Combo post because days 4 and 5 were roughly similar for me!
Ok, as I said before, day 4 got off to a rough start. The first few hours of the day were not good. I even had to break out the ice pack for pain (which was helpful). Luckily, things got better later in the day. Honestly the whole day is a little bit of a blur at this point (should have posted yesterday, but...) but I know for sure:
1. I successfully ate ice cream. Vanilla Bean and some kind with a chocolate and peanut butter swirl...I wouldn't do anything with chunks.
2. I napped a lot.
Those are about the only notes I have from Day 4.
Day 5 was mehh and it is fresh in my memory.
I woke up in a bit of pain again, but not so terrible. I went out shopping for a hour and a half or so with my mom and sister. I was feeling up to it once I took my pain medicine and did well until the end when it started to wear off.
I came home and sat around most of the rest of the day. Did a little bit of stuff around the house, cooked my own food. Definitely feeling a lot better.
Later in the day I had some pretty legitimate pain. I would say a 6 on the 1-10 scale. Mostly just a sharp pain on the right when I swallowed (I'm pretty sure it is the scabbing starting to go), and a bit of referred pain in my right ear.
When this happens my number one suggestion would be an ice pack on the areas that hurt. That did wonders for me. Also, cold cold drinks.
My food rule at this point is to eat whatever I can as long as it doesn't have edges or a crunch. Seems to work pretty well.
Today I am still having pretty decent pain, but you can hear about that later!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
My Tonsillectomy: Day 3
So, as I was saying at the end of my last post...
Day 3 didn't get off to the best start. I thought for sure yesterday was going to be the day I had been warned about. I woke up not in pain, but pretty considerable discomfort. During the night I had felt pretty good so I only took half a dose of my pain killer. That was a mistake. I corrected it pretty easily by just taking an advil, but I learned my lesson about the pain killer. That stuff is the key. Keep on it for as long as you need it.
I felt MUCH better once I was caught up on the pain killer. I did awesome on food yesterday. I had some pancakes for breakfast. Those went down nice and easy. Mostly really soft food during the day (mashed potatoes, dark chocolate coconut ice cream), and for dinner (drumroll please...)
Cheese enchiladas with beans and rice!
Awesome!
Didn't hurt to eat. Tasted delicious! :)
I just want to say as a disclaimer here: I am 99% sure I know the combination of reasons that my recovery hasn't been the horror story that other people talk about.
1. I had a GREAT ENT. My ENT was the first guy to drain one of my abscesses and he is an absolute PRO. The key is finding someone who is excellent at what they do. I would not advise just finding whoever will do it. The right doctor will tell you if you need the procedure done.
2. I don't normally take pain killers, so they do wonders for me when I actually take them. I have felt little to no pain since I have been on pain killers. My body doesn't have any bad reactions to them and they really help me. Sorry for those out there without that kind of luck...
3. I already have experienced the worst (throat) pain imaginable. Those of you out there who are getting a tonsillectomy because you have had one or more peritonsillar abscesses drained, this surgery is NOT THAT BAD. If you haven't had a lot of really bad strep or any abscesses this recovery would probably suck. For those who have had an abscess drained, it feels a lot like the day after. Not great but definitely not excruciating pain.
One more quick thing about the recovery. You will be tired no matter what for the first few days and as much as you might not feel terrible REST AT HOME. To give you an idea of the level of exhausted you will be-- I barely made it through a quick dinner out (30 min or so), and I spent most of that sitting. You will be sleeping a lot. Pick a channel you like but don't commit to anything on TV. Go in and out of sleep. You will thank yourself for it.
Day 4 update later on!
Day 3 didn't get off to the best start. I thought for sure yesterday was going to be the day I had been warned about. I woke up not in pain, but pretty considerable discomfort. During the night I had felt pretty good so I only took half a dose of my pain killer. That was a mistake. I corrected it pretty easily by just taking an advil, but I learned my lesson about the pain killer. That stuff is the key. Keep on it for as long as you need it.
I felt MUCH better once I was caught up on the pain killer. I did awesome on food yesterday. I had some pancakes for breakfast. Those went down nice and easy. Mostly really soft food during the day (mashed potatoes, dark chocolate coconut ice cream), and for dinner (drumroll please...)
Cheese enchiladas with beans and rice!
Awesome!
Didn't hurt to eat. Tasted delicious! :)
I just want to say as a disclaimer here: I am 99% sure I know the combination of reasons that my recovery hasn't been the horror story that other people talk about.
1. I had a GREAT ENT. My ENT was the first guy to drain one of my abscesses and he is an absolute PRO. The key is finding someone who is excellent at what they do. I would not advise just finding whoever will do it. The right doctor will tell you if you need the procedure done.
2. I don't normally take pain killers, so they do wonders for me when I actually take them. I have felt little to no pain since I have been on pain killers. My body doesn't have any bad reactions to them and they really help me. Sorry for those out there without that kind of luck...
3. I already have experienced the worst (throat) pain imaginable. Those of you out there who are getting a tonsillectomy because you have had one or more peritonsillar abscesses drained, this surgery is NOT THAT BAD. If you haven't had a lot of really bad strep or any abscesses this recovery would probably suck. For those who have had an abscess drained, it feels a lot like the day after. Not great but definitely not excruciating pain.
One more quick thing about the recovery. You will be tired no matter what for the first few days and as much as you might not feel terrible REST AT HOME. To give you an idea of the level of exhausted you will be-- I barely made it through a quick dinner out (30 min or so), and I spent most of that sitting. You will be sleeping a lot. Pick a channel you like but don't commit to anything on TV. Go in and out of sleep. You will thank yourself for it.
Day 4 update later on!
Friday, March 11, 2011
My Tonsillectomy: Day 2
Hey again!
So, yesterday was my day 2. Overall, it felt a lot like day 1. Not a whole lot of pain, but I kept up on my meds and drank lots and lots of water.
Not too much different to report, so I will mainly stick to telling you what I successfully ate, so that people looking for ideas of what they can eat post-tonsillectomy have a few more.
Breakfast: I had cream of wheat. It was okay, but kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. That might just be a personal problem though....texture-wise it was good...
Lunch: refried beans with a little bit of cheese. This was AWESOME. I ate a lot of them. Went down smooth, got some real nutrients. Overall, an excellent choice.
Dinner: mashed potatoes mixed with risotto and a little bit of cheese. Again, good texture. Mashed potatoes are absolutely the key to survival during this recovery period. Perfect.
Dessert: Okay, so I went out on a limb here... I was feeling really awesome near the end of the night and craving something sweet. As you can see, I have been doing a little bit of dairy without any problems. We had some chocolate chip cookie dough in the fridge so I made a few cookies (for the fam) and had one drenched in milk. It worked out pretty well. Tasted great and was soft enough that it didn't hurt at all.
Overall, day 2 was pretty good for me. Last night I think my scabs started to come off a bit, and today I'm not feeling quite as great, but its only minimally painful. Mostly I'm just having a hard time talking and swallowing isn't quite as easy as before. Lots of rest today and hopefully I will feel awesome again tomorrow! Updates to follow :)
So, yesterday was my day 2. Overall, it felt a lot like day 1. Not a whole lot of pain, but I kept up on my meds and drank lots and lots of water.
Not too much different to report, so I will mainly stick to telling you what I successfully ate, so that people looking for ideas of what they can eat post-tonsillectomy have a few more.
Breakfast: I had cream of wheat. It was okay, but kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. That might just be a personal problem though....texture-wise it was good...
Lunch: refried beans with a little bit of cheese. This was AWESOME. I ate a lot of them. Went down smooth, got some real nutrients. Overall, an excellent choice.
Dinner: mashed potatoes mixed with risotto and a little bit of cheese. Again, good texture. Mashed potatoes are absolutely the key to survival during this recovery period. Perfect.
Dessert: Okay, so I went out on a limb here... I was feeling really awesome near the end of the night and craving something sweet. As you can see, I have been doing a little bit of dairy without any problems. We had some chocolate chip cookie dough in the fridge so I made a few cookies (for the fam) and had one drenched in milk. It worked out pretty well. Tasted great and was soft enough that it didn't hurt at all.
Overall, day 2 was pretty good for me. Last night I think my scabs started to come off a bit, and today I'm not feeling quite as great, but its only minimally painful. Mostly I'm just having a hard time talking and swallowing isn't quite as easy as before. Lots of rest today and hopefully I will feel awesome again tomorrow! Updates to follow :)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
My Tonsillectomy: Day 1
I woke up bright and early on March 9th to go get my tonsils taken out for good.
Hate those stupid things.
After the normal pre-procedure jitters I got it together and went into the surgery room.
An hour or so later I woke up (thank God for general anesthesia), cried tears of joy (literally), and asked the hospital chaplain to do Ash Wednesday for me. My parents came in, I was in a little bit of pain, but they got the pain killers going, gave me some water and pretty soon I was feeling pretty good.
I made it home and was HUNGRY!!! My mom made me some kids chicken noodle soup (read: mostly broth with a few Shrek shaped noodles and tiny pieces of carrot). That went down well. Lukewarm is the key. Highly recommend it for first day food.
The rest of the day I spent on the couch, drank tons and tons of water, had mashed potatoes (instant ones made with the broth rather than milk and butter--worked really well), watched TV and slept.
I absolutely recommend taking the pain killer (I am on Lortab) every 3.5 hours rather than 4. It takes a little bit to kick in and around the 3 hour mark it started to wear off for me.
Another big tip: BUY minty chap stick. Even if you are drinking tons of water your lips are gonna chap. This will make a big difference.
The rule I broke: Okay, so I know dairy is supposed to be a no-no for the first 24 hours, but I decided to have a Peanut Butter Moo'd smoothie from Jamba to soothe the pain a bit. It didn't bother me, but it was definitely low grade dairy (as someone with mild lactose intolerance, I generally know what produces the phlem they worry about). Seems like non-fat frozen yogurt won't do too much damage.
I slept in my own bed, but in a pretty upright position. I would recommend this, as whenever I started to get more horizontal I would wake up and my throat would feel really wet, like I wasn't swallowing right.
Overall, the pain my first day was minimal. Actually, unlike strep the pain for me has been mostly on the roof of my mouth. Swallowing actually feels better than not swallowing. That is a huge relief for me. The pain so far has been NOTHING compared to the pain of the abscesses. I would say the worst it got was around a "3." I have read around and apparently day 1 seems to be no biggie for most people though, so I'm not getting my hopes up too much, but so far I would say, if you have abscesses, get the surgery done. You will thank yourself immediately.
Updates on day 2 later tonight or early tomorrow.
xoxo
Hate those stupid things.
After the normal pre-procedure jitters I got it together and went into the surgery room.
An hour or so later I woke up (thank God for general anesthesia), cried tears of joy (literally), and asked the hospital chaplain to do Ash Wednesday for me. My parents came in, I was in a little bit of pain, but they got the pain killers going, gave me some water and pretty soon I was feeling pretty good.
I made it home and was HUNGRY!!! My mom made me some kids chicken noodle soup (read: mostly broth with a few Shrek shaped noodles and tiny pieces of carrot). That went down well. Lukewarm is the key. Highly recommend it for first day food.
The rest of the day I spent on the couch, drank tons and tons of water, had mashed potatoes (instant ones made with the broth rather than milk and butter--worked really well), watched TV and slept.
I absolutely recommend taking the pain killer (I am on Lortab) every 3.5 hours rather than 4. It takes a little bit to kick in and around the 3 hour mark it started to wear off for me.
Another big tip: BUY minty chap stick. Even if you are drinking tons of water your lips are gonna chap. This will make a big difference.
The rule I broke: Okay, so I know dairy is supposed to be a no-no for the first 24 hours, but I decided to have a Peanut Butter Moo'd smoothie from Jamba to soothe the pain a bit. It didn't bother me, but it was definitely low grade dairy (as someone with mild lactose intolerance, I generally know what produces the phlem they worry about). Seems like non-fat frozen yogurt won't do too much damage.
I slept in my own bed, but in a pretty upright position. I would recommend this, as whenever I started to get more horizontal I would wake up and my throat would feel really wet, like I wasn't swallowing right.
Overall, the pain my first day was minimal. Actually, unlike strep the pain for me has been mostly on the roof of my mouth. Swallowing actually feels better than not swallowing. That is a huge relief for me. The pain so far has been NOTHING compared to the pain of the abscesses. I would say the worst it got was around a "3." I have read around and apparently day 1 seems to be no biggie for most people though, so I'm not getting my hopes up too much, but so far I would say, if you have abscesses, get the surgery done. You will thank yourself immediately.
Updates on day 2 later tonight or early tomorrow.
xoxo
My Tonsillectomy: Background
Hey Internet friends,
I figured my neglected blog would be a good place for me to talk about my tonsillectomy experience because it is one of my few public things and it might be helpful to people out there about to get a tonsillectomy.
So, first a little bit of background on why in the world I would get my tonsils removed. Around the time I was 12 or so I started to get strep throat about 2X per year. My doctors didn't seem to think it was such a big deal and decided to just keep an eye on it. It was pretty much the only kind of sick I got with any regularity and went away with antibiotics no problem.
Now, flash forward to 9 years later. I spent the fall of 2010 in Scotland on a study abroad program. As usual, I got strep once during the semester and carried on. Near the end of my time there it started to come on again. It was just the beginnings of a sore throat the day before I left to head back to the US, so I decided to just tough it out and deal with it at home.
Welllll....snowpocalypse London edition hit when I was supposed to fly out. Long story short 5 hours sitting on a plane, one night sleeping on the floor of an airport and winter in the UK don't make a great combo for someone already getting sick. In the end I wound up with a horrific case of strep (or as I found out later, something worse...) and because of my week delay in getting a flight back home, a lovely trip to a London hospital.
In the end I made it home. I was in ROUGH shape. My throat basically constricted on my flight from London to Los Angeles and it was the most miserable pain I have ever been in. Probably a 15 on a 0-10 pain chart. After I landed back in the US it didn't get any better. From December 24th-January 7th I was in and out of urgent care, trying to get someone to fix my terrible case of strep throat.
On January 8th I saw my primary care doctor, who took one look and said I needed to see an ENT. She said the word that would come back to haunt me after that day (hahahha such drama)...peritonsillar abscess.
That same day I went to have my first peritonsillar abscess drained. It was a sucky procedure but luckily I had a great ENT who did it quickly and well. The next day I flew from California to Washington DC for school.
I had been doing better for about a month when my throat started to get sore again. I could tell what was going on. For anyone out there wondering, once you have one abscess you will know when another one is on its way. My throat would get completely dry, even if I had been drinking tons of water, I would get these abrasions on the tonsil that was flaring up, and the one tonsil would be huge while the other looked normal. Also, having a peritonsillar abscess is the worst pain imaginable (other than flying with one). I would swallow my own saliva and it would hurt so bad that it would bring me to tears, make me kick my feet frantically if I was laying down, and the pain would continue up until it was time to take the next swallow. PURE. MISERY.
So, the beginning of February was abscess #2. Got antibiotics, got it drained, recovered. Felt great for about 2 weeks.
Beginning of March. Hello abscess #3. Back to the ER 3 times (long story here, won't go into it, but eventually it got drained). This is when the doctors start saying: "Have you thought about getting your tonsils out."
Well, clearly.
And then they say, "When?"
I say, "I am already planning on doing it as soon as the semester is over. In May."
They say: "Is there any chance you could do it sooner? Like spring break?"
Okay yeah, a week from now...in the middle of the semester...sounds like a plan.
..and I change my plane ticket home to stop this madness.
So, yesterday I had my tonsillectomy. This will continue in a new post since I figure not everyone cares to read this one...
I figured my neglected blog would be a good place for me to talk about my tonsillectomy experience because it is one of my few public things and it might be helpful to people out there about to get a tonsillectomy.
So, first a little bit of background on why in the world I would get my tonsils removed. Around the time I was 12 or so I started to get strep throat about 2X per year. My doctors didn't seem to think it was such a big deal and decided to just keep an eye on it. It was pretty much the only kind of sick I got with any regularity and went away with antibiotics no problem.
Now, flash forward to 9 years later. I spent the fall of 2010 in Scotland on a study abroad program. As usual, I got strep once during the semester and carried on. Near the end of my time there it started to come on again. It was just the beginnings of a sore throat the day before I left to head back to the US, so I decided to just tough it out and deal with it at home.
Welllll....snowpocalypse London edition hit when I was supposed to fly out. Long story short 5 hours sitting on a plane, one night sleeping on the floor of an airport and winter in the UK don't make a great combo for someone already getting sick. In the end I wound up with a horrific case of strep (or as I found out later, something worse...) and because of my week delay in getting a flight back home, a lovely trip to a London hospital.
In the end I made it home. I was in ROUGH shape. My throat basically constricted on my flight from London to Los Angeles and it was the most miserable pain I have ever been in. Probably a 15 on a 0-10 pain chart. After I landed back in the US it didn't get any better. From December 24th-January 7th I was in and out of urgent care, trying to get someone to fix my terrible case of strep throat.
On January 8th I saw my primary care doctor, who took one look and said I needed to see an ENT. She said the word that would come back to haunt me after that day (hahahha such drama)...peritonsillar abscess.
That same day I went to have my first peritonsillar abscess drained. It was a sucky procedure but luckily I had a great ENT who did it quickly and well. The next day I flew from California to Washington DC for school.
I had been doing better for about a month when my throat started to get sore again. I could tell what was going on. For anyone out there wondering, once you have one abscess you will know when another one is on its way. My throat would get completely dry, even if I had been drinking tons of water, I would get these abrasions on the tonsil that was flaring up, and the one tonsil would be huge while the other looked normal. Also, having a peritonsillar abscess is the worst pain imaginable (other than flying with one). I would swallow my own saliva and it would hurt so bad that it would bring me to tears, make me kick my feet frantically if I was laying down, and the pain would continue up until it was time to take the next swallow. PURE. MISERY.
So, the beginning of February was abscess #2. Got antibiotics, got it drained, recovered. Felt great for about 2 weeks.
Beginning of March. Hello abscess #3. Back to the ER 3 times (long story here, won't go into it, but eventually it got drained). This is when the doctors start saying: "Have you thought about getting your tonsils out."
Well, clearly.
And then they say, "When?"
I say, "I am already planning on doing it as soon as the semester is over. In May."
They say: "Is there any chance you could do it sooner? Like spring break?"
Okay yeah, a week from now...in the middle of the semester...sounds like a plan.
..and I change my plane ticket home to stop this madness.
So, yesterday I had my tonsillectomy. This will continue in a new post since I figure not everyone cares to read this one...
Monday, October 25, 2010
Who knows some days....
Today I woke up feeling great. I didn't have a lot of enthusiasm for what I needed to do with my day, but I was in a good mood, I put some work into getting ready, and I got the work I needed to done.
I was under the impression that today was going to be a pretty good day.
Then 3:21pm happened.
I just deleted a long diatribe about my experience leading up to this moment, but suffice it to say, I have been trying desperately to get more financial aid, and the GW Department of Financial Assistance pretty much gave me a big 'F you' today and it looks like I will be taking on another $10,000 in student loans.
I cried. A lot. Like, I'm pretty sure I am dehydrated from crying so much. It stung. I used the word 'hate' more times than I could tell you. The weight of the response was just so heavy, I couldn't contain all the emotions I felt.
Then 4:30pm rolled around.
Apparently I won a drawing for a £50 voucher for Amazon.com.
Now I can't decide....which way is my life going? Who knows some days....
I was under the impression that today was going to be a pretty good day.
Then 3:21pm happened.
I just deleted a long diatribe about my experience leading up to this moment, but suffice it to say, I have been trying desperately to get more financial aid, and the GW Department of Financial Assistance pretty much gave me a big 'F you' today and it looks like I will be taking on another $10,000 in student loans.
I cried. A lot. Like, I'm pretty sure I am dehydrated from crying so much. It stung. I used the word 'hate' more times than I could tell you. The weight of the response was just so heavy, I couldn't contain all the emotions I felt.
Then 4:30pm rolled around.
Apparently I won a drawing for a £50 voucher for Amazon.com.
Now I can't decide....which way is my life going? Who knows some days....
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
On a serious note...
So, as you can tell, most of my blog is all fun and games. Me talking about the weather, me talking about my inability to blog effectively....right now I'm gonna take it down to a semi-more serious note.
Part I: I am missing home a lot.
Not just because I wish I had my purple velvet blazer and a pumpkin spice latte in hand. I am really having a great time here, and making great friends, but there is no replacement for the comfort of being around people who know you and love you for who you are. You think I would know by my third college experience that it is rough starting out and having to maneuver around pleasantries, etc., but it honestly always shocks me a little bit. To sum things up: I am loving this experience, but come December 17th I will be extremely glad to be on a plane, on my way home.
Part II: I am freaked out about the future.
All of the sudden I am realizing that being a "grown-up" is just around the corner for me. What will that bring? I have no idea. Since I have gotten to Edinburgh I have: started an application for Teach for America, started an application for Duke Divinity School, contemplated starting to study for the GRE, wondered when I should start applying for jobs, stalked craigslist's housing classifieds to see how much I am going to need to make to put a roof over my head depending on where I live....
All of that is just to say, the whole "real adult life" thing is setting in. Like majorly. And I don't really know what direction my life is going to take once I graduate.
Any who, that is probably enough of all that. To brighten the mood you should check out this super sweet video. So sad I missed these people being in Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iANRO3I30nM
Part I: I am missing home a lot.
Not just because I wish I had my purple velvet blazer and a pumpkin spice latte in hand. I am really having a great time here, and making great friends, but there is no replacement for the comfort of being around people who know you and love you for who you are. You think I would know by my third college experience that it is rough starting out and having to maneuver around pleasantries, etc., but it honestly always shocks me a little bit. To sum things up: I am loving this experience, but come December 17th I will be extremely glad to be on a plane, on my way home.
Part II: I am freaked out about the future.
All of the sudden I am realizing that being a "grown-up" is just around the corner for me. What will that bring? I have no idea. Since I have gotten to Edinburgh I have: started an application for Teach for America, started an application for Duke Divinity School, contemplated starting to study for the GRE, wondered when I should start applying for jobs, stalked craigslist's housing classifieds to see how much I am going to need to make to put a roof over my head depending on where I live....
All of that is just to say, the whole "real adult life" thing is setting in. Like majorly. And I don't really know what direction my life is going to take once I graduate.
Any who, that is probably enough of all that. To brighten the mood you should check out this super sweet video. So sad I missed these people being in Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iANRO3I30nM
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