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
Ok I’m on day 10 omg I had an a mixing turnaround I feel great a little sore but I don’t even need medicine for the pain.. The fever is gone but I’m still on antibiotics though I have thrush on the sides of my tounge but nothing major . I eat a lil bit more but I’m still limited to soft foods no salt or spicy things . There is a light at the end of the tunnel .. One thing is the scabs haven’t fell off yet. Good luck to all ttyl.
Hello everyone…..Well its day 11 and i must say i feel almost normal today, have managed not to take any painkillers today, and have eaten a sandwich…with crust off, it took a while but i got there in the end…when i look into my mouth i can see pink new skin and less white , gray… stuff for want of a better word…..i am due to have my gall stones removed in 3 months time….i really think that after having my tonsils out it will be a walk in the park (hopefully).. all i can say is to take your painkillers on time , drink plenty of water,eat ice poles and bowls of.soup… ice packs on your neck help . Rest don’t overdo it even when you think” i’m fine,” its amazing how even going for a short walk can exhaust you…. take care, speedy recovery for all…xx
Im on day 30 and still dealing with scabs, it makes it hard to eat and swallow. I keep seeing people say their scabs came off by the 2nd week. My taste buds are all messed up, I find that things I used to love I cant stand, my voice still has not gone back to normal , I still have pain when I swallow, I am worn out all the time and I can not talk for long periods ( makes it hard since my job has me on the phone 8 hours a day). I have been to the doctor several times and treated for infection. I must say after the few surgeries I have had this one takes the cake, I am starting to think there is no light at the end of the tunnel!
Hi all! Hope everyone’s recovery is going well. I had my tonsillectomy and suprise adenoidectomy Thursday morning so I suppose this is day 4 recovery. Ventured out for some mashed potatoes mixed with cream of broccoli soup and some soft cold ramen noodles. Yay! Was curious when the scabs start falling off? How do I know? What should I expect? Any input is greatly appreciated. I still can’t really open my mouth enough to check it out visually.
Hey Brenda! Good luck on recovering further! It’s great that you were able to get down some food, as it well help you to be stronger and also to stomach your medication!
As for the scabs, I admit that I was scared to check out my throat, but I think that I felt something beginning to happen around day 5-6…There were many moments when I felt like there was something hanging down my throat, something that would NOT go down with water or food.It felt itchy and like it didn’t belong there. I figured that were my scabs coming off…
Hey, glad to hear your recovery is going well so far. I’m now on day 11 post-op and my throat is looking really good, there’s more new pink skin in the area where my tonsils were now than the white scabs and it’s getting clearer and clearer by the day. As for the scabs falling off, I didn’t actually feel them come off at all, I just kept checking my throat daily and noticed more patches of pink skin coming through. I’m guessing the majority of mine must have ‘fallen off’ when I was sleeping, eating or drinking and I hadn’t noticed it which was pretty good as I was worried about choking on them or something too. I guess for me they started to fall off around day 6 as that’s when my throat was starting to look much better. Just make sure you keep drinking water, and try to eat as much as possible so the area is constantly getting cleaned and you might find that your tonsils just start looking better as mine did. Good luck 🙂
Thanks Miss T I realised that afterward and have been using Panadol instead.
No problem! Better safe than sorry, even though it’s not likely that you would bleed! Take care of yourself! 🙂