Going Under the Knife

Yes, I'm way behind here once again. I really need to update you on my incredible successes in the last quarter of 2015 (although I'm pretty sure my handful of loyal readers are all my Facebook friends as well, so you already know everything I've done!!).

But right now I have a much more urgent topic to cover. Last November, I experienced something called a peritonsillar abscess. I will spare you the gory details (Google can take care of those, if you're curious), but trust me when I say it was one of the most horrific experiences of my life and I NEVER want to go through it again. The only way to be certain to prevent it is to have my tonsils removed!

This surgery has been recommended to me several times over the years by different doctors, but I've always been too afraid of the pain to go through with it. In the abscess, I met something I feared even more! I've done a lot of reading online and I know this recovery is going to be a nightmare, but it will end, and once it does, my tonsil woes will be over forever. It will still be possible to get strep throat, but at least I won't have giant swollen tonsils accompanying it. And most importantly, there will be NO MORE ABSCESSES EVER!!

Just for fun, I thought I'd blog my recovery, day by day. My experiences might help someone else decide whether to have this procedure or prepare for it. Also, I'm eager to get through the worst of it so I can get back to training! My off-season has been kind of a mess. After my last race on Thanksgiving, I took two weeks off on purpose, to rest, per the plan I was going to follow from my training book. But by the end of those two weeks, I had a nasty head and chest cold, so I did not resume my workouts. Once I was feeling better finally, it was Christmas...and then New Years...and then a little over a week until my surgery, and working out at that point seemed like a waste. So I just rested some more instead.

My first race of the season is supposed to be a 10K on April 2nd, which means I need to get back to running ASAP after this surgery. The problem is I'm not sure how soon really IS possible! So I want to keep track here of how I'm feeling, what I'm attempting, activity-wise, and how my recovery will affect my plans for the race season.

I will also be keeping track of my weight, mostly just for the novelty of it. When I had the abscess, I went about 5 days without eating solid food, and dropped 7 pounds. I eventually put the weight back on, but it happened slower than I expected and took the holidays to really complete the job. I'm curious how much weight I will lose this time, and how quickly, and then how long it will take to gain it back. Usually when I'm keeping track of my weight, I only get on the scale once a week (and naked), but for this little experiment, I will weigh myself daily (and in pajamas).

My first recovery post will be tomorrow night, assuming I am alert enough to type. I know I will be heavily medicated, but I will try my best to write a coherent post each night, even if some are very short.

Goodbye for now -- for the last time with tonsils!