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
Topic = Steroids
My doctor said that he will give me steroids during the surgery that will last throughout my recovery to prevent inflammation. Did anybody else have the steroids given during surgery and do you think it helped your recovery?
Not me.
Hi, everyone. I am a 25 year old female, otherwise healthy, who had a tonsillectomy the morning of 6/12.
This is just the end of surgery day, so I’m not sure how you guys count. Is today “day 1”? Or do you start counting by post-op day 1, being tomorrow?
Either way, today wasn’t too bad. I have been drinking a lot of water and eating popsicles and pudding. My throat isn’t exactly comfortable, even with pain medication, but it’s not unbearable yet; I imagine that part is still to come. I did as much research as I could about this surgery/recovery, so I think I’m about as well prepared as possible.
I have a humidifier running on low in my bedroom to help keep the air moist. I also have Biotene dry mouth rinse and a spray; my mom is a dental hygienist and suggested they would help keep my mouth and throat from drying out. I just used the rinse after brushing my teeth to get ready for bed, so we’ll see how effective it is.
As far as pain medication is concerned, I have just finished my 3rd year of pharmacy school a couple days ago and opted for oxycodone 5mg tabs because I do not do well with liquid medications and I knew that these tablets are very small. I am supplementing that with OTC acetaminophen capsules which are slick and easy to swallow, so I am still getting all the ingredients contained in Percocet or Roxicet without larger tablets or foul tasting liquids.
Whoopsies, didn’t mean to post that there. Not sure how to delete, but I will repost as a new comment.
It’s encouraging to hear someone close to my age which I am a bit older but in very good shape. I probably am worrying more than I should which is always the case .I know my throat will probably be the sorest but I do have throat spays cool mist humidifiers in two rooms bedroom & family room which will be the rooms I will spend the most time in. I feel I am somewhat prepared especially with all the good advice I have gotten from this site & a couple of other good sites. I believe having a good surgeon makes a difference also. I have confidence in my DR. He has been totally honest about the worse part will be a sore throat for 7-10 days depending on my pain tolerance which is medium. I have heard of jaw pain & ear aches. Hopefully I will be lucky if I follow instructions & stay hydrated & take the pain meds on time. I know I will be glad when it’s over & I am into my 10day or 2 weeks but especially looking forward to being able to breathe without struggling. At the moment I struggle & panic when I can’t catch my breath because my uvula is so long it covers my airway. Plus enlarged tonsils. I am physically prepared not sure about mentally yet. I know once I get the IV and the cocktail I will sleep good for a couple of good hours. Just the unknown when I wake up scares me a bit. I know it’s the right thing & the best thing for me. I hope to be posting my progress soon after surgery. 6/5 is coming quick. Thank you to everyone that has posted some good advice.
Good luck with your surgery tomorrow! Let us know how it goes.
Thank you tonsilsnomore for the advice. I have been sleeping lately propped up because of shortness of breath so that shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be glad when I can sleep lying down again comfortable. I’m looking forward to it. Thank you for the well wishes. I am a little scared. I shouldn’t be for my age but I don’t think anyone ever wants to go under the knife. But hopefully will be worth it afterwards.
I am coming closer to my upcoming surgery date, June 5. I have heard pros & cons here on this site. Out of all the websites I have come across this one seems to be most informative so far. I am 59 years old but in very good shape. Workout 5-6 days a week healthy but, understand it’s harder on older adults. I am not getting the coblation tonsillectomy. My surgeon has had over 35 years experience and I feel he will do all he can to make it as painless as possible. He did say it would be the “sore throat from hell” He said he did not want to sugar cost it but my breathing would be a noticeable improvement almost instantly just a very bad sore throat for 7-10 days. I have read many stories here & other sites and have taken many people’s advice that shaved ice, cool mist humidifier, throat sprays cool neck wraps. etc. I feel I am more than prepared for the surgery. I think my main concern is age. Most tonsils are removed as a child or an early age. My pain tolerance is fairly high but I think I feel more for my husband which will be my care giver for a week or so. He is no Nurse Betty because he hates to see me in any pain. He feels helpless. The last couple of stories here sound like they faired pretty well. I know I won’t have a problem taking pain pills when I am suppose to & as far a drinking liquids no problem being I drink 68-84 oz. of water everyday. I think I am afraid of falling asleep to long & waking not able to swallow. That’s enough to make you not want to sleep in fear of becoming dry in the mouth. This sounds like one of the most painful surgeries. I have had quite a few over the years but hopefully this will be worth it especially when I gasp for air almost every minute of the day. Trying to get through a workout has become quite difficult lately. Waking myself up at night because I stop breathing has been scary as well. As scared as I am the closer it gets I do look forward to breathing better without feeling like it might be my last sometimes. I look forward to hearing a few encouraging stories before next week. That would help me so much. I wish everyone that has gone through it much luck and those like me getting ready to go through this a speedy recovery.
No worries, it seems you are very well prepared……..
After your surgery……… try to sleep in upright position…use multiple pillows and you should be fine…. and tonsillectomy is nowhere close to be the most painful surgery ……stay positive, stay put…. best of luck!
I am 54 years old and I had my tonsillectomy on May 17th. I also read all the comments on many sites. The 31st was two weeks after my surgery and I am almost back to normal and I can eat almost all the food I always eat. I have just a small amount of pain in my throat. I have to say that is it was not as bad as I thought it would be. Mornings are the worst when you wake up with a dry throat. Most of the difficulty was the constant pain. The medicine helps a lot. I kept the humidifier running all the time. I ate eggs, ice cream, baked fish, pasta with sauce and drank water, frappes and smoothies. I used ice packs on my throat at times, it seem to help. Eating about 15 to 30 minutes after taking medicine make eating and drinking easier. Make sure your doctor gives you enough medicine to last two weeks and all will be fine.
Hi, I am a 21 year old female and had my tonsils removed May 23rd. Going into the surgery I knew it would be an awful and painful recovery but that it would be worth it compared to getting tonsillitis or strep throat once a month. In all of my pre-op appointments, I was told I would need 7-10 days off of work and that the recovery in general would not be pretty. I had read some blogs and websites prior to my surgery and they all had mixed reviews because everyone heals differently depending on age, etc. but nothing could have really prepared me for the pain. I have been getting throat infections once a month for the last year or so, so I am aware of the awful pain and sleepless nights, but this has been the worst. Day 1 was the surgery and I don’t remember much of it at all. I slept most of the day and consumed what seems like pounds of ice chips. I tried to eat some room temperature soup but that was an instant regret because the salty broth stung my throat. I was able to eat some mashed potatoes that night, but only after waiting for my pain killers to kick in. Day 2 was similar to the first, lots of sleeping and watching tv. I was awake every 3 hours or to take my pain meds (I took them every 3 hours instead of 4 because it takes about an hour to kick in and I didn’t want to be in any pain.) That night I tried to eat some soft fish, mashed potatoes, and spinach but was not able to get the fish down. I also had some soup but it was salty and burned my throat. Day 3 there was more pain. I wasn’t sure if it was from trying to eat the night before or if it was just getting worse. Needless to say, I was miserable. I consumed a milkshake and a popsicle and that was it for the entire day. Dairy isn’t the best idea because it coats your throat and you end up spitting up twice as much mucus later. Day 4 I found myself sleeping almost the entire day but I was able to eat sliced tuna that night (sushi style) and have ice cream afterwards. Day 5 the pain kicked it up a notch and I was miserable and about to run out of pain killers. I slept most of the afternoon and woke up in so much pain. It is so awful because your body is so sleep deprived and you get maybe 2 hours of sleep before you wake up in horrible pain which is only made worse by drinking water to rehydrate your throat and then you have to wait for the meds to kick in. That night, one of my scabs fell off and there was a lot of blood, out of nowhere. But just as quickly as the blood starts, it stops, and you actually feel a little relief on that side of your throat. Day 6 I woke up in the worst pain I had experienced since my surgery. I was crying and trying to get rid of the mucus in my throat and in general just a huge mess. That was when the other scab came off, and I instantly felt some relief like I had the night before. I was out of my pain killers and was able to go 10 hours that day without any medicine. Day 7 I was waking up every 2 hours in pain. My throat just felt so dry and no amount of water or ice chips could help and I was falling in and out of sleep so I was repeatedly in pain. I was able to get my pain medicine that morning though and had the best day pain wise. I didn’t have to take as many pills and was able to get down a whole bowl of pasta and soft vegetables. (side note: this was also the first day I was able to go to the bathroom without aid..pain killers constipate you and most of the time laxatives are necessary) Today is Day 8, and last night I was able to get 6 full hours of sleep before waking up and needing a pain killer. My progress has been slow but I am getting there. I hope that by Day 10/11 I will be able to consume more food because I have been so hungry this last week and I hope that I will no longer need pain killers after Day 12 because then I will feel as if I am really getting better. Even though this has been an extremely painful process, it was necessary for me and I know in the future I will be glad I had this surgery. I hope that I was able to help some of you with my experience so far. Everyone else’s posts have been really helpful to read so I know what to expect for my last week (or hopefully less) of recovery.
Sorry to hear you had so much pain. Hopefully you recover quickly from this point. Just wondering – did you get the electrocautery method or coblation method of tonsillectomy?
Hi everybody, I am a 20 year old male who just had his tonsils out last Thursday (May 23rd). My mom read this site in preparation to be my “nurse” while I recovered at home, and quite frankly, this site put the fear of God in her because everyone’s responses here are about how horrible their recovery has been. After skimming this blog and seeing how scared everyone is, allow me to share my personal experience recovering from my tonsillectomy. I also had my adenoids removed as well.
Leading up to my surgery, I have had strep throat or a bad sore throat of some kind pretty much every year around November and then again in February/March like clockwork. My tonsils had been sick so many times that they hypertrophied every time a little bit, becoming permanently bigger, until in November I caught strep and mono at the same time and my tonsils swelled so big they almost closed my air way. It was a very scary month for me, and it was then that I resolved to get my tonsils out.
Anyway, the surgery was fine. I went in and they gave me an IV which promptly knocked me out before I ever even saw my surgeon. I woke up about an hour later in the recovery room in a daze, and they took me into another room to make sure I was OK, then put me in a wheelchair and sent me home. The entire operation process from walking into the hospital and leaving only took about 2-3 hours. The rest of the day I was awake, but still very intoxicated on the anesthesia. I was given a prescription for Lortab Elixir (hydrocodone syrup), an antibiotic syrup, and an anti-inflammatory steroid syrup. These 3 syrups are the only medicine I have taken for the pain.
As far as post-surgery recovery has been, compared to everyone here, I am happy to share that it has been very easy. I only am in a lot of pain when I wake up after sleeping 8-10 hours without taking medicine, and even then it isn’t THAT bad. Upon taking medicine (hydrocodone syrup, 15ml), I am fine for the rest of the day as far as pain/discomfort goes provided I keep taking it every 4-5 hours. I constantly eat crushed 7-up ice cubes (my mom’s specialty, bless her), ice pops, and little nutritional shakes. I always have a cup of ice water next to me which feels amazing on my throat. I was eating pizza on day 2 with no pain, and by day 4-5 I could eat mashed potatoes, brisket, yogurt, ice cream, honestly anything but sharp things like potato chips. When my mom showed me how miserable everyone posting on this blog is I was amazed. My only real complaints are I am extremely bored and want to go back to working out at the gym!
It has been a week as of today, and I have noticed that I have a painful sensation in my ears (which is apparently normal) that I only just started feeling last night. My tonsil “sockets” have a white milky scab over them which my doctor says should fall off around day 10-12 with my progress. I had my follow-up appointment on Wednesday and my doctor said I should be pretty much good-to-go for most things by Monday. Some of you here talk about needing a month to recover and that amazes me.
I get the impression that only people who had miserable experiences bother to come post here and in turn scare everyone who wants to read up here before getting their tonsils removed. To you people I say: do not be afraid, these stories are not accurate for 100% of people. Maybe I have had the experience I have because I have large saliva glands and can keep the scab wet all the time? Maybe I just have a big jaw so it is easy for me to swallow food without it scraping the scabs? I don’t know, but getting your tonsils out is NOT THAT BAD. My worst enemy all week has been boredom; I already ran out of shows to watch on Netflix and OnDemand.
Also, food tastes a little strange and will probably continue to for a while after having your tonsils out. For example, I have not been taste the salt in french fries like I used to before I had my tonsils out. I hope my story has given you some perspective on the operation you are about to undergo and cleared up some fears you may have. Just remember to stay hydrated, eat/drink tons of ice, and eat whatever you are able to eat because it will give your body the energy it needs to speed your recovery.
I have noticed a trend in that many people with miserable stories get the electrocautery method. There are exceptions to the rule but…in my opinion, the method in which your tonsillectomy was preformed plays a big role in the ease of your recovery. Glad to hear your recovery is going well!