Why can't I exhale after a tonsillectomy?

January 27, 2007 4:18 PM

I had my tonsils removed yesterday morning. Since then, when I'm lying down, I can breathe fine with my head to the side. But when I'm facing straight up, I can't exhale through my nose, although inhaling is fine.

I'm not worried, just curious about what is causing this to happen. I'm 34, if that's relevant. If it's not, I'm 34 anyway.

posted by Pater Aletheias to health (7 comments total)

Perhaps the inflammation in your oropharynx is creating a one-way valve, allowing air in through your nose but not out through your nose. No idea.
posted by gramcracker at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2007

My guess is that swelling has created a one-way flap, something like a valve!

I'm planning on a dual tonsillectomy/septoplasty for my lousy, mouth-breathing airway, so ... take care.
posted by adipocere at 4:59 PM on January 27, 2007

I would say swelling of the soft palate making a one way valve as suggested. This is the same type of thing that causes me to snore, breath in - fine, breath out, the soft palate shuts and makes me exhale very noisily. I can feel it happening when I lay on my back and relax.

And of course, if it's troubling you, talk to your doctor.
posted by tomble at 6:36 PM on January 27, 2007

The reason you can't exhale is that the inside of your mouth has recently been expertly brutalized and it's going to take it a little time to settle down. It takes more than one day to recover from surgery.
posted by flabdablet at 7:49 PM on January 27, 2007

Yeah, this happened to me after I had 'em out last week, it's pretty normal. Basically, everything back there is swollen to all heck and you're going to have mucus and goop and all sorts. Weird breathing effects like this are pretty normal, and will slowly recede as your swelling does.

One weird side effect I've had is that I can no longer control the velocity of my sneezes (i.e. I can't 'hold in' a sneeze) as there's nothing there to let me effectively 'close' my throat. YMMV may vary of course. On the upside, my recurring colds and health problems have pretty much evaporated since I had them removed. Good luck - lots of pills, lots of water, read something to take your mind off it.
posted by Happy Dave at 5:10 AM on January 28, 2007

Chiming in with another "me too". Had the tonsils and adenoids out last year, and I remember a point where I had the same breathing problems. I sympathize with you. I had all kinds of weird breathing problems at first because of the swelling. I think the worst part was all the mucus. No, wait, the worst part was not being able to swallow anything without pain. But after that, the unending supply of mucus.

But, I haven't had a single throat infection since, and my singing voice has improved since then. Keep drinking the fluids. Water, gatorade, juice, kool-aid, anything you get your hands on.
posted by leapfrog at 10:14 AM on January 29, 2007

Off-topic, but if I may offer some advice from my own experience:

I found cold items very painful to swallow. Warm salty water felt the best for the first week, transitioning to warm chicken broth for the second. I couldn't eat anything solid for two weeks. (I lost 10 lbs.)

Now, I didn't notice that since I wasn't eating anything solid, I also wasn't pooping. For two weeks. That's a lot of buildup. When I finally did, it was very, very, very, very painful. I would swear that Secretariat was having his way with me, sans lube. Good times, they were not.

With that in mind, mix metamucil into your water. Keep everything moving. You'll thank me, and your rectum will too.

(And, yeah, that's gross, but I'm eating lunch here; if I can stand it, you can too.)
posted by LordSludge at 10:21 AM on January 29, 2007 [1 favorite]