Ok, Since it seems to be customary to document one’s suffering post one of the most commonly performed surgeries in the world, I have decided to put my experience online as well.
Ok, post surgery, I spent a day in the hospital. I am sure that in most cases you’re sent back home in a few hours but my doctor (who is pretty awesome) insisted that I stay under observation for a night.
Day Of Surgery:
I downed a decent amount of ice-cream and managed to down a decent amount of water. Apart from the blood I was spitting out for like 2 hours after the surgery, I didn’t feel a lot of pain. Of course, the intensity of my voice was less than 55 dB for sure. My speech was reduced to whispering.
Day 1:
Decent amount of pain. Downed a decent amount of painkillers and ate ice-cream + yoghurt
Day 2:
Decent amount of painkillers again, throat begins hurting a bit more than usual. Apart from like a spoonful of yoghurt, I couldn’t down anything else. Slept a decent amount of time.
Day 3:
Had a decent amount of painkillers again (something like 50 – 60 ml) and I could down a bit more of yogurt. At this point ice-cream and cold stuff started hurting.
Day 4:
In the morning all of a sudden, I felt no pain. I ate chips, bread and yogurt with ease. Sometime in the evening though, the pain came back with full force and it hurt real bad. I was worried because I thought I did something wrong. I couldn’t sleep that night. Also, had to take painkillers every 2 hours since it hurt real bad.
Day 5:
Thought I was going to die. Any activity involving the throat would lead to some severe pain in the ears / throat and I was getting dizzy. I downed a solid 100 ml of painkillers on this day. I also ate nothing.
Day 6:
Small signs of improvement, with regular painkiller doses, I was able to keep the pain to a minimum. I also shifted to a diet of bread + soup. Worked beautifully.
Day 7:
Felt real awesome. Went for like 10 hours without painkillers. Had to take a small dose before sleeping. Else, it felt great.
On day 8, I resumed my normal lifestyle. No pain whatsoever.
There, I didn’t read any torture stories and felt that with painkillers nearby, it can all be dealt with easily.
If you’re having this op done, do not hesitate. I don’t snore anymore and all traces of apnea have disappeared. Life’s awesome now.
Sounds scary. god speed recovery to you. :)