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Adult Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy
After a lifetime of tonsillitis, it was time. I made the appointment. Was I scared? Yes. Was I prepared for tonsillectomy recovery? NO. Can you be? YES!
Planning for and recovering from a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy procedure, (often referred to as T & A Surgery), can be daunting experiences. The days leading up to your surgery can be frightening. If you haven’t read up yet, you can find information on tonsillectomy methods, risks, costs, adult tonsillectomy, sleep apnea, and numerous tips for tonsillectomy recovery on the other pages of this site. I’ve even added pictures of a post tonsillectomy throat by each day, and a shopping list of things you’ll need before your surgery. Study, talk with your doctor and consult with your friends about the decision to undergo tonsillectomy and adenoid surgery. Explore the pages created here to aid in your journey.
The Dynamic Duo!
These two little machines will become your best friends. Give tonsillectomy recovery a One-Two punch! A humidifier is probably the single most beneficial item to have at your side as you recover. Drinking ice cold slushies will feel good, reduce inflamation, and keep the throat activated, thus stimulating the healing process.
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If you should decide to have tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, let us help you through the entire process. Whether due to problems with sleep apnea, chronic tonsillitis and strep throat, tonsil stones, trouble swallowing, or a combination thereof, you can benefit from the experience of others. My own experience taught me that, as patients, we need to advocate for ourselves. Ear, nose, and throat doctors are, by and large, extremely talented individuals. However, very few of them have experienced an adult tonsillectomy, and the subsequent recovery. I have. Many others have too. We share our experiences here at the adult tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy recovery resource center. As you’ll read in the tonsillectomy recovery forum, everyone’s experience is unique. There are many factors that influence the level of pain you experience, as well as the length of time required during recovery. The method, and skill of your surgeon can have an affect, but there are also many things within your control that will reduce pain and recovery time. I’ve tried to include as many helpful tips as possible within the pages of this online resource. Tonsillectomy recovery can be pretty rough, especially if you are unlucky enough to be an adult! It takes longer for an adult to recover from most things. Tonsillectomy is no exception. There are many things you can do to make it go more smoothly. I’ve published numerous tips here on various pages. I encourage you to read up BEFORE you are in the throws of tonsillectomy recovery.
Talk with your doctor, friends, family, and work as you prepare. You are not alone in this. Like you and like me, many others are facing or have faced a tonsillectomy recovery. I created this forum for you. The community of adults or parents of patients will amaze you and warm your heart. I read these comments every day and every day I am humbled by everyone’s story and their compassion for others in the midst of recovery, or the anxiety that often precedes a tonsillectomy. Please join in. Hundreds of other people, perhaps in your same situation, have shared their wisdom, concerns, tips, and questions about tonsillectomy, as well as their tonsillectomy recovery.
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Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy Tip
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Do you have questions about tonsil infection? See pictures of tonsils and learn more at TonsilsPictures.com
31 yo M, underwent Tonsillectomy 5/14/2013. I referenced this site many times before I decided to go through with the surgery. Thanks to everyone who has made this a site of encouragement instead of discouragement. Here is a summary of my experience thus far:
I was diagnosed with Chronic Tonsillitis a few months ago. Decided to wait until I could schedule some time to take off work.
I had strep as a kid 4x every year but my pediatrician required strep 5 x p/yr before he recommended removal.
When I was 19 I discovered that I had white aliens growing in my mouth. At the time I thought it was cancer but come to find out it was just nasty tonsil stones that contributed to horrible breath.
I decided that I could continue to deal with constant sore throats and poke out the stones on my own for the rest of my life or go through a little temporary pain and address it for good. I figure when I am old and grey I wouldn’t want to be the husband father and grandfather with nasty breath.
I researched good ENTs and received a recommendation from a medical sales rep. These folks work along side cases and I wanted someone who showed respect to patients while they were under and someone that does a lot of tonsillectomies. Found my doc fairly quick.
Went in for my initial consultation after receiving a referral for chronic tonsillitis and found the surgeon to be super helpful. He had his tonsils removed when he was 35 so that also was nice to know that he had been through this having been on the table himself.
His timeline with pain was as follows:
By day 3 you will say is was the easiest surgery ever. By day 5-7 you’ll ask why on earth you ever wanted to do this and then pay day 14 you will say why didn’t I do this earlier.
I am on day 4 and agree with his comments. Stick with the meds, stay on schedule and listen to your body as far as foods go. Foods that have worked so far include jello, pudding, Mac n cheese, dr pepper, crushed ice, water based Popsicles, eggs, Gatorade etc. I thought I would lose a lot of weight but probably have gained if anything. Super constipated and forced myself to drink awful amounts of prune juice and laxatives. 5 days worth of food came out in 2 hours. Punishment but so glad I am clean again.
Don’t do this alone. Stay with a friend or family member. You really need to focus on healing not being superman/woman so be sure to arrange for help ahead of time.
My meds include liquid lortab and liquid IBUProfen. Ask if you can get the liquid form to avoid swallowing hard pills. It’s not the end of the world if you can’t but worth asking.
Will update over the next few days.
Thanks for the site and participation,
Hello, I’m a 25 year old female, living in Chicago. I’m hoping to hear from some people who had the coblation method of tonsillectomy. I’m just wondering how severe the pain really is? Does it get up to a 10 out of 10? Did you experience bleeding? How long did you take off of work?
I have my appointment with my ENT on Monday, and at that appointment I will be scheduling the surgery day. I’m really scared about it. Whenever my tonsils are acting up though, I’m ready at that very moment to go into surgery. But then if I have a few good days, I want to put the surgery off. Eventually though I’ll just have to end this never-ending cycle of fatigue, infection and ear pain by getting them out! I think the surgery will be around the first week of June. I’ll make sure to post about my recovery experience, because I’m very grateful for all of you who share your stories and tips.
I just stumbled across this site and thought I would share my experience! I am 23 and had my tonsils removed April 30. I was in quite a bit of pain when I woke up from surgery but was given morphine and it soon went away. It felt super awkward to swallow the first 2 days and even now ( 2 weeks later) it still isn’t totally back to normal. For my first week I had to be VERY consistent with my medication.. I was given oxycodone and tylenol. The oxy was good because it literally dissolved in my mouth as soon as I took a sip of water; for the Tylenol I would highly recommend the dissolvable children’s Tylenol. I would throw those in a little bit of water, let them dissolve, then drink it.. This was WAY better than trying to swallow pills! I also bought meal replacement shakes, and ate A lot of cold soup broth. Those fruit sauce cups are awesome as well! And of course.. Ice cream. I had lots of pain going up into my ears which is normal and my jaw was also very sore for the first few days! Sleep propped up if you can, get a humidifier, use a cold pack for the front of you throat and a hot pack on the back/ear area, set your alarm and take your meds regularly! My breath stunk, I had lots of phlegm/mucus, I was either hacking up or trying to swallow the scabs (after day 5) and I cried a few times from being so frustrated. On day 9 I had to go to the hospital due to on/off bleeding; this is because I had a blood clot that was encouraging bleeding.. They hooked me up to an IV, did some blood work, Used a tube to suck the blood clot off the side of my throat, and I was good to go. After that day I have only taken Tylenol twice. Throat is still a little tender and it is awkward to eat but I’ve managed to re-introduce pasta, quinoa, and finely chopped foods. If you are getting your tonsils out you will experience pain, you will feel like garbage, you will sleep a lot, and you may cry in frustration..but it is worth it! I have heard nothing but good things from other people who are now fully recovered! I live with my boyfriend and my mom also came and stayed with us for a week; don’t feel like you have to recover alone. Ask people to do things for you, you need rest to recover from this surgery and it is awesome to be able to lie in bed and just ask someone to grab whatever you need. You need to take care of yourself and I know I greatly appreciated all my mom/boyfriend did for me. They helped me a lot! Good luck to any future tonsillectomy patients!
Did you ever find something to help with the mucous caught in your throat? Seems like that’s an issue for a lot of people.
Hello everybody!
Today is day 9 of my recovery process and my mood and condition are getting better by the day. I won’t lie to you, this hasn’t been a walk in the park. Before my tonsillectomy,I knew some of the pain I might go through and even my doctor told about this unpleasant recovery process,but honestly nobody is prepared for this kind of torture. Day 1,2 and 3 are OK,although it does hurt,but you just don’t know what strikes next…on my day 4 I started to bleed a little and went to the E.R. where they would kept me overnight. I admit that this was just a minor bleeding and I panicked…but no harm done. I came home the next day and my scabs started to fell off…so my four days of unbearable pain journey could begin. Wow there were some moments when I was planning to drill a hole through my brain,because it was just too much pain,which didn’t stop. I couldn’t sleep and even if I did manage to shut my eyes,it was only for about one hour straight,because pain in my throat began to get worse and worse. At some point, I thought this would never end and your mind plays tricks on you,you have to be strong.
REMEMBER:
1.Drink drink and drink. You have to be stubborn. I know that sometimes every sip of water or tea hurt like someone has just stuffed a bunch of needles down my throat, but I would say the key to my recovery was liquid.
2. Try to stay mentally as strong as you can be. I know it’s easier said than done,but all in all it’s only you and the pain. You can have a positive environment and support but by the end of the day it’s you,who has to be the strongest. Don’t give up.
3. Try to eat. I know this is even harder than drinking,but it also helps a lot with getting rid of those nasty scabs + food helps you with some crucial vitamins.
4. Keep yourself busy. If you will just sit or lie on your bed and do nothing,then your mental state will get the best of you. Watch interesting movies,shows,listen to music ,try to read a book,maybe draw or something like that. The more you think of pain,the sooner it will come.
5. Take care of your hygiene. Take a quick shower and brush your teeth. Oral hygiene is crucial,because if you don’t take care of your teeth,there is a big chance of getting an infection or mouth ulcers.
To end my story…I have to say that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Today,on my ninth day of recovery, I feel A LOT better than previous days,althought yesterday was the first day when my mood was actually OK and there is also a smaller amount of pain every day so that makes me very happy. I’m taking my painkillers every 15-16 hours now,which is a huge success and I know it will only get better untill my 100% recovery.
To all those who are at the beginning of their recovery process or are waiting for the operation – HANG IN THERE AND STAY STRONG! You are not alone in this,we know what are you going through….BUT it will get better,just don’t give up…never give up.
Thanks for sharing your story. Just curious as to what pain meds your doctor had you on and what method of tonsillectomy you got (coblation or electrocautery)? Thanks!
I had electrocautery. I haven’t mention before that I’m from Slovenia,so I have painkillers (pills) from our largest national pharmaceutical company.
Thanks for your response. Hope you feel back to normal soon!
BktSaga. Glad to hear your surgery was successful. After reading one horror story about the 28 year old that had so much trouble & returning to the ER I became scare all over again. But after reading your so far success story and the fact that you could breathe immediately after waking sounds wonderful. I only wish I was going the 16TH now instead of the 5TH of June. But I do have another minor surgery I am going through next Monday. I hope to hear more good outcomes verses horror ones. I expect some pain but hopefully not bleeding to the point of returning to the hospital to start all over again.. I am expecting my granddaughters in July and I want to be ready for 4 teenagers. I was told I would have a bad sore throat for 7-10 days then should be fine in 3 weeks but completely healed by 2-3 months. Hopefully I will be able to report good progress here. This site has been a God sent for me. Before I found it I was watching and reading horror stories and wanted to cancel out. But the breathing is getting worse. Just knowing I may breathe better after surgery is hopefully worth it. Right now I average about 3-4 hors sleep a night. It is starting to take a toll on me now. I hope I can last another 3 weeks. I get a bit of relief by sitting up to sleep. It is getting a bit difficult to function during the day
lately. Please keep me update on your progress so I will hopefully do as well as you. Thank you for the info & my name is Robyn. Have a good evening. Not sure of the time zone there. I am from VA.
Hi Robyn, My name is Rahim. It is 10:30am here on Wednesday and my ENT had just finished checking up on me. He said I was healing well and there was no bleeding so far. He mentioned that with the coblator, the wound he made was very superficial so that’s why I did not experience any pain. I believe if your ENT uses the same technique, you should not have much problem as well. So far the pain killer that I am on (Arcoxia- 120mg) has maintained the pain well. I plan to take the next dose in about 1 hour (which will be nearing the 23 hr mark since the last time I took it at 1pm yesterday). Over here, it is standard practice for tonsillectomy patients to stay 1 or 2 nights at the hospital. I will be discharged today and will come again for review in 1 week. So far I feel as if I had not done the surgery at all which is dangerous since I may be tempted to consume hard foods and maybe cause bleeding. I pray that your surgery in June will go as well as mine, so that all your breathing problems will be resolved. Regards.
Good evening. Just a short note thank you for the helpful information. I was admitted to the hospital this morning for many tests. I will respond as soon as I get home, hopefully tomorrow . I am glad to hear you are still doing so well. Encouraging for me. Good night.
Hello BktSaga. I wanted to wish you luck tomorrow. Being you are closer to my age when you get a chance to comment on your progress it would be helpful for my upcoming surgery. I was suppose to have had it on the 16TH of May but I am having another procedure done on the 20TH. So I am going for surgery on June 5TH which you should be more than half way on your way to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. I don’t know if you were having trouble breathing as I do but if it helps trimming the uvula then I can’t wait . I am trying to get mentally ready now. It may take me a couple of weeks to get there but I am looking forward to getting a good nights sleep & breathing better again. It’s been quite a while. Again, good luck. I will say a prayer for your speedy recovery.
Hello Rbabycks. I successfully underwent the surgery yesterday morning. Was wheeled into the Operating Theater at about 8:30 a.m. There was a slight delay due to the OT being used for an emergency C-Section. Saw that the lady had triplets (lucky for her). Had to wait for another 30 minutes before they prepared me for anesthesia. I do not have a high degree of tolerance for pain but I am not afraid of having needles poked into me. So when the anesthetist inserted the IV needle, I was very relaxed. He asked me my age, height and weight and started to punch the data into the machine, before I knew it I was out. When I woke up I was in the recovery room, feeling a bit groggy. A nurse asked whether I was in pain. Since I did not feel any pain at ALL, I told her NO and she left me there while I tried to wake up. I only felt like there was something at the back of my throat but there was NO pain at all. My ENT used the coblation method because when I was lying on the operating table I saw the ArthroCare ENT Coblator® II Surgery System next to the table. I believe this is the latest model of the device. I had bilateral tonsillectomy and trimming of the uvula all using the coblator. Immediately after waking up I realized that I could breath much better. I sat up on my bed and asked the nurse for a glass of cold water. I drank the water by sipping it little by little even though I did’nt have to since I was not in any pain at all. Talk about painless tonsillectomy. Later the anesthetist came to check on me and told me that he gave me a non-narcotic painkiller (does not cause drowsyness) just before they moved me to the recovery room. That’s why there was no pain. Later, I was given some soft food to eat and I had no problem consuming them – rice and chicken porridge and soup and ice cream. I ate the porridge and soup but not the ice cream since there were a lot of comments on this forum not to take dairy products. After food, at about 1 pm, I was given my first dose of medication. I was given Arcoxia for pain, Benadryl to prevent cough and Difflam Gargle to gargle – also for pain relief. Arcoxia is one of the most potent painkillers available and is manufactured by Merck. You only to take it once a day. So no need to set alarms every few hours to take painkillers. Unfortunately, this drug is not allowed by the FDA to be sold in the US. I am in living in Malaysia, so most ENTs here will prescribe this pill for tonsilectomy patients. Dinner was at 6 pm. – same food, same menu and I ate them except the ice cream. After dinner, I was given the antibiotic Zinnat in pill form. All my meds are in pill forms and I did’nt have problem taking them. I also stick with popsicles and cold water continuously every few minutes so as not to dry out the throat. Before I went to sleep, I brushed my teeth ever carefully not to touch the back of part and gargle with Difflam again. I slept from 11:00pm until 4:00am and woke up refreshed with still no pain so decided to update this forum. I hope this situation will continue for the days to come. Will update further as I go along in the recovery process.
I’m getting the coblation method too, I hope my recovery goes like yours, you seem to be handling it well. I wish the US allowed that stronger pain medication, I hope the liquid Vicodin that I get will be enough.
I have exactly the same problem as yours. I am a 51 yr old male and will be undergoing my tonsillectomy and shaving of the uvula on May 14th. Have been reading these and other forums on the internet for preparation and right now I am mentally prepared to do the surgery. Will update this forum once I have gone through it next week.
Hello bree. I have a Vita Mix. I am use to making protein shakes once or twice a week but with soy milk but understand that milk products can cause a lot on mucus. I plan to use water & ice cubes. I’m just looking forward to getting this done & over. Last night was a bad night. I was lucky if I got 4 hours sleep woke up as tired as I was when I went to bed. Was suppose to have the surgery on the 16TH of May but have a colonoscopy on the 20TH which has to be done every 3 years as I am high risk for colon cancer. Both of my parents past with it plus my mother have breast cancer as well. Hopefully after this surgery this will be it for a while. It’s hell getting old & having to work twice as hard to keep everything lifted or tucked .
. Thanks again. Have a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY.
i. My name is Sean, I am 28 yrs old. I wanted to post here because I know how terrible the recovery process can be following a tonsillectomy. I have never posted on a forum like this before but I feel compelled to. Reading posts from other people while I was at my worst, helped me through it, and still is actually. I want to share my experience in detail with hope that it will comfort those of you that are struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Everyone’s recovery is a little bit different. Don’t be too discouraged if yours doesn’t match exactly each stage of the recovery outline sheet that you keep picking up and reading every hour. The following experience is for anyone to read, but in particularly, for those of you that feel as if you are having it worse than others whom had the same procedure. Think positive! It WILL end! Your experience will amplify your appreciation of health and build empathy of others! Read about my experience below and how Murphy’s Law made an example out of me. My limits, strength, and even faith was tested. At the end, I will share some things that helped me through this experience. Remember, You are not alone:
This last winter/spring, I had been getting strep and tonsillitis every month for about four months straight…needless to say, the time off work and antibiotics were getting a little old. Also, keeping up with my 6 yr old and 2 yr old became more strenuous than before. Being former military and currently a Police Officer, I felt the need to “tough it out.” I eventually realized that this was unrealistic, so I decided to get a tonsillectomy (with no objection from the ENT). I thought I had a clue as to what it would be like….kids get their tonsils out all the time, right? Wow…I didn’t know this would be one of the worst experiences of my life.
On April 10th I had my surgery and was released from the hospital the same day as planned. For the first two days, the pain was minimal-moderate. “This isn’t so bad,” I thought. On day three the pain started to really set in and I noticed that I was stuffed up and had green mucus when I blew my nose (I had gotten sick, great). Blowing my nose was painful to do but I had to breathe out of at least one of the holes in my face! Day 4 I became nauseated and began throwing up and had diarrhea along with a fever. At this point I was feeling pretty discouraged. “This isn’t going how it is supposed to!”
Day 5 the pain was absolutely excruciating and I now had a cough to add to the other things. The pain was so unbearable that I could not swallow (not just because of the pain, I literally could not get water to go down my throat without gagging and choking on it. I became dehydrated, lethargic, and could barely walk. Luckily, I have wonderful parents that allowed me to recover at their home rather than my own (as to not give my wife a third child to care for
My mom brought me to the hospital where they put me on IV fluids and gave me stronger pain meds. I was also provided antibiotics again do to the fact I had a fever (they wanted to ensure that I didn’t get an infection during the recovery).
Days 6-11 were all the same. PAIN. I felt like it would never end as each day blended into the next. Things started to feel unreal like I was in a movie. Little food, the flu, and Hydrocodone will do that to you. At least by day ten I was starting to get an appetite and wasn’t throwing up. I could only eat soft food and liquid and still had diarrhea. I could now taste the odor of the scabs that I had read about. Finally, a sign of healing that I can recognize. My hopeful thought didn’t last too long though.
Remember how you read that little part about how post-op bleeding occurs in 1-2% of patients? Guess what? I am one of them (I hope you are not). While attempting to carry on a conversation with my mother (still couldn’t speak well) I felt a hot liquid running down the back of my throat and then could taste that metallic taste. BLOOD. Its happening to me?! What the F’ do I do? I don’t know, will it stop on its own? Nope it won’t, now its pouring out of my mouth (leaning forward at this point). I shot up and grabbed a paper towel, twisting it into a tight wad and crammed it in the back of my throat, now gagging on paper towel and blood. The towel completely fills with blood…I take it out, grab another, same thing. By the third towel, the blood began to clot into this giant purple blob, which I had to reach in and remove and then immediately replace the towel. Finally the bleeding stopped. I wanted to pretend that this just didn’t happen so I didn’t go to the hospital that evening. I went to bed, woke up on Day 12 and repeated a day much like days 6-11 except with a new anxiety surrounding the bleeding episode.
That evening around 11pm, while reading a book in bed, the bleeding spontaneously started back up. This time it was worse. While dripping blood everywhere, I rushed downstairs and woke my mother up. Of course I couldn’t speak so she had to turn the light on and figure out what was going on. I had retrieved a Tupperware bowl which was quickly filling up. I was terrified because of how difficult it is to access the back of the throat to stop bleeding. As I soaked up towel after towel and dripping into the bowl at the same time, My Mom rushed me to the fire station and awoke the medics there (this was quicker than awaiting them to come get me). They saw the amount of blood that was in the bowl I had and immediately put me in the ambulance and rushed me to the ER (longest ride of my life).
While enroute I had to use several gauzes to get the bleeding to stop. By the time I got the bleeding to stop, I was anemic and had a very low pulse. Without taking the steps taken, I would have lost much more blood. The ER visit was terrible. They were very unsympathetic (I guess they were hoping for another gunshot victim to speed the shift up). At one point, the nurse came in and was squeezing my IV bag to force the fluids in faster. When asked by my Mom what she was doing, she referred to her method as “fast bagging.” While she was doing this, I suddenly felt like my chest was being crushed and began having trouble breathing. I told the nurse this and she was immediately alarmed and went and got the doc. When he came in, he examined the IV. He had me roll over into a recovery position and had a whispered conversation behind my head with the nurse. They were discussing the possibility of air getting into my IV line. Apparently the bag had a crack in it and was completely dry. The doctor then hooked me up to an EKG to monitor my heart. At this point, I gave up on feeling scared and just began praying, but while praying, became angry.
Where is GOD in all this? At what point is it enough? Looking back, we can say, “yes, this experience is quite unpleasant, but so many, have it so much worse.” That is hard to do in the moment sometimes though. I had never felt so vulnerable and weak in my life. Luckily nothing came of the whole IV incident. Oh, and guess what?, the “on-call” ENT that was supposed to show up for emergency surgery to re-cauterize my throat, never did. To top it off, the on-call surgeon that night happened to be the Doc that did my initial procedure. Not so much as a phone call, still to this day. (I cancelled my post-op yesterday because I don’t want to see the guy).
May 23, after spending all night on the ER bed, At 10 A.M, a different ENT showed up, took me into the OR, they put me under and re-cauterized my throat. I was released that day and returned home.
So as you can imagine, I am pretty discouraged about life in general at this point. I have lost 15 lbs (which is a lot considering I weigh 135 when I am healthy) and look like death. Pale, face is sunken, weak, and look nothing like I used to. Having the supportive family that I have, They helped convince me that the worst was over. I forced myself to think positively. Healing went much quicker after re-cauterization when compared to the initial surgery. I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel and really turned a corner by day 20. Eating regular food at this point, bout with diarrhea (which lasted over two weeks) was gone. I began doing small things like taking the dog around the block. Each day after this I was able to do more and more until I was able to return to work on the 5th of May. Overall, it was 25 days after the initial surgery that I could finally return to work.
I made it through the work week and here I am typing this out and thinking of you guys. Strangers, yes, but people that I have something in common with. People that I can feel empathy for. So the question becomes, what do I take from all of this? What do you take from this? I understand that many people are not religious and while I am not one of those Christian extremists, I try to maintain a relationship with God. It helps me accept situations I cannot control, and opens up the window to learning about ourselves. This experience was very humbling for me. I can be very prideful and have gotten used to being the one that is strong enough to help others. I was faced with a situation where it was me that needed to care and I had lost so much strength, strength that I took for granted on a daily basis. Looking back, I am thankful for this experience and appreciate that I can relate more to the hardships of others. If you read this whole entry, I appreciate your time and sincerely hope that it somehow helped. If you are experiencing something similar, you know you aren’t alone, if you are having a little bit easier than I did, you can take comfort in knowing it could be worse. Below are some things that I followed which I know for a fact ended up helping me. Some of these things I didn’t follow until I had second procedure. Learn from my mistakes. Good luck. Hang in there.
If you skipped right to this point: Congrats! you have almost as little patience as I do.
1) Try to think positive. In my experience, the toll stress takes on your body is far worse than the other physical factors.
2) Use a humidifier! and sleep in a small room if possible, the humidity will be higher. If you can, get the humidity up to 65-70. Moisture is the key to healing properly.
3) Be patient. Rushing anything will more than likely lead to setbacks. Even when you start feeling good again, don’t eat sharp foods (Doritos, nuts, etc) wait an extra week. Chew very well. swallow small
4) Chew gum between drinking. (Not the minty stuff). Trident Layers isn’t as harsh and gets the saliva going for longer.
5) Rest! but also take a short walk and don’t overdo it…set a small goal like to the end of the block and back just to get the blood flowing.
6) If you are like me, you’ve been on a bunch of antibiotics leading to this point, restore your normal intestinal flora with probiotics. I started using Probiotic10, diarrhea went away within 2 days
7) I had issues with bleeding. I don’t know why but I have a strong feeling that the supplements from GNC I was using, played a part. STOP using them if you are, even after the surgery. I was using a protein supplement after surgery because the label just says not to use before surgery. Just wait a month. If you have had an issue with bleeding before, remember Vitamin K is what helps blood to clot. Here is a link that shows some of the herbs/supplements that can complicate surgery: http://www.localharvest.org/blog/39774/entry/herbs_and_vitamins_to_be
8) Here are some food products I enjoyed that may not be suggested: coconut water, (its 100% natural, has more calories than water, and has electrolytes) Ensure Plus (350 calories in each little bottle and makes up for those times you just can’t swallow food). Greek Yogurt (has twice as much protein as regular yogurt, you’re losing lean muscle everyday after surgery so this is good) I like to break open and add the probiotics to the yogurt in the mornings.
9) Don’t talk too much. But If you are having a conversation with someone, you should take a sip of something every minute or so. Or txt them responses even if right next to you.
10) If you are having a really hard time remember that after this, you are stronger. This bible verse helped me: “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-11
Wonderful writting. Thanks for the motivation and glad things are coming along for you. Please keep us updated on how you are feeling a few months post op. I look forward to hearing how everyone has benefited from this surgery.
Thank you for reading it. As of today, I feel strong and can only see progress on the horizon. Take care.
Sorry to hear you had complications, I hope things get better soon. If you don’t mind sharing, what method of tonsillectomy did you get done (electrocautery or coblation)?
Thanks for sharing. I’m on Day 18. I also had post op bleeding and the ER I went to “didn’t know what to do with me” and left me to bleed for 5 hours until transferring me via ambulance to another hospital. At that hospital they told me they typically receive post op tonsillectomy patients who need to be recauterized several times a week, which makes me question the 1-2% post op bleeding stat. I’ve also lost 10 pounds and look unhealthy thin. I’m feeling better, but still am tender and have trouble eating. Also, I’ve seemed to have lost my sense of taste. Nothing seems to taste the same. I’m back to work on Thursday and am confident I will feel better. Recovery has lasted forever. I just want to feel good again and get back to the gym! I need to post a diary like you did as well to help everyone out. Hang in there everyone. It will eventually get better.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write out your experience. I am hoping I’ll be a rare case of a breezy recovery like some of my friends, but I don’t hold high hopes on that. Reading your experience gives me hope that even if it does go badly, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks for the tips and tricks too. I’m trying to learn from everyone else’ mistakes and try to so all of the right things.
When is your surgery scheduled for? I haven’t had mine yet either. I wonder if your friends with the breezy recovery had the coblation method? That’s what I’ll be getting, and it’s hard to find information on it. What method are you getting?
Thank you Amanda and bree . This site has be a God sent. Thank you both for the helpful info. I don’t think I’ll back out. Especially if I can look forward to breathing again & eventually a good nights sleep & waking up refreshed & energy again. You have been more helpful than you will ever know. Thank you ,thank you. Not sure if I need to loose anymore weight but I will have fun putting it back on
Have a wonderful weekend. BTW, My name is Robyn
Glad to help Robyn. I was thinking one of the things that need added to the list of must haves for this surgery is a good blender. I am very surprised by the amount of people eating toast or pizza so so after surgery but I did have a little more done than just tonsils.
I have a ninja (just the inepensive blender) but this has been wonderful. I can make smothies and such and this type of blender is great for frozen items even ice turns to slush. Depending on how things go this might be a great way to keep the diet a little more normal.
Again, I am getting ready to go through this surgery with the tonsillectomy & uvula shorten so not to cover my airway . Not sure about whether I have anything done with my nasal area yet. My question to anyone right now has the breathing gotten any better after the surgery? If so the pain may be worth it for a week or so. I haven’t slept in so long my bags have bags under my eyes. I have shortness of breath all day & when I try to lye down at night and the breathing is almost to the point of suffocating or at times I stop breathing for a few seconds at a time. I do that several times a night. The snoring seems to have gotten a little better since loosing 43 lbs. but not breathing is scary. Probably even more scary than the surgery. I have been watching the videos on you tube which maybe I shouldn’t. At times it seems to make me more apprehensive. The closer to June 5TH which is the day I get more frightened. Even though I’m 59 it still looks scary on the videos. Maybe I shouldn’t watch anymore. My ENT said to stop watching & reading negative stuff on the internet. But they wouldn’t put it on the internet if it wasn’t true ,right? HA , HA , commercial . I guess if I loose more sleep after the surgery it won’t make much difference at this point being I haven’t had a good night sleep in so long. I wouldn’t know what to do if & when I do get a whole 8 hours sleep. If I wake up without the bags & looked refreshed I might not know who that person in the mirror is
Any input would be so appreciated. Have a great weekend & good luck to those who have already gone through this & the pain. I am not looking forward to this but if I am able to breathe afterwards it may be worth it & look forward to that light at the end of the tunnel. I do have my list ready to go buy items from some good advice here so far. I know the biggest thing is not to let the throat get dried out. Keep water or liquid close by at all times. Take pain meds, meds or patch for nausea being I do get very sick after anesthesia. I normally get nausea meds in an IV which helps. I hope to be able to keep up with day by day posting on my progress afterwards just in case I need on going advice.
There is a lot of pain, but for once in my life, it feels like there is room in my mouth to breathe freely. My tonsils were so big I choked on them in my sleep as well, although my problem with breathing doesn’t sound nearly as bad as yours. I still snore because of the scabs in my mouth, but they have begun to fall off and even with only half of the scabs gone, it’s making a HUGE difference. It hurts a lot, that is true, but If i had to do it all again, I would. Even right after surgery you can see and feel the difference. Good Luck! I’m sure it’ll be worth it for you. Hope you finally get that good night sleep
I had septum and turbine surgery on my nose along with tonsilectomy. I don’t know anything about the uvula shortning.
this is can tell you. I can breathe!!!! No cpap since surgery. Its the best I have felt I think ever. I always felt like I had someones hand covering my face. Always fighting for air. I have been sleeping well and I am only 7 days post op. I’m not young -37 so I’m not just bouncing back quick.
Still on a liquid diet because everything wants to come out my nose but I have been reading and told by the doctor that this will improve. I really haven’t had the desire to eat much anyways luckily. Its a heck of a diet plan
i’m more than happy to answer anyother questions. I hope this helps.
Hi, it looks like you have been doing your research. Being aware of the risks is good because we can prepare in advance, however, I think your ENT is right. Don’t over involve yourself in the negative stuff. 1) it causes undue stress, 2) it cannot change the reality of your own situation. It has been 30 days since my initial operation and I feel great. You will too. Stay positive, drink plenty of fluids, use a humidifier, and be patient. You are going to feel pain, let it be an opportunity to build strength. At 59, you are extremely brave for committing to this operation and it is admirable. I wish you a speedy recovery. -Sean
Hello everyone. I have just recently found this site and it is really interesting and helpful to hear about everyone’s different recovery stories, so I have decided to add mine
I am a 20 year old female and am just going in to Day 9 of my tonsillectomy recovery. On the day of my surgery, I was scheduled to get my tonsillectomy at 7AM. The surgery started a bit late to start, but I was back from recovery by about 9:30AM. Right after i woke up from surgery, my voice was a bit scratchy, but because of the amount of medication I was on via my IV drip, I was in absolutely no pain. When I got back to my room (because they keep you under observation for a minimum of four hours post op) I was able to talk right away, and I would just describe it as slightly uncomfortable. When the surgeon came in to see me afterwards, she informed me that my left tonsil was removed with no complications, but my right tonsils was severely infected. She said that I had an untreated peritonsillar abscess and that the tissue around it was necrotic (dying). I also had tonsil stones, but this I already knew about since I cleaned them out every day for over two months (ew). The surgeon said that when she tried to remove the right tonsil, it was stuck to the back of my throat, so the cauterization wasn’t as cleanly done, and I may need another surgery to remove the scar tissue. I was given water, ice chips, and a popsicle in the hospital, and i gladly devoured all of it. I was given Oxycodone for pain as well as some antibiotics to treat the infection that was left over in my right tonsil. That night, I woke up every four hours to take my medication, but slept for a total of over eight hours.
Day 2-Day 6 I made sure to stay constantly on my drug regime and never missed a dose. I drank tons of water and was able to eat things like mac and cheese, jello, pudding, mashed potatoes, rice and one night i even had a turkey dinner (although it was cut into extremely small pieces and it took me forever to eat). I was exhausted for the most part, but I didn’t feel like the pain or the exhaustion was anything I couldn’t handle. After hearing all the horror stories, I thought I was getting off easy. I did, however, have the worst taste in my mouth from the scabs. Rinsing with salt water and brushing my teeth would help for a time, but it always came back. I have definitely experienced way more pain from my previous tonsillitis stints then I was feeling in these few days. Again, sleeping was a non-issue for me and I would have naps constantly. I thought everything would be bearable from here on out, until I woke up the morning of Day 7…
Day 7: I woke up to realize I had been sleeping with my mouth open and breathing through it the majority of the night. The pain was excruciating and since I hadn’t experienced that type of pain before then, I had no idea what to do. I was due for more medication, so I forced my pills down. My throat felt like it was ripping into a million pieces any time I would swallow. To fix it I used ice chips and ice water. I also have found it extremely helpful to turn the shower on to the hottest setting it will go to, close the bathroom door, leave the fan off, stand on the toilet and let the steam fill the air so I’m breathing in the moisture. This may sound extremely weird, but it’s the fastest remedy I’ve found, and it’s the one that hurts the least. With the ice chips, I suck on them until they’re small, then tilt my head back and let the cube melt on my tonsils. After about an hour or so (maybe a bit more) the pain had lessened, but I’m on Day 9, drinking water constantly and my throat still feels dry. All of Day 7 I just laid on the couch unable to nap because I needed to constantly be drinking water to try and keep my throat moist. I was bleeding all though out the day, but it wasn’t in a great quantity. Sucking on the ice chips helped it stop and I didn’t end up needing them re-cauterized. That night I fell asleep after about a half hour after taking my pain killers. I woke an hour later in so much pain I almost threw up. I didn’t even have the option of taking more pain killers because I still had over 2.5 hours before the others had worn off. Let me tell you, this is when that shower method works. And this brings us to Day 8…
Day 8: After waking up in so much pain, I did not allow myself to fall back asleep. I continuously had ice, a popsicle or ice cold water with me and was drinking it. If I didn’t sleep, the pain was much easier to manage. I drifted off a couple times throughout the day, but every time I’d wake up regretting it. I also was unable to eat anything but popsicles for the whole day. I tried some chicken broth in hopes of eating something a little more substantial, but that did not go over very well and ended up just not bothering with it. The whole day I just watched TV keeping track of when to take my pain meds, because if I was in this much pain ON them I can’t even imagine how much pain I would be in when they completely wore off. Ear aches and jaw aches started on both sides, I used a frozen gel pack and wrapped it around my whole neck, and it helped. I still had a constant feeling of dryness in the back of my throat and if I wasn’t constantly sucking on ice, eating a popsicle or drinking water, I would be in almost unbearable pain, even on my medication. Again, last night I received about an hour, if not less, of sleep and woke up this morning feeling like complete crap and had to repeat what now seems like my usual morning ritual.
I am now going on to Day 9 and I really hope I start to get better, because for the last two days, I feel like I’ve been getting worse. I know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, the trick is trying to find it
.
I will try to keep this updated, and I really hope everyone else’s recovery is going a lot smoother than mine!
Good luck everyone!
Hi. I Had ups and downs too as far as pain. At day 9, in my opinion, it is still normal to be in pain. I was in pain beyond day 9. It will get better! Your body knows what to do, it will be over soon. hang in there!
I just got my tonsillectomy done yesterday, the pain isn’t nearly as bad as I want to throw up so much cuz the pain meds, idk if I should just not take any meds and try to heal without, I hear the worst day is the 4th or 5th and because today is only my second day I feel a little nervous for the next week. Is there any natural remedies for pain?
You could ask your doctor for an anti-nausea patch or pill so you can stay on your pain meds.
I would ask for nausea med or possibly change the pain meds. I luckily had not problem with my pain meds. I’m being honest when I say, by day 4-5 you will need pain meds. Good luck.
Hi guys, I have been reading through the posts on here for the past week, they have been a great help and comfort and just wanted to share my experiences.
I am a healthy 22 year old male and just coming into day 8 post op, I had suffered from persistent tonsillitis on a monthly basis for 3 years.
Day 1 – So it’s the day of the surgery and I’m terrified, had a long wait all morning due to the surgeon been called to another case the hospital having to wait for a replacement. After a couple of hours I am called into get changed and head down to theatre, its 10am when I finally go under for my surgery. I am woken at about 11:30am, informed that everything had gone well but it had taken a lot longer due to the size of my tonsils, regardless I was just happy that everything had gone okay and I’m awake. The first thing I noticed was how dry my mouth was, it wasn’t until I got some water that I felt the pain, the first 30 minutes felt like hell but then I became more hydrated and I was given some pain medication through my IV and I felt fine. I spent 6 hours in recovery (Minimum time in a UK hospital) before I was allowed to leave, I was given some ibuprofen and told to eat normally straight away (I was made to eat toast before I left) The rest of the day seemed to go fine, I ate pasta and a tomato sauce for tea and more toast. The pain was about 4/10.
Day 2 – Waking up was awful, I had dry mouth again, after forcing some medication down my throat and waiting 30 minutes I felt fine again, by this point I had made sure I was drinking 2L of water a day, I had them in small bottles that I would refill and chill, it seemed to really help having a goal and knowing what I needed to drink and eat that day, it was with this I was able to measure how well I was dealing with the pain. I had pasta again for tea and more toast, warm tea and coffee helped soothe my throat also when needed. I was on paracetamol and ibuprofen throughout the day to manage the pain. Pain was overall at about 4/10 again.
Day 3 & 4 – Apart from when waking up the pain wasn’t too bad in my throat, it was my ears that were the problem. I had been warned that toothache and earache can occur after the operation due to the pain passing around the linked nerves, I hadn’t thought the pain would be so bad, for me it felt like the earache was a lot worse than my throat and I was taking the pain medication around the earache instead. I managed some toast, soft garlic bread and a tuna pasta bake which made me feel better for eating some filling food. Pain was about 5/10.
Day 5 & 6 – I had received a follow up phone call from the nurse on the ward I stayed in, she warned me that even though I felt I had been improving, I may start to feel worse for a couple of days and then improve again. I had read that there are a couple of days where you will feel awful, sadly it’s true. My ears had gotten worse and I struggled with food but I managed to get some toast in me and plenty of water which helped. I switched from paracetamol on to co-codamol to help with the increased pain and it really helped. I only managed toast and half a bowl of pasta due to the pain, I slept longer due to the co-codamol knocking me out but sadly that meant waking up more times with earache and a dry throat. Pain was up at 7/10 at some points. I won’t lie, these few days felt like hell but I held onto the fact that after this it would be improvement after improvement.
Day 7 (Yesterday) – I had been getting about 4 hours sleep every night, waking up, taking meds and then getting another 4 hours sleep, these were the worst parts of the day and day 7 was just the same, I was a bit downhearted as I thought it was going to be like day 5 and 6 again. I was surprised to look and see that the worse scabs had fallen off over night, I could actually see the back of my throat and swallowing was easier, as the day progressed I realised that the pain was decreasing in my throat and ears, I switched back off the co-codamol and onto paracetamol, I managed 6 pieces of toast during the day, a few slices of pizza and some garlic bread, pain was down to 3/10 now and the earache was becoming a dull annoyance rather than a full sharp pain.
Day 8 – Has just begun and I’m hoping it will be a continued improvement from yesterday, throat is looking better, the horrid taste and smell have cleared up now and I’m getting up and about the house a lot more, spending the day with my house mates and feeling less like someone in recovery and more recovered. I know I still have a bit of time to go but I feel I have passed the worst of it now, I am due to go on holiday in 2 weeks and I finally feel I will be able to enjoy it and not have to worry about pain.
It’s not all doom and gloom after the operation, everyone heals differently, but I was one of those people who already believed the worse was going to happen to me before I had even had the operation and it’s turned out to be okay, and in the end, I just keep telling myself, it’s not been as painful as tonsillitis & I hopefully won’t be getting ill every month again and ending up in hospital on a drip!