Tonsillectomy Recovery Time | How long does it take?

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How long does it take to recover after tonsillectomy?





Tonsillectomy recovery time is unique for each patient. The recovery timeline for children is much shorter than for adults, with seemingly less pain. My own eight year old son was back to his old self in less than a week after his tonsils taken out. This may have fanned the flames of my unreasonable expectations of my own  recovery time as an adult. His was fairly typical of a child his age. Children’s bodies heal faster than adults’ do.

Tonsillectomy Recovery Time

What to expect after tonsil surgery

The timeline for recovery for an adult is a different story. Age matters. In fact, it appears that the older an adult is at the time of their tonsillectomy, the longer the recovery is, in general. Based on my own adult tonsillectomy recovery, and the stories of thousands of my readers, I’d put the average adult tonsillectomy recovery time at approximately 10.43 days. Yes, I’m that good!
Humor aside, ten days seems to be pretty typical. I added the .43 because so many people, myself included, thought they had it licked and went back to work around day ten, only to find they weren’t quite ready. As scabs slough off in second week of recovery, many adults experience a bit of a pain relapse, just as they thought they were almost recovered. This is a really tough period for many. They’ve spent almost two weeks with minimal sleep, minimal nourishment, minimal activity, and lots of pain medicine. It can be downright depressing for adults recovering in this second week.

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I do hear from many adults whose recovery times are closer to a week – perhaps due to my good advice, perhaps due to genetics. It’s hard to say why some adults’ recovery timelines are shorter, and their experiences less traumatic. There are also cases that drag out further. If you’re one of a small minority that requires re-cauterization for bleeding, or don’t take the proper precautions, (many of these are outlined here and in my book), your tonsillectomy recovery time may be as much as three or four weeks. I want to make an important point here- one that I cannot overemphasis: Stay hydrated! Keep drinking fluids! Dehydration is the worst enemy of the tonsillectomy patient.

My advice: ask your employer, your family, your friends, and the rest of the world to give you two weeks for your adult tonsillectomy. You may surprise them, hopefully for the better.

tonsillectomy recovery timeRecovery is unique to each individual- sure.  We know that recovery time for adults is longer, and maybe harder, than for children. I remember my own son bouncing back in less than a week! My own experience taught me that ten days off from a job that required lots of talking was a bit light.  I generally advise two weeks.  As I’ve said, most employers will let you come back early.  That’s easier than asking for more time after the fact. I’ve read the accounts of thousands of tonsillectomy patients- most of them adults. I’ve learned that the time required varies. I wonder though, how many tonsillectomy patients never really post about their experience.
Are you one of those quiet ones lying in the weeds? I’d like to get a better feel for the average adult tonsillectomy recovery time. Please take a moment and share your own experience in recovering from tonsillectomy surgery. You can help us all!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.

-Greg Tooke 

268 comments

  1. I’m 57 and had a tonsillectomy for stones and snoring. Recovery was fairly smooth but eeven after over 5 weeks my back palate still feels rough. No pain, just a feeling of having to hack and spit something out. Feels like it goes up into my nasal cavity. I heard tonsillectomy in adults can be rough with a long recovery and mine was no exception.

  2. Im going on 3weeks since surgery I feel ok now still get pain but nothing I cant handle and I had the same problem with feeling like something was stuck in the back of my throat and I was told it the uvula the thing that hangs from the roof of your mouth mine was so swollen and all I wanted to do was swallow which made the pain worse … it does get better good luck and hopefully you have a fast revovery

    1. Thank you it really hurts when I try to swallow now but so far I’ve been alright and I’m even going to attempt going to school tomorrow. Hopefully it works out alright

    2. Glad you feel better my throat is pretty much cleared but I still have a lot of pain and my uvula is swollen still.

  3. I am 17 years old and I just had a tonsillectomy Tuesday December 30. At first I was ok. I was able to talk but my throat was a little bit sore and I had a horrible taste in my mouth. I was also very dizzy and could barely walk. I got home and I was really hungry so I tried to eat noodles it was going fine but then I started feeling nauseated so my mom gave me one of the pills that’s supposed to help with that. Needless to say it made it worse I wound up throwing up in the hallway. That hurt like heck. Pain didn’t hit me really badly until the day after my surgery. Then it was unbearable. I would feel better and then it would come back feeling 10x worse. Then on New Year’s Eve I wanted to watch fireworks and I was feeling pretty good so my parents let me. I regretted it the next day because I woke up at 3:00 in the morning crying my throat was hurting so bad. The past few days I’ve been able to eat a few solid things. I actually found that if you eat cabbage while its still warm it works wonders for your throat. This morning I woke up crying again but this time it was because not only was my throat hurting but it feels like there’s something stuck in my throat and it hurts really bad when I swallow. Does anyone know what it is?

  4. I’m 17 and I had my tonsils out on Dec. 23 so I am on day 7 now. The first few days weren’t so bad because of the pain meds but then I decided I had to get off it around day 4 or 5 because it was making me so naseuous and confused. Right now the pain isn’t that bad (I’m taking Tylenol every 6 hours) but I am worried about my lack of appetite and anxiety. I have lost about 10 pounds so far (which hasn’t hurt me as I can stand to shed a few) but I am worried about not getting enough nutrition because I hardly eat. I’m also having a lot of anxiety, especially when I am trying to get to sleep. I get to the point of being almost asleep and then I wake up feeling panicked and it takes me a while to get back to sleep. Was wide ring if anyone else was having these problems or knows when my appetite will start to come back? Thanks

  5. I got my tonsillectomy done on the 19th of December 2014 because I had tonsil stones and my tonsils would always swell up whenever I got sick or stressed out. AND MAN OH MAN, I thought I knew what I was getting myself into after reading all these experiences but I was so wrong.
    First day after the surgery everything was fine, no bleeding, sore throat but pretty tolerable. I was out for 2 hours after the procedure and was pretty woozy. I got home, took my meds (which hurt to swallow) and went to bed waking up at the right times for medication.
    2nd day, pain progressed. Was on fluids because nothing else could enter.
    3rd-4th day pain was the worst…i couldnt see an end to this. I havent spoken since the procedure nor eaten solid foods.
    by the end of the first week the pain was still there when i swallowed anything but not as terrible. still couldn’t speak. First week sucks basically. Just expect to do nothing.

    Right now I’m on my 11th day and the worst part is the scabs. Youd think after the scabs have formed, the pain would be less but once those things start falling off it’s the worst. I wake up at night from the pain in my throat that reaches my ears and there’s no calming it. Just gotta wait for it to subside. It is so painful and depressing. These scabs are SOB’s man. Cold water is my enemy because it hits the scabs and the perfect spot that brings back the pain. I stopped the pain meds about three days ago because they were making me nauseous and constipated lol. Now Im on extra strength tylenol which my doctor suggested.
    I have a doctors appointment tomorrow for my 2nd post op.
    This surgery sucks guys. Like really sucks. Im hoping by the end of this week I’ll feel better. JUST NO MORE SCAB PAIN PLEASE.
    Its like a sickness that won’t go awat and Im bored of it!
    For those planning this surgery, just know that reading about it is not the same as experiencing it. Its just…I can’t even describe it enough.
    A knee surgery would have been less of a hassle lol.

    1. update: it’s been 3 days since I wrote this and it’s like night and day. I feel 100 times better and just a small scab on the back of my tongue on one side. My doctor said I should be back to normal within a few days!
      Also I forgot to mention, I’m 22 years old.

      1. i just got a tonsillectomy on monday the 29th and boy am i in a lot of pain 🙁 i am 23 years old and am acting like a huge baby! i had the same issue as you with the tonsil stones and my tonsils were always inflamed so it was time for them to come out. Today is my 4th day and by reading your comments i am dreading the “scabs”. The only foods I can sort of tolerate is oatmeal, chicken noodle soup (cut up) and rice. I have lost 5lbs so far so I guess it could be a good thing, haha. What day are you on again? And how do you feel? I am a nanny and supposed to return back to work on monday but not sure if that will happen..

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