Tonsillectomy Adult – What to Expect
Tonsillectomy as an adult is quite different than tonsillectomy for children. The methods employed for tonsillectomy in adults and children are generally the same, (See Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy Methods page), and the risks for adults are similar to the risks for children, (See The Tonsillectomy Risks
Tonsillectomy – Adult Recovery and Risks
Most studies indicate a two to four percent risk of delayed hemorrhage [severe bleeding]. Where tonsillectomy in adults differs most from tonsillectomy in children is in the recovery. Recovery from childhood tonsillectomy generally takes five to seven days. Recovery from tonsillectomy in adults usually requires at least ten days and more often two weeks.
Before deciding to get an adult tonsillectomy, it’s important to choose a time frame in which you have the time and the support. Recovering over your favorite Holiday might be a good choice in terms of time, (eg holiday leave from work or school), but it may not be a time that people will be available to help you.
The pain associated with adult tonsillectomy recovery, by almost all accounts, is more intense than that experienced by children. Some theorize that children haven’t had as much time without pain as adults and thus their frame of reference is different than adult tonsillectomy patients. Others assume that children may be less able to articulate their discomfort. Having read the accounts of THOUSANDS of adult tonsillectomies in the forum,(See Tonsillectomy Forum page), I can say with some confidence that generally, the younger the patient, the easier the tonsillectomy recovery. There are of course exceptions. I’ve read from many middle aged adults who had a fairly smooth recovery. Perhaps they read up on this website and prepared well. Perhaps they had good genes. In any case, many time an adult tonsillectomy recovery is better than the horror stories we hear about.
“If I could recommend one item to buy before tonsillectomy, it would be a humidifier. My readers know how important moist air is to a healing throat. I bought one of these years ago and still use it daily” -Greg
I’d like to take a moment here to make a suggestion. As you read through the people’s accounts in the various chat rooms, message boards, and adult tonsillectomy forums, consider this: People having a harder time, may be more prone to seek out information and share their experience in these venues. Adults experiencing milder tonsillectomy recoveries, might be less apt to be posting. I don’t want to drag Richard Nixon into my website, but this silent majority may be quietly recovering and you’ll never hear from them.
My advice is to research as much as you can, talk with your doctor, talk with your family and friends, and talk with your employer before scheduling your adult tonsillectomy. I wish you all the best.
I’ve put together a collection of items that I think would be helpful, if not essential, to making tonsillectomy recovery a little more pleasant. Check out the Tonsillectomy General Store.
I am 42, this is my second tonsillectomy. I am 14 days into it, and still pretty miserable, on round 2 of antibiotics. They said since there was so much scarring, they had to cut deeper. I have had several different surgeries and this is by far the worst. I guess in the 1st surgery they didn’t get all the tissue, and I have had a reoccurring abscesses since I was 26 (2 yrs after the first one), so finally had to have the second. I keep praying I will wake up and all the throat and ear pain will be gone!
I spent a lot of time coming to this page and reading the tips and experiences prior to having my surgery on 11/24/2015 and I am glad I did. Now that I am 15 days post surgery I thought that I would post my experiences and tips in order to help others in the future.
1. Days 1-2: The first two days were not that bad. I believe this is from the medications received during and post surgery. I was sore but the pain was manageable. I took Percocet every 4 hours and liquid Tylenol every 6 hours. I was able to drink water and broth. I followed the advice of others and set an alarm every hour to make sure I was drinking ice cold water. Also, I highly recommend not spitting and dealing with the pain for swallowing as bad as it can get at times.
Day 3: Dear God I thought I was going to DIE!!! The pain came in full force. I would say it was at a pretty consistent at a 7-8 with some relief to a 5 for an 1 1/2 window on meds. By the evening my body started shutting down. I was running a fever and shivering non-stop. My body started locking up and I was beginning to black out. Thank God my wife took off work (she is a RN) because I could not talk or hold a phone to call 911 if I had needed to. She put straight sugar into my Gatorade (I was using the G2 but switched to the full sugar stuff after this incident) and packed cold towels around my head and neck. Eventually my vitals normalized.
Day 4-7: Felt crappy all the time. Not eating anything but broth, jello, and pudding. Drinking lots of Gatorade with tons of ice from Sonic. Pain was still at a 7-8 most of the time even with the pain meds. Sleep deprivation was setting in and I could not talk without a lot of extra pain. Had to write down what I needed or point and grunt.
Day 8: Scared to DEATH!!! Well….one of the things my doctor told me is the number 1 concern for an adult is developing a bleed. And, sure enough, that evening I developed a huge bleed after having a coughing fit. The blood was running down the back of my throat non-stop and I was spitting out large amounts of blood and some blood clots. Again, thank God for my RN wife who remained calm though it all. I gargled ice water and spit into a bucket all the way to the ER. As soon as I got to the ER it was simply telling them I was having a post-op bleed and showing them my bucket of blood and there was no waiting. Straight back into the ER and admitted right away so I knew I was not going home that day. Going to the ER was a very depressing experience. We had the foresight to call the ENT while on the way to the ER so he had already approved the admission. I saw the ER doctor who gave me the worst news ever….I was going to have to stay overnight and would have to have surgery again the next morning to stop the bleed. I could not have surgery right then since they got my bleeding to slow and I had already eaten that day so they did not want to put me under to surgically repair the bleed. This meant that I was going to have to start from Day 1 again after the wound was repaired. On the plus side….Being in the ER meant getting the REAL PAIN KILLERS so pain was not an issue, just fear. They gave me enough that I actually slept some.
Day 9: I woke up that morning in the hospital and the ENT came in to see me and I got the best news ever! The bleeding had stopped and clotted enough that they decided I did not need surgery again but would just be monitored for the next 24 hours and then released if no additional bleeding, which THANK GOD did not happen. Also, got to keep getting real good pain meds. I made the decision to leave that evening and finish my monitoring at home since my wife is a medical/surgical nurse and agreed to watch me.
Day 10: The bleed may have been the best overall experience ever. My pain went from a 7-8 just before the bleed to feeling like a normal sore throat after the bleed and hospitalization. I was only taking liquid Tylenol every 6 hours and a Percocet when I went to bed.
Day 11-14: Pain is still only a 1-2 and I have not taken anything for the pain. I was able to eat some real food like pasta in sauces (no meat) and bread. I was still very tired and sleeping propped up but overall it felt like only having a sore throat. I was able to get out of the house and walk around some at the store. Got tired fast but it was worth it just to be out of bed and see the sun and other people.
Day 15: Feel mostly normal and ate some chicken with no issues. My throat feels weird, like there is something stuck in it but there is not. I still have some scabbing. Feel a little tired like after being sick but I know it is from lack of food and a need to catch up on sleep. Worked today and did not have any trouble staying focused. I know that the worse is behind me and I can say I am hopeful to report that I will be able to say that I have no regrets about having the surgery despite the pain and complications.
Do and Don’t:
Do
1. Take your pain meds around the clock and keep a medication log. (Also, pain meds can cause nausea so ask for Zofran and/or the patch behind your ear…..Vomiting one of my biggest fears)
2. Set an alarm for every hour to drink ice cold water
3. Buy ice from Sonic (I went through 10 bags)
4. Drink water and regular Gatorade (your body needs the sugar from the lack of food)
5. Use a vaporizer blowing right over or across you.
6. Use ice packs around your neck for the first 4 days
7. Sleep and sit upright or as close to upright as possible.
8. HAVE A CAREGIVER!!!!
9. Swallow, Swallow, Swallow…Don’t spit. Yes it hurts but it speeds the healing process.
10. Be ready to watch lots of TV. I could not focus enough to read.
Don’t
1. Expect to sleep for more than an hour at a time without drinking ice cold liquids. (Trust me….the lack of sleep is the lessor of two evils compared to the pain)
2. Think you are going to care for yourself, children, or pets for the first week. (Get a Caregiver)
3. Don’t not eat at least protein filled broths.
4. Talk….Keep talking to a minimum.
5. Only stay in bed. (Make sure you get up to use bathroom, move around some, and take a shower…it is all energy well expended and will help prevent a DVT/Blood Clot)
6. Think your are Superman/Superwoman. If something doesn’t feel right say something.
Some people suggested to not look at your throat. I looked and took pictures daily. It helped me to see and understand my progress in the healing process.
Good Luck to anyone else who is about to embark on this journey. Know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and the pain will go away. While I would not recommend the pain on an enemy I do feel like I would go through this all again to avoid all the future problems.
Be blessed everyone.
Bret
I am on day 10 feel awful, ears, neck, throat hurt I think my gums even hurt. Started out with cold drinks and popcycles but now Luke warm is easier to swollow. Everything thing Bret said is right on wish I would of gotten a humidifier though. You wake up feeling like crap take your meds feel a little bit better in an hour or so then they start to wear off take more feel like crap till they kick in feel a little bit better. Round and round you go would like to cry but it hurts to cry. I look forward to feeling better soon it wears you out and sometimes feels like it is going to break you. I really didn’t think it would be this awful. Great bonding time though with my 2 sheepdogs though laying around! I think part of my problem was i tried to go back to work a few times and that really wore me out. Take care
Thanks for sharing your advice Bret. I’ve been putting off having my tonsils out for over 30 years and now I’m 59 and on 25 Jan 2017 I’m having dual tonsil and adenoids removal plus inter nasal operation on sinuses. I’m feeling pretty rotten now so looking forward to a healthier me once the surgery and recovery period is done and dusted.
I am having a thermal fusion welding technique tonsillectomy, that is not mentioned on this site. It is more expensive, but should cut the recovery and pain in half. You should have a section that mentions this!
Hi gang!!!
Any concerns about gaining weight? I have read in other med-websites that taking your tonsils out makes you gain weight b/c it affects your thyroid.
I will have surgery on the 16th (2-days before Star Wars)!!!! Damn tonsils!!!!
Hello all!
Thank goodness for this site preparing me for what was to come. I am on day three and I am doing as well that can be expected. As you read here stay on schedule for your meds. A cool mist humidifier is your best friend and ice packs are a must. I have been able to get down jello and Mac n cheese. It goes slow but goes down. My thought process is planned misery vs. unplanned misery. I am 33 years old and was getting strep A LOT. Have someone with you until the scabs fall off to monitor you for any bleeding and you’ll just need someone. You can hardly talk and don’t have much energy to do anything. I can’t wait for day 14 to come.