Surprises After Tonsillectomy
Not everyone reads through this website before embarking on their tonsillectomy journey. I do my best to help patients prepare for surgery and tonsillectomy recovery, but I can’t reach everyone.
I’ve had over 20,000 unique comments across all the pages and posts. This is an amazing library of personal experiences. Having read through almost every single comment, there are a few things that surprise patients as they recover.
So here they are, in no particular order:
Post Tonsillectomy Recovery Surprises
Swollen Uvula – Whoa! That thing looks like an 80 pound punching bag!
One of the most unpleasant surprises in the first couple days post tonsillectomy is the swelling of the uvula. It can get huge, causing discomfort and even difficulty swallowing and breathing.
Get ahead of this little surprise by asking your doctor about possible pharmaceutical solutions, icing the area religiously after surgery, and keeping a steady flow of cold liquids going.
Tonsillectomy Recovery Time – I only took a week off from work!
Maybe it’s because people know of children who have quick recoveries. Most people, including many ear nose and throat doctors, just don’t appreciate how long it takes an adult to fully recovery from tonsillectomy surgery. From my experience, remember the 20,000 comments?, ten days is a minimum, and two weeks is average.
Avoid this surprise by taking enough time off from work in advance, and arranging support. If you’re lucky and recover faster, I’m sure your boss will let you come back early.
Ear Pain – What’s going on?
Most folks expect a sore throat after surgery. Many are surprised by what can be rather severe ear pain. Doctors call it a referred pain. Nerves connect the whole ear, nose, and throat area. Pain in one location often transfers, or is referred, to another.
It usually occurs a few day into recovery. Don’t be surprised by ear pain after tonsillectomy. Have some sugarless chewing gum on hand. I don’t know why, but chewing gum helps relieve the pain. A warm compress can also sooth the area.
Pain Pain – Oh my goodness this hurts!
A good ENT or their nurse should prepare a patient for what’s coming. many do not. Each person’s experience is unique but most adults experience significant pain after tonsillectomy.
The surprise often comes days after surgery. I call the first twenty four hours post-op, “the honeymoon.” With the strong drugs from the hospital still in our systems, things don’t seem that bad the first day. That changes.
For many people, myself included, the worst days are the sixth through eighth.
Don’t be surprised. Take your pain medications on schedule, sleep upright, run a humidifier, ice, and stay hydrated!
Bleeding After Tonsillectomy – Should I panic?
A severe bleed is one of the biggest risks after tonsillectomy surgery. Some bleeding is normal. I had some bleeding on and off. Gently gargling with ice cold water stopped it each time.
If the bleeding doesn’t stop, I’ve read that this occurs in about 5% of patients, get medical attention immediately. It can be life threatening.
Don’t be surprised by bleeding after tonsillectomy. Don’t panic. Don’t take it lightly either.
Scabs – What is going on back there??
This one gets more questions, and generates more internet searches than any other topic I write about. People can become obsessed.
Depending on the method used, and the post tonsillectomy recovery diet, scabbing over of the tonsil beds is very common. I’ve shared some pictures in case you are curious: Tonsillectomy Scab Pictures.
It looks horrible. My non-medical advice is stop looking. Like a recently lost tooth, there is a natural urge to explore the new gaps. Aside from eating, drinking, and gargling, this area should not be disturbed. The scabs will slough off in their own time. As they do, some sharp pain is common. A little bleeding can be too.
Dehydration – Why am I so run down?
This one sneaks up on people. Because it can be difficult to swallow, many patients don’t drink enough post tonsillectomy. Recovery is much harder without proper hydration. Just ask someone who has had IV fluids after becoming dehydrated- hydrated feels better!
Stay on top of hydration, whether it means blowing through cases of popsicles, drinking room temperature broth, or downing more Gatorade than an olympic marathoner. It’s worth it.
Sense of Taste – Wine tastes like salty iron!
As patients begin to recover and get back to their normal selves, many are surprised by changes to their sense of taste. It’s temporary in most cases but can take months to fully correct.
It’s not clear why it occurs, but it often does. Don’t be surprised and don’t worry about it. It should pass.
Your Experience- Did you have any post tonsillectomy recovery surprises?
Please share them in the comments section below. Thanks!
-Greg Tooke
This is some great information, and I appreciate your suggestion to drink lots of cold liquids to keep your uvula from swelling up after a tonsillectomy. My son has been having some problems with his throat, so he’s going to be having his tonsils removed. I want to make sure he recovers as quickly and comfortably as possible, so I’ll definitely encourage him to drink lots of cold liquids to keep swelling down. Thanks for the great post!
Cinnamon and cloves as a pain killer! Who would believe? Hi, female (36) Post Tonsillectomy recovery surprise. My worst days were day 7 and 8 when the pain would return strong in two hours after taking my painkiller. I had two more hours to go till I could take another one. So out of despair I made myself a strong brew of 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tbsp cloves simmered with 300 ml. of water. Little sips have worked in 10 sec. numbed the soreness and relieved the pain for 15-20 min at the time and got me through those two hours. I was well impressed and thought this could help to others, desperate ones.
Please no judgments this is my personal experience.
Thank you.
It’s get worse before it gets better.
It only gets worse before it gets better,
Please, id like to add a few tips to the title article or somewhere in your posts,for people to know, especially tip 1. Ive had my tonsills out 6 days ago and never felt so much pain, constant sweating and shaking from the pain’s adrenaline release.
But some things that have helped so far:
1) The exposed area in the throat is still permeable to water and salt and cant control its OSMOSIS. So it’s REAAALLY important that you try to swallow liquids that are not too concentrated NOR TOO LITTLE concentrated, and never acidic! Pure water rushes into the wounds and hurts it. Lemon juice is your worst nightmare.
For me, cold water with 2 pinches of salt and 2 spoons of honey made for a drink that immediately stopped the aching. You should try to hit the 0.9% salt saline solution mark or close to that. AND take a sip of this drink after EVERY BITE of anything else that hurts, so it quickly balances the wound osmosis back to no pain.
2)Topical anesthetic( like tetracaine, lidocaine sprays or benzocaine candy) have a small lasting effect but its really strategic prior to trying to eat something. Just try not to swallow any as it gives me immediate nausea. Turn your head to the side so the anesthetic runs down into the wound at each side and wait a minute for it to sit there, then spit it out and gently wash your mouth.
3) NSAID painkillers are the most powerful in cutting inflammatory pain. Instead of drowning in vicodin/percocet/etc (opioids, they give me bad nausea and dont cut so much pain), try to have a constant dose of ibuprofen, or diclofenac (much more powerful but limited daily dosage), if you are not allergic, of course.