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
48 Hours post op.
last night was unreal. Lots of discomfort and this morning, I am unable to talk and hardly open my mouth. Stayed on top of my meds throughout the night, but started feeling sick and also have heartburn. I am still drinking lots of water with ice, even cold herbal teas and slurpees.
I am trying to take it easy as my gf works at a local hospital and is concerned I may be over doing things and has told me about the numerous adults that come in with heavy bleeding after their tonsillectomies. So I will try today to do very minimal oh and blowing your nose…not the best idea, extreme pain!
Hoping day 3 is better for me!
Day 3 was horrific. My tongue swelled up so much I couldn’t swallow. Ended up back at the Dr where they told me I needed an anti inflammatory. Thank goodness it helped! Was scary but staying on top of the swelling makes this discomfort tolerable at least. Slowly stopping the narcotics, and just using more Tylenol and Advil.
Day 4 is today and not the Advil every 3 hours makes a huge difference. I am trying to set my alarm for the middle of the night to take my meds because even that extra hour of sleep causes me some pain. My scabs are forming nicely on the back of my throat now though and day 5 starts tomorrow when I was told to expect severe pain when they start to come off.
I am still drinking my foods though, mainly cool chicken broth, luke warm mashed potatoes, and soft bread, no crusts. I have heard so many mixed messages in regards to eating, and I don’t want to risk bleeding so I would rather play it safe and have softer foods for the time being. Pain level currently is about a 4.
See what tomorrow brings. I am planning on going back to work in 3-4 days for a few hours a day. Was supposed to play in a ball tournament this next weekend, but I don’t think I am up for that. 🙁
today has been one week since my surgery, I had been pretty thankful that my recovery hadn’t been as painful as some others and was felling pretty confident that I was over the worst.
Well I woke up last night with the most severe pain I can honestly say I ever had in my throat. I ended up back in the hospital this morning when I realized after 5 hrs that Advil and Tylenol and heat and ice were not going to get rid of this or help ease it.
My surgeon was called and he immediately came and saw me. Refilled my Dilaudid prescription, checked my throat and said yep, your scabs are starting to come off. Said I should only have about 3, “maybe” 5 days of intense pain but to keep on top of my meds and I should be ok. I took my dilaudid right away and everything else and am now resting again comfortably in my own home in bed 🙂 Work has been great and \i am taking a few more days optimistic that by Mon I should be much better 🙂
Day #14 There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I was up every 2 hours last night but I woke up this morning without the searing pain in my throat. My right side is just about cleared up and there is no pain at all. My left side has some white scabs which feels like an ulcer but has improved dramatically.
I am a 32 year old female. I am on day #13 of recovery. I have a very high threshold for pain, however; this pain is extreme. Day 10 and 11 were the toughest days but it has improved. My ENT gave me a steroid injection day 8 which helped but has worn off. The only advice I can give is warm tea in the morning helps with the pain because waking up is the worst. Also do not push for food! I feel I tried food too early which has set me back a bit. I am an athlete and have a physically demanding job (firefighting). I have lost weight (muscle) and i am extremely weak. I don’t eat alot of sugar so the freeze pops and jello have upset my stomach. I am taking the pain med at night and ibuprofen during the day. Good luck to everyone. If I had an option to do this again I can say I would rather give birth to a 20lb child naturally!
Sorry you’re having a rough time with this. I’m really not sure whether it’s best to avoid food or eat. My surgeon told me to eat normal food as soon as possible as it helps with healing. Certainly I was not really experiencing pain after 8 days and actually had to eat before they’d let me leave hospital on the day of surgery. And none of this jelly and ice cream nonsense. I was first presented with scrambled eggs on toast and then soup with a crusty roll for the evening meal.
Tricky, Sorry for the confusion. I simply meant I tried solid foods too early. Thank you for your sincerity. I’m feeling much better but not 100% by any means.
I am a 39 yr old female having my tonsils out on Wed Aug 14. I have scoured the internet looking for positive stories but haven’t found any for woman my age lol I am stocked up on jello, ice packs, and have a humidifier. Any other woman out there that have had this surgery around my age? Or any other helpful suggestions and advice on what I can expect? My surgeon flat out told me I was ” in for a world of pain” but I have had over 20+ operations in my life, none ever in my throat though. I have opted for the surgery based on my ENT’s recommendation and think I would rather suffer for a few weeks then keep going through month and months of discomfort, fever and pain from chronic tonsillitis and strep.
Thanks everyone!!
Another good thing to remember is take your liquid Vicodin with Gatorade or something like that, it burns. I read that advice myself but chose to ignore it the first time I took the Vicodin, and I was very sorry I did. Also, take the instructions from your hospital papers very seriously…never allow yourself to cough, blow your nose, clear your throat, bend over, lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk, have hot temperature food, take a hot shower or wash your face with hot water throughout recovery. I followed those rules strictly and did not have a single drop of blood, which was nice 🙂
Good luck! It might not be as painful as you think!
|So I have been home from the hospital now for about 6 hours. Currently my pain feels more or less like a really bad tonsillitis bout, and my 14 yr old son says I sound like Kermit the Frog lol I wasn’t given liquid vicodin, just 2mg dilaudid, 2 tablets every 4 hours and 2 extra strength Tylenol every 3 hours. I have been drinking ice water, having popsicles and freezies as often as I can. So far so good. My surgeon advised me to only sleep during the day in hour long increments and the first 48 hrs have someone wake me up every 2 hrs for meds ( alternating the two ) and drinking lots of water throughout the night. He also forewarned me that days 5-8 were going to be very bad and reassured me I could go see him if need be for additional medication etc. I was told tonight to try a piece of bread, no crusts, not toasted and with butter on it to help ease the stomach discomfort from the blood in my stomach from the surgery. I tried that and it was a little hard to get down, but only because I think my throat is swelling more now than what it had been shortly after surgery. Just feels like i am going to choke, even the very small pieces. I will update you with my daily recovery as I know hearing about others helped me to prepare for coming home today 🙂 I would say my pain level is currently sitting at a 4-5 and I am due for my dilaudid in 50 min. Just had tylenol at 430 pm. ( dilaudid dose will be at 7 ) I am also in Canada as I see people posting from all over the world. Thought if I give my location it may help others know what to expect in my country and I find it interesting to see the differences in treatments. I hope this will help someone some day. I am off to lie down now, will post again tomorrow! Thank you again to every one for taking the time to post on here, it truly aided me in my aftercare plan!
24 hours post – op. I will highly recommend that you use a humidifier in which ever room you decide to set up your “recovery area” I chose my main floor living room as it was closest to my fridge, a washroom, TV and easy for me to get my dogs in and out.
My pain level is still only a 4 – 5. I took my Dr’s advice though and got up every 2 hours to take my medications. I think staying on top of it was key. Ice water and lots of popsicles and even cold herbal tea has been great too. I found i also have been CONSTANTLY drinking water. From the min I woke up in recovery, I started drinking water. I had read on a post here to just do it no matter how much it might hurt because it was the key to recovery and thus far I think they were bang on. I don’t like the cold or luke warm noodles in butter or the bread with no crusts and butter… just felt like it was sticking too much at the back of my throat and made me want to cough or swallow hard, which I am still trying to avoid.
I have only used an ice pack once on my throat yesterday but I think I will use it more today as I have noticed it hurts to open my mouth wide and smiling hurts by my ears.
My surgical area is starting to turn white and it is a bit of an uncomfortable weird feeling, like a hair is stuck at the back of your throat. More annoying then anything. So far so good, I have had no blood anywhere or coughing any up or tasting it. I know I am still in the time frame when it can start though, so I am being cautious still.
I want to post about my recovery as it goes along as I have seen and read about so many terrible situations or very painful ones and maybe if I am doing something different that can help someone else, that’s all that matters.
I keep seeing posts of day 7, day 9 and no one is better? I am on day 7. WHEN will I get better?? I need to go back to work :/
For me the mornings of days 7 and 8 were the worst. I started feeling a lot better day 9, and felt like I could have gone back to work day 10 had it been a work day. Maybe Thursday you’ll be back at work.