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
Hey guys, I don’t think my last comment went through. I had my surgery on wednesday, bright and early. I have hardly been able to eat anything. I feel horrible and I’m SICK of sweet..sweet medicine, sweet applesauce, sweet juice..I’m craving something salty and savory, but I know that isn’t going to happen.
Everything hurts so much, I really didn’t think it would be like this. My jaw hurts, I have horrible headaches on the sides of my head, the roof of my mouth, my tongue, the tonsils (lack there of)..the NAUSEA due to swallowing too much “drainage”..it all brought me to tears last night as well as this morning.
I’m starting to develop a horrible consistent overwhelmingly bitter taste in my mouth which I’m sure is due to the rotting whatever that is in the back of my mouth. Also, I’m sure that I’m extremely dehydrated because the pain of swallowing is just too extreme. I’ve tried ice chips, popsicles, warm and cold liquids, all of which are basically unbearable.
I’ve taken myself off of Lortab because for one it BURNS like hell, it makes me nauseous and drowsy, and I’m going to be on my own with my 15 month old as of tomorrow because everyone needs to return to work / school. I have been managing with Children’s Tylenol and also adult Tylenol in pill form, with enough fluids, it’s easy to get down.
I don’t know what to do! Online classes start TOMORROW, my evening class begins on Tuesday where I’m supposed to go in and sit for nearly 3 hours..I don’t think I can do it. :'(
I had my tonsils out on July 26 (one month ago!). I feel great now. . no more nasty taste, no more tonsil stones. It was VERY painful & I knew that going in. I have a small mouth & had LARGE tonsils. I do not regret one moment of the surgery. Keep telling yourself it will pass. The only problem I have is the Dr left some of my tonsils. . more than normal. I am 40 years old & may have to go through this again. UGH. Only good thing is I will not be charged. Anyone else ever have tonsils remaining? (the bottom half of my right one complete with the crypts is still there. & a circle bit on the left side). Thanks.
I had my tonsils out on July 26 (one month ago!). I feel great now. . no more nasty taste, no more tonsil stones. It was VERY painful & I knew that going in. I have a small mouth & had LARGE tonsils. I do not regret one moment of the surgery. Keep telling yourself it will pass. The only problem I have is the Dr left some of my tonsils. . more than normal. I am 40 years old & may have to go through this again. UGH. Only good thing is I will not be charged. Anyone else ever have tonsils remaining? (the bottom half of my right one complete with the crypts is still there. & a circle bit on the left side)
I had my surgery on August 17, 2012. I knew I would be in some pain but the pain I am experiencing isn’t what I expected. The jaw pain when I try to drink anything is excruciating. I just wanted to hear from some other people’s experiences if they have had the same thing. I turned 36 on the Aug 23, (great birthday….) and have heard it is much worse for adults. My two children had their tonsills removed at young ages and it seemed so simple. I feel like I have been hit by a truck. I have to take my meds every 4 hours and if I actually do sleep past the four hour mark, I am in big trouble. When I eat anything, I get a few bites down and then my mouth and jaw starts burning. I know I am not getting enough water daily but it seems impossible. I guess I am wondering how long I will be having pain and when can I start eating and drinking again? I am using the ice packs on my face and it seems to help minimally. On my 7th day, my throat opened up and started bleeding and that was very scary. I did get in with the ENT and they suctioned some clots out but it didn’t need cauterization. My dr. refilled my pain meds and I am supposed to be decreasing the dosage but there is no way I feel like this is going to happen well.
I’m a 21 year old male and I had my tonsils removed on Thursday afternoon, so I guess today is my third full day of recovery. I understand that the pain intensifies when scabs start to form, but I’ve read that they don’t form until around the 4-6 day mark. However, the pain I’m feeling now is ridiculous, it’s got so much worse since this time yesterday, I haven’t eaten anything at all today. I was just wondering is it possible for the scabs to start forming this early on into recovery? The area still looks similar to the past couple of days with the black/white skin looking all nasty, but there seems to be slightly less blackened skin there and more white/off-white skin around it. Could it be that it’s starting to scab already, being the reason for the pain I’m feeling?
Hey Kieran!
I don’t think that the pain you’re experiencing is due to the formation of scabs- I think it’s just regular post-operational pain. What I noticed was two types of pain- until about day 4, the pain was extreme and was focused mainly in the throat. From about day 4, the pain started to spread to my jaw, teeth, ears, tongue, and the roof of my mouth. It was excruciating and maybe worse than the first type, because it affected more areas. However, I think that the scabs really do start to form around days 4-6.
Good luck and try to stay strong, although I know it’s terrible!
Thanks Miss T, I guess the only thing I can do is keep drinking and stay on top of my medication, it’s beginning to feel like Christmas day as a kid whenever it gets to the point where I can top myself up with pain relief haha!
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean, haha! During the days of extreme pain, I was super excited when I managed to actually eat a little bit of something or when I was able to drink more than a few cups of a water a day. The little things, huh? 🙂
Try to drink as much as you can- it’s important for you to stay hydrated and to keep your throat moist! Hang in there! I’d like to tell you that it will get better, but you probably won’t get there until in about a week or more…But the day will come!!!