Tonsillectomy Recovery Day 11 and Beyond

Tonsillectomy Recovery after Day Eleven

 

At some point I hope to add pages for day 12, day 13, day 14, day 15, day 16, and another page for days 17,18,19, and 20.  For now, please share your tonsillectomy recovery experiences here.  I wish you the very best of health!



  1. ty
    Hey. Its me again. Had the surgery last week and OMG! The worst days of my life. I will make it but geeze!! This sucks bad. I had to read your comments again because I began to get depressed, lol. Im driving my husband and doctor crazy by keep asking them how long will this last. Its good hearing from someone that understands the process and pain. Your experiences are helping me through girl. Thanks again:)

    1. Kate
      Horrible flashbacks reading your message Ty! I have just returned from a business trip, meeting lots of new people, and I didn’t have to worry about my breath: so liberating and confidence building. I discovered that one of my colleagues had her tonsils removed 2 years ago – when I happened to mention that I was just a few weeks on from my operation, she gave me a big bear hug because she could empathise with my more recent experience. You WILL eat, sleep and enjoy life again – I promise! Stay positive: you made the right decision.

  2. Kate
    I am now four weeks post surgery (in the UK), and life is good! I had a tonsillectomy due to tonsil stones (I had small, pitted tonsils, and was unable to remove the stones myself, whatever method I tried) – private medical insurance and a past history of throat infections helped get me the surgery. I knew it was a drastic option, but I was prepared to do ANYTHING to solve my bad breath problems. I did nearly cancel when I read this forum the day before surgery though! But I didn’t, and I survived, and my tonsil stones and bad breath are finally GONE!Having found this forum so much help during the dark days post-surgery, I wanted to share my experience/what helped me. If you are about to have surgery, or are still in recovery, I can promise you it will get SO much better in a few days – hang in there!1. Don’t plan ANYTHING for the two weeks post surgery – and make sure you book at least two weeks off work. Days 5 – 8 were the worst for me, although in total I had about 10 days of constant pain/medication and sleep deprivation.
    2. I cried A LOT on day one – a mixture of the anesthesia/trauma, relief at getting through surgery, and pain! I had one night in hospital.
    3. Sucking on crushed ice helps a lot – make sure you have some in stock. I did not use a humidifier – we didn’t want to pump damp air into our bedroom!
    4. Take as much pain medication as you can – I used Tramadol, ibuprofen and paracetamol – you will not get addicted, and you WILL need them. But keep a drug diary so you can recall what drugs you took and when – you will not remember!
    5. Sleeping with my face/throat on a hot water bottle helped me a lot in days 5+: your throat muscles tighten up in response to the surgery, and I think this helped relax me a little
    6. The nights were the worst, as I would wake up in a lot of pain and then struggle to swallow more medication/get back to sleep. Listening to the radio really helped get me through the dark, lonely hours. My husband moved into the spare bed for the first 10 days, to ensure he could get some sleep and I could thrash around the bed as much as I needed to get comfortable!
    7. In the UK we are advised to eat rough food e.g. toast when we can. I did manage this a couple of times, but I mostly lived on soup (no bread!), fish in sauce (you can buy this frozen in handy microwaveable pouches), yogurt, porridge and hot chocolate. I tried making smoothies but the fruit was too acidic and hurt my throat. There were a couple of days when I could not face eating anything due to the pain. I did not get constipated, and I did not lose much weight – because I spent two weeks resting, and most of what I DID eat was high calorie!
    8. You will be too tired to read much – have a good set of DVDs on standby
    9. I did not have any bleeding. I felt so ill that completely resting in the first week was an easy option – and I made sure I had someone on call in the first few days, just in case
    10. I was able to speak on all days, although about half an hour of conversation was enough
    11. I went for my first short walk one week after surgery. Four weeks on, I am now exercising as normal – running, swimming and pilates.
    12. I stopped regular pain relief on about day 15, having gradually cut down on what I was taking.
    13. I gradually re-introduced different types of food after two weeks. I still have a sticky feeling in the back of my throat, which I expect to disappear over the coming weeks.My tonsillectomy recovery was the worst 10 days of my life. But ridding myself of tonsil stones is one of the best things I ever did!

    1. Ty
      Thank you for sharing. I also have tonsil stones and thought I may be going to far getting surgery to remove them. I’m a married woman and nothing’s is more damaging to a marriage than insecurity. TMI, I know just wanted to say thanks for sharing your experience. I’m going forwadr with the surgery.

      1. Kate
        I am also married (and 47 – forgot that bit!) and would not even discuss the problem with my husband. So I feel your insecurity! It will hurt a lot – stay focused on the goal and remember that in a few days you will be much better, and also liberated!

  3. Ellen Howard
    Day 9 of my recovery.I’m not sure how relevant this will be to anyone because I’m not entirely sure how common it is. I’m just turned 18 and have been having a lot of problems with my tonsils for the best part of three years. One thing I always found when digging out those god awful tonsil stones was that my tonsils were extremely prone to bleeding – something my ENT surgeon also found out on the day of the op!He said no one in his experience had bled that much in a tonsillectomy procedure in years. I had to be stitched right up on my right side and let me tell you, we all know how sore recovery is without stitches right? Imagine being wheeled out of theatre with those bad boys in you. It’s been sore, for the first few days it was the actual space at the top of the back of my throat that was painful and white and scabby. I was throwing up old blood so frequently (and a lot of it might I add) that I couldnt keep anything down; not food, not painkillers. It was awful.But I powered through and ate as much as I could, despite the pain, because I thought ‘you know what I’ve put up with enough sh*t from my tonsils this time I’m gonna show ‘em what I’m made of!’ And after about day three or four the pain subsided from my tonsil bed area and is now a horrible stingy/achy feeling further down my throat, which apparently is due to the whole stitching procedure, I guess a lot of tubes were bumped around in this process and it’s seriously bruised me inside. I find the pain really hits me at night and I’m starting to get severe earaches to accompany that, which is nice! My co-codamol painkillers ran out days ago so I’m going strong on paracetamol and Diclofenac.

    I hope everyone else is managing to power through! Just think of all the tonsillitus and nasty tonsil stones that you’re gonna get to avoid for the rest of your life! Remember, at most this recovery process is going to take 17-20 days, which in perspective, is more than worth it to be tonsil free!

    Stay safe xxx

  4. Lindsey
    I am a 24 year old female, I had my tonsils removed on July 23. I had my tonsils removed due to horrid tonsil stones. Let me start off by saying DRINK WATER NO MATTER HOW BAD IT HURTS!!!! Day 1: after procedure you’re so loopy from meds it flys by. I was offered a blue slushing and teddy Graham’s. 8 bags of teddy Graham’s later I am ready to keave!! After surgery I even had McDonald’s I don’t even remember eating it. Throat was numb all day long. I received percocet 5mg. All you will want to do is sleep. Have someone wake you up to drink and take meds!!Day 2: pain was still tolerable I started taking the pain medication every 4 hours so the pain doesn’t get out of control. I was eating mash potatoes ( the pre made bob Evans kind was the smoothest), I noticed ice cold water stung my throat so room temperature worked. I was drinking every 20 mins to keep the throat moist. Sleeping was horrible, I ended up sleeping on couch so my head would be propped up. Waking up every 45 mins to sip water, you get no sleep at all. I didn’t want my throat to dry out because it is so painful. I set my alarm every 4 hours so I would take my medicine.Day 3,4,5: Worst days ever! Extreme pain 10/10, that pain medicine didn’t help! Ear pain started kicking in. I had ice constantly on my throat to keep swelling down. Scabs were formed in back of throat very thick. Drinking water was a task. Everytime I swallowed felt like razorblades. I had to force myself to eat. Ended up getting a blood clot on my left tonsil on day5 and started bleeding. On call dr told me to drink ice cold water and it helped. Woke up after and blood clot resolved on its own. I was having mini hot flashes all day.Day 6: I felt like a new person. Pain was a 6/10. I was eating drinking taking my neds around the clock

    Day 7,8,9: scabs started falling off day 7. It feels like something is caught in back of throat when them fall off. Throat is very sensitive after they fall off that any liquid or food stings the throat. I have bumped my meds down to 1 pill every 4 hours instead of 2 pills. Sleeping longer through the night.

    Day 10 and on: pain has started to be controlled with Motrin. I feel 100% better!! I am starting to eat solid foods. I had PBJ sandwhich and it was easy to go down. I feel back to my normal self. Throat still hurts but just like it would as a sore throat.

    I think keeping myself hydrated non stopped helped with my speedy recovery. I go back to wk in a few days and feel comfortable going back. I still have to drink water so throat doesn’t get dry. My scabs are 75% gone. I’ve had someone with me the whole time and you DO need that. Milk never seemed to cause the phlegm in my throat as others posted. It soothed the burning. I lived off mash potatoes and chick n star soup mix for the first days. Keep taking medication when it’s due so pain stays under control!! Take the full two weeks off dr reccomends because you will need it. I would do this surgery again knowing it is going to cure my tonsil stones and stinky breath! Sorry this blog is all over the place my mind is going crazy! I hope everyone as a good recovery as well as I’ve had!

Check out our new tonsillectomy recovery video- Caution: Not always pretty

A collection of various experiences of adult tonsillectomy patients after their tenth day of tonsillectomy recovery
From thousands of post comments to the tonsillectomy recovery forum, I am assembling a sampling of various accounts and impressions of tonsillectomy recovery for each day. Below I share comments about tonsillectomy recovery after day 11. These comments are from tonsillectomy patients who were kind enough to share their experiences to help others as they navigate the bumpy road of tonsillectomy recovery.

 

Many will experience depression toward the end of of their tonsillectomy recovery.

Depression after tonsillectomy
Depression After Tonsillectomy?

-Greg Tooke 

343 comments

  1. I’m on day 5 post op (day 6 if you count day of surgery) and I woke up this morning with a blood clot on my right tonsil. I had a slight brown tinge to my saliva but I rinsed my mouth with cold water when it was gone. I called the radio doctor for the clot and he said it’s completely normal and will actually help to stop the bleeding as long as I don’t try to dislodge or move it. That’s reassuring but given everything I’ve read regarding blood clots I’m stilk worried. If I get an active bleed i’ll go straight to the er.

    1. What ever came of this? I seem to have a dark clot low behind my tongue (very dark) but not actively bleeding. My dr called me back (since it’s a fri) and basically told me to leave it alone and if I start pouring blood call him… he’s a prick. I’m super nervous now to go to sleep, as I had a clot last Thursday where soon my entire scab on the opposite side turned black behind t with blood. One of my doctor’s partners suctioned out the blood and cauterized it with silver nitrate. Not sure why the two have been handled so differently? The one doctor made it sound like the bleeding under the clot won’t stop on it’s own…and my doctor just seemed annoyed to be bugged on a Friday. Trying to find anyone with a similar situation 🙁 please give me good news…I need it!

  2. Yes, definitely a issue of not feeling like I can swallow. I think I’m gonna do what you suggest n I’m gonna get a second opinion. Thank you for answering my post.?

  3. Is there no one out there with these issues. This is 3 months past. Yes it was a awful surgery but what I’m dealing with here a worse. Just does not seem to be going away. ?A lump In the back of my throat. Especially when I eat any that’s not soft it gets worse. Is this scar tissue. Please does anyone know if Another Dr can help me. Desperate please. ???Anybody out there that can help with my questions ????PlEASE n Thank You???

    1. It sounds like it could be scar tissue but I’m no medic. Where I had my lesion removed I have quite a weird looking bit of scar tissue and it can feel kind of scratchy sometimes but I don’t have trouble with the sensation of having a lump in my throat. Is it the sensation of a lump or more like you feel you can’t swallow because that’s something altogether different and would need a second opinion? I don’t have issues with eating but more so issues with lying down to go to sleep. I feel a bit like my throat closes off now which is only since surgery. This makes me anxious which makes it worse. If I relax and prop myself up for a while, I calm down and can ditch the extra pillow. I wonder if anxiety about everything you’ve been through is making it worse for you too. It never hurts to get a second opinion hey.

  4. Paddyoo1

    3 months ago I had Tonsillectomy. Yes been back to my Dr twice. He did the thing down the throat n he said it’s a Lil tight where I have 2 small scar tissue. Yes I have Reflux n take Meds for it, yes I have allergies n down to one shot a week. This that I’m feeling is like a bad lump in my throat, like the beginning of strep but it’s not. Also there are times I CANNOT SWALLOW n that really makes me panic. I’m 52 n is there any kind of speech that can help me. I cannot live like this forever. Please Any Help Would Be So Very, Very APPRECIATED. Thanks again. Paddy

  5. Im a 24 year old female, and had to get my tonsillectomy because of extraordinarily enlarged tonsils, tonsil stones, and tonsillectomy/strep throat several times a year since I was a little girl.
    I’m currently on day 10 if you could surgery day, and reading this forum had kept me sane. I’m in more pain that I could have imagined.. I’d rather break my leg all over again than deal with this!! The throat pain was horrific, but the last few days the referred pain to my ears, specifically my right ear, has been unbearable!! I tried to start taking Tylenol instead of codeine and let me just say: don’t try to be a hero with medicine. Just take it. No one wins when you try to suffer through pain. I’ve been using pain killers ear drops as well, which does give me some relief! I was using ice packs for a long time, but I personally find that heat is more soothing for my ears, while ice is great if you’re feeling swelling around the throat area.
    Does anyone else really just feel hopeless? I miss being able to eat and drink without being terrified to swallow because I know the pain is going to be horrific.
    Praying my full recovery comes soon, and is worth it.

    1. Hello, I’m also a 24 year old female, I had my tonsillectomy 8 days ago and I’m feeling miserable. In the first few days I could eat mostly fine but now it’s so painful. The left side of my tongue is still numb and if I drink anything colder than the temperature of my mouth my tongue and the roof of my mouth go tight and ache so much it’s unbearable. Also can’t taste that much because of the numbness. Please tell me it gets better. I had them removed because of tonsil stones that made me paranoid to the point of tears.

      1. Hey Jenna, my best advice is drink lots, every time you think about it. Have it by your bed at all times n another thing that really helped with me was I had a ice bag to lay across my throat to help with swelling, especially at night. The Dr told me between 2weeks to a month. . . Not. But I was 51 when I had my tonsils out n for the same reasons.(stones) It’s been 3 months 12 days. It is very scary not knowing if you are gonna heal but most people do. I was just one of the lucky ones that now that I’ve had my Tonsillectomy my Acid Reflux is so much worse n I’m not sure why. My ENT Dr says it’s got nothing to do with my Tonsillectomy but I do not agree with him at all. So now basically I’ve got to try n figure out about my Reflux now. I get where I cannot swallow, lump in the back of my throat n wheezing usually at night but I have had wheezing is the day also but more at night. God Bless, pray you recover fast but trust me the ice water n Ice bag on my throat were just God sent n it made my swelling go down n that helped me not panic as bad?

        1. This IS from the medicines and antibiotics you took after your procedure! I’d suggest you look at buying a good quality probiotic and perhaps Enterocare (prebiotic).
          The antibiotics kills good bacteria in your stomach, which is a cause of reflux.

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