Tonsillectomy Recovery Time
After a lifetime of tonsillitis, it was time. I made the appointment. Was I scared? Yes. Was I prepared for tonsillectomy recovery? NO. Can you be? YES!
Planning for and recovering from a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy procedure, (often referred to as T & A Surgery), can be daunting experiences. The days leading up to your surgery can be frightening. If you haven’t read up yet, you can find information on tonsillectomy methods, risks, costs, adult tonsillectomy, sleep apnea, and numerous tips for tonsillectomy recovery on the other pages of this site. I’ve even added pictures of a post tonsillectomy throat by each day. Study, talk with your doctor and consult with your friends about the decision to undergo tonsillectomy and adenoid surgery. Explore the pages created here to aid in your journey.
If you should decide to have tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, let us help you through the entire process. Whether due to problems with sleep apnea, chronic tonsillitis and strep throat, tonsil stones, trouble swallowing, or a combination thereof, you can benefit from the experience of others. My own experience taught me that, as patients, we need to advocate for ourselves. Ear, nose, and throat doctors are, by and large, extremely talented individuals. However, very few of them have experienced an adult tonsillectomy, and the subsequent recovery. I have. Many others have too. We share our experiences here at the adult tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy recovery resource center. As you’ll read in the tonsillectomy recovery forum, everyone’s experience is unique. There are many factors that influence the level of pain you experience, as well as the length of time required during recovery. The method, and skill of your surgeon can have an affect, but there are also many things within your control that will reduce pain and recovery time. I’ve tried to include as many helpful tips as possible within the pages of this online resource. Tonsillectomy recovery can be pretty rough, especially if you are unlucky enough to be an adult! It takes longer for an adult to recover from most things. Tonsillectomy is no exception. There are many things you can do to make it go more smoothly. I’ve published numerous tips here on various pages. I encourage you to read up BEFORE you are in the throws of tonsillectomy recovery.
Talk with your doctor, friends, family, and work as you prepare. You are not alone in this. Like you and like me, many others are facing or have faced a tonsillectomy recovery. I created this forum for you. The community of adults or parents of patients will amaze you and warm your heart. I read these comments every day and every day I am humbled by everyone’s story and their compassion for others in the midst of recovery, or the anxiety that often precedes a tonsillectomy. Please join in. Hundreds of other people, perhaps in your same situation, have shared their wisdom, concerns, tips, and questions about tonsillectomy, as well as their tonsillectomy recovery.
-Greg My short bio
I know swallowing is painful and it seems counterintuitive, but it’s really important to recovery. It sloughs off debris in the tonsil pits, exercises the throat muscles and moves the mucus along.
In the throes of recovery, I tried to equate the pain with healing (the pain WAS the healing and not something to fear) and I tried to relax and just breath when it was the most painful to swallow. Believe it or not, tensing up against the swallowing makes it hurt more. If you can try to swallow in as relaxed a way as possible (despite the pain) you may be surprised to find it’s more bearable.
Short of sharp or crunchy foods, eat anything you can get down:
scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, very soft pasta, soup, Mac-n-cheese, pudding, baby food, baby food oatmeal cereal, smoothies, ramen noodles, pureed veggies, protein shakes, Ensure, Slimfast, pancakes, etc.
Your body needs the nutrients to heal! Anything you can eat is better than nothing. You’ll only feel worse with a very empty stomach trying to take pain meds. Yes, swallowing SUCKS but avoiding it doesn’t help you heal, no matter how much it seems that way.
This site was a Godsend to me when I had my tonsillectomy 4 mos ago. Greg’s tips and all of the advice offered on here is wonderful. Read, read, read, 🙂
Shannon, try to read as much on this site as possible. Great tips and info from those who’ve been there. I’m 4 mos post-op and you will feel better in a few weeks. It may seem very painful but in the long run, think how freeing it will be to not have to worry about infections and abscesses in your tonsils!! Keep that in your mind if you’re having a tough day.
As for tips – ice, ice and more ice. Drink cold water and swallow as much as you can. It helps slough off the debris from the surgery and helps you heal – yes it hurts a lot to swallow but don’t avoid it (unless your doctor said so because of the vocal cord surgery?) Drink Ensure or Slimfast for calories and nutrients. They may feel slightly thick going down but your body will say thank you.
If you can swallow pills (I could without a problem even though it hurt) I highly recommend extra Vit C. Get Ester-C, as it’s more readily absorbed and doesn’t cause GI upset. Vit C is crucial for tissue healing. I took all of my regular vitamins/supplements throughout my recovery.
Icing the exterior of your neck provides some relief too. I used bags of frozen corn. I would do this off/on all day. Don’t be surprised if you feel some jaw, tongue or teeth pain. A lot of us had that. Icing helps that too.
As far as pain meds, yes, you may find that they only provide some relief and don’t last for the full duration of the dose (4 hrs). I took straight Percocet that did not have the acetaminophen component so I was able to more closely keep track of my acetaminophen intake. If you’re on Vicodin, Percocet is stronger and may provide more relief. I have a very sensitive stomach abs other than nausea on the first day from the anesthesia, I tolerated the Percocet just fine. One important thing – start taking a stool softener and/or laxative right away. Any opiate pain med such as Vicodin (lirtab) or Percocet will be quite constipating a d you don’t want to wait until a week has gone by to deal with that. My doctor told me to start the stool softeners immediately after surgery. For a laxative, MiraLax seems to work wonders for most people and is not a harsh chemical laxative.
Hang in there, it’s painful but you’ll be fine!! Read as much as you can on this site. 🙂
just had my surgery today. i just had my son 3 months ago and feel that was less pain. am i nuts? my ear feels like its gonna fall off, im so hungry and liquids and Popsicles arent cutting it lol. did anyone else feel like their pain meds werent really doing much in the first few days? i had a tonsillectomy with microscopic repair to a spot on my vocal chords, i had been suffering from peritonsillar abscesses for over a year. im having trouble trying to rest through all the pain…any tips or wisdoms would be highly welcome and appreciated.
I also had my operation on the 22nd (today to most of us). I had my uvula shortened as well. As the day progresses(it is almost midnight) I find that I’m much more uncomfortable than before. Sleeping is virtually non-existent because I keep choking on what I think is spit or what have you, and I’m too afraid to cough.
I’m also the mother to a little one, and I feel the same way. This is MUCH more painful than childbirth.
I had a popsicle shortly after I woke from the procedure, I had about a teaspoon of KFC mashed potatoes and gravy, a blue freezie pop which I did not enjoy at all, and my meds. I’m on amoxcicillan and lortab. I have an ice pack on my neck and my humidifier right by my bed. I am not feeling well at all.
Dee Dee, hang in there. It’s not a fun recovery but you’ll get through it. I drank tons of cold water and ate baby food cereal for the first few days. You need some food to give your body nutrients to heal and water alone won’t cut it. Just get down whatever you can. Eating can be a chore but is well worth the effort. I also tried, every day, to go out for even just a 15 min walk. It helped to feel ‘alive’ and let my body know it needed to rise to the challenge. A little activity stimulates the immune system which can’t hurt. Hang in there…you’re on a journey and the rewards are at the finish line! You cans and will get to that finish line!
Thank you for the encouraging words, Beth. I’ve tried to eat bread, tea and crackers, anything I could, but really, I’m in so much pain that I feel like it’s not worth the effort. I’m very discouraged and overwhelmed..I just feel so horrible. I’ve had a little apple juice today as well as a sip of gatorade, but I haven’t had any water. I know it’s not a good idea, but it just hurts too bad :(.
Day twelve. Better. Not much else to report. Tried Chinese yesterday. Was ok. I treated self to a frozen Marie callendars turtle pie and small bites of that are heavenly. Leslie how are you and mr t. Best Susan
Glad to hear things are going well Susan! I just had my final doctors appointment today. I am in the clear and back to normal life. I still have a little pain when yawning and sneezing but besides that things are great here on day 20.
-Matt F
Dee Dee – good luck and you’ll do fine’