Adult tonsillectomy Pain

[carole321]

I have two reasons for wanting a tonsillectomy and probable uvulopalatopharyngoplasty....I have tonsiloliths (my primary reason) and mild sleep apenea for which I use c-pap sometimes, but don't tolerate it well.
The ENT I saw said a tonsillectomy at my age would be extremely painful..."more painful then having a baby".  He went on about how much pain I would have and really scared me.  I want to have it done but am thinking about childbirth and do I want that much pain for 10 days or so!!!!!!   Anything I read on discussion groups talk of terrible pain the people have gone through,  I know these discussion boards are usually filled by people who have had problems and those who don't have problems usually don't feel the need to write about it.  
Has anyone had this done that can encourage me?

[Aiene]

I had my tonsils out when i was 16 and it was a cakewalk. i ate solid food a day later (just a little bit and very carefully) and returned to school. Very little pain.

[just_jim11]

hello Carol,

have you found anyone that does the uvulaplasty surgery in bakersfield? i had ir done about 9 years ago but need it trimmed again.

thanks, Jim

[carole321]

Thank you for your encouragement.  I am setting up a date for the surgery and I also set up an appointment with another dr for a second opinion.  Hearing about someone else who had it done is helpful.  There are 50 years between our ages so I imagine my experience will be somewhat worse, but still, it is good to hear.  If anyone else had experience I would appreciate a comment.  
Carole

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hi,

I don’t think you need to worry that much with so many options of pain relief available nowadays. The painkillers available are quite effective and safe. We have the options of steroids, NSAIDS and even local anesthetics to numb the local area as the pain post tonsillectomy mainly occurs due to the spasm of the muscles around the tonsils which can be well taken care of.

I am sure you’ll agree that a pain for a few days is much better than a pain for lifetime which I assume you are going through.

I hope that helps. Please do keep me posted.

Kind regards.

[Brendricky]

My son had his out when he was 16, That is considered old to to have them removed but like you he needed to have them out due to sleep apnea and frequent infections. I asked him for you how his pain was with it.  He told me the pain was not as bad as you have been told.  He did however lose 25 lbs in 2 weeks due to not eating BECAUSE he felt as if the food was going down the wrong tube. He was numb for quite sometime and would not eat until he had feeling back again.  He stated it felt odd because they were not there and needed to get used to the feeling of them not being there.

Hope this helps
Bren