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
having my tonsils and uvula out in 2 weeks. i have been nervous hearing about the PAIN and RECOVERY time from folks. i am a business owner and cannot be off work too long. this site has helped in knowing that everyone experiences pretty much simular recoveries. i feel a bit more confident, and i know my doc is a good doc. thanks people. continued recooperations! just hoping and praying the quality of my life will be better.
Im on day 3 and i had this procedure done at same time as my 6 year old brother. Im 16 and feel very weak, my throat feels like its tearing and worse is that im all stuffed up. My throat feels very weak making it hard to even drink anything, my aers are sharp with pain and its almost unbearable. I dont know what to do, i try drinking but it gets worst. The medicine they gave me insnt enough and i cant concentrate nor do things for myself because my head is dizzy. I have coughs as well but my brother doesnt.
I’m currently on day 6. I thought I was doing good until yesterday! Ended up at hospital with a small amount if bleeding. She said its normal to have a little bit of bleeding after surgery so that was nothing to worry about, however she was more concerned with the infection I have now got :(. For some reason I thing when I got sent home after surgery they should have given me antibiotics to prevent and infection! It’s now been 24 hours since I started the antibiotics and can already feel a difference! Really can’t wait to start feeling better! Any idea on how I will know if the scabs are coming off??
I’m on day 4 I think. I’m still pretty much out of it, in terms of telling the time and date. The pain is definately getting worse. I called the doctor today steps away from tears. He faxed in another prescription for different pain meds. the operation itself went really well. overnight at the hospital,; the nurses were great. they made sure i had all my meds on time. was even able to eat mashed potato and chicken breast the first night. i thought this was gonna be a piece of cake until yesterday. my entire head hurts; ears hurt when i swallow, my eyes hurt from glare. in addition, my stomach is sooooo sore from all the different meds. Doc finally gave me summin today thats supposed to coat the stomach before i take meds. i doesnt seem to be working yet. my whole mouth is numb. and i think its worst cause he said he had to remove my adenoids as well, and summin from my tongue….. nausea is kicking in. so far porridge is my best friend. i’m so tired. i’m just praying for the day when it get better. but i’m trying to remain positive. getting lots of support from my bf, neighbours, family, and co-workers. i’ll post again when i get some more energy. hang in there guys!!!!
Thanks for the information. Today she has taken in very little water and ice chips and she continues to spit out the mucus which worries me because I don’t want her to become dehydrated. She has stated this was the worse day so far and she is REALLY emotional. She is extremely nauseated and doesnt want to even take her pain meds. Whew!
It’s been a few weeks since I was on here… I’m now on day 39 post op. I am doing much better now, however not 100%. All the surface pain in my throat is gone but I deal with muscle pain every time I swallow. My swallowing also feels.. lopsided, for lack of a better term just seems like the muscled contract differently than they used to when I swallow and it’s taking some getting used to. I still have some residual pain going into my ears which causes headaches sometimes but not anything like it was around days 6-12.
As for food I can eat almost anything but still have trouble with:
Crackers – they still get stuck going down and I have to drink water or tea to get them to go down. It’s like they use up whatever moisture I have in my throat and that’s it, it’s stuck.
Spicy food – I tried this once and not only does it feel odd, it starts hurting after a time and actually starts making my ears throb.
Soda/Pop/Soft Drinks … or anything carbonated. I just can’t do carbonated drinks at all. It makes my throat sting after a swallow or two, worse than spicy foods. Not only that but it feels odd going down and the flavor of said drinks taste completely off to me now 🙁 The ENT thinks it’s because of the new skin in my throat, so hopefully this will resolve after a few months… I miss my soda.
I still can’t use my CPAP, it dries out my throat too much even on a high humidity setting and I wake up coughing from the dryness and my eyes watering. It’s odd but I sleep just as well without the CPAP now as I do with it… actually better considering my throat drying out. My boyfriend says I snore very lightly now but nothing at all like the gasping choking bit I used to do pre-op without the CPAP. So I might be headed to having a sleep test done again in a few months.
On top of all this I still have that underlying sinus infection that I finally got my ENT to admit he could actually help me with even if it wasn’t directly related to the surgery (sigh, doctors or irritating at times). He finally gave me Flonase, nasal spray and I have to do sinus rinses (Netipot) twice a day. Not sure I’m seeing a difference yet tho.
Some fun facts that I have now without the tonsils in the way. I can stick my tongue out a whole lot further than I could before! 😛 I also can sing higher and with much more ease than I used to! so yay me! AND I don’t have to deal with those damn tonsil stones all the time…so double yay!