Monday, June 3, 2013

Tonsillectomy at 26 Part 2: Pre-surgery preparations / Food Post

So I left off telling you that the surgery was booked and I was playing the waiting game. (Well, in between calling my family, friends, and the office with my questions and concerns...) But aside from that I preoccupied my brain with creating the perfect shopping list for my recovery. Everyone knows the typical popsicles and ice cream, but a lot of sources said to avoid dairy for at least the first few days because you don't want anything really coating your throat and tongue. (Coughing and/or clearing your throat is not even imaginable for the first few days). Plus who wants "milky tongue" as my mom says.

A week before surgery I was at Harris Teeter and saw several clearance carts filled with pouches of fancy baby food. I got a couple as a joke, but then I realized that was probably going to be one of the best ways to get some variety and maybe a little flavor in, as well as having a manageable portion. Then the major shopping happened the Saturday and Sunday before my Wednesday surgery. 

I was going to write about the surgery, but hey food is more fun so I'll just list everything and how it rated during my recovery below. Keep in mind these were my taste buds and everyone has different likes/dislikes. Here it goes:


Note: Cat was not for consumption. Pre- or Post-tonsillectomy.

Baby food, pouches and containers: pear and butternut squash was the best, I actually got my boyfriend to go out and buy me more. He couldn't find the combination so he bought them separately and we mixed. The plum and berries were way too sweet for me to handle, and I actually didn't even eat any of the meat or plain veggie ones. The big mistake we made was crushing up medicine in the baby food to eat. DON'T DO THIS! Ugh it was terrible. I'd have to take a bite of the medicine food, sip of water, bite of real food, repeat. It took forever and was just terrible. Overall though, baby food was a good idea B+

Jell-O: I was advised to stay away from citrus (for obvious burning reasons) and anything with red dye (in case you bleed, you're going to want to know how much is actually blood and not just red spit). The whole two weeks we (my mom, who am I kidding) only made the berry blue and grape jello. I remember it being good, but not being able to eat a lot. And I actually still have some in the fridge. Solid B there.


Applesauce: NOPE. Tried this day 1 and it was too gritty. I didn't like the consistency or taste of this. F.

Instant mashed potatoes: As you can see I got several different kinds of potatoes. The main thing is to read how they are prepared and what they're made with. No chunks of garlic or herbs. All of these are just made with water. I found the first week they were too thick. My mom thinned them out with chicken or vegetable broth but that made them taste too weird for me. The second week it was easier to eat them though. And I love potatoes. So let's give them a B.

Gatorade: NOPE! All these non-red and non-citrus flavors were terrible and acidic and too sweet and burned going down. I only had a couple flavors to be honest, but I wasn't interested to try again. D- (I do like both Gatorade and G2 in my normal state of health when I'm super thirsty though)

Chocolate Liquid Nutrition/Ensure: This was the best ever! I'm still drinking these on Day 14 as I heal. Tasty chocolaty vitamins that make you feel at least a little bit satisfied. I could only have them room temperature at first but now they're really good right out of the fridge. I went through at least two cases. They come in vanilla and strawberry, but I stuck to chocolate. A+

Ensure Clear in peach: No no no. That burned. I hated it. F-

Mini marshmallows: I don't know why I grabbed these but I'm glad I did. They were a fun, squishy, manageable snack around the end of the first week. I also stuck a baggie of them in the freezer. That's fun to do even when you're not recovering from a tonsillectomy. Solid A.

Cream of Rice: my mom prepared this, I had one bite and refused it. Too gritty. Sorry Mom. F.

Soup broths: Chicken broth was a bit too strong in the potatoes, I don't think I had too much of it. C+ The vegetable broth heated lukewarm was AMAZING! I don't think I had it until a few days after surgery, but yes, so good. That gets an A.

Cream of wheat, pea soup, pear nectar, beef broth, tea: Didn't even open any of this yet. Maybe I'll do a post-tonsillectomy review.


Popsicles! (not pictured): Anything frozen was way too cold the first few days. But when I could, I loved Dole banana popsicles, Philly swirl brand cotton candy ice pops, and Fla-Vor-Ice freeze pops my beef in Tennessee sent me. I bought Fruttare mango popsicles, but they were too tart/acidic. I also avoided red dyes and citrus flavors (which is harder than you think!) B

Ice cream: Like the popsicles, too cold at first but then I graduated to milkshakes made with almond milk. That was tasty. Around Day 10 was when I could finally handle a scoop of ice cream with a spoon. C+

Smoothies: Almond milk + frozen fruit + chocolate syrup + peanut butter. Delicious. Sometimes too thick. I didn't attempt these until the second week of recovery, but they were a good way to switch things up. B
Vitamin Water Zero in fruit punch: Okay, here's my best secret/tip for the entire experience. If you forget to ask for liquid pain killers or they don't do that, then buy a pill crusher (should be around $5 at any drug store) and crush your pills into a few tablespoons of Vitamin Water Zero in fruit punch. Take a sip then follow it up immediately with a sip of water. There's some chemical that makes your taste buds tingle with a delightful sweet buzz. I don't really like this stuff by itself (it's ruined for me now anyway) but THIS is what you should mix your medicine with. (I had Oxycodone-Acetaminophen as my main/only painkiller just as a reference point for everyone). It takes about two or three turns switching sips, but it was by far the best way to take my medicine. And we didn't realize this until at least Day 3!

 Pill crusher, I love you.



Okay, that just a food post. I will write about surgery and recovery, but this was fun and on my mind. Comment if you have any questions or feedback!

4 comments:

  1. Thanks this was very helpful

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  2. I wouldn't have thought not to get red or citrus flavored anything. Thanks for the helpful information! My tonsilectomy is Thursday.

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  3. I love the pill crushers idea...adding that to my list..thanks.

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  4. Thanks this was helpful - hubby having surgery today!

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