Day 8, best tips.
24, tonsils + adenoids taken. My recovery has been more manageable than I expected, but I’d chalk it up to these things listed below. There was definitely a hike in pain and a drop in sleep quality these last 2 days as the scabs have started to come off and everything feels raw. But not like the horror stores I read.
- HUMIDIFIER. Cannot stress this one enough. Worth every penny to keep it moist and comfortable at night and even chilling by it during the day. In addition to chugging water like it’s going out of style.
- Cutting out opiates and anti nausea as soon as I could. Had to tough it out, but I would rather the extra bit of pain than the mental disorientation and gastrointestinal upset. Compounded by a limited, poor diet for obvious reasons too. Opted to stop it on start of day 4 and tactfully spaced out my prescribed NSAID and paracetamol (max 4000mg a day.) mostly to optimize around waking up, meal times and when I was planning to fall asleep.
- Sleep with your head elevated by 2-3 pillows for at least a week. Great for reducing inflammation, bleeding risk etc. also surprisingly comfortable to sleep.
- Icy poles. Get the electrolyte ones. Fab for eating before meals for extra numbing.
- Not being overly adventurous with hard food early but still trying. Like maybe an undercooked piece of toast on day 3-4, pasta etc. something to get the scabs agitated and to keep the gut happy.
- Warm but not hot liquids actually the vibe and very comforting for the throat once you get into the sloughing stage. Far the easiest temp of water for me to drink. I’m taking handfuls of it in the shower. The fucking bessttttt.
- Don’t take this next bit of advice, it’s just FYI. I have some pharmacology background and sound medical understanding that meant I was happy taking the following risk. I had been prescribed prednisolone for bad days of my tonsillitis/strep throat episodes. Have decided to use some and self administer a few days of tapered doses. Took the first one a few hours ago and the reduction in swelling in my throat and ear pain has been incredible. Again, don’t take this advice, but just putting it out there is this sounds familiar 👀 always take your doctors advice. In my reading it appears to be a common addition to a pain management routine for this procedure that is often prescribed alongside my NSAID.
- Like mentioned in my first point. HYDRATE. If your surgery is in a few weeks, it wouldn’t hurt to start now. At the very least, I would be being diligent with good sources of fibre, whole foods and a shit tonne of water a week out.
If you have a surgery coming up, best of luck. You’ll be right. Listen to your care team. If your in the depths of recovery, you’ve got this 💪🏼