Hi everyone!! I’ve had a fairly positive tonsillectomy experience so I wanted to share it. I’m 22 years old and had my tonsils out August 10 (it’s now August 17 so it’s been a full week).
A Positive Tonsillectomy Experience
If you don’t want to read this whole thing, my best advice is DRINK TONS OF WATER and EAT! There will be times when it hurts and food is unappealing but trust me, it’s better to choke down some applesauce than puke up pain medicine on an empty stomach. The day of the surgery was super easy. I had a few slushies at the hospital and then went home and pretty much just had water and took pain medicine every few hours. The pain was equivalent to a bad case of strep. But once the pain med’s from the hospital started wearing off at night it got a little worse. You DEFINITELY need someone there to take care of you the first few days! Getting out of bed is hard and it’s so much better to just rest. The second day there was a little more pain, but still very bearable. However, food wasn’t appealing so all I had that day was a small bowl of mashed potatoes and a few cups of water. Narcotics and an empty stomach don’t mix, so I ended up throwing the mashed potatoes up. Not a fun experience. That really took a toll on my throat and the pain was much worse after that.
The pain got progressively worse over days 3, 4 and 5. Instead of just a topical pain like a sore throat, it started to feel deeper and more widespread (if that makes any sense). Talking got harder and was nearly impossible one day. On these days I ate jello, pudding, applesauce (my fav), mac and cheese, chicken broth, and ice cream along with TONS of water. I drink at least 2 of those giant tervis tumbler things a day. But on the bright side I was able to get out of bed these days and actually get some stuff done which was great! I hate sitting in bed all day. Day 6 really wasn’t bad at all and my mom said I definitely looked like I felt better too.
Today, day 7, I think my scabs are starting to fall off. Instead of a dull, constant pain, it’s more of a brief stabbing pain when a little piece falls off (gross, I know). I’m eating lo mien noodles tonight for dinner!!! I hope it’s only up from here. Before my surgery I read a lot of horror stories online about how this recovery is the worst experience of a person’s life, which really freaked me out. It definitely hasn’t been enjoyable but for me it’s been bearable. Just make sure you take care of yourself and don’t push yourself by being active too soon or eating the wrong thing too soon. And again, stay very hydrated!!!!