I almost died yesterday because of post-tonsillectomy bleeding
I'm 18 years old. Thirteen days ago I underwent a tonsillectomy. My lingual tonsils were reduced, and my palatine tonsils were completely removed. The day after the surgery I experienced severe postoperative bleeding. I nearly choked on the blood and vomited some of it. My mother called emergency services, and I was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. The bleeding eventually stopped without further surgery at that time. I ended up staying in the hospital for six days because of the hemorrhage. After that I was discharged and went home, hoping things would improve.
Then yesterday, on the twelfth day after the original operation, I suddenly started vomiting massive amounts of blood again. It was life-threatening. My mother called emergency services once more. There was so much blood that I nearly died. I was taken to a different hospital, where I continued vomiting huge quantities of blood. The stitches in my throat tore open. I lost consciousness from blood loss. The doctors rushed me into emergency surgery under general anesthesia and used laser cauterization to seal the bleeding wounds. The doctor later told my mother that without the rapid intervention and the second operation, I would have choked to death on my own blood.
A significant amount of blood had also collected in my stomach, so they had to perform a gastroscopy (endoscopy) to suction it out. I'm currently lying in a hospital bed and will have to stay here for several more days. I'm in absolute hell — everything in my throat burns intensely, I have constant shortness of breath and the terrifying sensation that I'm suffocating. I can't taste anything at all, which is driving me insane.
I'm terrified that the combination of the original tonsillectomy, the repeated hemorrhages, and the laser cauterization has permanently damaged my taste nerves, and that I may never be able to taste normally again. I would really like to hear from others who have gone through something similar: how long did it take before you could taste food normally again, breathe without that constant choking feeling, and live without this level of pain?
I'm from Germany and using a translator.