Friday, March 27, 2009

Tonsillectomy Update Day 2

I'm alive! I guess that is the good news. The bad news is that I am in quite a bit of pain. Here's the rundown of my past 2 days. 

I went into the surgery center yesterday morning around 10:30. They were running late so I didn't get taken back until around 12. I wasn't really that anxious at first, but having to sit in the waiting room for so long brought the nerves. It helped to have my momma sitting next to me. They took me back and gave me the IV. I talked them into putting it in my arm versus my hand (It is so much worse in the hand!) and she even gave me a stick of litacane to numb it. I didn't feel a thing! After a series of nurses, anesthesiologists and doctors came in, they were finally ready to take me into surgery. The anesthesiologist gave me some medicine that took me from "80 to 20" to help relax my nerves, and that is the last thing I remember. The surgery took around 30 minutes and I no longer had my adenoids (they atrophy in adults, but they weren't sure if I would still have them or not) so they just took out my tonsils. I remember waking up in the recovery room and the first words out of my mouth were "where is my mom?" Followed by, "I am in a lot of pain." They gave me some pain meds through IV and I fell back asleep for about an hour. I usually get so sick after anesthesia, and the thought of that just made my throat hurt. But my doctor also gave me some anti nausea medicine that worked like a charm. I felt so blessed not to get sick, that would not have been fun. The doctor met with mom while I was sleeping and told her that they were even worse than he had originally thought. So I am glad to be getting this done and over with now versus later in life! Then they took me into another recovery room where I got to see my mom and take my first dose of Vicodin. I was felling really good. I was even able to eat mcdonalds on the way home because my throat was still numb from surgery. When I got back home I immediately crashed on the couch for a few hours. When I woke up from my first nap, I got my first dose of reality. This was not going to be fun! I was in quite a bit of pain. I took a steroid to control the inflammation and another dose of vicodin around 4 which put me right back to bed. I still feel a lot of pain, even with the medicine, so I would hate to imagine what it would be like without it. I couldn't even make it through Grey's Anatomy, which if you know me, you know that means I was really not feeling good! I took my last dose of meds before bed around 10:30. Mom kept out my medicine for me to take if I needed it in the middle of the night, but I really didn't want to have to take it. I am concerned that I am going to get to the point where I can't sleep without it. I woke up on my own around 3 am and "toughed it out" by sucking on my numbing lollipop and managed to fall back asleep. Bad idea, no, downright stupid idea. When I got back up at 7am, I was in excruciating pain and had blood on my pillow. Thats when the tears game. I was just so upset. Mom quickly got me another dose of medicine and I felt better within 15 minutes, thank heavens for good medicine! Today has been an ok day. I think the key for me is to keep up with the vicodin and get plenty of water/rest. I did manage to take a look back there with a flashlight and it is straight up nasty! It was worse than I had expected it to look. Kristin came over today with Breck and got nauseous when she saw it, blah! I am still not able to really talk well or breath through my throat because of the swelling, but I am a happy girl after my pain medicine. The doctor told me that days 1-3 would be the easiest, which has me a little concerned, because so far it hasn't been easy at all. Apparently when you start to scab the pain increases substantially. But for now I am enjoying spending time on the couch eating ice cream! I will try to post updates over the next few days. I have such a wonderful family and friends and so appreciate the continued prayers, especially in the coming days when the scabbing begins. And the best part of all? I think mom and I are going to get massages tomorrow. I feel relaxed just thinking about it :D Hope your week/weekend is going better than mine! 

PS- if you have tried to call, I apologize for not answering :( Right now it is a bit hard to talk and ends up drying out my throat. But I SO appreciate the calls and will be sure to call back when I can get the pain under control. Love you all!

6 comments:

Preppy Pink Crocodile said...

Aw- you poor thing!! It sounds terrible! I hope you feel better soon and in the mean time- enjoy the ice cream!

Jennifer said...

Thank you! Im hoping the next few days will be easier than I expect, we shall see :)

EJ Chang said...

I remember last summer after my rhinoplasty having the same concern about maybe never being able to sleep without the meds in the future. Once coming off of the meds, I did struggle for about a week to fall asleep, but that was about it. So don't fret for the long term consequence, but you will probably be frustrated about the lack of sleep you get for a few days. OK, that's all. Good luck with days 4-8! Hope you feel better soon!

Jennifer said...

Thanks EJ! It seems right now that I am on a continuous cycle of

medicine
bubble bath
nap
drink water/eat
medicine
bubble bath
etc...


then repeat. But I learned my lesson about my medicine, I have to take it. If you think of it, could you ask your dad about if he thinks the last part is worse?? I have only had one person tell me otherwise, but Id be curious what he says?? My big issue today is my ears, they feel like they are going to explode. Tons of pain and drainage

jineane_82 said...

I'm glad everything went well. Good luck on next few days! Hopefully you will feel like going to L'ville next weekend with the BLC.

Jennifer said...

I am hoping to be able to go with them next weekend. I really want to. But as of now, I just dont have a ton of extra energy. So we will see