Tonsillectomy in adults - please come and share your experiences

[Blatherskite]

In the last 12 months I've had tonsillitis 7 times. I had back-to-back episodes from March through to about November last year, then thankfully a break over Christmas and then I started getting symptoms again last Friday.

Each time I've had at least 1 course of antibiotics, sometimes two, and by November last year, they'd destroyed my gut flora so badly that I was getting tummy troubles too.

The severity of the tonsillitis has ranged from nothing more than a badly sore throat through to fever and shivers and being unable to get out of bed.

My doctor had said that after 5 swab confirmed cases, I would be able to get referred to a specialist to see about possibly getting them taken out but on one occasion when I had tonsillitis but he was on leave, the locum doctor told me that there was no way I would be able to get them taken out as they didn't do the operation for adults any more. She refused to take a swab and as I hadn't had a swab done for the first case, that left me with only 4 confirmed cases.

My doctor has left the practice now so I have a new doctor who I have not met yet and was unable to see this week as he is on leave but I did have my throat swabbed by a nurse.

I guess what I'm asking is should I make an appointment with the doctor when he gets back to ask about a tonsillectomy? They must still do them for adults in some areas as I've seen threads on here before about Mners having them. And if I can have one, do I really want one? I've heard that it is an awful operation for an adult and can be fraught with complications. I've also heard that it doesn't necessarily stop someone from getting infections - that with tonsils removed, the surrounding tissue gets infected instead and that this is harder to treat than bog-standard tonsillitis.

Right now, I feel like a tonsillectomy would be a good thing. My tonsils are really, really swollen and are pushing my tongue out of place, making it uncomfortable to turn my head and giving me a really painful ear and jaw, plus I have a headache and feel very run down - Eating and drinking hurt and I feel miserable and very, very lucky that DH has managed to take today and tomorrow off work to help me out over half term. I was on my own at the beginning of the week, including Wednesday when the pain was at it's worst (before I got the ABs as they wouldn't prescribe until they had the swab results back) and I was totally miserable and not a lot of fun for the Children. I'm not sure how I'll cope if we get back to the 2 weeks on/3 weeks off routine that I had last Summer with this infection:(

But in a week or so when the Abs have done their job, I'm sure I'll feel differently again - until the next time. Friends and relatives have been pushing me to see the doctor and push for the operation but I'm scared. If you've had recurrent tonsillitis - and have managed to stay with me through this huge post! - would you push for having them out?

Okay so I'm going to start from the beginning: I'm only on day 4 but I feel like I have enough information as to how it is.
I am an 18 year old female, I suffered from reoccurring tonsillitis and tonsil stones (almost twice a month sometimes!) So the doctors finally decided to refer me to an ENT.

Night before:
Okay so the night before, me and my boyfriend got a huge Pizza takeaway with sides and everything ( I'd kill to be able to eat this rn!!)
So obviously the next morning I was starving and I forgot to wake up early so that I could eat before 7AM, so I was really hungry/nervous/moody lol.

Day of surgery:
I arrived at the hospital at 12 noon and had to wait for about 2 hours before I had a bed in the ward. After this, some of the nurses, anesthetic nurse and my surgeon came round to see how I was doing, they took my temp, pulse etc and reassured me about everything - they were all really nice! Apart from one doctor who kept on staring at me, she made me feel really at unease, and the fact that I could see all of the other drugged up patients who had just come out of various different operations scared the shit out of me but I just went on my phone and tried to ignore everyone else.

Finally it was time to go through to the anesthetics room, I was really nervous, but the people in that room were really funny so I felt relaxed after a few minutes.They explained everything that was going to happen as well. They were counting down and then I can't remember anything from there haha.

Next thing I know I'm in the recovery room, and i have the WORSE itchy face ever, and there was a surgeon standing next to me asking how I was feeling and said my face will be itchy as a side affect from the drugs. Then he wheeled me back to my place in the ward where I started. They then took my oxygen mask off and gave me a jug of water, a yogurt and a chicken mayo sandwich. I couldn't even eat the sandwich I have no idea why they gave me chicken when I could only just about swallow my own spit haha. I tried to eat it though but it really hurt, so I asked for more pain killers and they gave me some straight away. Also, I don't know what the surgeons did in that room but my mouth had split either side from the clamp, so that was very painful and I had small cuts on the inside of my lip. Then i hadn't noticed since I showered, I have a fat purple bruise on the top of my thigh! Very odd!

Anyway, after about 3 hours in recovery, they let me go home. I thought I would be very drugged up and dopey but I was actually fine, they handed me my meds and off we went.

That night I got home, didn't really speak mainly because my lips were so chapped haha, then I had an egg mayo sandwich,
BTW I WOULD ADVISE NOT TO EAT MAYO OR ANY DAIRY! Dairy really clogged my throat and made it hard to breath and every time I laughed i would start choking on the mucus, it was very disgusting lol. Also, don't blow your nose because it will hurt!And try not to cough.
That night I slept okay, I used about 5 pillows and kept my head upright, I've heard some people have woke up coughing from this position but I was okay. I woke up on my side anyway so I must of moved in my sleep.

Day 2:
The next day I had toast for breakfast because I really want to heal quickly and I read that scratchy foods help the scabs develop and disappear quicker, it was a struggle but I managed about a slice which is quite good. I got it down with a lot of water; water is my life atm, I've been drinking around 5L a day and my skin is looking amazing for it!

For lunch I had some rice and noodles, went down like a treat with a lot of water.

Dinner was more noodle soup, this was quite soothing.

That night was a struggle to sleep and my ears were hurting soooo bad, but i took my meds, watched some films, had cuddles from the bf then fell asleep.

Day three:
Yesterday was pretty much the same for pain, still there and annoying but not unbearable. For breakfast I had a crumpet with raspberry jam (no butter of course). Then for lunch i had a fry up (well some of it haha).

The thing is, it is really painful to eat but i love food too much so I've been forcing myself to eat even if it takes me hours, because eating and drinking speeds up the recovery time soo much and I'm determined to recover ASAP!

For dinner I had noodles again, although I was really craving McDonald's I don't think I was ready for that yet.

I fell asleep around 9PM for about an hour then woke up in the worse pain as i forgot to take my meds before i fell asleep, so it then took me a few hours to get back to sleep.

Today is now day 4, I still have a long road ahead of me but I know it will get better with time, it has been the worse experience of my life so far but i know there's a light at the end of the tunnel and that it will be worth it in the end!
My throat seems to look better already and i can already open it a little wider.

Top tips:
Eat a lot of ice lollies as they numb the area.
Difflam spray is a must for numbing the earea before meals.
Do not eat dairy unless you want to choke on phlegm all night.
Do not eat tomatoes, they burn!!!
Stay positive and stock up on TV shows/films.

Good luck to anyone who is going through this, i feel your pain!!

At the age of 38 and suffering most of my adult life with Tonsillitis I finally got the go ahead to be referred for a Tonsillectomy.
The wait was the worst part for me. I constantly researched Tomsillectomy on the internet which resulted in completely working myself up! However, I feel this research fully prepared myself for what lies ahead.
And...I'm now on day 17 and can honestly say it wasn't as bad as first thought.
My top tips are -
To buy lots of ice pops get them ready frozen for when you return home.
Stock up on the paracetamol / ibuprofen
Bottled water with straws
I ate soft cup cakes to line the stomach when taking ibuprofen.
I could eat soft bread and butter also.
I worked on taking paracetamol first then ibuprofen 2 hours later to have constant pain relief. The hospital did discharge me with Morphine which I used also when required for the first couple of days.
I was lucky and could return to my parents for the two weeks. You will need someone on hand to help remind you to take pain relief and top you up with ice pops/ water.
I sipped water all day/ night to keep my throat moist and to get the throat moving by swallowing.
It's normal to see two large white patches at the back of the throat. Mine reduced daily and have completely gone now. Eating / drinking helps the removal.
I didn't do a thing for two weeks apart from rest eat and drink.
I've had no bleeding. No infection. I cleaned my teeth daily to try and reduce the risk of infection.
If you can prepare your life to stop and slow down for two weeks after op and try not to do too much I believe it will help in recovering sooner.
I'm about to return to work tomorrow and will go back to the gym in a couple of weeks.
Please don't work yourself up like I did with reading all the horror reviews. I've thought it really isn't as bad as all the reviews have said? The two weeks pass quickly. Small time pain for long term gain! Go for it.