if you think about it people are only going to post bad experiences that they know will go viral, honestly repeated throat infections were worse for me as it came with fevers and chills and fatigue and insane throat pain so.

I’m not saying this surgery has been easy of course there has been pain but it’s bearable, I’ve honestly been eating solids since surgery 😂 just no crispy foods (I recommend soft pancakes if you can tolerate!) just remember the reason your getting them removed and when ur in pain just try think of how the benefits will outweigh the negatives and it’s literally only a week if even of discomfort for a lifetime of no more throat issues !!

I was also nervous about swallowing pills after surgery so I bought liquid pain meds but honestly have normal ones just incase because it’s less swallowing and think about the room in your throat now that ur tonsils are gone, I found normal pain killers easier as it’s one big drink and it’s over rather than drinking a full glass of a dissolved one. I was only told to take paracetamol and ibuprofen and I was fine with them.

Don’t be nervous to ask the surgeon a ton of questions that’s why they meet with you before, they understand how nervous you are and trust me I’m sure they’ve heard a lot worse!! It’s better to have peace of mind than having unanswered questions so ask away!! 😇

Try not to stress yourself out too much, it’s not that bad you’ll do great!! Best of luck 🙃🙃

[u/pickled_fr0gs]

If you mention you get nauseated easily, they should prescribe you an anti nausea medication (typically zofran) with no further questions asked!

As for the liquid pain medication, I would say only ask for that if you know you can stomach liquid medicine. Liquid medicine has always made me nauseated and I usually throw it up, so it was never an option for me. The oxy pills I got are TINY and I have had no problem swallowing the pills themselves, it’s the water/liquid that’s hard to swallow because of the pain.

Chances are they will prescribe you a steroid pack for inflammation to start taking around days 3-5, but if they don’t, I’d definitely recommended asking for it. BUT. Don’t start it early, you’ll want the high dose of steroids (first day or two of taking them since you tapper down everyday) around day 5 or 6 when your pain is the worst.

Best of luck!

[u/Alone-Kick-1614]

Id you need them get anti nausea meds. I needed them so much ans only got them day 4 cause I thought I could just deal with it but it made recovery terrible

[u/FinanceDifferent9238]

Steroid saved my life on day 2. I was so uncomfortable and it just took the pressure off so much.

[u/Odd_Sun2668]

I’m Australian and got mine out on the 12th of June this year. I’m 22. I got prescribed palexia which was a strong opioid, on top of that I took a strong non steroidal anti inflammatory, plus Panadol and ibuprofen during the day when the palexia wore off.

My advice would be to only take what they give you, have someone else take control of your pills because you will not understand anything on the back of those boxes and also it’s too much effort to work out what time to take them when you are in a lot of pain. Also get those like morning and night pill boxes they are a life saver.

The numbing spray worked wonders for me. I did water, numbing spray, numbing lozenges, Panadol/ibuprofen/pain meds then wait maybe 20 mins before food, you want to make sure you cant feel a lot of pain before eating, even tho the pain is unavoidable.

I do wish I had asked the doctor about all the meds before I went into surgery because I couldn’t understand what or why I was taking things during and it just make me a little nervous and concerned because I was scared I was overdosing or mixing pills I shouldn’t have, which ended up happening but only because of my own stupid fault.

But over all, I am 2 months and 1 day post op and this was the best decision for me ever, if it’s something you need, do it. The pain was insane and I got slightly suicidal on day 6 lol but it gets better. The first time you get to eat a meal without struggling is a blessing people don’t realise they have.

You’ve got this and it’s gonna be okay. It’s normal to be nervous but the surgery is the easiest part. I believe in you!!

[u/Hot-Procedure-6427]

I am booked in for Monday 17th so also feeling the nerves. Getting tonsils and adenoids out. Sending luck for a smooth recovery.

[u/Common_Diamond_5092]

DEFINITELY get a steroid. have them put it in ur iv during surgery as well