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
Hey Everyone, I’m on post-op day 2 and things are going well for the most part. I had a minor set back this morning (so exhausted that I slept through two doses overnight), but I have gotten my pain back down to a manageable level. I’ve been having pain in my jaw/ears intermittently since getting home from the hospital and its been more frequent than usual. I also feel like I’m getting food up my nose when I swallow so I’ve been laying down at an incline to see if that helps. I also hold my sips of water and gatorade at the back of my mouth for a few seconds before swallowing–that seems to make it less painful. I’m not a very patient person and I’m total work-a-holic so its been hard having to stay at home all day everyday but I’m taking it one day at a time.
Lexi, Thank you for the words of encouragement. Okay, now i am feeling better. Not great but better. It’s day 18 for me. My daughter had the same surgery the same day as me and she bounced back after a few days. She had no problems. I, however have had bleeding, when i do i go to the ENT dr. and he gave me some numbing lollypops. They work if you suck the whole thing. I’m still not eating solids yet except for mashed potatoes and some strange things. My husband cooks, so one night he cooked collard greens (chopped up and flavored in the can.) After they had dinner I sucked on a piece of the greens and it was the best stuff in the world at that time. I could actually taste. Two days later I ate almost a can of them. they were so soft and flavorful it was worth the wait. I’m scared to eat other stuff so i am sticking to bland soft foods. my tonsil area still hurts and one of the scabs still hasn'[t come off. The dr. assures me it will come off in it’s own time and that I just had a bad reaction to the surgery. And you’re right, i didn’t prepare for this. I guess if I had known how difficult it would be for me I would have everything ready for my recovery. So, it’s not as bad as it was, I still have a few days of pain according to my dr. I’m just waiting for that day!
Ashby, im glad to hear your feeling better. That’s just wonderful. Today is day 10 for me and I must say the yesterday was the best day every for me since I had this surgery. I was able to wake up ear 2 pancakes for breakfast with have to take my meds immediately after, I then toasted bread and had a very small tuna sandwich for lunch, and for dinner I eat a can of chicken middle soup once it was cooled off. I know I went crazy yesterday but that was the best food I had every had. 🙂
Today my throat is a little sour but I’m just straying my day do how know what my pain level will be like. Hopefully like yesterday!
Also, on days 3-5 of my post-op, I made my husband some collard greens and Must say yes they are nice, soft, and very favorful. Keep eating it gets better! Best wishes on a speedy recovery.
Today was my surgery, and I have to say that reading everyone’s stories has heped a lot. I am a person who likes to be prepared. I wanted to go in knowing the worst, so that if it happened I was prepared, and if it didnt happened, then I would be peasently surprised. I got to the hospital at around 9 am for my 11 am surgery. I am horrible with needles as a result from a surgery that I had last summer, so the IV was the worst part for me, and that didnt even hurt because they gave me lidocane before they put it in. I also have horrible veins, so I was scared they wouldnt find one. After that it was just a bunch of laying around and waiting. They brought my mom back, but she kept complaining about how hungry she was…..mistake because I was hungry and unable to eat. I made her stop. When they wheeled me to the operating room, the last thing I remember is scooting my tukus to the table and then them putting the mask on me and then I was awake in the recovery room. On a scale of 1-10, I wold say that my pain was an 8, and I could hardly keep my eyes open. I hate that feeling. they gave me pain medicine and then before I knew it I was on the way home. We had to stop to get my medicine so while we were waiting for that, my mom got me a smoothie from Tropical Smoothie. That was the best thing ever at that particular moment in time. When I got home, I ate some italian ice, put in a movie, and fell asleep, and then woke up to take my next dose of pain medicine. Right now I am not in much pain, and I decided that I needed to eat something soft but substantial, because I have a feeling that I wont be able to the next couple days, so I am eating some Macaroni and Cheese. Im actually surprised I can tolerate it. I have had 4 surgeries in the past 2 years, and after every single one, I have made my mom make me maccaroni ad cheese, and every time I had like 2 bites and then couldnt eat the rest. I cant stop eating right now! Anyway, I am doing alright right now, but I fully expect it to get worse. I really a grateful for this website, because I know what to expect!
Well its now day three and pain is still minimal. I have been drinking water. constantly and taking meds every six hours. I have also been eating regularly as the doctor said this will keep my scabs thinner and make it easier on me when they fall off. he recommended toast as being great for this and i have managed to get it down without much bother. the only issue I have is a swollen uvulava and a weird sensation in my mouth when I clean my teeth. other than that it has been a fairly easy ride thus far. I am wondering if this is because of what beth said earlier that as you get older the nerve endings in the throat become less sensitive and therefore hurt less. either that or maybe the surgeons in New Zealand use a different technique that makes recovery easier.
Ashby, I’m sorry your experience has been so painful. I do not think it’s very helpful to say that this surgery should be illegal. Most of we adults who’ve had this surgery did so after a LOT of consideration, and for issues that have often been ongoing for many years. Each person’s recovery is different. Some people have minimal pain. Others have a lot. There is no rhyme or reason for this and age does not seem to matter no does prior surgical experience.
Like many, I was terrified but found that my fears were unfounded. Yes, I was in a lot of pain but because I mentally knew it would be difficult, it ended up being something I just went through. The pain signified healing and eventually it all worked out. If you are having such a hard time, perhaps it’s a good idea to talk to your surgeon or primary doctor about this It is worth trying a different pain med. What have you been eating? You have to force yourself to eat, despite the pain (others, back me up here??) because the swallowing motion helps the healing process (mine and others’ doctors have told us this). The less you swallow, the longer it’ll take for you to heal. If you’ve followed many of the tips on this site, they help tremendously. I wish you the best in your continued recovery.