Tonsilminus

I have another day of sitting in front of a computer, so I thought I would take the time to say Hello. I mentioned in a previous blog that I'd write more about my experience with tonsil surgery. A few weeks ago I had my tonsils taken out...

My entire life, I've always had problems with Strep Throat. Ever since I can remember, I was always hit at least 2 or 3 times a year with some sort of throat related illness. It has always been suggested that I should look into getting my tonsils taken out, but I never gave the idea a second thought until recently.

Almost like clockwork, I could predict when I was going to be hit with Strep. The past few years, the number of occurrences started increasing, so I finally decided that I would get on the offensive side of things. While I was still on antibiotics from this last wave of Strep, I went to an ENT specialists and plead my case.

He informed me that for older patients, the entire experience tends to tip towards a painful outcome. I told him that surgery has never really bothered me and that I wasn't worried about it. He was the first of many to tell me that I should be worried. Really worried, actually. With my stepfather being the only person saying that the surgery wasn't going to be that bad (he was 55 when he had it done) and everyone else telling me it would be one of the most painful experiences of my life, I decided to take my chances and get the little devils removed.

I am happy to report that the surgery went well and that the recovery process wasn't bad at all. With the support of my mother, my aunt, Dave and one of the coolest gift baskets ever from Tara, I recovered faster than expected... AND not to mention, a fine helping of liquid codeine!!!

I was on a strict liquids and soft foods diet for about a week. I only had one incident where I thought the pain was going to get the better of me. I took a customer out to eat about 5 days after the surgery and was a little too tempted by the Cajun Seafood menu. I ended up tearing off a scab and bleeding (this also happened to be the day that I decided to stop taking the codeine; I took a double dose right before I passed out... for a LONG time).

Needless to say, I would recommend the surgery for anyone. Being down after tonsil surgery for a week, compared to being down with strep for a week a couple times a year is a no-brainer.

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