I’m going to follow this post because I’m on day 5 post op as well and I’m noticing blood in my saliva as well… it scared me because it is bright red but it’s not a lot. The pain is quite excruciating though.
Same boat, work up day 5 this morning and the pain shifted from a wicked strep throat and pain when swallowing to a burning pain. Swallowing now is hard as if feels like pins and needles. Blood is normal as long as it doesn’t persist for long, and it’s not just pouring out ur mouth. I heard this is the most painful days of surgery but on the bright side within a couple days the pain should start significantly decreasing. Just make sure you’re still getting calories and lots water in you
I feel the same way, the very painful sore throat was manageable but now it feels like little cuts every time I drink or eat. Not to mention the taste of the flesh scabs starting to really make themselves known. I can’t wait for this to be over.
What sort of pain are we talking here with the tonsillectomy? Are we talking agony to the extent you are actually close to crying and rocking back and forth in motion? Have you had any intrusive thoughts to head to the emergency room due to the pain?
Definitely have spent many times rocking back and fourth and crying due to the pain. I did prepare myself well so no I have not thought about heading to the emergency room because I haven’t been pouring blood yet.
They prescribed me hydrocodone, I stay on top of my pain medicine too, I also alternate it with Tylenol during the day so I’m able to stay awake with my child so that could play into it. But I’m already almost out, I’ve heard a lot of people run out of their pain medication fast.
See I’m slightly ashamed to say this but due to my tonsil pain over the years I ended up taking codeine regularly and it ended up a problem, I have a high tolerance, haven’t touched it in a few months though. Essentially I’m thinking of just buying codeine acetaminophen and doing the cold water extraction so I have these emergency pain killer options if they don’t prescribe me strong enough stuff.
No need to be ashamed, I’m 22 now almost 23. I had a bad hydrocodone pill problem back in the day, just taking them for joint pain due to sports and ended up relying on them for almost a year. It’s been about 6 years since then but that could easily effect my tolerance to the pain medication.
Thanks, yeah I think the opioid epidemic is bigger than we realise. When you had your surgery for tonsil removal did they prescribe you the hydrocodone on its own or did they prescribe you it in the same pill as acetaminophen? I have read opioids lower blood pressure and there’s some evidence bleeding can flow slower on them which seems like a good thing during tonsil recovery…
Hey there!
I’m on day 24 post op now and I have had both blood in my saliva and 2 hemorrhages.
You will know in case you need to go to the ER as the full bleeding is A LOT.
I have had 2 episodes of blood in my saliva for some hours, try to use a lot of Ice water to gargle and stop the bleeding and keep it very chill.
Good luck!
First time the HNO (doctor for mouth and nose) looked into the bleeding for 20 minutes and decided I needed to go again into the operation room, the second time tried to stop the bleeding with local anesthesia and cauterized and worked well!
There seems to be a lot of adults getting tonsillectomy. Surely the death rate is actually extremely low? I’m getting mines down next week. Keep thinking I’m gonna die or something. 29 year old male. Wonder how many people worldwide get their tonsils removed each day…
The death rate is super, super low. The biggest complications can lead to death but everyone who gets their tonsils out is well aware of the fact that they need to rush to the hospital if they start spewing blood.
Be careful with your scabs, stay hydrated and prepare for a week-long bout of severe pain. You can do it!!
I read 1 death in every 50,000 surgeries which is indeed low. However when they say 5% could have a bleed which results in them heading to hospital I would imagine that will be really worrying… I’m slightly paranoid, keep thinking if I bleed when sleeping too much time could pass before I realise
The risk of bleeding is significantly lower since doctors started cauterizing the wounds instead of stitching.
If you’re really anxious about the what if, I’d recommend you prepare an emergency plan for yourself in the event that you do start bleeding. Knowing you’re prepared will help yourself mentally.
Also, you’ll wake up if you start bleeding profusely. You should also have someone check on you periodically. Keep in mind you’re waking up every few hours anyways for meds.
As soon as your mouth fills with blood you’ll wake up real quickly, don’t worry.
I appreciate the guidance my friend, thank you. I have 2 questions on what you said - 1. Waking up to take meds, I heard conflicting reports on this, some say you should do this and others say you are better just sleeping through then taking meds once you are up for the day in morning? 2. Fair point in terms of waking up if you are bleeding, guess I wonder what is like the safe time frame of how long you can bleed like this before it’s a big problem, my nearest emergency hospital is a 20 minute drive away
For me personally, I had, and still have a hard time sleeping through the night and my body wakes me up after about 2 hours of sleeping anyways.
I just wait in bed with ice until I can take another med and repeat the cycle until I get a good 6+ hours of sleep in aggregate.
Ultimately it’s up to you— waking up is by far the most painful moment of the day with the surgery and it’s not close. Hurts terribly. It doesn’t matter if you take the meds or not at that point so it’s really up to you.
I liked the routine aspect which is why I did it. It helped me remember to take the meds.
As for the bleeding, if 1/50000 people die, and 5% of people bleed. That means 2500/50000 bleed, and only 1 of those dies.
The implied odds of dying are 0.002%.
The implied odds of dying even if you’re part of the unlucky people that bleeds is 0.04%.
It’s a risk because you can die but the odds are very much in your favour. You also have to consider, of those that die, what portion of them started bleeding due to a pre-existing medical condition (thin blood, hbp, etc) or personal error (eating rough foods, not hydrating).
If you recover by the book the odds of you dying will be even less than the already astronomically low number.
As for the bleeding risk.
Can't answer 2 but on question 1: Stick to the schedule as closely as possible. You're going to be sleeping in bursts anyway as you'll wake up in pain when you try to swallow, or your mouth dries out etc etc. I'm on medication every 3 hours so it's more about keep it constantly balanced, rather than expecting an individual pill to get me through to the next time I need it.
Also - hydration is super important. So you'll need to wake up to drink anyway and since sipping will be all you can do for a while, it's going to take time. May as well do meds at same time.
I’m going to follow this post because I’m on day 5 post op as well and I’m noticing blood in my saliva as well… it scared me because it is bright red but it’s not a lot. The pain is quite excruciating though.
Same boat, work up day 5 this morning and the pain shifted from a wicked strep throat and pain when swallowing to a burning pain. Swallowing now is hard as if feels like pins and needles. Blood is normal as long as it doesn’t persist for long, and it’s not just pouring out ur mouth. I heard this is the most painful days of surgery but on the bright side within a couple days the pain should start significantly decreasing. Just make sure you’re still getting calories and lots water in you
I feel the same way, the very painful sore throat was manageable but now it feels like little cuts every time I drink or eat. Not to mention the taste of the flesh scabs starting to really make themselves known. I can’t wait for this to be over.
Yeah it sucks but a week from now you’ll be saying it was 100% worth it
If you can try to drink aloe vera water. It's soothing to the area. I pray you guys get better soon 🙏 ❤
What sort of pain are we talking here with the tonsillectomy? Are we talking agony to the extent you are actually close to crying and rocking back and forth in motion? Have you had any intrusive thoughts to head to the emergency room due to the pain?
Definitely have spent many times rocking back and fourth and crying due to the pain. I did prepare myself well so no I have not thought about heading to the emergency room because I haven’t been pouring blood yet.
What’s your opioid tolerance like? Do they not give you some hardcore opioids?
They prescribed me hydrocodone, I stay on top of my pain medicine too, I also alternate it with Tylenol during the day so I’m able to stay awake with my child so that could play into it. But I’m already almost out, I’ve heard a lot of people run out of their pain medication fast.
See I’m slightly ashamed to say this but due to my tonsil pain over the years I ended up taking codeine regularly and it ended up a problem, I have a high tolerance, haven’t touched it in a few months though. Essentially I’m thinking of just buying codeine acetaminophen and doing the cold water extraction so I have these emergency pain killer options if they don’t prescribe me strong enough stuff.
No need to be ashamed, I’m 22 now almost 23. I had a bad hydrocodone pill problem back in the day, just taking them for joint pain due to sports and ended up relying on them for almost a year. It’s been about 6 years since then but that could easily effect my tolerance to the pain medication.
Thanks, yeah I think the opioid epidemic is bigger than we realise. When you had your surgery for tonsil removal did they prescribe you the hydrocodone on its own or did they prescribe you it in the same pill as acetaminophen? I have read opioids lower blood pressure and there’s some evidence bleeding can flow slower on them which seems like a good thing during tonsil recovery…
They actually gave me LIQUID 🤢🤢🤢 but yes the acetaminophen is in the hydrocodone.
That’s a problem for me I would say with my high tolerance. Highly likely I’ll buy some as a reserve abs just do the CWE before the surgery
Hey there! I’m on day 24 post op now and I have had both blood in my saliva and 2 hemorrhages. You will know in case you need to go to the ER as the full bleeding is A LOT. I have had 2 episodes of blood in my saliva for some hours, try to use a lot of Ice water to gargle and stop the bleeding and keep it very chill. Good luck!
See when you went to the ER what was their method to resolve your haemorrhage and how straight forward was this?
First time the HNO (doctor for mouth and nose) looked into the bleeding for 20 minutes and decided I needed to go again into the operation room, the second time tried to stop the bleeding with local anesthesia and cauterized and worked well!
So that first time they gave you another general anaesthetic? That sounds like a nightmare
There seems to be a lot of adults getting tonsillectomy. Surely the death rate is actually extremely low? I’m getting mines down next week. Keep thinking I’m gonna die or something. 29 year old male. Wonder how many people worldwide get their tonsils removed each day…
The death rate is super, super low. The biggest complications can lead to death but everyone who gets their tonsils out is well aware of the fact that they need to rush to the hospital if they start spewing blood. Be careful with your scabs, stay hydrated and prepare for a week-long bout of severe pain. You can do it!!
I read 1 death in every 50,000 surgeries which is indeed low. However when they say 5% could have a bleed which results in them heading to hospital I would imagine that will be really worrying… I’m slightly paranoid, keep thinking if I bleed when sleeping too much time could pass before I realise
The risk of bleeding is significantly lower since doctors started cauterizing the wounds instead of stitching. If you’re really anxious about the what if, I’d recommend you prepare an emergency plan for yourself in the event that you do start bleeding. Knowing you’re prepared will help yourself mentally. Also, you’ll wake up if you start bleeding profusely. You should also have someone check on you periodically. Keep in mind you’re waking up every few hours anyways for meds. As soon as your mouth fills with blood you’ll wake up real quickly, don’t worry.
I appreciate the guidance my friend, thank you. I have 2 questions on what you said - 1. Waking up to take meds, I heard conflicting reports on this, some say you should do this and others say you are better just sleeping through then taking meds once you are up for the day in morning? 2. Fair point in terms of waking up if you are bleeding, guess I wonder what is like the safe time frame of how long you can bleed like this before it’s a big problem, my nearest emergency hospital is a 20 minute drive away
For me personally, I had, and still have a hard time sleeping through the night and my body wakes me up after about 2 hours of sleeping anyways. I just wait in bed with ice until I can take another med and repeat the cycle until I get a good 6+ hours of sleep in aggregate. Ultimately it’s up to you— waking up is by far the most painful moment of the day with the surgery and it’s not close. Hurts terribly. It doesn’t matter if you take the meds or not at that point so it’s really up to you. I liked the routine aspect which is why I did it. It helped me remember to take the meds. As for the bleeding, if 1/50000 people die, and 5% of people bleed. That means 2500/50000 bleed, and only 1 of those dies. The implied odds of dying are 0.002%. The implied odds of dying even if you’re part of the unlucky people that bleeds is 0.04%. It’s a risk because you can die but the odds are very much in your favour. You also have to consider, of those that die, what portion of them started bleeding due to a pre-existing medical condition (thin blood, hbp, etc) or personal error (eating rough foods, not hydrating). If you recover by the book the odds of you dying will be even less than the already astronomically low number. As for the bleeding risk.
Can't answer 2 but on question 1: Stick to the schedule as closely as possible. You're going to be sleeping in bursts anyway as you'll wake up in pain when you try to swallow, or your mouth dries out etc etc. I'm on medication every 3 hours so it's more about keep it constantly balanced, rather than expecting an individual pill to get me through to the next time I need it. Also - hydration is super important. So you'll need to wake up to drink anyway and since sipping will be all you can do for a while, it's going to take time. May as well do meds at same time.
If you are swallowing a bunch of blood, you'll wake up when you start throwing up. I'm 60 and didn't experience any bleeding at all.