Eating After Tonsillectomy
Eating after tonsillectomy can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the nutrition derived from solid foods is essential for out overall health and recovery from tonsillectomy surgery. The very act of swallowing also helps the throat recover. On the other hand, pushing foods past the raw and tender area of the tonsil beds after they’ve been cut and in many cases cauterized, can cause excruciating pain and, even bleeding. We need to go slow as we resume eating after tonsillectomy surgery.
Liquids. Let’s start here. Since you’ll be drinking at least 8 ounces per hour during tonsillectomy recovery. Put some thought into what you want. Sport drinks are good. They provide electrolytes and needed calories. Since most of the calories are from sugar, you’ll want to try some other drinks too. Avoid anything acidic, caffeinated, dairy, or thick for the first week. I was amazed by how many things I drank went down like battery acid or left a troublesome film on my throat. (tonsil bed) Water is always good, but it’s hard to stay interested in it. I also enjoyed chicken and beef broths. Don’t heat them beyond, “fairly warm.” Hot has an inflammatory effect on tonsil area tissue.
Gelatin was the first thing I was given to begin eating after tonsillectomy and I thought I’d gone to heaven. It tasted wonderful and, for some reason, I found it easier to swallow than water. It’s cool, soothing, and counts as hydration. Hands down, Jell-O, Jelly, or gelatin is my top pick for foodsfor eating after tonsillectomy surgery.
For the first five days I wouldn’t venture too far beyond the liquids and gelatin. It’s contrary to what your mother might advise but, like sleep, a normally healthy endeavor can result in an hour of searing pain. I tried mashed potatoes on day two and had tears in my eyes. For about a day after that, I stopped eating . I don’t recommend this. Eating after tonsillectomy is important for several reasons. Nutrition, activation of muscles in the affected area, and feeling of well being are all benefits of smart eating after tonsillectomy.
Also keep in mind that most prescription pain killers can cause nausea, especially on an empty stomach. It’s important to get some kind of food down before taking pain medicine, even if it’s just a liquid food like Ensure.
As your throat allows, try some foods like oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, (NOT al dente. cook it!), ramen noodles, mashed potatoes, gravy, or cous cous. Oatmeal was, without question, my breakthrough food as I began eating after tonsillectomy. I’m still eating it almost daily, probably because of the good feeling that it gave me in my second week.
When I was recovering, I used to daydream about eating steak. It seemed so unattainable. I couldn’t even handle mashed potatoes. When could I ever enjoy a nice juicy Steak?? I told myself, once I got through this, I would reward myself with a delicious slab of beef. To this day, I love my bloody Mary steak marinade recipe. Try it before surgery, or after you’ve recovered. Salud!
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 tGeneral Store.
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Hi I am now on day 7 and today I am starting to feel better….Hopefully I have turned the corner of horrible pain. Day 3-7 were the worst. The best things that have worked for me thus far are:
-NO STRAW USE – I was told by my Dr. the longer you do not use a straw the better time during recovery.
-Propel – has less sodium than Gatorade,
-ice chips
-Jell-o…I agree with someone who wrote they could swallow that easier than water…I have to agree.
-Throat lozengers that help with sore throats….lifesaver,
Thow out when it get very small – DON”T WANT a sharp edge cutting throat as it goes past.
-I have also been eating a teaspoon a few times a day of pure honey….seems to be helping coat my throat as it goes down,
-Just started today…. mac n’ cheese (totally overcooked noodles) and seemed to be able to eat that without too much discomfort.
-Yogurt
-freeze gogarts
-small pieces of seedless watermellon – I bought the container of already cut up watermellon
usually a bit over ripe – perfect to snack on – mostly juice not much to chew and swallow.
-Chicken broth
Thank you for all the comments! My 5 year old special needs daughter had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy nearly 7 days ago and is refusing to eat or drink… I have NO IDEA what she is battling with and her limited communication does not allow her to tell me. Your comments have been extremely helpful and enlightening. THANK YOU!!
I agree, all the comments are helpful! My 5 year old son had his tonsils and adenoids removed too. This is day 8 for us. He refused the medicine early on. We were able to convince him the first couple of days. Since then he had children’s Motrin before bed three times. He does like Gatorade and Jello. We gave him a choice of colors! Also he likes to use the syringe to drink the Gatorade. Yesterday was the first day he could laugh without it hurting.
thanks monique and i really hope you feel better,i can only imagine the pain you are going thru.soon ill be going thru the same thing ugh. im really scared about the after care not so much about the surgery in general. im pretty nervous about bleeding and the pain to swallow food. are you able to use mouthwash after the surgery???
Heloo all I am a 32 year old women I got mine out on June 15 2012 and the 1-2 day was not that bad but day 3-7 was the worst I really thought I was dying!!!!!! I could barely get water down and I know for some people cold water feel good, for me it was horrible so I hav to drick room temp water.
Before I took my meds I would warm up some chicken broth drink half of it; I would lay on an incline and take my meds, I would then let it settle before I’d drink the rest of my broth.( I did this due to the almost instant vomiting that would happen if I would take my meds on a empty belly.
I am on day 10 right now and I have a whole new prioblem most of my scabs as fallen off however my crazy dr didnt put in dissolvable stitchs in so I hav one that is hanging on and causing all kings of problems for me. I think this sucks the most because I right at the pont of getting my life somewhat back and because of this one stitch I cant talk withiut crying and eat is very painful.
I am so happy to be reading all of these posts. I went into this surgery thinking it would be so easy. I was not worried about the recovery at all. Eat some jello and drink some juice. Everything would be fine, and I was so wrong. It’s day 5 post op for me and I began to look into it. Glad to see that I am not crazy. I had pain in both or my ears. Swollen tongue with blisters on it. Throat that the very thought of swallowing a drop of water made me want to cry. The pain was so out of this world for me that i thought for sure something had gone wrong. I have tried potatoe soup, Mac and cheese, and pudding. Certain things felt like fire burning my mouth and throat. Sadly I find out that this is just the process it takes and that within another few miserable days and all will be back to normal again.
I did not realize it would be so difficult either. Yes, water does hurt, hurts so bad I don’t want to drink it, but gotta stay hydrated! I can barely open my mouth and my tongue is swollen as well. Does yawning want to make you go thru the roof?
Yea, yawning and hiccups!
hi im 21 yrs old and im having my tonsillectomy surgery on july 6. im pretty nervous. this will be my first surgery ever and i wanted know if there is alot of bleeding after the surgery and when will i be able to brush my teath..i dodnt know anyboby who had this surgery
@ Karla Hello I’m 32 and I got mine out On June 15 and no it not a lot of bleeding as long as you do what the Dr. says. My advice to you is drink plenty on water on the days before of your surgery because you want to get a jump on the hydration. and yes you can brush your teeth in fact I think I brushed mine like three times a day. Good Luck