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.
Hi,
It’s been 7 days. Have been talking and eating solids since right after the op. Have felt great- went out for dinner with friends last night, going back to work a week early tomorrow. Had coblation technique, was given antiobiotics and steroids post op IV, have had a morphine 5mg patch that I removed early, and have just been having dissolvable panadol.
Was so scared after reading posts of people’s experiences- but we all recover differently. It just feels like a mild sore throat at worst.
Hello my name is Megan i am 28 and I had my tonsils out on Monday (6/23/14) because I was getting really large tonsil stones and quite frequently. I must say I was prepared for “pain” but this pain is by far worse than I imagined. I have had 3 C-sections with my kids and they were a piece of cake compared to this(I have a very high tolerance for pain) once I got out of surgery it wasn’t so bad I went home and cleaned and made dinner(although I didn’t eat) and then went fishing with my hubby and then the next day, after an on and off night of sleeping I woke up wondering “what did I get myself into?” day 3 so far has been the worst day but I am only on day 5 and my tongue is really swollen I called and asked the doctor (and im sure it is but I get really nervous) if it was normal and told them I couldn’t eat anything, they said usually days 5,6 & 7 feel worst then the first few days after the surgery….GREAT! I am dropping weight like its nothing(which im not complaining too much about 😉 ) but it hurts to even drink and when I do the water doesn’t go straight down my throat, it kind of goes up into my nasal cavity, then down my throat which creates a burning sensation in my nose. I have been on around the clock motrin and Tylenol alternating back and forth and then oxycodone when the pain is “really bad”. lets just say I have been taking the Oxy ALOT! I have been using ice packs on my neck, I feel I could have prepared this better my kids just ended the school year this week so they are all home while my hubby works and then my 2 crazy dogs who constantly need attention…yeah I felt like I could have planned it a bit better because my kids aren’t as helpful as I thought and my house looked like a tornado came through. so yesterday I was up and doing a lot around the house and being up and doing laundry and sweeping, moping, dishes etc. I felt really good. i thought “wow, today was good it can only get better, right?” ….wrong i woke up today and feel absolutely crumby. i just want this to be over. i haven’t really eaten much since Monday aside from ice pops and anything i do try to eat i cant taste for some reason and honestly i have no appetite. and my mouth/jaw /tongue tightens up quite frequently so much i can barely open to get a ice pop in. but i did notice gum chewing helps a lot with the jaw pain, and even helps my throat with the pain because the gum makes you constantly swallow so the gum sometimes keeps going. anyways i thought id share my progress (or lack there of) ive had this far. i wish i came across this site prior to my surgery, but i have been able to relate to a lot of the comments with the recovery so far. reading them gives me a sense that there really is a light at the end of this torturous tunnel…and i WILL get there 🙂
Megan – I am a few days ahead of you, having had a tonsillectomy on 6/20 at age 42. I’ve been posting in the section that has tonsillectomy recovery day by day. I think you’re in the worst of it now. The tongue swelling went down for me around day 4 or 5, and the bad taste in my mouth started to go away around then as well. I went off the oxycodone because I just couldn’t deal with the nausea anymore, so my throat pain sort of seems worse now (with only Tylenol to block it). But I am feeling better overall, despite the throat pain – more energy, etc. I am dying to eat real food but have had some setbacks from even coming close to doing that, so I’m sticking to soft foods still and hoping that things will keep moving in the right direction. By the way, I had two c-sections and totally agree with you – those were NOTHING compared to this!
i am now waking up to day 8 and I feel like im stuck in a horrible nightmare. I cannot go off the oxycodone because the pain is unbelievably bad(it does make me sick to my stomach to take it). and yesterday I had a big scab fall off (which i gagged on…yumm)and ever since its stings soo bad each swallow, and taking medicine hurts as well because it stings going down. I checked in the back of my throat and its all whitish like normal but where the scab fell off its a blackish color. the day of my surgery everything in my mouth was black(I assumed it was all dried blood) so I don’t know if it is a good thing that the blackish color is still back there AFTER the scab has fallen off. im not sure but all I know is I cannot eat a thing, I have tried many things, but I cant barely drink let alone eat. but also my best friend right now is an ice pack because the pain in my ears gets so bad. im not one to have melt downs but last night I lost it I was just so overwhelmed with all the pain and I almost had (or maybe I did have) a panic attack. I seriously felt like I wanted to jump out of my skin. between the pain in my throat and the pain in my jaw leading up into my ears and it wasn’t yet time where I could take more medicine I just broke down, which in the end probably mad it worse with the crying. I have gone so long without food I don’t ever get hungry anymore, that cant be a good thing. I ready to wake up from this nightmare ANYTIME!….LOL
I am 52 y/o & had my tonsillectomy on MAY 2nd, exactly 42 days ago. Since not many ppl with good experiences seem to write about their surgery I wanted to be sure I let ppl know that it took me only 6-days to be able to drive, talk, go to the Dr on my own etc… I did tay down longer just for healing sake. So far my only side effects have been a loss of the ability to taste anything sweet, and the Dr said 2 weeks ago that the skin hasn’t healed over the tonsil site as much as it should have by then so I will return to the Dr this week and try to see if we can work on the sense of taste issue & the healing to speed up? Never the less, the pain after surgery and the pain over-all was not that bad & was more like that of a root canal than surgery so all is not gloom & doom for every one though be careful & prepare for the worse & hope for the best. Good luck to everyone & I will update everyone on my 2 remaining side effect issues after I see my Dr this week.
I don’t think we can buy Tylenol in the UK, I have looked online but wondering if Panadol is a substitute to it? Everyday I am getting to the point of wondering if today is going to be the day I turn the corner and feel normal again. How long did your recovery take?
Hi Lynette, Mine took about 11 days. Best of luck to you!
Thanks Greg. I still need to keep on top of pain meds but I do think it’s easing a little bit now but don’t want to jinx myself just yet as I know it can change day to day. I slept for a solid 4 hours last night but have and behold the pain was unbearable as any pain meds were out of my system. I think the toughest bit has been trying to find what ones work best for each individual. I would certainly recommend this site and just wish I had have come across it before but I’m glad I found it, Thank you again.
Thanks Lynette – btw Tylenol is a brand name – the generic name is acetaminophen. Best of luck to you!
I have lived in Australia & the UK and you are correct that Panadol is the best equal to Tylenol or any other non-Aspirin analgesic. You can ask the Chemist for suggestions. I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through. Keep ice chips and pop cycles in the back of your mouth non-stop and keep the area frozen to help with the pain. I used a liquid pain med that was a script for the first 4-5 days and then I used just Tylenol as well. How long has it been since your surgery as I just read about you today the 15th but my prayers are with you. Rob P.
Hi Rob. I had surgery on 4th June to remove the normal tonsils and coblation on the lingual tonsils at the base of the tongue as it was these that were growing large so my surgeon wanted to get as much of the tissue out as possible, hence the removal of the normal tonsils. It is great to hear you had a fast and speedy recovery although not so good about losing your sense of taste. I am just back from the doctors and put on another weeks course of antibiotics as he says my left side is healing well but the right is not and has an infection still sitting which is why I am still in a lot of pain, although it has eased to what it was this time last week. I had spoke with the chemist about meds and got co-codamol which seems to be helping a lot and not having the undesired side effects the other stuff did.
I am on my 4th bad of ice now and all I drink is water loaded with the stuff ; ) which is soothing.
I hope you get some answers at the doctors this week and get it resolved : )
Hi! I stopped using the Tylenol Codeine around day 4 because it upset my stomach & I felt it wasnt helping as much as it was on previous days. Sooo I got the liquid Tylenol 500mg over the counter. It worked the same for me. And I only took it when I reeeeally needed it.