I had my tonsillectomy on January 30th. I am now about 18 days post surgery. I am 27 years old, my profession is a teacher in a very rough school. So I requested 2 weeks off from work – since I unfortunately have to speak loudly often.
Now that I’m thinking with a clear mind I just want to reassure all the people on here looking for help/guidance that you can do this! I got my tonsils removed mainly because of the tonsil stones and also because they were huge and in the way. They disrupted my daily life. When I went to the ENT she suggested right away to get them out, but I waited about a year until I actually got the guts to do it. I heard SO many horror stories and kept putting it off.
So here is what I experienced.
Day one- I was so nervous for surgery! I got the to hospital and prepped. They gave me a sedative to calm me down before surgery and that’s the last thing I remember before getting the anesthesia. I woke up very confused I felt a little sore. The nurse gave me applesauce with ginger ale. I was surprised to find I could actually swallow! I was able to go home and rested for the day. I drank a lot of water and took my Percocet every 4 hours. Day one wasn’t bad. Just keep an ice pack on your neck, crush your pills up in applesauce, use a humidifier and drink ALOT of water. Pain was about a 4/10 day 1.
Days 2 and 3- so the worst part about this recovery for me was the first 5 days I got absolutely no sleep. I had to get up every 5 minutes to drink water to stop my throat from drying out. I also needed to sit up while sleeping because if I didn’t I would choke on my swollen uvula. On top of that you don’t want to let too much time go by in between pain pills. Make sure you have your doctor prescribe you something for nausea just incase!!!!! Being on the pain medicine with no food caused me to have awful awful nausea the first night into the second day. I was convinced I would throw up and that was my worst fear. Thankfully I had someone to take care of me and forced applesauce down my mouth to get some substance in my stomach. The next day my doctor prescribed me promethazine, it worked wonders. It did make me feel super loopy combined with the pain meds but whatever no more nausea. I could only eat soup broth, applesauce, and water ice. Pain was 5/10 on days 2+3. Drank a lot of water about 3 large glasses per hour.
Days 4-7: these days were probably the most painful for me. Big thick yellow scabs formed in the back of my throats leaving a weird like mucusy feeling in my throat, which was fine not painful – just something that happened. The pain was a throbbing feeling in my throat, ears, and head. I couldn’t turn me head it was very sore, just keep the ice packs on there it helps! someone also said put a warm washcloth on your ears; this was great too. I didn’t get much food down on these days – still soup broth, ices, and applesauce. I also didn’t get much sleep I was so out of it from lack of sleep and being on medication. But again this wasn’t anything unbearable – YOU WILL SURVIVE It was a very sore/stiff feeling. Not being able to sleep was the worst. I tried to sleep in a recliner. My humidifier, ice pack, and staying hydrated really really helped! Drinking water was so important to me because it kept the scabs wet which made them falling off so much easier for me. I honestly didn’t experience any serious pain with the scabs falling off because they didn’t dry out. talking was hard I sounded very weird – it’s best not to talk because it’ll be sore later on. Pain was about 6-7/10 during the days 8/10 in the evenings.
Days 8-11: these days were like a roller coaster for me. I would feel great and then the pain would set in during the evening / night time. Not as bad at the previous days. The scabs started to look like they were going to fall. It is so important to drink a lot of water! My friend said the scabs coming off were the worst part for her because she didn’t hydrate but for me I didn’t really feel anything! They fell off in my sleep on days 9-11. I still didn’t eat anything crazy the most I ate was a little over cooked Mac and cheese and some potatoes with butter. I still was taking pain medicine.. I needed it during the nights especially. Sleeping became possible again on these days I would sleep for about 2 hours wake up and hydrate and sleep and then wake up for meds and water. Pain was 6-7/10 but again nothing unbearable!
Days 12-14: I started to see the light!! The scabs were almost all gone. I was able to eat potatoes and Mac and cheese. I ate ice cream too these days. I was able to open my mouth much more. I didn’t take my pain medicine too often. I still used ice packs, humidifier, and lots of water. Sleeping on my side became possible, and felt amazing! I slept through the nights. Still be careful with what you eat because I cut my wound a little trying to eat a soft brownie which caused everything to sting that spot. Pain was 4-5/10.
Days 15-today: my voice is almost back to normal! My students said I sounded like I had a bubble stuck on my throat. Talking at work was really hard for me and caused me to be sore but I survived. I felt a lot better I could walk around and do things. Still no hard foods. Until about 5 minutes ago on day 18 I at a chicken nugget and it was glorious!!
Anyways, my recovery wasn’t too terrible. Yes at times is sucked but I made it and you will too!!! 14 days of rest I needed. 17 days of soft foods. I lost about 12 lbs. But, guess what? I feel like I can breath because there is actually room now. I feel fresh and not self conscious of my breath because I don’t have those darn tonsil stones! I don’t regret getting the surgery at all and I’m only 18 days out. You will be okay and feel so much better soon!