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! i am a 21 year old male. it’s day 14 post operation and i must say it has been hell of a ride but finally i am at the stage where i do not need pain meds. i am sharing my experience so others can exactly know what lies ahead of them. i had 6 cases of severe tonsillitis in an year which was the reason i had it done and i hope it never occurs again.
they kept me under care for 24hours after the op. it was the best thing to happen because of what i need not swallow any pain meds day 1 post op which otherwise seemed like an impossible time. they gave me my pain med through syringe.
day 1-3 : i was on super cold liquids, ice cream and yogurt. more chilled the “food” more relief i got. thankfully i had no reaction to anaesthesia.
day4-5: i started coming on to semi solid foods like rice and curd and milkshakes. started feeling better.
day6-9: worst days of my life! the reason, as the pain struck i shifted back to ice creams and milk shakes. the result was my throat muscles remained stiffened, which equalled unbearable pain specially at night. i wouldnt sleep the whole night.
day10: went to see my doctor(best thing possible), he gave me a muscle relaxant and he advised me to take my pain med 20 mins before my meals (as a result from when i said i cannot eat anything i moved back to ice creams). he said you have to try start eating normal to relax your throat muscles so take your pain meds first.
day 10-12: i started taking my pain meds before meal (only 20 mins before or i could get nausea for taking meds on an empty stomach) and it did wonders. my diet came back. i ate pasta , mashed potatoes and almost everything except spicy and sour and rough. i started eating more and i started keeping myself hydrated, it helps.
day 13-14: i am off my pain meds and the pain is almost over.
Do’s:
first few days stay on a cold and soft diet
move to semi solids as soon as you can.
chew nicely before swallowing.
poop!!! if you keep eating soft milk products trust me its going to be rough in the toilet.
if it hurts and you think of going back, DONT! take pain med before. (my pain med was Hifenac P)
drink plenty of water.
Don’ts:
do not take a head shower for at least 4 days (you might catch cold), you can take a body shower
dont cough,sneeze,burp,yawn,try to clear your throat.
dont speak much for the first week
dont eat forbidden things.
it might seem hard at the time but trust me its going to be amazing afterwards. i lost 6 kgs too 🙂 good luck to everyone. stay safe!
Hi Everyone,
If i had of known how painful this would be i dont think I wouldve had this done. Everyday I remember by ENT surgeons comment made to me in my consultation where he told me its nothing more than a sore throat for a few days. EH WHAT? Have i had the same procedure your reffering to is also another question i keep asking myself. I am a 21 year old female and I had my tonsilectomy the 16th June which makes today day 6. The first 3 days i spent constantly vomiting. Everytime i took a painkiller, food or anything i would be sick. This hurt my throat so bad and made me so worried incase i would bleed. It made me get into such a state that I went back to my doctor on the sunday and got an injection for nausea and pain. This injection I dont know what it was but it helped my throat pain for about 3-4 hours so much so that i could eat a little bit of mashed potato and carrot. I did get sick once after the injection but from the next day the nausea was gone. Days 2-4 pain was excruciating. Probably because i kept throwing up after my painkillers was one of the reasons but regardless, I was in agony. I had to mentally prepare myself, and often still do, to be able to swallow my own salivia. Thats how much it hurts. I looked at my throat from about 3 hours post op. I had to see what it looked like, and it was quite disgusting. But i think if you are able to stomach looking at it from the start then i would keep checking it day by day for bleeds or to see how its progressing. If you didnt look at it from the start then i wouldnt suggest looking at it. Apparently youll know if your bleeding as it will just come out your mouth/ nose and youll be able to taste it and feel it on your throat.
I got my appetite back on day 5 and now I am constantly hungry. My diet now involves sausages which i find if you cut up small they are good, criossants, dont ask me why but i got such a craving for them, if you eat them warm and pull pieces off its perfectly okay to eat. Beans have also been good. I will be trying to eat more mashed potato but i find anything soft like that tends to go into a ball and sit into the gap where my tonsils was which leaves my throat quite uncomfortable. I also eat toast. Some websites here say not to eat toast a its too rough. But it was the first thing given to me in the hospital to eat and if you cant eat the crusts it not a big deal. The toast is rough so its good as it gets your throat working again and apparently cleans up the wound. I would be careful though incase of bleeding as often i would look at my throat and see a tiny trickle of blood or even a small bit of dried up blood which could be from anything. As long as you drink loads of water and really chew your food in small amounts and slowly you should be fine.
I have not been taking my pain meds like i should be which leaves me suffering in pain every night. I think im okay during the day and forget to take them which leaves me in agony towards night.
All I want is to be able to look at my throat and see all that white crap gone. I also want to be able to eat properly again but its gonna take time.
Can anyone tell me how long until the scabs should start properly falling off?
First things first, my biggest mistake was jumping on the net and reading blogs on this procedure because let’s be honest, why would anybody take this much time out of their day to blog about a positive adult tonsillectomy experience?
Second, the only reason I’m blogging about my positive experience (as positive as surgery can be) is to give future patients some hope because it’s not always as horrible as you think. Bottom line though, you’ll get through this, just like I did!
With that being said, I’m a 30 yo female, 5 days post opp and feeling good. Unfortunately, the couple of days leading up to my surgery were probably the worst because the only thing on repeat in my brain (that I read on a blog) was “THE PAIN WAS WORSE THAN LABORING A CHILD”!
Thankfully my recovery has been pretty mild. When doing nothing, the ‘resting’ pain has been a 0-1. Try not to swallow or talk which is where the most pain is felt but thankfully medication helped with that. The worst I felt was around a 5 out of 10. For the most part I was able to interchange Tylenol and Advil. If you set some alarms on your phone and regularly stay on top of both meds, whether you need them or not, they actually stabilize your pain. My doctor also prescribed me liquid oxycodone (without acetaminophen). I took it a handful of times, mainly at night, because the pain seemed to be the worst this time of day and also relaxed me which helped me sleep.
I brushed my teeth everyday. Careful brushing your tongue. The biggest thing is to remember that although soup may sound soothing, it actually burns because of the open wounds so make sure anything you put in your mouth is either cold or cooled down to luke warm at minimum. Also, although the stitches can be a little uncomfortable at times, the primary irritant’s been the over production of salivation. For whatever reason your throat will mass produce saliva from day 1 through 4. Today is the first day it’s back to normal where I don’t feel like there’s a waterfall of saliva draining down my throat. The hardest part is to let it drain without swallowing because remember, swallowing is the most painful part.
I realize everyone’s experience and pain tolerance is different. I’ve experienced much more painful events and no, I’m not talking laboring a child. I had 2 surgeries due to a broken leg/knee. And last month I had endoscopic sinus surgery and a septoplasty which was 5 times more painful than this surgery, hands down.
Another consideration is that there’s multiple surgical methods for tonsillectomies so make sure you speak with your doctor on this. My surgeon placed 3 stiches on each side and I never feel a burning sensation associated with cauterizing. If you experienced a lot of colds and throat pain growing up, like I did, this basically feels like a bad case of strep, without all the other symptoms. Maybe I had it so many times I’m just used to the pain…..Not sure. But it wasn’t awful by any means.
Anyways, here’s some suggestions I hope you find helpful and also some things you should avoid. Best of luck!
DO’S
Angle yourself in bed at 45 degree angle
Gel or ice packs on your glands, below your jaw
Drink lots of water with ice (the colder the better)
Buy childrens liquid acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Buy children’s liquid ibuprophen (Advil)
Buy stool softeners (if on prescribed pain meds from doctor)
Suck on small ice chips (chewing ice hurts)
Slushies (blend 2-3 popsicles together)
Smoothies (blend seedless fruit with some apple juice
Luke warm broth (no added sodium) with small egg noodles
Gerber organic fruit ‘smart flow’ packets (only ingredient is fruit and vit C – avoid lemon)
Sherbet/Sorbets
Apple sauce
Apple Juice
Pedialyte
Gatorade
DAYS 4+
Chew gum (reduces associated ear pain)
Pudding
Yogurt (with live probiotics in you’re on an antibiotic after surgery)
Cream of wheat or grits (luke warm)
Scrambled eggs
Avocado
Sliced lunch meat/cheese (small bites, chew thoroughly)
Mashed potatoes
Steamed vegetables (the softer the better)
Refried beans
Soups (chunk free, no or low sodium)
DON’T (avoid)
Talk for the first week or so
Cough/Clear throat/Burp/Sneeze (if you don’t have to)
Chew on ice
Open mouth wide
Laugh
Acidic foods (pineapple, grapefruit, etc)
Spicy foods (black pepper, hot sauce, garlic, etc)
Sodium/Salt (soups, etc)
Suck thick fluids or shakes (can cause bleeding, hurts)
Warm/Hot food (hurts, colder the better)
Lay flat in bed
Pills (take everything in liquid form if you can)
Alcohol/Mouth wash
I had a tonsillectomy at age 22. First week was ok, second week was intense. This is when the scabs fall off. I had Severe ear pain! Which, I didn’t know at the time, is a common side effect. Also, the first few days my uvula was swollen. It was flapping in my throats while I slept, which caused snoring and constantly woke me. Suggestions for adult tonsillectomy — expect the unexpected! Take pain meds as directed, might ant to even set a time to wake up during the night to take it, even if not in pain.
I am 30 days post op on my tonsillectomy and I need some good advice. There is something in my throat on the right side, feels like where they had to put stitches, food keeps getting stuck, ear ache still. The doctor says it is acid reflux! I already take omeprazole and a friend suggested Aloe Vera gel juice. So I am drinking that also.
Had this happened to anyone else? What else can I do or should I be doing? I really need some help here.
Hi Folks. I’ve only just seen this blog, so thought I’d add some comments. I’m a 63 year old aussie. I had surgery done 9 days ago for sleep apnea & slight breathing difficulty. Mine is a little involved:
Surgeon broke my nose to straighten up a deviated septum (constricted airway you might say).
I had stitches running through the inside of my head and tied off under the roof of my mouth (not sure whether this was to hold my nose in place or to seal up after the adenoids were removed).
Adenoids, uvulo and tonsils were removed.
The back of my tongue was also cauterized or sheared off to improve the airflow.
Went into the Intensive Care Unit post op where I spent about 20 hours. I was on Morphine via trigger injection but they also gave me Endone syringes to suck on. Result was overdosing which meant I couldn’t walk, talk, eat or anything else and COULD NOT stay awake for more than 20 seconds.
2nd day was to a ward in the afternoon. I refused the intravenous morphine and basically just took a couple of oral pain-killers (Targin & Paracetamol) that day because I was so freaked out with the double up of the morphine and endone.
3rd day they let me go home (the surgeon tried to talk me out of it but I just wanted out). Once home, all the painkiller residues had worked their way out of my system and then the pain set in. Wow! I played catch up then trying to arrest the pain which at times got to about 9. Nights have been worse. I’ve picked up the pointer about a humidifier which I’ll try tonight.
Tonight is night 9 post-op and I’m running out of hope for improvement (it’s there but it’s so slow). I’ve trialled so many pain-killers, I’ve lost count but Codeine seems to work best for me. Endone scares the hell out of me. I can’t eat many foods, have lost my appetite (and about 5 kilos). I’m exhausted and wondering/hoping whether it will be worth it in the long run. Headaches are constantly present but vary in intensity.
I’ve had several sports injuries (broken leg, all ligaments in one ankle torn, 2 knee reconstructions and so on) but this is a whole new ball game to cope with.
I don’t want to eat (besides it hurting so much to swallow) but when I do, I find natural yoghurt good (also balances out & replenishes the good bacteria which the endless 6 hours does of anti-biotics strip away). Green tea with honey (warm only) is also great. Trying to find nutritious food soft enough is hard.
Please don’t think I’m trying to scare anyone off. Hopefully, someone might find some helpful tip(s) from my story. Most will have tonsillectomy only and won’t have the other complications.