Tonsillectomy: The Revealations

I really thought I would publish this post sooner, almost immediately after the first of the series, but the intention didn't come true until a dear friend of mine told me he will be going through it himself (there are more tonsillectomies in Estonia than in some other, more southerly countries). But let's get on with the real revealations, that everybody should know before they get their tonsils removed. It will be a very different post than the previous, indeed...

Get a sizable supply of Paracetamol to your home on time.
In the first post I told how it wasn't that painful at all. I was in the hospital and probably still under their more powerful painkillers. I could talk, even yell and was even a bit angry that others wouldn't let me because they knew I should heal first. My last shot of hospital painkiller was sometime the morning after the first day (that was described in my first post). Some time around midnight after that the pain became unbearable. The doctor had told me I could only use Paracetamol for my pains if it still hurts after the soluble pill she gave me. I rummaged through the first-aid cupboard (at home) - there was exactly one pill of Paracetamol. Not lucky.
About Paracetamol - you can't swallow well, so you'll have to dissolve it in some water to be able to swallow it all. It is quite bitter so it really is an ordeal. You cannot use Efferalgan (soluble paracetamol), because it's too sour.

You will only be able to eat very fluid and not sour substances.
Get a supply of icecream and milk to your home. I melted the icecream before eating though some I heard could eat it cold. You cannot even eat every yoghurt. Don't even try any fruit or fruit juice, the result will be horribly painful. There is a possibility you could be able to eat puree soup, at least after a few days, but not hot. Somehow they could make a soupy porridge in the hospital, that I could eat, but at home I couldn't imagine eating something like this. It will be like this for at least one week. An historical note - my grandma said she had to drink raw egg with milk because this was the only thing, that would go down...

You won't exactly starve.
You won't eat much, that's true. But you won't starve either. You just don't want to eat as much as usually. I thought going around starving would be an ordeal in itself, but it wasn't. Uh, I only lost 2kg's, too (compared to 5-8kg's I've heard of it is really very small amount).

You better not talk at all.
Though at some times it feels OK to talk, you shouldn't for a week at least. You will be in pain soon after each time you talk. And you shouldn't read out aloud for at least two weeks (it has been two weeks for me, now, but I still won't read to my son, he's been reading by himself now - and doing a good job, too).
So what's the solution? A notebook and a pen to be carried with you at all times. You shouldn't use just papers lying around or you'll soon find how easy it is for others to read your previous conversations even though they shouldn't know about it. Other reason to keep it with you all the times is to keep yourself from being left out from important conversations, the arguments - and when your argument is written down, it is just a bit clearer than any of the others ;)

You will get the chance to understand how much you say unimportant things.
Use it as a chance to understand yourself. I have always thought about myself as the quiet person. But at least half of what I would have said at that time, I didn't. It just wasn't that important that I would start writing - and others would've moved on from that point in conversation by the time they read it. The jokes, the nice things... They all stayed inside me. You'll understand how much you spend in your conversations just socializing and not sharing information. Which is notr exactly bad thing, but you'll get an understanding from your temporary muteness. And you'll understand mutes better.

You will be told to avoid water procedures.
That was the one I hated that much that I didn't follow it. I had to wash, my hair at least. I didn't stay in the tube for long and avoided extreme temperatures (I love it quite hot) and I didn't do it as often as usually, but I did it. And nothing bad happened of it, I'm glad to say.

You will be told not to do any physical work.
You will be able to do your work if it is in the computer or without talking, but it will be tiresome. You are told to avoid it for two weeks, but it will get better after a week. You can't work out, you can't do anything hard at home. I didn't exert myself as well so I can't say is it really necessary after a few days, but better careful than sorry. You can't do anything, so...

Get some books :)
To while away time while you can't do anything physical and can't very well take part in social life, read. It is one of the best opportunities in your life to be just reading - everybody knows you're sick and can't be interrupted. Well, some probably will be satisfied with watching TV, but that bored me very soon.

I have to say that I was very lucky and it was easier on me than on some others I've known. I spent a full day in Finland to learn about a program there just 6 days after the surgery. I could even eat regular soup there and each day afterwards I ate just the regular foods (not sour ones, though). I was working full time after a week and the weekend (the surgey was on 21.02 and I was working in 4.03, that's 10 days). It is usual to be told to be at home for 2 weeks. Some have experienced bleeding after a week, but there has been no bleeding for me, there wasn't any in the hospital as well.

Now my throat only hurts when yawning and coughing (I have developed a small cough, I suspect it to have something to do with the healing of the throat tickling) and I am not reading out aloud or yelling, but that's OK. I think I might use that opportunity to end reading bedtime stories to my child (he's 6 and reading pretty well himself) and yelling at him (that's never good anyway) :)

Maybe you won't be that lucky. I was. Good luck!