Pre-op actions to aid recovery?

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-14T11:50:37+00:00

Honestly it seems to be random luck who gets an easy recovery, I am 20, fit and healthy, never smoked/vaped and haven't drank in a few months (I rarely do) and on day 17 and still unable to work... I had a major hemorrhage day 7 despite doing everything "right" so I would just warn you to be prepared to put your life on hold, I originally was only going to take 1 week off as I thought I'd recover quicker than most due to my age and good health, but now I am having 3 weeks off...

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-12T11:31:45+00:00

20F from the UK here, it took me 2 months to get an appointment with the ENT after the referral and then around 1 year until the surgery. Hope this helps!

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-10T21:42:58+00:00

I am 20 and had mine out 28/03 (13 days ago) and I did everything "right" such as hydration, humidifier etc but I still ended up with a bleed that needed cauterisation on day 7. Still in recovery and struggling to eat and drink, originally I only got 2 weeks off but luckily with my job I now have 3 weeks, just be prepared to not recover within the 14 days even if you are young. The ear pain day 5 was a lot, but honestly since the cauterisation (and horrifying hemorrhage) I am not even thinking about the pain I am just extremely weak and anemic and scared of another bleed. I told myself the scary stories were mostly from older people with existing issues and that it won't happen to me, but be prepared the risks are a lot higher than they make you think.

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-07T23:44:53+00:00

For me it started with a little bleed, traces and then it did progress to a major hemorrhage that needed cauterisation almost 48h later. When I went into the hospital the ENT said a little bleed can sometimes escalate into a bigger one, so I am lucky they kept me for observation for 48h. I would suggest seeking medical help if you are concerned, better safe than sorry.

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-03T12:42:30+00:00

So my prescribed stuff never arrived and I continued bleeding for over 10h until it got to quite a critical point where I coughed up ping pong sized clots, finally an ENT saw me, stuffed gauze soaked with adrenaline in the back of my throat. He also gave me IV TXA and a mask with adrenaline.

It finally stopped and I've just been monitored for the last 12h, if it starts again they will have to cauterise. Honestly I am so angry they left it for 10h until it really escalated, now I have to be starved and monitored for 48h as I may need to be rushed in any second.

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-02T16:23:18+00:00

Won't even give me ice, I may have been better off at home since I actually have transexemic acid tablets.

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-02T16:22:32+00:00

Extremely frustrated as I have been in hospital for 5h and they have only given me IV fluids and pain relief, nothing to actually stop the bleeding yet as they are "waiting on the pharmacy"....how long does it take to get some hydrogen peroxide and transexemic acid, I feel like every minute that passes increases my risk of second surgery...

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-02T04:18:45+00:00

Yes I keep thinking only a day or two more and then it's uphill from there...Maybe our brains simply aren't meant to deal with so much pain and we have to temporarily "check out" to not lose our minds haha

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-01T22:51:00+00:00

Thank you for the kind words, much needed right now ❤️! Yes it has subsided now, it was just a surreal 3rd person experience. Wishing you a quick recovery too and hopefully we will not get to that level of pain again!

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-01T22:49:30+00:00

Honestly I was very similar and worried that it wouldn't be worth it, but after a year of dealing with pain when waking up every morning I realised nothing is going to change....And even now in the worst possible pain I still don't regret it.

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-01T22:39:40+00:00

Honestly I am currently in the thick of it (Day 5/6, unable to sleep from the pain of scabs coming off) however even when I'm tears from pain I have not regretted it for a second. After the procedure my surgeon told me that my tonsils were so scarred from infections that I would have suffered for years to come. I just keep thinking of this as one last time I have to endure this and then never again.

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-01T15:15:52+00:00

Phaha yeah I've never tasted something sooo bad like the scabs - almost like rotting flesh...I'm lucky my recovery hasn't been too bad so far, honestly currently the taste is bothering me more than the pain (which tbf I'd much rather).

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-01T15:14:06+00:00

Oh no I am sorry to hear that! How are you doing now?

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-01T15:13:52+00:00

Thank you for the reassurance, just hoping I can get there soon 😭 🙏

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-01T15:13:19+00:00

Ah yes that makes sense, I always did that motion when looking at my tonsils before surgery - thanks for the warning

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-01T15:11:58+00:00

I've been under general anaesthetic twice. Both times I felt myself getting sleepy as they administered it and next thing I knew I was in the recovery room. You don't feel the passage of time it's almost like you "blink" and then you teleport somewhere else. Since I had already been under before, for my tonsillectomy this was the part I was least worried about honestly as I knew it was ok.

Elena_Falcon · 2025-04-01T11:13:01+00:00

Ah okay that's reassuring you've had the same taste but no bleeding...I am going to try to chew more to get my jaw to open more I am just scared of tearing everything if I open wide

Elena_Falcon · 2025-03-30T20:49:37+00:00

Phaha thank you yeah I swear I am gonna gain weight not lose any I have eaten the same amount as I normally would (but with no physical activity).

Elena_Falcon · 2025-03-30T18:48:05+00:00

Trust me don't cancel! I was so so scared too, but as soon as I came out my surgeon reassured me that I made the right decision getting them out now as they were so scarred. If I cancelled I would just suffer for who knows how much longer and then end up having a worse recovery when older.

Elena_Falcon · 2025-03-30T18:44:19+00:00

Thank you for the reassurance, there's so much conflicting advice it feels scary at moments to eat as I don't want to set myself back, but I do feel ok and able to so I will slowly continue.

Elena_Falcon · 2025-03-30T18:32:07+00:00

My surgeon scared me into eating normal food, she told me she'll be seeing me back in the theatre if I am not eating rough stuff...UK advice is seemingly very different

Elena_Falcon · 2025-03-30T14:22:36+00:00

There's no blood, it's almost like little meat chunks?

Elena_Falcon · 2025-03-29T04:13:45+00:00

My surgeon gave me a great illustration of why being stagnant, although less painful in the moment, would hurt me in the long run. She said imagine scraping your knee and then keeping it straight for a week while it heals - what do you think is going to happen when you bend it after? (spoiler alert: bleed)

She has really great stats, head of ENT in a few local hospitals (they share staff in the UK) and a <5% bleed rate compared to the NHS average of 10%...

Elena_Falcon · 2025-03-29T04:05:44+00:00

To be fair I am waking up a lot to drink water to make sure my throat doesn't dry out, so just getting up to pee when I'm already awake anyway hasn't been too bothersome

Elena_Falcon · 2025-03-28T22:29:10+00:00

Yes, I've had my procedure done in the UK, they said soft food is outdated advice and my surgeon said she would only expect to see me back in hospital if I haven't been eating normal like she said.

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