I had heard all of the warnings of what a tough surgery an adult tonsillectomy was but I really had no idea it would kick my ass THIS MUCH! Not once...but twice. I am now a week post-surgery and I don't think I have ever felt so much pain. I am now certain I felt nowhere near this much pain with both C-sections combined.
I had a major complication on Sunday night, 3 1/2 days after my surgery. I had a hemorrhage that was the scariest thing that ever happened to me. I laid down to go to sleep Sunday night and I just started swallowing....A LOT. I jumped up and went to he bathroom and watched blood just spew out of my mouth. I banged on the wall and Eric came rushing in. He took me straight to the Emergency Room while my dad, who was here helping with the girls while I recovered, stayed home with the girls. I am SO grateful that my dad was here and that this happened after the girls were asleep. They didn't know anything until morning when Eric was home to talk to them.
The scene in the ER was nothing short of traumatizing. I was wheeled into the ER door and they got me straight back to the trauma room and paged the on-call ENT doc who got there SO fast. There was blood all over the room. It was coming up, it was going down, I was choking on it, spitting it out, and eventually throwing it up. It was happening to me but it was like I was watching it from the sidelines. When the ER doc got there he gave me shots in the back of my throat to help numb it (which only worked partially) and worked on cauterizing the bleeding vessels. It took him more than an hour to finish. I could see the smoke and smell the burning flesh. There was blood, lots of it, more shots and more bleeders just when he thought he had it. It seemed never-ending. By the time he was finished the room, me, him and anything in the close vicinity was covered in my blood, I had never seen so much blood. Have I mentioned there was lots of blood?
Needless to say after that was over I went into shock, my blood pressure dropped...a lot. I was admitted overnight for observation but, because of my BP I had to wait in the ER for hours before they could move me to the interim place. After I got there I waited a few more hours before going upstairs to my room for the night. There was only minutes of sleep that night. After things initially settled in the ER I freaked out and sent Eric home in case the kids woke up and got scared. This left me alone when my BP dropped and beyond. I felt better though knowing Eric would be home if the girls woke up and MUCH better when he called me after getting home to tell me they were still sleeping peacefully.
The worry of another hemorrhage has me terrified. I'm trying not to worry about it and be as careful as I can but I am in the 7-10 day post-op window where a hemorrhage is most likely. I haven't had anything to eat that is more solid than yogurt. I'm having one yogurt, one Ensure and one Popsicle a day (thereabouts) and as much water as I can swallow which is still very hard to do (swallow). I suppose the weight loss is the only bonus but this type of weight loss won't likely stick (dang!). I feel very weak due to lack of food and all of the blood I lost on Sunday night. I need to take iron supplements for 8 weeks once I can swallow them.
Today I think I'm noticing a slight bit of improvement. I showered and had the idea of going to the store to stroll around but once I got out of the shower I realized how worn out I was and I got some serious phlegm or scabs (they should start sloughing off about now) in the back of my throat and it's not going anywhere. 1. I am not supposed to clear my throat or cough for two weeks (yeah, right!), 2. It hurts SO bad to clear my throat or cough, 3. I am scared I will cause another hemorrhage if I clear my throat or cough too hard. So, I'm kinda feeling helpless at the moment and thought I would take advantage of my upright position to blog about what happened. One thing that has made this SO much worse for me than what it should be is my sensitivity to narcotics. I get sick when I take them. I, obviously, had to have them in the hospital but didn't take any once I went home the day following surgery. Typing this out I can't help but think how stupid that was. I was given an anti-nausea medication but I just kept thinking it would get better if I could push through. Now I know better and should have taken them, at least a few of them.Once I had my hemorrhage I was even more adamant not to take them in the off chance I would throw up and cause another hemorrhage. I have been surviving on 100 mg of Tylenol every 6 hours around the clock. Last night I took an anti-nausea pill just because they help with sleep and I wish I had done that sooner too. It really helped me get some rest last night.
I'm on day 9 post tonsillectomy and day 5 post ER tonsillectomy/cauterizing/nightmare so I think I will feel much better by the end of next weekend when I will feel I have past the most critical time for another hemorrhage. I wanted the doc to reassure me that I am not more likely for another hemorrhage just because I had one but I got the distinct impression that wasn't the case when he looked at me, didn't answer my question and told me I had to be very careful.
So, that is my story up to this point of my tonsillectomy. It has been a nightmare but I am also feeling incredibly thankful for the friends who are helping get my kids to and from school, my dad who has been here to help with the kids and just be here so I am not alone when Eric is at work, for all of the offers of help from friends and acquaintances who seem truly concerned for me. A good friend brought my family a meal, another friend took my girls out for a fun afternoon last weekend and people keep asking how I'm doing. A surgery like this (especially with the complication I had) can really start to be depressing as the days go on and you feel like nothing is improving but it will....eventually. It will just take time.
Needless to say after that was over I went into shock, my blood pressure dropped...a lot. I was admitted overnight for observation but, because of my BP I had to wait in the ER for hours before they could move me to the interim place. After I got there I waited a few more hours before going upstairs to my room for the night. There was only minutes of sleep that night. After things initially settled in the ER I freaked out and sent Eric home in case the kids woke up and got scared. This left me alone when my BP dropped and beyond. I felt better though knowing Eric would be home if the girls woke up and MUCH better when he called me after getting home to tell me they were still sleeping peacefully.
The worry of another hemorrhage has me terrified. I'm trying not to worry about it and be as careful as I can but I am in the 7-10 day post-op window where a hemorrhage is most likely. I haven't had anything to eat that is more solid than yogurt. I'm having one yogurt, one Ensure and one Popsicle a day (thereabouts) and as much water as I can swallow which is still very hard to do (swallow). I suppose the weight loss is the only bonus but this type of weight loss won't likely stick (dang!). I feel very weak due to lack of food and all of the blood I lost on Sunday night. I need to take iron supplements for 8 weeks once I can swallow them.
Today I think I'm noticing a slight bit of improvement. I showered and had the idea of going to the store to stroll around but once I got out of the shower I realized how worn out I was and I got some serious phlegm or scabs (they should start sloughing off about now) in the back of my throat and it's not going anywhere. 1. I am not supposed to clear my throat or cough for two weeks (yeah, right!), 2. It hurts SO bad to clear my throat or cough, 3. I am scared I will cause another hemorrhage if I clear my throat or cough too hard. So, I'm kinda feeling helpless at the moment and thought I would take advantage of my upright position to blog about what happened. One thing that has made this SO much worse for me than what it should be is my sensitivity to narcotics. I get sick when I take them. I, obviously, had to have them in the hospital but didn't take any once I went home the day following surgery. Typing this out I can't help but think how stupid that was. I was given an anti-nausea medication but I just kept thinking it would get better if I could push through. Now I know better and should have taken them, at least a few of them.Once I had my hemorrhage I was even more adamant not to take them in the off chance I would throw up and cause another hemorrhage. I have been surviving on 100 mg of Tylenol every 6 hours around the clock. Last night I took an anti-nausea pill just because they help with sleep and I wish I had done that sooner too. It really helped me get some rest last night.
I'm on day 9 post tonsillectomy and day 5 post ER tonsillectomy/cauterizing/nightmare so I think I will feel much better by the end of next weekend when I will feel I have past the most critical time for another hemorrhage. I wanted the doc to reassure me that I am not more likely for another hemorrhage just because I had one but I got the distinct impression that wasn't the case when he looked at me, didn't answer my question and told me I had to be very careful.
So, that is my story up to this point of my tonsillectomy. It has been a nightmare but I am also feeling incredibly thankful for the friends who are helping get my kids to and from school, my dad who has been here to help with the kids and just be here so I am not alone when Eric is at work, for all of the offers of help from friends and acquaintances who seem truly concerned for me. A good friend brought my family a meal, another friend took my girls out for a fun afternoon last weekend and people keep asking how I'm doing. A surgery like this (especially with the complication I had) can really start to be depressing as the days go on and you feel like nothing is improving but it will....eventually. It will just take time.
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