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 36 years old and I had my tonsils out on March 12. I woke from surgery with tears streaming down my face. My pain was so intense that the morphine wasn’t working and I was given something stronger that caused me to hallucinate. When my pain threshold reached a 3, I was able to go home. After a few hours in recovery I was discharged. The first two days were great and I didn’t hurt too much at all. On day 3 I began to feel a lot of pain and soreness in my mouth. Everything in my mouth hurt (teeth, tongue, throat,). The front and back of my neck was really sore afyrt surgery and I had trouble getting up and laying down for a few days. It seems everyday has gotten worse with pain in my throat. Yesterday was a really bad day physically and emotionally. I was so weak yesterday that I couldn’t get out of bed. I cried because of the pain and the fact that I can’t do for myself or my children. I have a high tolerance for pain and this surgery has completely broke me down! I have had three children, beast implants, fertility tubal reversal, and a hysterectomy. This is by far the worse pain I have ever felt. Today is day 6 post op and I feel like I have glass in the back of my throat when I swallow. I keep praying for a better day ahead and can’t wait until I am past the point of misery.
Hang in there Angie, I promise it gets better. I think what is disappointing for some on the site is they believe they have made it past the worst part on day 4 or 5 and unfortunately that isn’t the case. It does get better, but recovery may not actually feel that way until day 7. I wish you had help with your children, that would have relieved some of the pressure you were probably feeling as a mom. This site has been a God send. I took care of my daughter after her surgery. Almost every symptom she had was somewhat normal after listening to others on this site. She sent back to work on day 11 and continues to feel better each day. Hang in there!
I am day 5 post op and doing pretty good! I’m 33, had the tonsils out because of chronic tonsillitis (3-4 episodes per year). No more pain meds except ibuprofen. Until today I’ve been mostly eating popsicles and applesauce. Today I also had a hard boiled egg for lunch and pancakes for dinner and they all went down well. My big concern is that my tongue is still numb. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a lasting side effect? I can’t taste or feel anything in my mouth except temperature sensations, and I don’t remember the doctor saying it was even a possibility to loose this!
This sounds like you just described me to a T! I am so glad to hear this. I have horrible sleep apnea, am overweight, but have no energy to ever try to do anything about it, and am sick all the time! I need to hear stories like yours to help me make sure I keep my appt. this summer to have these out! Thanks so much!
Hello all. I am 39 and I had my tonsils removed this past Monday, March 11. I am healthy, thin but not greatly physically fit. I do not have sleeping or breathing problems due to tonsils so I cannot relate to anyone there. I had small tonsils, just a 1 on the scale, but I had bad tonsil stones and many throat infections. The stones were starting to cause issues in my personal life so my doctor and I decided that I should consider having them removed. My doc sent me to see a very nice ENT and I decided to do it. I was very scared leading up to the procedure, there is not a shortage of scary stories on this topic. I prepared as much as possible and it was over before I knew it.
I guess I am on day 5 of recovery and I am still in pain. If I stay on top of my meds, I do pretty well, but if I miss a dose, it is through the roof pain. In relation to other painful experiences I have had, this is not the worse. I had natural childbirth, this is worse than that, but I had shoulder repair surgery and this does not come close to the pain I had with that. The days after shoulder surgery were so painful I had to go to the emergency room for pain control. If that was a 10 on the pain scale, I would say this is a 7 when it is the worse it gets. It is worse for me when I wake up after sleeping through a dose of pain meds. Anything over 6 hours and I am ready to peal my skin off. After meds have kicked in the pain is only about a 3, 4 or 5 while I am eating.
I drink a lot of cold stuff. Mainly ice water, but I try to get more calories by drinking juice a few times a day. I keep it mild, anything with spice or acid burns like mad and who needs the added pain. I also try to keep it thin, thick yogurt, mashed potatoes; etc is hard to get down. I am doing well with plain white rice and green beans. This morning I had scrambled eggs, but I am not sure it would have worked before today. Thin pudding and ice cream are going in great; however, the ice cream burns a little. Morning coffee is still a big NO. The acid in coffee burns like crazy. The mashed potatoes fill me up pretty good and I can sue milk and butter to make them thinner. I even put a little cheese in them for flavor and it worked well.
I also have a humidifier going next to me at all times. I live in Colorado so it is mega dry and if you are in a dry climate it is a must have. I also had a nurse tell me to chew gum so I have been doing it some. It makes you swallow a lot which helps you heal quicker.
Advise for people who are considering the procedure: Don’t do it unless you are going to greatly benefit from it. Take 10 days off of work, 2 weeks if you can. Drink as much as you can and set an alarm so you do not miss a dose of meds.
Just to know. The day of and the day after surgery were the easiest days so far and I am on day 5. My doctor’s office called the day after and the nurse said the pain would get worse before it got better. She was right. I did not take the pain medication until the end of day two. Now I take it on time!
Good Luck!
Mc donalds milkshakes are the best
I had a tonsilectomy a couple of months ago. I am 45and overweight. I had a really bad throat infection and after it developed sleep apnea. When he first met me, the ENT said that tonsilectomy wasn’t considered the best course for apnea in overweight adults and recommended I have a sleep study which would probably lead to having a machine to help keep my air way open at night but then he looked down my throat and changed his mind because my tonsils were huge, infected and just really awful looking. Tonsils are rated by 1-4 according to size and mine were size 4 which is really unusual in adults. The ENT said he thought I probably had tonilitis all the time and had just gotten used to it. I had the surgery and I am so glad. I sleep like a rock and don’t snore at all anymore (I have snored all my life, heavily). I really sleep well; I lie down and wake up 7 hours later without any idea that time has passed. I am not struggling with constant throat infections. I lost weight with the surgery and continued to lose weight slowly on a healthier eating plan. It’s amazing how much easier it is to stick with exercise and healthy eating when you sleep well.
Yes, it was an unpleasant recovery. I was fortunate in that my Mom came and stayed to care for my family so I was able to do nothing but watch videos and sit around with ice on my neck. It was totally worth it! I wish I had done it years ago! The humidifier and ice packs for your neck are necessities. Drink all the time even at night and don’t skip pain meds.