Im a 28yr old female and had my tonsils out on 24th January 2017 due to recurrent tonsillitis and tonsil stones that only started over the past 17 months. I never had tonsil problems as a child or teenager. Im Australian and went through a private hospital.
Day of surgery
Everything went well, I had my surgery late in the day. I’ve never really had a problem with general anesthetic, so when I woke up I felt a bit woozy and not really any pain at all. I stayed overnight and once I was back in my room I was given sandwiches, jelly (or Jell-o to the Americans), custard, apple juice and some water. I got through 600mL of water, 250mL of apple juice, the custard and jelly. I was quite tired and slept through most of the night with pain hovering around the 3-point mark on a 1-10 point scale.
Post-op recovery day 1-3
These days were really all the same pain and food wise. In Australia and the UK we are encouraged to eat a normal diet with rough or crunchy foods straight away. I did this and firmly believe that it is one of the reasons I had such a swift recovery. On these days I watched TV, slept with my head elevated and drank a lot of iced water (about 2 litres per day). I took ibuprofen and paracetamol on a rotation and took endone (active ingredient: oxycodone hydrochloride) only when the pain was peaking. I ate a lot of dry toast and occasionally jelly when I wanted something cold on my throat. At this point my throat had the white ‘scabs’ but because I was actively eating rough foods, they did not build up into a thick white coating.
Post-op days 4-6
These were the worst days for me. The pain in the mornings was the worst with ear pain also present. In my worst moments the pain reached about an 8 and water was hard to drink, but I kept drinking and I kept eating! Although I wasnt eating the same volume of food as I did in the first few days, I was still eating rough foods and washing it down with a lot of water. Pain medications were exactly the same as the first few days but I used slightly more endone (usually took 1 in the early hours of the morning when I would wake from the throat pain and then one in the evening after I had dinner and wanted to go to sleep). I used ice packs on my neck and ears and this helped A LOT after eating when my jaw would be a little bit sore. I also started using a cool mist humidifier which I faced directly on to my face – this was very soothing. During this time a fair amount of the white tissue at the back of my throat was shed – which is what I attribute the pain to. Eating toast really sped up the shedding process I think!
Post-op days 7-8
These have been good days and I slept through the night soundly with no waking for pain medications on night 7. I’ve gotten back to eating my normal foods in almost a normal volume. On day 7 I introduced warm black tea and it just felt so good over my tonsil beds. Food still tastes a little bit odd, but hopefully that will settle soon. I can drink water normally now also. On day 8 I only required one dose of paracetamol in the morning and I have not needed anything else to get through the day with the pain hovering around a 2 most of the day.
So my tips would be:
1. Get a humidifier and aim it directly onto your face while you sleep – it really helps with the morning pain and to sleep in general.
2. Drink a lot of fluids from the start and just keep drinking! Same goes for your saliva – keep swallowing it because it will help work off that white tissue or ‘scabs’ at the back of your throat.
3. Eat! Eat whatever you can but really try for the normal foods like toast and cereal or chips (crisps to the UK readers!). Chew very well and just keep swallowing the food down!
4. Get in a routine with pain medications – it helps when you hit the middle recovery point when things are at their most painful. If possible, have someone chart your medications for you so you dont have to think too much.
5. Just relax – at some points it feels like it will never get better. This was a very isolating experience because you cannot talk much, eat or drink. It make you feel very alone even if you have someone caring for you! Just remember that it will pass 🙂
Hi there! I’m 28 and having surgery next week. I’m concerned because nobody will be there to take care of me day 2 and 3. Do you think I will be fine or do you think I should make sure someone is there?
Hi Sally- I just saw this. I did days 2 – 3 solo and was ok. That 1st day they recommend someone be there because of the anesthesia. Days 2-3 weren’t the worst for me (7 and 8- OUCH!!)
You don’t have kids to take care of do you? If so, I’d get some help.
Good luck!!