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
Thank you for the pat on the back, and you are right…..we all do it because what choice do we have…..you are doing better every day…..wish it was over………….susan
Yikes, I shouldn’t have read these, I am 70 and having one tonsil removed August 10. Problem is that I have zero family support and live alone in the middle of Wyo, and have only myself to take care of me, oh well, guess I will get through it. I am glad for the food suggestions, I have essentially been living on ice cream and pasta for quite a while now. I am a tough ranch raised chick, so this probably won’t be much harder than lots of my broken bones. Wish me luck. susan
Susan, you can do it! Its not fun but it is do able. I have been lucky enough to be able to go back home and have my mom around but I actually find I want to do things for myself otherwise I get bored. And moving helps me feel better.
-Matt F.
14 days post-op and I’m starting to finally feel somewhat normal. I still have some lingering nerve pain but its now dull instead of sharp and no where need bad enough for me to reach for the Tylenol–in fact, I haven’t felt the need for it since 10pm last night. I’m still waking up once during the night in pain but its not enough for me to make the effort to move from my big, comfy bed. The swelling in my tongue has gone down considerably and I can actually see what my throat looks like without tonsils. My biggest problems right now are vocal fatigue and dryness within my throat (even with constantly drinking water). At the end of a 10 hour work day, talking becomes very painful. Although each day I’m able to use a bigger range of my voice but it also makes my throat hurt that much more. How long does it normally take for a throat to fully heal after a tonsillectomy? — with no pain from yawning, swallowing, dryness, or talking
Ok guys, I’m up tomorrow morning…trying to relax and be calm about it. I want to say thanks to those who have continued to post and give suggestions and progress notes. For those who have gone this week please keep up the good work…I’ll need your support in the coming days…I hope to keep posting as I take this “trip”.
Hey Alicia W. I just had mine done this morning. I was pretty scared since i had never been put under before and I am a classical singer. Things went quite well for me. I have been out of surgery now for about 12 hours. I know it is early but my sore throat is actually better than it was in the past when I was sick. I did throw up really bad when I was in recovery. Surprisingly, I felt a lot better after that and it was while I still had a lot of the drugs from the surgery in my system, so it didn’t really hurt and I was still in a place where I didn’t really care that much :-P. you can do it Alicia, its scary but the specialists that do this surgery really know what they are doing. I will prayer for you. Be sure to let us know how you are doing, I will keep you updated on how things are going for me. I hope they are as easy for you 🙂
-Matt F.
Hi Matt, i must say I had no throwing up or nausea, I am having the post nasal drip which is causing me to need to clear throat or try to bring up. I know they say don’t clear throat but i’m afraid of choking on it. I need suggestions for that.
I’m very tired but can’t stay asleep long enough. I’ll be back online tomorrow….
I have had the same drainage problem, Something that helps me is to go and just sit either on the floor or in the shower with the water running pretty hot. It helps me keep my nose mouth and throat moist and that makes life a whole lot easier all around. I got a little over excited tonight and tried to eat some cold left over steak. It seemed to go well for a few bites then I learned my lesson. Make sure to take it easy, you need to do less than what you think you can do to make sure you heal quickly.
-Matt
HI Matt,
I had the same issue..i tried some grits tonight and i could feel them stuck in the back of my throat. I couldn’t even get is washed away with water. I ate some jello – figured it would push them along which did work. They stress sleep but i can’t get any sleep I’ve been sitting up but i still wind up waking up choking. Its too soon to be frustrated as i am.
The best way I have found for sleeping is to stack every pillow I can up on the end of the couch so I am in a semi reclined position then lean my head into the back of the couch. This leaves my body and shoulders as if i was laying on my back but with my head leaned to the side it keeps me from having my soft pallet get in the way.
-Matt F.
Hi all,
I had my tonsillectomy on the 17th July (15 days ago) and it was a bad experience. Thank you to everyone for all the tips and advice as it helped alot! Unfortunately my problems were related to the poor medical treatment received at the hospital. The operation went well until the next morning. I had sips of water every hour throughout the night as advised but when it reached 4am I started to bleed. The Dr only came to see me 3 hours later and operated at 10. I had lost 5 pints of blood. It was a very traumatic experience. I ended up with a lung infection from all the bleeding and was put on an anti-biotic. I am now feeling alot better except for some weakness due to the blood loss. I feel excess skin at the back of my throat each time i swallow – i do see a piece hanging there so I am not sure what to make of it. I have a follow up appointment in 2 weeks time and will ask the Dr. For those who are still going for a tonsillectomy – be sure to ask if its going to be a proper Dr or an intern performing the surgery.
The biggest problem I am facing now 2 weeks post op is that i cannot taste anything. Some foods give off a metallic taste and others just plain nothing. Has anyone else experienced this? I visited another Dr yesterday for a second opinion and she said that the nerves that are burnt at the back of the throat to stop the bleeding carries the sense of taste to the brain and this can take months to grow back. She also mentioned that if it does not grow back in a year then it will never come back. This is really depressing and getting me down. Had I known about this side effect of a tonsillectomy then I would have never gone for the operation in the first place.
I hope someone out there has something which can help.
Thank you and good luck to all!