You'll Probably be sent home from tonsillectomy surgery with two prescriptions after tonsillectomy surgery. One will be an antibiotic, the other a pain medication. The pain medication will probably be a combination of Acetaminophen and a narcotic. As one patient to another I would suggest three things:
1. Ask your Doctor to prescribe the two pain medications after surgery separately. This allows you to use the Acetaminophen as a base, and the stronger narcotic for breakthrough pain. Initially you'll probably just take them both, but at some point, you'll want to ween off of the hard stuff. Imagine deciding to skip the narcotic and take only acetaminophen, (e.g. Tylenol). Then, an hour later you realize that you still need the stronger med. You've already taken Tylenol, and the stronger med contains Tylenol.
If you do have two different pain medicines, take them at different intervals. This way they won't both wear off at the same time.
2. After tonsillectomy surgery, keep a written log of what meds you take after tonsillectomy surgery and when you take them. There's nothing worse than waking in the middle of the night and trying to remember when you had your last dose.
3. It's easier to stay ahead of pain than to try to catch up to it.
Finally, don't look to some guy with a website for medical advice. Follow your Doctor's directions. Call them if you have problems or questions.
TONSILLECTOMY SURGERY, STREP THROAT, TONSIL SURGERY, TONSILLITIS, SURGERY QUESTIONS FOLLOW:
