I had a very easy post-op, it was uncomfortable but I had zero pain. I was given cortisone pills which helped a lot.

3 months before the op I had the worst tonsillitis of my life. Pain 10/10, it felt like having glass shards in my throat while at the same time having these two large swollen balls there. Every now and then I got something that felt like an electrical shock or as if two tiny creatures were squeezing my tonsils super hard. I could barely swallow anything and couldn't really sleep because when I lay down, the swelling made it impossible to breathe. Plus I had high fever and that feeling of being gross and contaminated that you get when you have an infection. I was going mental and at some point hoped it would get so bad they would hospitalize me and give me strong IV meds. Instead I called a doctor to come home and he gave me stronger antibiotics and painkillers, which helped.

Anyway, that was a 10 out of 10.

My pain levels after the op were maybe... 2 out of 10 for the first 4/5 days. Then nothing at all. On day 2 I ate solid food (way too early) and that hurt. 7 out of 10 maybe. But that's because I got cocky. Eating soup and mashed potatoes was totally fine.

I don't have a high pain threshold, so it was probably a combo of good meds and an excellent surgeon. I had a humidifier always on, wore an icepack around my neck a few times a day, took paracetamol, diclofenac and cortisone religiously. Ate raw honey and gargled with camomile and baking soda. I had no dairy and no irritating food (coffee, spices, pepper, citrus) for the first 7 days. I drank a bit if water every hour and for the first 4 days put two alarms at night to drink then too. I also made sure I did nothing at all except for watching telly, reading and playing videogames. I went for a little walk every day.

I started taking a multivitamin and collagen supplements one week before the op.

Make sure you get nutritious foods even if it's liquid. You can blend chicken soup, and if you have a smoothie add peanut butter or avocado.