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 31 year old & 25 days post tonsillectomy surgery which was on 1/18/13. I was having reoccurring tonsil stones & wanted to share my story with everyone (sorry if its long). I read through every post imaginable on here a couple of days prior to surgery & thank everyone for sharing their experiences as they helped me to better prepare for my own. Before hand I had prepared myself by getting tons of applesauce, jello, ice cream, pudding, popsicles, soup, & Powerade. I called my ENT the day before surgery & asked him to call in my prescription for whatever meds I would need to be on so that I could just have my mom swing through the drive-thru. It was ready for pickup the same day!
Day 1- Woke up from surgery and was immediately spoon fed ice every couple of minutes by a nurse. I had no pain whatsoever & I’m sure that was compliments of the pain meds. I did sound like Elmo with a sock stuck in my mouth though. They then gave me a popsicle in the recovery room. I was given my instructions like not drinking out of a straw or blowing my nose (yeah right). My mom drove me home & I slept the whole way. I was prescribed Oxycodone (pain meds) & Augmentin (antibiotics). This day was a piece of cake & I slept it away.
Day 2- I was able to brush my teeth & the front part of my tongue with no problem. The pain started to creep in & the Oxycodone did not help much. It only made me sleepy & it burned when it hit the back of my throat. I had to take sips of water or Powerade in between swigs of medicine. Even though I barely had taste buds, I almost hurled at the taste of my beloved Jello!! I could only do applesauce & pudding all day. My mom made me mashed potatoes but I could only eat an ounce or so of food at a time which was like every 6 hours (not much of an apptetite).
Days 3-4 I started to get the ear pain, jaw pain & nauseous from the medicine. I also felt weak from only being able to eat small amounts at a time. I was literally only eating about a tablespoon of food at this point. I called the ENT to see if I could switch from the Oxycodone to Extra Strength Tylenol since the Oxycodone only had 500mg of Acetominophen in it anyway & the Tylenol had 1,000. He said that was fine. The stronger dose of Tylenol worked better for pain & my nausea (and constipation) went away. I realized that while Powerade did taste better than the water at this point, it dried my throat out in the back so I reserved it for in between water. I sipped water almost all day though. My nose started to run & yes I did blow it without a problem.
Days 5-8 My throat felt as though I was trying to swallow bottle glass. Apparently these were my scabbing days but I remembered to keep drinking water regardless. Had my follow-up appt with the ENT & he said that the pain on back sides of my tongue were because tonsils are attached at the back of your tongue!! Didn’t know that bit of information. My tongue was also sort of numb for the first week too but that faded off. Popsicles started to hurt instead of help & warm foods started to make my throat feel better instead of hurt. The doc also told me to that I was still in my “bleeding days” so to not take Ibuprofen which I’ve always used for pain.
Days 9-13 Definitely felt an improvement although I still could still only do soft foods.
Days 14 – Up until now. I started to eat solid foods around day 14 but make sure to chew it well. Since I passed up my “bleeding days” I switched from taking Tylenol to Ibuprofen & I’ve toned down from 600mg per dose to almost nothing. I have my moments where I forget that I even had surgery & eat a pineapple & it feels like someone ripped a fresh scab off somewhere. Then I have to drink a lot of water & take some Ibuprofen but only about 400mg. I’ve lost 10 pounds the first 2 weeks but I’m not complaining. I started back to working out a week ago. I can even swallow my vitamins without a problem. I still don’t have all of my taste buds back either. I still drink tons of water all day but I did that before the surgery. Good luck on your surgeries & recoveries & I wish you all the best!! There is a silver lining!!
31 yr old female, tonsillectomy and turbenite reduction. Given 4 medications: liquid antibiotic, steroid, anti Nassau, and liquiid oain meds.
Day 1: I came home feeling pretty good I must say, of course a little pain, but my nose has and still continues to feel great, it hasnt been stuffed once, I did try to swoosh some water around my mouth and spit out, and it and a little blood came pooring out my nostrils, kind of funny.
My throat wasn’t so bad until I woke from a nap, ate a Popsicle slushie concoction, and felt and feel like my throaty is swelling shut, it hurts so much to swallow, I’m dreading sleeping tonight and am praying my pain does not double this in a few days. Been using ice packs on my throat and drank/ate a lot of Popsicles and homemade slushies.
I’m fine as long as I don’t swallow, but be warned, I feel like the longer I wait the swallow, the more I may when I do, so I’m trying to tell myself to swallow frequently.
So end of day 17 for me, and I’m still dealing with quite a bit of pain and generally not feeling well, running a low grade fever. I went to see my primary’s nurse practitioner, she said she didn’t see anything resembling an infection. On the one side of the white patch on the right side of my throat, there is a bright red line that appears as if it may have been bleeding at one point and it seems that’s where the most of the pain is on that side. The other side looks like the white is going away but it hurts almost worse than the right side.
I’m still getting the ear pain, the headaches, the foreign looking stuff when I blow my nose, and stuffy nose. I’ve run out of lortab and am on acetaminophen alone at least until I can talk to my doctor tomorrow. I keep having constipation that results in severe nausea and cramping. The swelling and rash have been resolved by taking a diuretic and topical cream. Outside of pain, I’m so exhausted I can barely function. I tried to go to the store today with my boyfriend and was so exhausted afterward that I slept the whole way home. I felt so bad today, I can’t imagine going back to work next week.
Amy that’s awful…. So sorry to hear this! Were you given an antibiotic to take right after surgery? Even though she couldn’t see any infection, it sounds to me like you might have one. I’m on day 12 and I’m not having any more ear pain, headaches, and nothing coming out of my nose….can breathe easy, and no fever. The only thing I’m still dealing with is a bit of pain when swallowing, and I don’t have my energy level completely back…still get tired easy if I’m up and about for too long. I’m 44 btw. I would place a call to your surgeon and list out everything going on….maybe they can prescribe an antibiotic for you. I’m not going back to work until the end of the week….just too weak still and wouldn’t be able to do it tomorrow I don’t think. I hope you start feeling better soon!! 🙂
That’s not good Amy it does sound like you have an infection.
I am a 34 yr old female and day 8 of recovery. It has been one hell of a journey. I had an infection at day 2 and by day 4 was in hospital. At this point I was vomiting constantly, in so much pain and so lethargic I could hardly string a sentence together. The IV antibiotics they gave me made me very sick too, amazingly I didn’t bleed – touch wood for next few days.
I can not believe how hard this op has been I never thought I’d go through this.
Today however I feel an improvement for the first time. Anyone who feels like they’re not getting anywhere must focus on day 8 onwards.
I wish everyone a speedy recovery and hope no one has to experience what I did! Drink lots, eat little and often however painful it may. I couldn’t have survived the week without ICE! Eat lots and pack it round your throat and face when your ears start pounding in the middle of the night! Good luck everyone!
I’m right there with ya on everything but the nose cause I just had a tonsillectomy but the days, red line, & everything are the same for me. I fall asleep randomly still through out the day & I haven’t even tried running to the store. This crap sucks.
Well my constipation gave way to constant diarrhea and severe nausea for the last two days, waking me even at night I thought would pass out but I didn’t. I called my surgeon’s nurse yesterday and she said the doctor won’t give me anything else for pain, so I’m stuck with the acetaminophen only. They did not give me antibiotics after the surgery, I had gone through 3 rounds in the 2 months before the surgery and the doctor didn’t think I needed anymore… even though I went into the surgery feeling like I was getting an upper respiratory infection again. The runny nose, post-nasal drip, stuffy nose, etc is all driving me batty. I asked about the bright line in my throat as well as the fever and other issues, the nurse said she’d ask the doctor today and call me back, but I haven’t heard from her yet.
I’m a 22 year old girl who had her tonsils taken out last Monday (it’s Sunday now). I was really worried about what I was reading online! I can say that the scariest part for me was the IV (they had to prick me about 5 times before getting it in)! I woke up from the surgery with hardly a sore throat. I took my medicine like I was supposed to and kept SUPER hydrated on iced water, juices, sodas, etc. If you’re getting your tonsils removed because of chronic tonsillitis, the sore throat from the surgery shouldn’t be bad. By the second day, I was eating crackers and fried chicken and I never had any nausea or bleeding. I started tapering off the medicine a little too soon (for me at least) and started having some ill effects from coming off the hydrocodone on the fourth day.
I had mine taken out because of tonsils stones and have had a hellish recovery despite following all the rules. Including a big bleeder on day 4 because of a single cough. Each case, each person is different.
I wish my recovery was this easy. Just curious why they had you removed them? Maybe my pain is because my tonsils were freaking huge from all the infections and tonsil stones that caused them to expand. But I also had the adenoids removed and my tonsils were attached to my tounge… Idk but this pain is horrible be glad you skipped it
I am on day 10 after my tonsillectomy and I finally decided to give back by sharing my story here. I am 34, male, and I decided to get my tonsils out because I was having chronic tonsillitis and bothersome tonsil stones. I was prescribed an antibiobic and two narcotic pain killers. Let me summarize my experience over time:
[Days 1 and 2]
My surgery went well. I was surprised at how well I recovered from the anesthesia and how quickly I was already walking and functioning as normal as possible on the day of my surgery (day 1). These two days were pretty manageable. There was pain but it wasn’t earth-shattering. It was possible for me to talk. I was woozy all the time from my medication. I couldn’t read any of the books I wanted to read or watch any of the movies I wanted to watch because I passed out very quickly. My friends showered me with attentions and I was pretty happy with it all. From the get-go, it wasn’t the pain but the swelling what started bothering me the most, specially the uvula and the tongue. I also started to become constipated, as a side effect of my pain medication. I stuck with liquid and soft foods and I drank as much water as I could.
[Days 3~6]
The pain was more intense but it was still manageable. The swelling also became more prominent. It was very uncomfortable-to-impossible for me to talk. I was dazed and constipated from the medication and I was often hungry. I started using laxatives and stool softeners but nothing helped. I couldn’t really function normally but I managed all this with acceptance and hope that 10 days would go by fast. I continued eating soft and liquid foods and continued to drink as much water as I could. Ice water, in fact, was really soothing. Each meal, however, was like a little project: it took forever to eat! I resorted to this forum repeatedly for encouragement. It was rough but it wasn’t the end of the world.
[Days 7 and 8]
This was a little window to hell. Pain really got to me and it started reflecting in my ears, specially on day 7. Other than this, I continued drinking water and eating the same soft foods. In the morning of day 8, I was very irritable. I was still constipated, so I decided to stop my pain medication in the dawn of day 8. Luckily, that morning pain wasn’t too intense. I finally had a bowel movement late afternoon on day 8… Won’t provide more details other than it was additional pain I could have done without. Occasionally, I would have episodes of sharp pain in my throat and ears but I decided to hold back my instinct to run for the pain medicine. I am glad I did because those episodes of pain did not last more than a couple of minutes and they would not have been worth getting back on the narcotics. On day 8, the swelling started to recede but it was still very uncomfortable. I was able to talk a little bit better. Eating was still difficult and every meal took me so long that it was discouraging to eat and I would get full before I had eaten all I wanted to. I forced myself to eat everything I had prepared, though. I also started gargling with salt water and it felt good and clean afterwards.
[Days 9 and 10 (today)]
These two days have been heaven, in comparison. I haven’t reached for the narcotic pain killers again and my digestive system is happily back to normal. I still have throat pain but I only feel it when I swallow or when I talk, especially in the morning or during the night, like when I sleep and wake up to pee. Nothing worse than when I had a bad episode of tonsillitis back in the day. Yesterday (day 9), I would still avoid to talk because it was very uncomfortable. Today (day 10), it still is uncomfortable but not as much, so I can be on the phone or talk to my friends who visit. The best thing is that I am finally noting an improvement each day. Days 1 through 8 were characterized by progressive worsening or plateauing, so it’s refreshing to feel that things are actually healing. Today, I had my post-op appointment with the doctor. He noted that all my scabs are gone but that I still have “a lot of tissue growing to do”. I’ve been more adventurous with food and my meals are not long-term projects anymore: it’s become easier to eat, although it still hurts to swallow. I started taking over-the-counter acetaminophen for pain. Today, I learned that I had lost 11lbs in the last 10 days. I didn’t have 11lbs to spare! But I guess I will have to eat and exercise like an animal after my 2-week resting period is over. Counting down! I will start slow of course.
[FINAL REMARKS]
I want to end this with a positive note and some pointers, based on my experience.
First, here are some things that worked for me:
– Eating icicles, especially at the beginning.
– Eating jell-o… very cold!
– Drinking Ensure or another nutrition shake diluted with water and a lot of ice. I would take my medication with these, specially when my stomach was empty.
– Drinking Iced water over and over and over and over. I would sit with a glass of ice water and sip from a straw while I watched TV, or while friends were talking to me.
– Gargling with salt water when scabs start coming off and afterwards. It feels cleaner.
– Eating soups with rice in them. They felt very feeling. The two soups that I had and I really liked were: (a) A cream of vegetables that I made with chicken stock, a lot of root veggies and chicken breast, all pureed in a blender. I would eat this with fresh rice in it. (B) An asian “porridge” soup that’s actually based with rice. It’s very tasty. When eating rice, I wouldn’t recommend using old rice… Maybe one-day-old is ok but more than that it gets harder and it stings.
– Eating sautéed fish with mashed sweet potatoes. Just watch for bones. I used salmon and tilapia, simply pan fried and I cared not to add too much lemon.
– Eating soft cakes, like muffins… I tried the first one on day 7 and it wasn’t too bad. I just needed water to wash it down but that was no different from almost anything else I ate.
– Eggs… scrambled with a little bit of cream or half and half, so that they are soft.
Second, some things that didn’t work for me or that I didn’t try:
– Using a humidifier: I didn’t try it. I think I would benefit from it now, because I wake up with pain. But I decided to ride this pain instead of buying another gadget.
– Eating toast: I didn’t try it. I stayed away from any crusty or crunchy food.
– Eating puddings: they were too creamy and would make my secretions thick and uncomfortable.
– Eating dairy-based ice creams. Same as puddings.
– Eating mashed or baked plantains: I love these and I thought they would be a good option but they were not soft enough and it took me so long to eat them that they hardened by the time I was half-way done.
– Attempting to watch movies, read books, or work on personal projects while on narcotics… It was just impossible to focus on anything.
Watch for the side effects of your medication. To me, unfortunately, it was constipation, and it was very bad. Try to get ready for this one, at least, by taking a stool softener from the get-go.
Don’t despair. 8 days of no sign of progress, climaxing with 2 hellish days of pain, plus hunger, constipation, and a constant daze are not fun things to go through. But 10 days go by fast and at the end you’ll just want to grab your life back by the horns and put everything back in its normal course (this is how I feel right now)… But even better than normal, because all those problems with the tonsils will be a thing of the past. I haven’t reaped these benefits yet but can’t wait to not miss my tonsil stones.
Best to all!
I am 41 yr old female. Had tonsils and aednoids removed 8 days ago. First 4 days were ok. Days 5-7 were horrible. I was prescribed liquid hydrocodone with acetaminaphine every 4 hours. I am still taking that religiously and also taking ibuprofen with my doctors permission. I am scheduled to go back to work Monday but am a little concerned about it. Still uncomfortable, especially at night and the first couple hours in the morning.
I drink lots of water, eat sherbert and popscicles. Sugar is a big irritant. I had a have a hard time with pudding and applesauce. I started chewing sugarless gum yesterday and that seems to help. Buttered noodles feel good going down for me. Best wishes to everyone on their recovery.
Great info Carlos! I’m sure sharing your experience will help many. 🙂