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My doctor's words yesterday. It hurts worse than anything I've ever had to deal with--my tonsils are as swollen as they can get before they block off my airway. I haven't been able to sleep the past two nights because of the excruciating pain of swallowing (it's amazing how debilitating it is to not be able to swallow without cringing). I'm supposed to drink lots and lots of water (soup, tea), and I'm doing ok, but it hurts so much. I'm going back Thursday--and if it's not any better, I think it'll be surgery time.
In the meantime, I really wish Thursday would get here sooner
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(((Launchy))) Damn, that's pretty harsh. Do you put ice the water you drink? I'm not sure that's recommended. Best of luck, tonsils can be killers, pain-wise.
Posts: 1594 | Registered: Apr 2006
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That sounds awful, Launchy. I am such a big fat major wimp when it comes to bad sore throats -- they make me long to be knocked unconscious.
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I like pineapple juice for a sore throat. That same thing that irritates the corners of your mouth when you gnaw on the pineapple acts as a counter-irritant to your sore throat.
Also, salty bouillon always seems to go down easy.
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Did he not give you any painkillers to help you get some sleep? It can't be good to not sleep while you're already sick. Or maybe the doctors here are just really overzealous...I got painkillers for having fluid in my ears. Of course, I was also in horrible pain at the time and curled up in a ball on the table. But you'd think that if you're not sleeping...that they'd give you something.
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Oh, dear. Feel better...that sounds just horrible!! I hate sore throats. Does gargling with salt water help at all??
Posts: 834 | Registered: Jun 2005
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That was my fifth grade year, no sleep, tonsils touched, throat hurt. Tonsils were never normal looking again, and out about a year later. My doctor never suggested the tonsilectomy, my mom did after being at the doctors 18 times in 13 months, all for sore throats. It was worth it, that was 9 years ago and I have about a third the number of sore throats I used to, still not gone (though college has been much better than high school was).
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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IF you can find it, Smucker's instant strawberry Lemonade is a miracle cure for me. Wouldn't know if it's still available because I didn't particularly care for the taste, so it remained in the cupboard for a long after someone brought it over.
Then I got desperate one night cuz swallowing my own saliva became painful, and my uvula looked thrashed. I've never bought cough medicines, and there were no lemons around for a hot&strong lemon&sugar&water or lemon&honey&water concoction. Tried the Smucker's, and it soothed things down enough to go to sleep. Next morning, an only slightly noticible inflammation and mild sore throat. Did another dose, and it cleared up.
Been using it ever since when I've felt a sore throat, cold, or flu coming on. And only when I've felt a sore throat, cold, or flu coming on; I still don't particularly care for the taste. And it still works rapidly. Stir about 3-or-more times as much Smucker's as recommended into a mug with water as hot as you can stand to sip. And just sip in tiny amounts. It's alright if it cools while sipping.
Wouldn't be surprised if an equally stong mixture of lemon juice (and maybe a vitaminC tablet), strawberry Jello, and water worked just as well.
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I had mine out when I was 5, and I've never had strep since. Here's hoping the doc takes them soon, Launchy. From what I understand, broken tonsils just make you sick.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Recovering from a tonsillectomy as an adult is NO FUN. But the pain and the discomfort was completely worth it. Between the recurrent infections and the episodes where I stopped breathing in the middle of the night, surgery was the best thing I could have done.
If you have trouble with soup or hot liquids, try some Gatorade. Or popsicles. The cold will help numb your throat.
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by pH: Did he not give you any painkillers to help you get some sleep? It can't be good to not sleep while you're already sick. Or maybe the doctors here are just really overzealous...I got painkillers for having fluid in my ears. Of course, I was also in horrible pain at the time and curled up in a ball on the table. But you'd think that if you're not sleeping...that they'd give you something.
-pH
If they are worried about his airway, most effective painkillers (opiod narcotics) would relax the airway even more, making it more likely to close off. That is why people snore when asleep but not awake -- the back of the throat gets really relaxed. Opiod narcotics exacerbate the effect.
If his throat is as bad as described, I would have admitted him to a hospital before giving narcotics. Actually, if "[his] tonsils are as swollen as they can get before they block off [his] airway," he'd have to be on mornitoring in the hospital. I expect it's just shy of that, but so close that narcotics aren't warranted.
A better choice might be the "Philadelphia/Magic Mouthwash" used for cancer patients with sore throats (goes under many different names, usually contains a topical anesthetic, antihistamine, and Maalox). Launchywiggin, I'd suggest trying popsicles [as Shanna noted above] (the cheap flavored sugar-water kind) or slushies, and if it is really bad, calling your doctor's office and asking about "Magic Mouthwash." They may or may not be familiar with it, but it's usually a slurry of Lidocaine, Benedryl, and Maalox, and it's used for people with severe mucositis.
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I had a throat so sore I couldn't take tylenol once, and they gave me tylenol suppositories... *shudder*
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Launchy, been there, done that. I had severe tonsillitis between ages four and twelve, then had the tonsils (mostly) removed, and since then, the tonsillitis has still hurt, but at least I could swallow without quite as much pain. Actually, I had tonsillitis again last week...
It's my understanding that tonsils can't be removed until they're no longer infected, otherwise the infection can spread to elsewhere in the body. Which would suck even more.
You have my sympathy. Get well soon.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Yeah, this happened to me about six months ago. I remember the painful swallowing. I managed to sleep, although I found eating was nearly impossible. I ate soft, nearly-liquid foods for a while.
Lessee, the doctor gave me an antibiotic and I drank lots of throat-soothing concoctions, including hot water/honey/lemon juice.
Posts: 1813 | Registered: Apr 2001
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My tonsils are so small that I'm often asked if I've had them removed...when they ARE swollen, they're like...maybe the size of normal tonsils. So I have never known this airway-closing tonsil issue.
CT, isn't there an anti-inflammatory or something? I know they made me take something for a few days before my wisdom teeth adventure because it was supposed to keep swelling down.
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Thanks for all the remedies and support. I went shopping this morning (though getting up and walking around was difficult, it did make me feel better), I got lots of popsicles (and have already gone through one box), some painkillers (because I didn't have any before), and chicken soup.
Finally, in the past hour or so, I'm starting to feel better. I think the swelling has gone down and the painkillers are making it easier to swallow (instead of "excruciating" it's medium-mild pain). I finally got a solid 3 hours of sleep (though my pillow is soaked in what I have to assume is drool) /gross/
It's funny though--because I tried just about everything to feel better, I don't know which ones had the most effect. I have to wonder if I would have gotten better if I hadn't done anything at all (know what I mean?). I usually never go to the hospital/take medicine because I'm all about having faith in my immune system.
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pH, I bet you are thinking of corticosteroids. They can be very helpful, but there can also be a lot of reasons not to prescribe them. I don't know the details of this one. It's a good thought.
That's essentially what the antihistamine does in Magic Mouthwash.
quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: Thanks for all the remedies and support. ... Finally, in the past hour or so, I'm starting to feel better.
That's great!
quote:I usually never go to the hospital/take medicine because I'm all about having faith in my immune system.
It's a nice sentiment, but don't forget that the immune system is responsible for allergies, Type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, probably a good bit of heart disease, idiopathic thrombocytic purpura, Goodpasture's syndrome, Guillan-Barre syndrome, etc.
Often the immune system does a lot of damage, even more than anything else involved.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: It's funny though--because I tried just about everything to feel better, I don't know which ones had the most effect.
Probably the antibiotic. The rest is window dressing.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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I'm only taking painkillers. The infection is viral, so I haven't taken any antibiotics.
The swelling was back up this morning. This makes me sad. I'm gonna ask about that steroid at the doctor tomorrow. I don't really want to have my tonsils taken out, because the recovery period is the worst.
Posts: 1314 | Registered: Jan 2006
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Launchy, you gave me your swelling. I just got back from having a steroid shot because my ears are all swollen inside and stuffed up or something.
Oh, intarwebs...spreading viruses everywhere.
What is the recovery time supposed to be for tonsils being removed?
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A week or so of feeling like complete crap, not good when you start seventh grade 8 days after having your tonsils out. I cried in the lunch room because I couldn't find the nurses office.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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So last night, things got much worse in the pain/breathing/swallowing area in addition to severe fatigue and fever. I thought about it for a couple hours and finally said "I'm going to the hospital now". Thanks to my landlord for driving me.
So, my tonsils were so swollen, so unbelievably large, that EVERY doctor, nurse, and staff person in the ER at Massachusetts General hospital came over to see them last night. I'm talking 30+ doctors. As people were walking by on important business, their colleagues would pull them away saying "Man, you GOTTA see this". I had a crowd for a good 30 minutes after coming in. When the Ear/Nose/Throat specialist came in an hour later, she said that she had never seen anything like it before because they were symmetrically perfect in their hugeness.
I was so intriguing to them that (even though I was basically laughing along with them and in good humor, just a lot of pain), they gave me the highest priority room (which seemed unfair to the people outside lining the halls on stretchers, but oh well.) They hooked me up to an IV with like 4 different things pumping into me including some "just in case" antibiotics and the steroids CT was talking about. They took all kinds of blood samples and didn't find out what caused it till this morning: an arcane bacterium that wasn't picked up on the initial strep tests. The particular bacterium is found in .2% of adult cases with sore throat, and no one had ever seen it. So--it wasn't viral after all.
I got to spend the night, I finally got a full night's rest (first in a week), and I'm so happily hopped up on painkillers(percosets?) that I can eat and drink anything. Thank God for the insurance plan I literally signed two weeks ago.
And that is my ER story. I'm feeling worlds better, but that might just be the painkillers. My roommate told me they're like oxycontin? Is that bad?
Posts: 1314 | Registered: Jan 2006
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If you were taking them without being under a doctor's care? Yes. Taking them on prescription because you were in lots of pain? No, not bad -- it would be bad to NOT take them, given the pain you describe.
Sounds like you had an exciting night. Stop that!
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Glad they finally figured out what the heck was going on. Too bad you were THIS close to being in a medical journal. Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I think percoset is oxycodone, which doesn't release as quickly as oxycontin. They gave me oxycodone for a while during the wisdom teeth adventure, which kept me from crying my eyes out and made for some very, very interesting dreams. Definitely take them...it's good to be able to sleep and rest...you need sleep and rest to heal more quickly!
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I had oxycodone when I had ankle surgery and took it for about a week. Whatever it was it had ibuprofen in it as well for the swelling. I took it for about a week before going back to straight ibuprofen. I didn't like how I felt when I was taking it, but it was the only thing that would take the pain away.
Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I want to see pictures! They should give you a discount on your bill for being a spectacle. I am glad you had sense enough to go to the hospital. My mom has nearly died before from not wanting to "make a scene in front of the children." Never mind that we were all over the age of 14.
I don't have tonsils.
Posts: 3936 | Registered: Jul 2000
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Oxycodone is the active ingredient in both Oxycontin and Percocet. The Oxycontin is a long-acting formula, for 12-hour dosing. The Percocet is an intermediate-acting formula, for 4-6 hour dosing. The Percocet is also combined with Tylenol.
Abusers crush the Oxycontin, allowing the full 12-hour dose to be rapidly released, so, in essence, taking a higher milligram dose over a short period than is usually intended.
In any event, taken as you are doing, as treatment for pain, and as prescribed by a physician, is unlikely to be dangerous or addictive. It is when you take the drug for reasons other than pain relief, or in higher than prescribed dosages, or in combination with other things (other drugs, liquor), that you could be considered a drug abuser, and in need of help for that little problem.
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Bok--One thing I definitely noticed was that ALL of the docs were under 30. It was bizarre, for sure--I remember only one old guy with gray hair and a few older nurses.
About pictures, the ENT specialist took a few with a regular camera, then STUCK A CAMERA UP MY NOSE AND DOWN MY THROAT. So I got endoscoped. That was by far the most irritating and bothersome thing I've ever gone through. I tried to be a good patient--sit still, concentrate on breathing--but I couldn't help it. I was struggling, gagging, coughing--tears pouring down my eyes and out my nose. My nose is just too sensitive. So, she pumped lidocaine goo up my nose till my face was numb. That eased the trip through my nose and down my throat. I don't know if she recorded it or just had a viewer screen, but it turned out that everything else besides the tonsils were perfectly normal.
Oxycodone is awesome, by the way. If I were a social deviant or criminally inclined, I'd definitely invest in the market for this stuff.
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None of the doctors had ever seen or heard of it, so I was an important learning experience! Though, by the odds, they'll never see it again.
Posts: 1314 | Registered: Jan 2006
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Andy- I had no idea it was this bad! Let me know how you're doing, I'm no stranger to throat trouble. Will you be okay for my visit next week? I fly in the 21st- I promise not to smoke .
My sister is picking me up from the airport, but we could get lunch, maybe on the 23rd or 22nd if you're feeling it. She has work one of those days anyway. Facebook me.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: Bok--One thing I definitely noticed was that ALL of the docs were under 30. It was bizarre, for sure--I remember only one old guy with gray hair and a few older nurses.
*LOL* The non-school clinic here that takes walk-ins with my school insurance is all full of really young, really attractive residents. And really young, really attractive nurses. It makes for awkward times.
quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: So, my tonsils were so swollen, so unbelievably large, that EVERY doctor, nurse, and staff person in the ER at Massachusetts General hospital came over to see them last night. I'm talking 30+ doctors. As people were walking by on important business, their colleagues would pull them away saying "Man, you GOTTA see this". I had a crowd for a good 30 minutes after coming in. When the Ear/Nose/Throat specialist came in an hour later, she said that she had never seen anything like it before because they were symmetrically perfect in their hugeness.
You sounded like a side show. You should have charged admission. That would help cover the cost of your treatment.
News about cool things in the ER travel around the hospital quickly. We always had more visitors when people came in with various... er... impalements. Posts: 1766 | Registered: Feb 2006
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I took my baby to her doctor and pretty quickly, she was examining my throat. Figured that I might be easier to diagnose then the baby since I wasn't fighting her. She found the white pustules disturbing, but since not strep or mono or bacteria figured it is just a virus so nothing to be done but keep fever down.
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Mar 2006
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Good choice about taking the trip to the ER. Though the "showcase" certainly would have driven me mad. Course, you shouldn't be rude to the nice doctors and nurses holding the painkillers. I learned that quickly myself.
Glad you're feeling better. Its good that you're able to eat and get some sleep. I think that can sometimes be better than all the meds in the world. I hope you're back to being great soon.
Is it weird that I'm curious to see the pictures?! I couldn't help taking pictures of mine when I was sick.
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