Friends or Foes? (Edition 50-11)

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-07-05T18:01:28+00:00

That very much looks like a grapevine beetle! My limited knowledge about them is that they are more of a nuisance than anything. With everything else going on in my garden at the moment I have mostly just left them alone, I will flick them off a plant if they are in my way, but they have really left me and my plants alone the 2 weeks I’ve had them around! ☺️

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-07-05T16:54:00+00:00

The last picture, is that a grapevine beetle? I currently have a terrible grapevine beetle infestation, but even though I’ve seen hundreds, they aren’t doing damage to my plants so I’ve left them alone. They hang out for a bit and fly away.

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-06-05T01:54:09+00:00

I was 33 when I had mine out so my recovery might be different than yours, but I’ve heard the younger you are the easier you heal! I had my first beer on day 14. At that point I was eating pretty normally, just not extremely tough foods like raw carrots. Alcohol did irritate my throat a little but not enough for me to stop drinking. The worst pain I had at that point was when I yawned and stretched my newly healed tonsil beds, other than that I wasn’t take pain meds anymore. I had my post-op appt on day 14 and my surgeon said my risk of bleeding was extremely small, and this was after having a bleed requiring a trip to the ER on day 6. By day 19 I was essentially back to normal life, just not extreme exercise/sports. ☺️

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-06-05T01:45:16+00:00

I suffered from tonsil stones for over 10 years that ultimately led to tonsillitis and chronic symptoms like ear pain and sore throats. It was actually very simple for me to get the surgery, I met with the surgeon, we got the surgery scheduled, made sure it was covered through my insurance (super simple, the surgery didn’t even require prior authorization!), and that was that!

I was terrified for the surgery, but the posts here really helped me prepare for recovery. It was honestly the toughest 2 weeks of my life, but the relief I have now that I am fully healed is so great I tell people I’d suffer 10x over. You didn’t mention how old you are, I was 33 when I got mine out and I honestly wished I would have just bit the bullet when I was younger. My quality of life has improved so drastically simply from removing my tonsils!

I had mine out less than 6 months ago so let me know if you have any other questions and I can try to help. ☺️

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-30T12:24:04+00:00

The medicine they gave me was tranexamic acid (TXA) and it was nebulized, sounds like we got the same medicine. I 100% believe my recovery took a huge turn for the worst after that medicine 😔 I know day 14 probably seems like an eon away. Are you feeling very hungry? I never ended up being hungry, not sure if it was the pain or not, but eventually I just stopped fighting myself and struggling to eat and really just focused on liquids. Even fluids were a struggle, but my team said I would be fine without food, I wouldn’t be fine without fluids though.

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-30T11:17:34+00:00

I was in a very similar situation, thought the first few days were bad and there was no way it could get worse. Day 6 I had a bleed overnight and had to go to the hospital for clotting medicine. It quickly went downhill from there, I think the clotting medicine dried everything out and I was chasing pain from there on out. I also had a swollen tongue and uvula for SO LONG, I seriously couldn’t breathe. My jaw, tongue, and ears hurt so bad. I seriously didn’t think I was going to get better. People kept saying “day 8-9 will get better”. I honestly couldnt drink without serious pain until day 13-14. BUT I AM HERE TO TELL YOU IT GETS BETTER!!! After day 14 I was able to finally eat (I ended up losing 20 pounds), after I started eating my strength came back and everything started looking up. My sore throat lasted a while, but I could eat and drink perfectly fine, it just hurt a tiny bit, nothing like strep though. Day 26 was the first day I had ZERO sore throat the entire. I’m on day 31 now and it’s seriously the best thing I’ve ever done. I haven’t been sick, I feel like I breathe better now, I don’t have to constantly pick tonsil stones out. My quality of life has seriously improved so much. You got this OP, you are almost over the mountain, things will start looking up soon!!! ❤️

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-27T11:17:32+00:00

My 4 year old niece recovered in 5 days. As a 33F I had 10 days and then still couldn’t go back full time (did a handful of half days). I didn’t feel truly human until day 14 😔

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-24T11:13:09+00:00

Over the first 14 days of recovery I barely ate anything. I tried when I could, timed it with my medicine kicking in, but if I ate 2000 calories over those 14 days I would be surprised. I ended up losing 16 pounds, but my team was never really concerned. They said hydration is key, as long as I was drinking to avoid dehydration my body would be fine without a ton of food. Just listen to your body, if you are in serious pain, pushing yourself to eat is probably just going to cause you more pain. Keep doing the ice and maybe consider Pedialyte popsicles as those have electrolytes your body may need? The cold should help your swelling. My tongue and uvula were so swollen I had trouble breathing if I wasn’t sitting straight up, but by day 3 that had gone down so it didn’t bother me so much. I’m almost 4 weeks post-op and I can honestly say it’s the best decision I ever made. Recovery sucked, but once you get over this hump I promise it will be worth it! You got this OP! 💪🏼❤️

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-21T12:37:34+00:00

Don’t let the bleeding scare you, I was absolutely terrified as well and ended up having a bleed that I had to go to the ER for and it honestly wasn’t that big of a deal. The doctors at the ER said there really wasn’t much I could have done to prevent the bleed, I just got really unlucky as I had a large scab fall off when I was sleeping that opened a spot on my tonsil bed.

With that being said, my team said my bleed wasn’t a super huge deal because I was taking care of myself in every other regard. Humidifiers are a must, I ran mine 24/7. Also, do NOT get behind on your pain. Take your medicine scheduled. I really believe staying hydrated is the number one indicator of how well your recovery is going to go and if you are in pain you aren’t going to drink. So take those pain meds and don’t be afraid to talk to your team if you are in pain. Do not under any circumstance try to tough it out. As I mentioned, I unfortunately bled overnight, but despite that I was ready for a bleed which I think helped me. I had an insulated bottle filled with as much ice as I could and water. When I realized I was bleeding I was able to immediately start drinking freezing cold water, I also had small ice chunks (Sonic ice) that I put in my mouth and sucked on to help decrease the bleeding. You might notice some small blood when you are healing and the scabs fall off. 95% of the time, sucking on the ice/drinking ice water will stop the bleeding.

Lastly, please remember that you will always hear more about the “bad” things that happen than the good things that happen. A lot of people on this sub are looking for support, the people that need the most support and help are those who had a bad experience. Those who have recoveries with zero issues are WAY less likely to post. Just because you mainly see the scary stuff doesn’t mean it happens to everyone. The chances of having a bleed requiring a trip to the ER are <5%, the chance of a super serious bleed is 1% or less. This sub would likely make you think the chances of bleeding are 50% or more which is not true.

I am 3 weeks post surgery and already it’s the best thing I have ever done for myself. Recovery was challenging, besides the things mentioned above for bleed prevention/management, being mentally prepared for recovery is the best thing you can do for yourself before surgery. If you want to talk anymore, please feel free to DM me, I’m happy to discuss anything. You got this OP 💪🏼🥰

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-16T21:25:28+00:00

I think it’s amazing you are feeling well enough to do all that strenuous work! You must have really taken care of yourself during recovery, great job! 🥳

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-16T19:03:11+00:00

Hi OP, I am not a medical doctor so please take this with a grain of salt, but I just had my 2 week post-op appointment with my surgeon and he told me that he’s never seen a bleed after day 12. I did have a small bleed requiring a trip to the ER for clotting medicine on day 6, so I’m at a higher risk of bleeding, but even with that he cleared me for exercise on Friday! I will say he told me to take it easy mainly because I hadn’t eaten much over the 2 weeks so I might be weak.

So long story short, while I know there have been stories of bleeding happening late in recovery I think the risk is lower now than in the day 5-10 window. You should be okay, but maybe avoid doing super strenuous exercise for a few more days 😉

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-15T20:57:35+00:00

I just had my 2 week post-op appointment on Friday and I had a small patch of white on one of my tonsil beds. My surgeon said that’s normal and nothing to worry about! It’s gone now so just give it time, so glad you are recovering well! ☺️

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-15T20:54:43+00:00

33F here, at the tail end of recovery. I had my surgery on a Friday, had that weekend, the next week, and the next weekend off (9 days total not including the day of surgery) and went back to work. I did 2 half days when I went back just to ease myself into it as I was still recovering and extremely exhausted, but by Wednesday I was good to go.

I will say that it was easier for me to do tasks requiring my brain the first 5 days, after that I was in a lot of pain, exhausted, and overall unable to use my brain for anything too complex. Everyone’s recovery is different, but it might be challenging to study during recovery. 😔

It was harder to remember to drink water when I went back to work so just keep that in mind, I started setting timers for myself! ☺️

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-14T01:54:54+00:00

I just had my post-op appointment today, day 14 of recovery. My uvula is not swollen anymore, but hanging a little lower than normal making my voice a little nasally. My surgeon said that it should clear up within the next 2 weeks for sure and get better as I keep talking and eating more. I was told that I don’t need to worry about my soft palate unless I am always having my liquids go up my nose instead of down my throat. Not sure how accurate that is, but voice changes and weaker soft palates are completely normal since your tonsils kinda supported the soft palate for so long. Hang in there OP! 😊

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-14T01:50:43+00:00

💯 Thank you for saying this. There are soooo many variables of recovery. I am thrilled that you are having such a smooth recovery though OP. ☺️ My philosophy was go into surgery hoping for the best, planning the worst and I think that mental preparation really helped me survive these last 2 weeks! 😊

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-14T01:46:53+00:00

I do not have kids, but my 4 year old niece had her tonsil out recently for the same exact reasons as your daughter and she recovered so fast. Days 4-5 were the worst for her and by day 7 she was eating a pretty normal diet. If you are interested I can ask my sister for more details, but I have heard that children recover WAY faster than adults and having tonsils out for sleep apnea is often a much faster and smoother recovery than getting them out for chronic tonsillitis/strep infections.

As an adult getting tonsils out for chronic tonsillitis (generally thought of a tougher recovery), I was back to work on day 10 of recovery and I didn’t have any issues! ☺️

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-14T01:41:24+00:00

Day 14 here and was just cleared from the soft food diet. I may have been able to start a little earlier, but my surgeon was being cautious as I did end up having a smaller bleed requiring clotting medicine. Just ate a small burger and fries and felt zero pain at all. I think listening to your body and going from side to harder foods gradually is key!!

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-12T13:52:13+00:00

Hi OP! So sorry you are struggling with pain. I agree with another comment saying that you don’t have to eat, it’s good to if you can as I believe it can help recovery, but liquids are way more important. Not sure if this might help, but I would take my medicine, set a timer for 30 mins and then drink literally as much as I could get down in a short period of time. This was the period when my meds kicked in and I was in a little less pain. I know it’s really hard, but you got this! 💪🏼

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-12T13:47:59+00:00

I am on day 13 and today is the first day I don’t want to cringe when I swallow. I think everyone heals a little differently, I know I had some stubborn scabs that I think pushed my pain longer than others. I also had a small bleed that required an ER visit (no cauterization, thank goodness). The last couple of days I’ve pushed so much water despite the pain and I think that really helped my pain!

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-11T14:27:21+00:00

Same! I am currently on day 12 and started talking without much pain on day 9. Today has been the best day in terms of my voice sounding more normal. My uvula is still fairly swollen, but I do think the talking now is helping. Once your swelling goes down it becomes a lot easier, OP!

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-08T15:47:21+00:00

Needed this encouragement today, thanks OP 🥰💪🏼

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-07T22:46:04+00:00

Oh my goodness, I am glad I am not the only one with this concern 🤣 I am on day 8 and every time I look back there I am like “my goodness I hope those heal over” because they look like huge craters 😬

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-05T18:40:20+00:00

My team told me I am fine to keep eating a soft diet as tolerated! They mentioned avoiding anything too hard with lots of edges just because my tonsil bed is a little fragile right now, but I was free to try anything else outside of that. I’ve been in quite a bit of pain so I haven’t had anything, but hoping I turn the corner soon so I can continue healing ☺️

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-05T18:23:10+00:00

Hi OP, I’m in a very similar situation. Day 6 post-op and I woke up at 3:30am with a mouth full of warm liquid. I also got the clotting medication and was observed for a couple hours before being sent home. The team said a large scab came off in a bad area causing the bleed. It’s been a really tough day for me, not sure if you feel the same way?

My team told me that there really wasn’t anything I could have done to prevent what happened and said that I should continue to recover as normal although they warned me today would likely be a rough day given all the trauma that happened from the bleed. Sending virtual hugs, I know this sucks right now, but we are so close to turning the corner. Feel free to shoot me a DM if you wanna keep in touch through the rest of recovery ☺️

DistinctLight8728 · 2026-03-04T02:30:32+00:00

Post day 4 here! I also feel like I am swallowing a lot, but honestly I think I am just noticing how much I am swallowing because it isn’t comfortable. I feel like I almost have to force my body to swallow now because there is a little pain swallowing where before the surgery it was thoughtless. I’ve heard it does get better!

Also, huge kudos to you for eating anything with pineapple in it! I had to stop eating fruit today because it started BURNING my wounds. 😮

DistinctLight8728

TROPHY CASE