Tonsillitis/Tonsillectomy Q’s

I've had ongoing tonsillitis for years....on/off before pregnancy, all throughout pregnancy ....and 16 months down the track it is now at it's worst! I've had a referal letter for the private surgeon since Lucas was born, I've procrastinated and been on strong doses of antibiotics everytime it rears it's ugly head!

The idea of surgery scares the sh*t out of me (excuse my french)! And before you go giving me a lecture on how important my health is blah blah, I KNOW! It's at the point now where I can barely breath (on top of asthma) and constantly feeling nauseous!

So has anyone here had a tonsillectomy past the age of 18? If so, can you tell me what to expect and don't sugar coat it please ....I have been told once you're an 'adult' it is major surgery ...that and the fact that I often have bad reactions to diff drugs (never been under a general) is enough to send me running for the hills! And the fact I have a clingy breastfed child who totally loses the plot when he realises i've left him in someone elses care has deterred me from going and getting it sorted

I wonder if I can do a day surgery ....come home basically straight after? I do intend ringing the surgeon first thing monday morning to get an urgent appointment, but for now I'm stressing.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated ...and please ignore the fact I'm sitting here feeling sorry for myself that my throat is so damn sore! I only have myself to blame.

I was 16 too. definitely not a day surgery, and you will need someone for Lucas. there is no getting away from it. I was vomiting blood for a day./ after that, i was good, but a bit sore. lots of jelly and ice cream....and creamed corn was good too.
I think i didn't speak for two or three weeks, but I was also in rehearsals for a show and was banned from speaking in case I couldn't perform opening night.

I would start getting Lucas (and yourself) used to having someone else care for him as a babysitter.

Hey Steph, I had my tonsils out at 16, but have had some other surgeries on my nose  / sinuses since. All done under GA, and one was a day, the other an overnighter. The great thing about Sthn Cross is that the hospitals are lovely and the staff are fantastic. I think its going to be really important to your recovery for you to have someone that can look after Lucas at least for a few days. A GA can knock you around a bit - it always takes me a few days to recover from that alone, and if you are recovering from the actual surgery as well!

I know that you know its the right thing to do, but obviously logistics need to be sorted, which I am sure can be figured out. Who is your surgeon? Have a good honest chat with him / her about your concerns and if they are any good then they will help you come up with solutions / suggestions and put your mind at ease.

 

Eep I think I forgot to add Lucas doesn't take expressed milk nor drink from a bottle ...and formula is NOT an option. He drinks water, cows milk, juice etc etc ....

Steph there are some pretty fabulous natural and prescription medicines to give your milk a kick start after the surgery.

I had an endoscopy under general when Michaela was little and couldn't feed for 24 hours but she went back to Bfing afterwards quite happily.

Oh and the new theory is that the rougher the food the faster it heats as it keeps removing the scabbing which is what causes the pain - i distinctly remember toast being constantly offered and encouraged not ice cream and jelly as my friends had told me

I was 20 when I had my tonsils out and for the first couple of nights after I'd wake up almost in tears because my throat hurt so much (sorry I know you don't want to hear that!!!). Gargling aspirin was my LIFESAVER!! DH thought I was building an addiction to Aspro Clear!

Hey Steph the fact you have been breastfeeding so long really helps with your milk supply. You probably won't lose your supply even if you don't feed for 2 days. If Lucas has some really fun days with his grandparents he will be fine and then probably be stoked to have you back.

I had my tonsils out when I was 18 for pretty much the same reasons as you, I had constant tonsilitis and it was making me so tired and I was always in pain. I didn't react too well to the general and was out of it for ages. I spewed up heaps of blood too (this isn't a bad thing its just from the blood when they do the op and stomachs don't like blood so they send it back up) and hate to stay the night. I'll be honest it was quite painful for a while but once it was better I was so stoked not to have to deal with tonsilitis anymore. One peice of advice is try and eat most of your food in the morning/lunch because by tea time it was too painful to eat. Also avoid quite strong flavours (curries, juicey things) because they really irritated me too.

The codeine made me really sleepy anyway so I just used panadol.

Good luck you will be fine and so will Lucas.

I still remember having my tonsills out when I was 4! (nearly 35years ago) & yep things will have changed but I do remember that after it was done it hurt but (with the help of ice cream & jelly - I was 4) it was soooo much better than feeling miserable, which I can also remember, like I was before the op. I was in for a couple of nights.

You can take codine while breastfeeding, I had it after both c-sections but you only have one tab every 12hrs.  Good luck with your decision but you will feel soooo much better when your body is not being poisened by the toxins produced by sick tonsills.

I had a GA last year as I had my gall bladder out and I was feeding. You can do it, you just need to talk to the anesthetist and also about the painkllers you can take them ,but timing depends on feeds. Also, you may find he won't feed off you as you will smell funny to him due to the GA. Any Q's please PM.