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
Hi guys, I have been reading through the posts on here for the past week, they have been a great help and comfort and just wanted to share my experiences.
I am a healthy 22 year old male and just coming into day 8 post op, I had suffered from persistent tonsillitis on a monthly basis for 3 years.
Day 1 – So it’s the day of the surgery and I’m terrified, had a long wait all morning due to the surgeon been called to another case the hospital having to wait for a replacement. After a couple of hours I am called into get changed and head down to theatre, its 10am when I finally go under for my surgery. I am woken at about 11:30am, informed that everything had gone well but it had taken a lot longer due to the size of my tonsils, regardless I was just happy that everything had gone okay and I’m awake. The first thing I noticed was how dry my mouth was, it wasn’t until I got some water that I felt the pain, the first 30 minutes felt like hell but then I became more hydrated and I was given some pain medication through my IV and I felt fine. I spent 6 hours in recovery (Minimum time in a UK hospital) before I was allowed to leave, I was given some ibuprofen and told to eat normally straight away (I was made to eat toast before I left) The rest of the day seemed to go fine, I ate pasta and a tomato sauce for tea and more toast. The pain was about 4/10.
Day 2 – Waking up was awful, I had dry mouth again, after forcing some medication down my throat and waiting 30 minutes I felt fine again, by this point I had made sure I was drinking 2L of water a day, I had them in small bottles that I would refill and chill, it seemed to really help having a goal and knowing what I needed to drink and eat that day, it was with this I was able to measure how well I was dealing with the pain. I had pasta again for tea and more toast, warm tea and coffee helped soothe my throat also when needed. I was on paracetamol and ibuprofen throughout the day to manage the pain. Pain was overall at about 4/10 again.
Day 3 & 4 – Apart from when waking up the pain wasn’t too bad in my throat, it was my ears that were the problem. I had been warned that toothache and earache can occur after the operation due to the pain passing around the linked nerves, I hadn’t thought the pain would be so bad, for me it felt like the earache was a lot worse than my throat and I was taking the pain medication around the earache instead. I managed some toast, soft garlic bread and a tuna pasta bake which made me feel better for eating some filling food. Pain was about 5/10.
Day 5 & 6 – I had received a follow up phone call from the nurse on the ward I stayed in, she warned me that even though I felt I had been improving, I may start to feel worse for a couple of days and then improve again. I had read that there are a couple of days where you will feel awful, sadly it’s true. My ears had gotten worse and I struggled with food but I managed to get some toast in me and plenty of water which helped. I switched from paracetamol on to co-codamol to help with the increased pain and it really helped. I only managed toast and half a bowl of pasta due to the pain, I slept longer due to the co-codamol knocking me out but sadly that meant waking up more times with earache and a dry throat. Pain was up at 7/10 at some points. I won’t lie, these few days felt like hell but I held onto the fact that after this it would be improvement after improvement.
Day 7 (Yesterday) – I had been getting about 4 hours sleep every night, waking up, taking meds and then getting another 4 hours sleep, these were the worst parts of the day and day 7 was just the same, I was a bit downhearted as I thought it was going to be like day 5 and 6 again. I was surprised to look and see that the worse scabs had fallen off over night, I could actually see the back of my throat and swallowing was easier, as the day progressed I realised that the pain was decreasing in my throat and ears, I switched back off the co-codamol and onto paracetamol, I managed 6 pieces of toast during the day, a few slices of pizza and some garlic bread, pain was down to 3/10 now and the earache was becoming a dull annoyance rather than a full sharp pain.
Day 8 – Has just begun and I’m hoping it will be a continued improvement from yesterday, throat is looking better, the horrid taste and smell have cleared up now and I’m getting up and about the house a lot more, spending the day with my house mates and feeling less like someone in recovery and more recovered. I know I still have a bit of time to go but I feel I have passed the worst of it now, I am due to go on holiday in 2 weeks and I finally feel I will be able to enjoy it and not have to worry about pain.
It’s not all doom and gloom after the operation, everyone heals differently, but I was one of those people who already believed the worse was going to happen to me before I had even had the operation and it’s turned out to be okay, and in the end, I just keep telling myself, it’s not been as painful as tonsillitis & I hopefully won’t be getting ill every month again and ending up in hospital on a drip!
Thank you bree75 for the great info. I am feeling better about my decision to have the surgery now more than a week ago. It is a relief to hear other people are going through this. Before I found this site I was apprehensive about the whole thing. I still am a little concerned about my age but, I am in very good health at this time. Just knowing I won’t have to let my hygiene go for a week or so sounds great! Thank you again for your information. I am writing a list of things I will need before, during & after surgery that I have read here to make it as less painful as possible. Hopefully I will be able to write my progress down day by day like most here are doing. Thank you again & good luck with the munchkins 5 & 9.
I’m 37 so no spring chicken lol. From the hard work of your weight loss and the knowledge that you will feel better at the end I’m sure you can do this.
I have looked for weeks for a website where anyone would answer my reply. I was beginning to think I was the only going through this surgery. Receiving responses has been encouraging. It is beginning to sound like it may not be as bad as I may think other than a very bad sore throat for 3-7 days. Being older has me concerned. Children cope better than adults/ I have enlarged tonsils & the uvula is to long which is obstructing my airway. I will not wear the CPAP that I have had for over 2 years because of being extremely claustrophobic. It is difficult to breathe at night when I try to lie down. May get 2-4 hours sleep if lucky but have to take sleeping pills to do that. I can’t remember the last time I had a good nights rest & felt refreshed when I wake up in the morning. If this surgery helps that the throat pain will be worth everyday I have to go through it to get to the light at the end of the tunnel. I am hoping the recovery will only be about 3-6 weeks because I am having my 4 teenage granddaughter’s & kids visit the middle of July. I want to be able to enjoy them. My weird concern is that I have heard the breath has a terrible odor. I brush my teeth at least 3 times a day plus blow my nose. I also can’t stand not to take a shower for more than one day unless I am dying & wash my hair. I was told to use dry shampoo but that stuff feels nasty. I am also trying to find a good cool mist humidifier for not a real expensive price. Any and all suggestions are very much appreciated. I am so glad I stumbled across this site before my upcoming surgery. I was almost ready to cancel but it looks like I should bite the bullet & get it done & over with. I wondered about people loosing weight? I have recently lost 43 lbs. which I still could loose another 8-10 & it wouldn’t make me look frail. A bit thinner but not a bag of bones. I am fairly large boned anyway. I think I have just about covered all my concerns at this point. I’m sure I may have more prior to going into the hospital on June 5TH,2013. Thank anyone in advance for all advice. I am hoping I will not regret my decision. Also I want to Thank the person who started this website.
I just had mine done may 3, 2013 and I have had no issues with brushing my teeth or showering. Since I also had nasal surgery at the same time the humidity of the shower is wonderful and i’m sure helps with the tonsils as well. Today is the fisrt day I have had any pain in my teeth but I was warned that was from the nasal surgery. Get listrine zero (no alcohol) and there is a magic mouth wash that the doc can perscibe that has lidicane and pepto in it.
I hurt from surgery don’t get me wrong but it is wonderful being able to breathe for the first time without feeling like i’m being sufficated. Cpap is gone already. I have no regrets except wish I would have done this sooner.
good luck I know you can handle it. 3-6 weeks should be great recovery i’m chasing my 2 boys (5&9) around already at a limited amount and its only been 4 day.
Good luck with your surgery and recovery! Glad to hear you’re getting the coblation method, that method seems to have the best recovery stories.
I had my out on the 18th of April. I still can not eat anything more than broth! In a little less than 3 weeks I’ve lost almost 15 lbs. I guess that’s a plus. This is the worst, I can’t sleep, eat and it still hurts like heck. Is anyone else having a similar experience?