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
Anette, You should be waking up every 2 hours to hydrate. I know you want your sleep but taking your meds and drinking water through out the night is very important. I set my alarm for the first week of my recovery. I didn’t feel too sleep deprived because I could nap doing the day. You will get a good night of rest soon. The reason you’re waking up in pain with a dry mouth is because you are not hydrating enough… as in every 2 hours. Try doing that for the next 24 to 48 hours and see how you feel. Good luck.
Hello all! I have been following everyones posts for some time, and I finally got the courage to set up my appointment! I have it set in two month, my ENT was booked until then. (GREAT 🙁 )
My biggest fear is the pain, he said on a scale of 1-3 my left tonsil is a 3 and my right is a 4, also adding he could more then likely sufficate me by putting his thumb in my throat, and that scares the living day lights outta me 🙁
Any advice to get me prepared, even if its a million years away?! Thank you everyone for sharing there recovery!!!
Hydrate hydrate hydrate.
Even as far away as two months there is nothing wrong with getting into the habit of keeping yourself well-hydrated on a regular basis so that you are a: well-hydrated going into the procedure and b: accustomed to staying well-hydrated (so your bladder is adjusted, ha ha).
If your eating habits are not so great right now, working to get on a healthy, balanced diet prior to the procedure is a smart idea, as well! The healthier you are going in the better off you will be. Get active and feeling good, you have the time to spare. ^_- If you are already doing these things, I’d say spend time doing whatever little things around your home you might not want to deal with. If you have any small repairs or any large cleaning jobs get them out of the way now.
I’m sure your doctor didn’t mean to freak you out when he was talking about the size of your tonsils. A lot of the time when doctors find something interesting academically they don’t always choose the best words to set their patients at ease. Ha ha.
Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences. You have given me information that I haven’t found anywhere else. It’s helped get me through some rough times. A special thanks for those with pictures since I had no idea what any of this would look like.
I had my surgery exactly 1 week ago and my main problem is getting sleep. I’ve been sleeping in a recliner because any other way just makes my mouth gape open, then I wake up from the pain of a dry mouth. Humidifiers don’t seem to help. I can do 3 hours max. When did you get a good night’s rest?
I am 53 years old, so I knew my recovery was going to be harsh. My ENT kept telling me that it would be so painful I would hate him. He was right.
I am on Day 15 and I just started getting larger chunks of sleep a couple of nights ago. I have been sleeping on the couch and my husband keeps asking when I’m coming back to bed. I am going to give it a shot tonight since last night was the first night I only woke up briefly at about 5:30.
As far as the humidifier is concerned, is it adjustable? That might seem like a stupid question but I had mine on the lowest setting and turning it up did help. It was louder but that was a small price to pay. My throat always dried out after sleeping for more than a few hours, too, no matter how long the humidifier had been running. I think having no humidifier at all would probably have been a disaster! I think there is a difference between having your nasal passages humidified and the surface of your throat being moist, if that makes sense. The humidifier is helping the air you breathe be less drying but that doesn’t mean the surface of your throat isn’t going to dry out despite the moister air, you know? It is a hassle to sleep in small gasps like that but it’s just what you have to do for the time being. :/
Mine is also lower and it’s crooked.
Hi, everyone! Sorry I haven’t posted lately, but I have been keeping up on your updates via e-mail. I am six weeks post op and have noticed a few new things lately, so I thought I’d put it out there for you all to analyze.
For the past two days, I’ve noticed a new sensation in the back of my throat. It almost feels like a loose piece of skin fluttering in the breeze when I talk. I’m not terribly worried abou it. It’s mostly just annoying. Sometimes when it flutters “closed” my voice sounds nasal. Has anyone else felt this? My friend, who had her tonsillectomy one year ago, said she had something similar that just disappeared overnight.
Another thing… If I’m not paying attention while drinking, I get choked up. It feels like there is still a large opening on the side of my throat where the doc cut out a larger chunk of tonsils, so sometimes drinks go down faster than expected and down my wind pipe. I will get used to it in time, I suppose, but right now drinking seems like a very thoughtful and deliberate process. If I’m not concentrating hard enough, I end up aspirating and going into a coughing fit.
Has anyone else noticed these things?
Becky, I have not had this problem. I think I was very fortunate that though my tonsils were messed up, they were small. So my ‘cut outs’ were likely a lot smaller than some of the others here on this board. I never had any swallowing issues with either liquid or foods. I am 4 1/2 weeks post op.
What you’re describing of the feeling of something fluttering closed, sounds like your soft palate closing up by where your uvula is. That would cause the nasal sound as it blocks the flow of air from the nasal passage down into the throat. I feel as though my soft palate/uvula area is hanging lower now after the tonsillectomy. Others have mentioned this too. Maybe that’s what is causing the sensation you’re feeling? The skin is looser and sometimes flapping around?
I am sure that the swallowing liquid thing will adjust in time. Do you still have ‘carved out’ looking areas where your tonsils were? I was praying mine would fill in and not be concave and they have filled in completely and are perfectly flush. Yours should be by now even with the large tissue amount that was removed. I think it sounds like you just have a lot of extra space in the back there and, if your tonsils were really big, your throat has to adjust to all that space when going to swallow back some liquids. I hope it resolves for you soon! Hugs! 🙂
I have the swallowing thing! As my tonsil beds are filling in it is getting better. I posted here when I gulped water for the first time, ha ha. 🙂
I think the voids where our tonsils used to be are maybe trapping some air? So when you try to swallow there is also maybe some air involved. Sometimes when I get a mouthful of water I have to hold it there for a second and make sure I am breathing through my nose before I swallow. It is getting better though for sure.