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 am feeling pretty good. Thank you. No pain and sleeping through the night. My main struggle has been taste. It is slowly coming back. Everything was salty or bitter. Doc said 6 weeks and it should be back to normal. Glad I had it done. Looking forward to strep free days!!
Dallas, thanks for your thoughts. Since I’m only on day 11 I need to be patient. :-). I also stopped and thought about it and I’ve only been taking Advil/Tylenol maybe twice a day. I haven’t been dosing around the clock so if course I’m going to have pain/discomfort. I think day 18 sounds very realistic and I’m going to try to have a ‘gentler’ day. How are you doing?
I think I finally had NO pain by day 18. I am on day 25 and feel really good. Not an ounce of pain when I yawn. It is good to feel normal. It will come. Just don’t rush into things.
Becky I really hope it’s better by day 16 for me but have my doubts. Even with Advil or Tylenol the pain is still there for me, all day, just to varying degress of intensity depending on what I’m doing. Just slow and steady, like you said.
My uvula is exactly how you described!! It looks more attached on one side than the other. I think it just has to do with the cut out area of the tonsil on either side. On the side where the uvula looks less attached, the cut out area looks a tad bigger to me. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about and just part of the way that side was excised.
Thanks for your thoughts Becky!
Hi, Beth! I wish I had written down the exact day when I felt no pain. It must have been around day 16 or so. At the 14-day mark, there was still some mild swelling and pain especially when I ate, talked, coughed or sneezed. I took it easy for a few more days after that, and things have been great pain-wise. I definitely took the “turtle” route regarding introducing more rough textured foods–slow and steady wins the race–which I think helped. There is still some pain when I clear my throat too vigerously or yawn, but that’s expected for a little while longer. I have my 4-week post-op checkup on Wednesday, so I’m looking forward to what the doc has to say. I have only one concern. My uvula still looks off-centered–like it’s more attached on one side than the other. It almost looks like he may have cut more tissue away on one side than the other. Another silly thing I notice while playing with my kids the other day is that I can no longer make a a “purring” sound from the back my throat. 😉