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
Please, everyone who has a future surgery, remember that most who heal quickly don’t bother going to the internet to say how excellent everything went, they’re all back at work and living lives.
I went back to work yesterday 14 days post op (46y) I am doing very well, still get a bit tired, but doing very well. I think I still have some scabs deep down on one side, but no need for pain meds after day 10. Still take during the night sometimes, but only cuz I still got it. Not sure about all the positive effects of surgery yet, but I have high expectations. Good luck to those scheduled in the future, the thing that worked best for me was drinking constantly (small sips) and half dose of pain meds every 2 hours vs full dose every 4. Good luck, and heal quickly.
Hello to everyone
I’m on day 12 and out of nowhere (I’m still at home) I got high fevers – around 39 degrees (I have no idea how much that could be in Fahrenheit). Anybody got experience with that?
Thanks
I had my tonsils removed a little over a year ago. the tissue where they once were is still white, I was wondering if this is normal or if i should go back to my ENT?
hi im 25 and i am suppose to be having my tonsillectomy tomorrow , now i know how painful it is but i was only able to get a week off of work so that means that i will have to go back to work on day 6 post op how possible do you all think this is?
Ashley,
I took 2 weeks and fully needed it. The first two weeks back tomwork were pretty tough as well, but I have a demanding long hours job where I talk a lot. But I was super exhausted every 3rd day or so, and it would just catch up. I’ve heard of people Going back after a week, but I’ve also read about people who needed longer than 2 weeks.
Just be careful, if you push your body too far too quickly you will have to take more work off.
Hi Ashley,
I had my tonsillectomy in late December so here are my thoughts…
From my experience (and others I’ve read about) you shouldn’t expect the recovery to improve at a constant rate, with each day improving from the previous for the first few weeks. You should expect to feel some level of improvement before facing a setback as scar tissue/ healing progresses. For me this point came in the second week- It should help if you are prepared for this. Also- Everybody has their own pain threshold. I always approach these things with mental preparation, but it probably will be too much for you to expect to be well enough recovered after 6 days and not face a difficult setback. Having a demanding job and only minimal time to recover is a stressor that won’t help with your recovery. I’d recommend you to see if you can get more time to recover, if needed. Best wishes, hope this helps!
I just had my tonsils and adenoids removed yesterday. I don’t think the pain is unberable. Yes I’m tired,dizzzy and I have to.tense up to swallow but it’s berable. I’m taking hyrdo pills every 4 hours. And This morning I made some scrambled eggs I ate half of them.