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
Mmm, pancakes! Good luck!
I couldn’t even manage a whole one but even half a pancake was enough to give my throat a workout. My swallowing has eased up a bit since then for sure. I still haven’t taken any meds! That will probably change this afternoon or evening since the pain tends to ramp up a bit as the day goes on.
Julie – I did the pancake thing too, just about the time you’re doing it. Maybe a few days later, not sure. Though they tasted great, they were ‘thick’ to get down and it was a chore. But the taste is worth it. 🙂
You sound like you’re recovering very well and no pain meds sine 10pm last night? There is NO way I would have been able to do that on day 7. I could, literally, have done it but I would have been so miserable. I stopped taking Percocet around day 6 and just stuck with Tylenol and ibuprofen because the Percocet was so binding. But if you can get away without anything, kudos to you!! 🙂
If it’s any help to know, the yawning pain has stopped for me and I’m at exactly 3 weeks. It was the last discomfort to go, as my ENT had said it would be. I never really had too much of an issue with opening my mouth wide after surgery as I was constantly looking back there to monitor the progress. 🙂
My ENT asked me at my 2 week post-op if I’d had neck pain and I didn’t. But apparently it is a phenomenon after this surgery. It could very well be from using the laptop or the way you are holding/tensing your muscles, maybe without even realizing it. Do you normally suffer from tight neck/shoulders when you are tense? I’m sorry you’re having to deal with that. Heat might help that a lot.
I hope your recovery continues to go really well! 🙂
I finally took a hydrocodone about twenty minutes ago. I took an adventure out to the grocery store to buy epsom salts and see if there were any soft cookies that tickled my fancy (I only weigh 100 lbs give or take a few and I weighed myself today out of curiosity – I’ve lost five pounds in a week. Yikes. Good thing I am working back into solid foods). I got Ensure Plus that I haven’t really broken into so I think I am going to try drinking one of those a day going forward. Just that trip wiped me out so my pain started to gnaw back again. Other than that, day 7 has been the best so far.
Neck and shoulder pain isn’t unusual for me. This feels like I did weight training though, it’s weird. I am assuming it is just tension which was likely exacerbated by my trip to the ER. The epsom salt bath helped quite a bit so now I am resting on the couch. 😀
In a few hours it will be a full week since my surgery.
I seem to have passed some sort of benchmark because I haven’t taken any pain meds – not even OTC stuff – since about 10PM last night. I am still in some pain which comes and goes so I assume it it the pain associated with my scabs loosening and coming off (and the newer ones from the re-cauterization tightening up). But it is much easier to swallow right now. I actually had some good solid chunks of sleep last night so my throat is a little dry atm (I just woke up a little while ago), but it’s not so bad that I feel like it wasn’t worth it to get some much needed rest.
I probably WILL take some meds in a little bit though because I am thinking about going across the street and getting some pancakes to go and giving them a shot. I am a little nervous about it but pancakes sound so good right now. I did eat half a PBJ sandwich last night and it went okay. A lot of my pain is related to how wide I can open my mouth (I feel your pain on how much yawning hurts for sure) so that was the primary issue with the sandwich. I had to tear off little bites and stuff them into my mouth. WORTH IT. ha ha
My swallowing has improved for sure just generally. This used to happen to me when I got tonsillitis, too, but my swallowing was super convulsive, like I have very little control over the muscles. Even after all my bouts with swollen tonsils I never really learned how to deal with it or work around it so in addition to my Hydration Concoction (it’s just watered down Powerade over ice ha ha ha), every time I swallow I am also gulping down a lot of air. It seems to be related mostly to swelling because when I woke up this morning my throat felt a LOT better and as soon as I swallowed a few times it started to hurt. For a while the easiest way for me to swallow liquids was to bend down slightly so that my uvula was out of the way when I drank. That kind of stopped working though, not sure why.
OH OH also, my neck and shoulders are super stiff. I cannot even touch my chin to my chest because the muscles are so tight. Not sure what is causing that, either. Maybe all the hunched over hydration I was doing? Sitting here pecking away at my laptop for too long? Either way, that is difficult as well.
Hi, Beth! I haven’t noticed swelling in that area but do occasionally have trouble eating bulky, bread-like or dry foods. I need to remind myself to chew it up really well and take a sip of water to wash it down. Another thing I’ve noticed is that I sometimes get choked up when I’m drinking. I think it’s due to my uvula’s being uneven since surgery and my needing to become re-accustomed to swallowing. When my doctor extracted my tonsils, he made a larger incision on one side than the other. When asked about it, he explained that like other body parts, tonsils are not completely symmetrical. It’s apparently quite common. Because mine were so infected and so deeply rooted, he had needed to cut a little deeper on that side.
It certainly takes a while to recover and get accustomed to my throat’s “re-alignment” (for lack of better words), but I can honestly say that I am so glad to have had the surgery. I am feeling a difference already. I was thinking this morning how wonderful it is to brush my teeth, gargle mouth wash and not need to feel/see those nasty tonsil stones dislodge from my tonsils every morning. What a relief! Plus my singing voice has become much stronger. I remember how my high school vocal coach would become impatient with me because she said I wasn’t opening my throat up enough in order to have a more powerful voice. I felt so discouraged and like a failure because I really couldn’t open up my throat. Now I know why! And that was 15 years ago! I wish my parents had consented to my having a tonsillectomy then instead of my waiting until 31 years of age to do it. If I only had only known then what I know now…
I hope everyone is coming along nicely in their recoveries. I have really enjoyed reading everyone’s stories and sharing my own. What a great, little online support group! “Thank you”, Greg, for providing this wonderful resource! Take care, everyone!
Deide and Becky – thank you. It’s interesting, but I notice it most after eating nuts. I ate a handful of almonds a few days ago, and I really had to swallow several times to get them down – it’s like the pasty mouthful was sort of stuck back there. It did sort of ‘scratch’ a little but didn’t hurt. I wonder if I irritated the palate? I also have definitely had some allergy issues where, and I’ve been eating a handful a day since then.
Also, I do think there are some allergy issues going on. The roof of my mouth, by my soft palate is itching and you know when you try to ‘itch it’ with your tongue? And my ear on one side is ‘itchy’ and I’m sticking my finger in while itching my throat with my tongue – do you know/remember that feeling? It’s incredibly irritating having that itch! (my twin sister gets the exact same thing with allergies)/ So maybe the whole thing is a combo of eating rougher foods, healing and the allergy thing.
I do also feel as though my palate is hanging slightly lower post-surgery. I know someone else (a different Julie, I think) posted on here a while back about having that issue. It was explained to her that the tonsils were in place in the throat supporting the palate (in a way) and that without them there, that bulk of tissue is gone and no longer supporting it. Makes sense.
I have a follow up with my ENT (my request) for May 23, and if it’s still bugging me at that time I will talk to him about it. It’s just odd that it’s only happening now. I just made/ate an egg sandwich this morning and sure enough, I felt as though I had to swallow more to get it down. And yes, Becky, it makes a lot of sense that the two voids left from the tonsils would be different sizes. I think mine were too (only slightly). It would pretty amazing if they were the exact same size.
Deide, thanks for your comments as well…I am glad you are doing well and hope that you are back to your full workout routine and feeling energized in the mornings. 🙂
Becky, I’m glad that you are doing so well and have a stronger singing voice!! Isn’t it amazing? I feel the same way, I am so glad to not have to get out my Q-tip or whatever I would try to use and attempt to pick out the tonsil stones. It is really almost surreal not having tonsils anymore. 🙂
Beth, I think it comes from eating hard foods. Remember when I said I felt like I had a blister or something on my throat? That happened to me in the 3rd and 4th week. You still have to watch what you eat. It’s hard to describe but it’s still happening to me, not as bad as before.
Trish, how did you make out with your appt?
Holly and Julie, how are you today?
I’m at 3 weeks exactly and feel like recently my soft pallet near the uvula is swollen. It doesn’t look different at all, but I feel like when I eat something really bulky like a bagel or a handful of trail mix that it feels like it almost gets stuck there and I have to swallow again to move it along. Strange. This just seems to have happened the last 3-5 days. I do have allergies and my throat gets itchy so wondering if that’s what it is. I didn’t notice this happening even a week ago.
Marla, Becky, Deide…anyone else notice this?