I called the Dr.'s office this morning. I am on the strongest pain medicine possible. Apparently, this level of pain is normal, even with a pain med. So o.k., I'm gonna get through Day 9. The worst time period thus far in my recovery was the night of Day 6 and the morning of Day 7. This pain medicine I am on right now does contribute to sleep, so I can do this.
Here is my plan. I just took the pain med and now I am eating a bowl of Vanilla ice cream (chasing down my jello breakfast!) I can't eat too much ice cream because it is almost too cold; but on occasion, it has a great numbing quality. As soon as I am done, I will take a shower and hopefully be ready to nap again :)
My mom took Ellie to preschool today and will participate with her in the classroom. I could have moved my participation day, but I knew Ellie would get a kick out of having her Nana go and then she won't have to wait so long to have her adult helper in the classroom again. At the Co-op, the kids really enjoy when their parent helps for the day. They get a special job and they just think it's really cool :) My dad is here "babysitting" me and Katie ... lol! I am so blessed to have this help and to have my family nearby and willing to be so helpful.
The most encouraging aspect of this morning was when the nurse suggested that by weekend's end, I might be feeling great. I think this has to do with the Day 10 theory on tonsillectomy recovery. So, there is hope that in the next day or 2, I will pull right out of this and be mostly recovered. I have read that it can take a full 4-6 weeks to feel totally recovered. I am o.k. with that as long as I feel mostly pretty good :)
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Day 8
Day 8 has been ugly. I am on a new pain medicine now and it feels like it might work anywhere except in my mouth/throat area. I am tempted to call the doctor tomorrow and ask if I can just take a double dose of the meds since they don't seem to do much. (But, I am sure they do. My friend who is a pharmacist said that my pain med is a very powerful one.)
So, I guess I can only imagine what the pain would feel like without meds in my system. Oh yeah, it would feel exactly like it does NOW ... LOL! I tell ya, the pain med does nothing!
Anyway, mostly I can't talk now without pain. It feels like I want to rip every part of my mouth and throat out of my skin. The pain med has made me want to sleep though. As long as I am actually asleep, I am unaware of the pain. But I never sleep for long without waking up feeling some horrible sensation.
Hoping for a better tomorrow!
So, I guess I can only imagine what the pain would feel like without meds in my system. Oh yeah, it would feel exactly like it does NOW ... LOL! I tell ya, the pain med does nothing!
Anyway, mostly I can't talk now without pain. It feels like I want to rip every part of my mouth and throat out of my skin. The pain med has made me want to sleep though. As long as I am actually asleep, I am unaware of the pain. But I never sleep for long without waking up feeling some horrible sensation.
Hoping for a better tomorrow!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Day 7
Day 7 is by far my worst day so far. Excruciating pain the entire night and so much tenderness this morning. Right now I am eating a bowl of berry blue jello again. It's funny how today this jello is working for me again. This recovery is crazy like that; you never know where the comfort will come from in a given moment.
Todays goal: stick with jello only and pray a lot.
Today is a bit humiliating. I had to call my parents in for reinforcement this morning. I couldn't talk at all and was choking in my early a.m. sleep after ds went off to school. If something were to happen to me, the girls would not have been able to help of course. They were still sleeping, but I had to call for help.
My dear parents rushed right over at 7:45 a.m. to babysit me and the girls. The humiliating part is that my mom has asked my MIL to watch me for a few hours in the afternoon. It's so embarrassing but they have determined that I should not be alone (I do agree).
I am doing this for my immediate family at this point. We still need dh at work and MIL wants to help. The kids need great care. So, I am going to suck it up and get babysat =)
On another note, due to feeling so terrible this morning, I completely missed dh's call from work. Today his boss was announcing his leave from the department (where he has reigned for 20 years). I soooo wanted every detail on this. The story from the leaving boss (as of yesterday) is that he did not want to make this career change at this time. I will look forward to an evening of hearing more about this :) It's going to be a good day!!!!
Todays goal: stick with jello only and pray a lot.
Today is a bit humiliating. I had to call my parents in for reinforcement this morning. I couldn't talk at all and was choking in my early a.m. sleep after ds went off to school. If something were to happen to me, the girls would not have been able to help of course. They were still sleeping, but I had to call for help.
My dear parents rushed right over at 7:45 a.m. to babysit me and the girls. The humiliating part is that my mom has asked my MIL to watch me for a few hours in the afternoon. It's so embarrassing but they have determined that I should not be alone (I do agree).
I am doing this for my immediate family at this point. We still need dh at work and MIL wants to help. The kids need great care. So, I am going to suck it up and get babysat =)
On another note, due to feeling so terrible this morning, I completely missed dh's call from work. Today his boss was announcing his leave from the department (where he has reigned for 20 years). I soooo wanted every detail on this. The story from the leaving boss (as of yesterday) is that he did not want to make this career change at this time. I will look forward to an evening of hearing more about this :) It's going to be a good day!!!!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Days 6 and 7
Today was Day 6 of my tonsillectomy recovery. When I wake up tomorrow, Day 7 will begin. Today was my toughest day yet. Still bearable, but some new, weird stuff set in.
Today I had episodes where it was more painful to eat than it has ever been during my recovery. But it wasn't consistent. Other times today, I felt almost all better and that I could eat anything ... or even stop pain medicines completely.
The biggest and weirdest issue I noticed today was that I experienced a lot of sensitivity to noise. My parents brought dinner over and my family was so loud, (mainly the kids just being kids), that I felt like the noise was coming in through my ears and hurting my tonsils. I had to leave the room and sit quietly in the living room before my throat pain could get back in line after my ears became irritated. Strange, huh?
Also, whereas the last two nights Ramen noodles felt like therapy sliding down my throat; tonight, just swallowing them at all was painful. It's too bad too because I would have loved to have finished them up. I am a hungry type of gal ... no bird-like appetite here! But, it's just too painful. Maybe I will lose some weight out of this after all!
Right now I am alternating bites between a bowl of berry blue Jello and a bowl of rainbow sherbert. They each have their pluses, but I am not feeling much help from either of them tonight. I wish I had some plain 'ol Vanilla ice cream; I'm not sure why I didn't think of buying that. For the most part ice cream has felt too cold overall to me during this recovery though.
But, O.K., I am throwing out the sherbert now ... it's worthless ... it just isn't mild enough or something. It's not helping me one bit. I would like to hold fast to the Jello, but it's not working either.
Soooooo, now I am eating a peppermint .... ahhh ... thank God in his heaven for his peppermint!! I think I might survive another night in tact after all. The peppermint is doing a nice job of keeping my tongue busy. My tongue began to feel (just today) as if it has one million canker sores underneath it. I think this is referred pain as it does feel connected to my tonsil area.
I am sure hoping this is the worst that it gets! I have been so blessed, so blessed ... tune in tomorrow for an update on Day 7!
Today I had episodes where it was more painful to eat than it has ever been during my recovery. But it wasn't consistent. Other times today, I felt almost all better and that I could eat anything ... or even stop pain medicines completely.
The biggest and weirdest issue I noticed today was that I experienced a lot of sensitivity to noise. My parents brought dinner over and my family was so loud, (mainly the kids just being kids), that I felt like the noise was coming in through my ears and hurting my tonsils. I had to leave the room and sit quietly in the living room before my throat pain could get back in line after my ears became irritated. Strange, huh?
Also, whereas the last two nights Ramen noodles felt like therapy sliding down my throat; tonight, just swallowing them at all was painful. It's too bad too because I would have loved to have finished them up. I am a hungry type of gal ... no bird-like appetite here! But, it's just too painful. Maybe I will lose some weight out of this after all!
Right now I am alternating bites between a bowl of berry blue Jello and a bowl of rainbow sherbert. They each have their pluses, but I am not feeling much help from either of them tonight. I wish I had some plain 'ol Vanilla ice cream; I'm not sure why I didn't think of buying that. For the most part ice cream has felt too cold overall to me during this recovery though.
But, O.K., I am throwing out the sherbert now ... it's worthless ... it just isn't mild enough or something. It's not helping me one bit. I would like to hold fast to the Jello, but it's not working either.
Soooooo, now I am eating a peppermint .... ahhh ... thank God in his heaven for his peppermint!! I think I might survive another night in tact after all. The peppermint is doing a nice job of keeping my tongue busy. My tongue began to feel (just today) as if it has one million canker sores underneath it. I think this is referred pain as it does feel connected to my tonsil area.
I am sure hoping this is the worst that it gets! I have been so blessed, so blessed ... tune in tomorrow for an update on Day 7!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Day 5 and job stuff
Today is Day 5 of my tonsillectomy recovery. Overall, things continue to go well. It can be painful to eat, but the food is really yummy when I do. I would not say massive improvment in pain has occurred, but it has not increased either. I still feel really good, with a lot of energy ... and sleeping is going well too.
I can see why people complain about the recovery process. It does move slowly. But, I would definitely still maintain that people make way too much of it. If you want the benefits of having your tonsils out, go forth and get it done! Don't let anyone scare you away from realizing the benefits. (I am still not to the benefits yet, but I am really encouraged. It already feels like I am breathing better while my throat continues to be quite swollen.)
Something wonderful happened today. My husband's boss told him that he was leaving the department ... he is going to work somewhere else within the company (location not shared). Have you ever heard someone was leaving a position and felt nothing but pure relief? Well, that is what happened here.
I still remember a sign I used to have for my former office (given to me by a family member when I supervised a few obnoxious people along with some very cool ones).
"Everyone Brings Joy to the Office -- Some When they Enter, Others When they Leave."
All I can say here is Hallelujah and Ah-men!!!
I can see why people complain about the recovery process. It does move slowly. But, I would definitely still maintain that people make way too much of it. If you want the benefits of having your tonsils out, go forth and get it done! Don't let anyone scare you away from realizing the benefits. (I am still not to the benefits yet, but I am really encouraged. It already feels like I am breathing better while my throat continues to be quite swollen.)
Something wonderful happened today. My husband's boss told him that he was leaving the department ... he is going to work somewhere else within the company (location not shared). Have you ever heard someone was leaving a position and felt nothing but pure relief? Well, that is what happened here.
I still remember a sign I used to have for my former office (given to me by a family member when I supervised a few obnoxious people along with some very cool ones).
"Everyone Brings Joy to the Office -- Some When they Enter, Others When they Leave."
All I can say here is Hallelujah and Ah-men!!!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Ahhhh Sleep!!!
Last night I slept for nearly 8 hours total. After the previous night, this was such a blessing. The tonsillectomy, (I am now on day 3), had caused some swelling in the back of my throat that was causing me to choke after just a few minutes of sleep (no matter what position I was in, including upright in a chair). Then I would wake up quickly and feel pain in my throat.
But last night was better and so was today. Soooooo, most of today was spent lying down, dozing and reading a variety of magazines. I can't concentrate long enough to read the books I had planned to read during my recovery yet. I can only read in brief bursts, then I doze. I think it is the pain meds. But, I feel very relaxed and peaceful. And the magazines my mother saved for me to read have been perfect :)
My throat pain today was still just moderate. I do tire of eating the more complicated foods (pizza, chimichanga's, mac and cheese) and I must have a blend of those with softer foods to handle eating well. Tonight I really enjoyed my Jello and Ramen Noodles for dinner ... but I wasn't fully satisified until I added half of an English Muffin. Super yum!
Per the doctor, tomorrow could be a bad day. Anywhere from day 4-10 can be a step back I guess. I remain hopeful that I won't notice any increase in pain or discomfort. TV dinners came in handy tonight for the kids and dh. I really love not having to cook for anyone. That continues to be a treat, as does all the help with the kids. Dh was my only helper today though, but it was bliss.
My kids have actually been very helpful. I have a tone that is not about choices for them, so that helps. But, they have been taking laundry up and down the stairs and putting it away as directed (I help and manage the putting away with them. And I also load the new load in myself. But I don't lift out any wet loads or move whole loads myself. This is actually a pretty nice routine for ongoing (hoping). My laundry continues to be more caught up than usual and I have not over-exerted myself. In fact, it feels like vacation laundry to have this much help :)
Right now I am looking forward to another night of sleep and being that much further along in the healing process tomorrow!
But last night was better and so was today. Soooooo, most of today was spent lying down, dozing and reading a variety of magazines. I can't concentrate long enough to read the books I had planned to read during my recovery yet. I can only read in brief bursts, then I doze. I think it is the pain meds. But, I feel very relaxed and peaceful. And the magazines my mother saved for me to read have been perfect :)
My throat pain today was still just moderate. I do tire of eating the more complicated foods (pizza, chimichanga's, mac and cheese) and I must have a blend of those with softer foods to handle eating well. Tonight I really enjoyed my Jello and Ramen Noodles for dinner ... but I wasn't fully satisified until I added half of an English Muffin. Super yum!
Per the doctor, tomorrow could be a bad day. Anywhere from day 4-10 can be a step back I guess. I remain hopeful that I won't notice any increase in pain or discomfort. TV dinners came in handy tonight for the kids and dh. I really love not having to cook for anyone. That continues to be a treat, as does all the help with the kids. Dh was my only helper today though, but it was bliss.
My kids have actually been very helpful. I have a tone that is not about choices for them, so that helps. But, they have been taking laundry up and down the stairs and putting it away as directed (I help and manage the putting away with them. And I also load the new load in myself. But I don't lift out any wet loads or move whole loads myself. This is actually a pretty nice routine for ongoing (hoping). My laundry continues to be more caught up than usual and I have not over-exerted myself. In fact, it feels like vacation laundry to have this much help :)
Right now I am looking forward to another night of sleep and being that much further along in the healing process tomorrow!
Friday, March 5, 2010
I feel Great!!!
I just had a tonsillectomy yesterday. Today is the 1st day after the surgery and I feel GREAT!!! Better than I have in a long time. How amazing is that?
I had read up on many testimonials of adult tonsillectomies (online) and had learned all about how terrible and horrible the recovery period is for an adult facing a tonsillectomy ... and how miserable these people were during their recovery.
Just wow! I am so lucky to be in this very NICE recovery place.
My dr./surgeon surprised me right after the surgery by saying that I can eat any foods I want at any time and that the foods would not harm my throat in any way. I loved hearing that. (Nothing makes me want something more than to be told I can't have it.)
Yesterday evening I had almost a complete (although very small) slice of Donato's thin-crust cheese pizza. I also had my share of amazing-flavored Berry Blue jello and strawberry jello and puddings ... even a few crackers with some cheese (they dissolve well.)
But, today I went to lunch with my husband at On The Border and ate a cheese enchilada and some CHIPS with cheese (Queso). Yummy!! (It did take me long time to eat each chip, so I was only able to eat maybe a handful, but I just can't believe I ate tortilla chips one day after a tonsillectomy!
I am not trying to be a hero or anything, or over-tax my body in anyway. But, I just feel GOOD and I want to enjoy it! I have done nothing against the doctor's orders. The best part of this surgery has been the help with my kids, not having to cook, and having my husband home (even though he is working in every spare moment from his office lap top.)
I am not sleeping well yet (but then I wasn't sleeping well before; not since Oct. 7 2009), so that is not something I am upset about. My throat hurts when I sleep, so I doze in small time increments. I have my little timer/alarm set for medicine times and then I wake up a whole lot in between those times too. It's not bad because every time I wake up I take a drink of water and keep my throat lubricated. Yesterday alone I drank an entire bottle of berry flavored Juicy Juice ... yummy and full of vitamin C (to help me to heal).
Hands-down, nothing beats the jello for a soothing throat snack. It's better than the Italian ice because the jello just slithers all over my throat and it's cold, but not freezing (shocking), like the Italian ice.
Now, the amazing part. I stood in my kitchen today with my mouth closed and took a deep breath through my nose ... and breathed all the way in until my lungs were FULL. I don't ever remember doing that in my entire life. I could breathe through my nose, but not to that extent, ever. And, I am still recovering!!! Things are swollen back there still but I can already tell a huge difference.
The nurse who prepped me at the surgery told me that she had a tonsillectomy as an adult and has not been sick since. I am sure that is luck, or maybe she was talking about being sick with some type of throat illness, strep, or whatever. I get sick A LOT and I just have a feeling I am not going to be as ill anymore. The surgeon told me that my tonsils were very large "bigger than most people's." Perhaps they were a pretty large trap for germs (just my thoughts).
This has been a very empowering year so far. Turning 40 has been such a turning point for me. My mammogram came back normal and I have been allergy tested, CAT scanned (prior to the tonsil surgery), had an EKG (normal) and have been prescribed new medicines (for my allergies). And these are just the medical things I have taken action on. So much more has also taken place for me this year. I will blog more about those things in another post though. It's time for me to do a bit of reading and catch some cat naps while my mom takes the kiddos to their play date.
Oh how I love having play dates again for my kiddos!
I had read up on many testimonials of adult tonsillectomies (online) and had learned all about how terrible and horrible the recovery period is for an adult facing a tonsillectomy ... and how miserable these people were during their recovery.
Just wow! I am so lucky to be in this very NICE recovery place.
My dr./surgeon surprised me right after the surgery by saying that I can eat any foods I want at any time and that the foods would not harm my throat in any way. I loved hearing that. (Nothing makes me want something more than to be told I can't have it.)
Yesterday evening I had almost a complete (although very small) slice of Donato's thin-crust cheese pizza. I also had my share of amazing-flavored Berry Blue jello and strawberry jello and puddings ... even a few crackers with some cheese (they dissolve well.)
But, today I went to lunch with my husband at On The Border and ate a cheese enchilada and some CHIPS with cheese (Queso). Yummy!! (It did take me long time to eat each chip, so I was only able to eat maybe a handful, but I just can't believe I ate tortilla chips one day after a tonsillectomy!
I am not trying to be a hero or anything, or over-tax my body in anyway. But, I just feel GOOD and I want to enjoy it! I have done nothing against the doctor's orders. The best part of this surgery has been the help with my kids, not having to cook, and having my husband home (even though he is working in every spare moment from his office lap top.)
I am not sleeping well yet (but then I wasn't sleeping well before; not since Oct. 7 2009), so that is not something I am upset about. My throat hurts when I sleep, so I doze in small time increments. I have my little timer/alarm set for medicine times and then I wake up a whole lot in between those times too. It's not bad because every time I wake up I take a drink of water and keep my throat lubricated. Yesterday alone I drank an entire bottle of berry flavored Juicy Juice ... yummy and full of vitamin C (to help me to heal).
Hands-down, nothing beats the jello for a soothing throat snack. It's better than the Italian ice because the jello just slithers all over my throat and it's cold, but not freezing (shocking), like the Italian ice.
Now, the amazing part. I stood in my kitchen today with my mouth closed and took a deep breath through my nose ... and breathed all the way in until my lungs were FULL. I don't ever remember doing that in my entire life. I could breathe through my nose, but not to that extent, ever. And, I am still recovering!!! Things are swollen back there still but I can already tell a huge difference.
The nurse who prepped me at the surgery told me that she had a tonsillectomy as an adult and has not been sick since. I am sure that is luck, or maybe she was talking about being sick with some type of throat illness, strep, or whatever. I get sick A LOT and I just have a feeling I am not going to be as ill anymore. The surgeon told me that my tonsils were very large "bigger than most people's." Perhaps they were a pretty large trap for germs (just my thoughts).
This has been a very empowering year so far. Turning 40 has been such a turning point for me. My mammogram came back normal and I have been allergy tested, CAT scanned (prior to the tonsil surgery), had an EKG (normal) and have been prescribed new medicines (for my allergies). And these are just the medical things I have taken action on. So much more has also taken place for me this year. I will blog more about those things in another post though. It's time for me to do a bit of reading and catch some cat naps while my mom takes the kiddos to their play date.
Oh how I love having play dates again for my kiddos!
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