Tonsillectomy Tips
As I’ve written, there was much that I did not know as I planned, experienced, and recovered from my own tonsillectomy. My Ear Nose and Throat doctor, (ENT), and his nurse gave me some general information about the surgery. We talked about how tonsillectomy surgery was performed, what the risks were, and what to expect after my adult tonsillectomy surgery.
In addition to this information, I tried to arm myself with as much information from other sources as I could. The internet is filled with medical information and advice. Some of it related to tonsillectomy. Some of it is accurate. Some of it is valuable to a person considering or recovering from tonsillectomy surgery. Most of it is not. Some of the scariest information I got was from my family and friends. Everyone seemed to have some horror story about an adult dying from tonsillectomy, or having a near-death experience from bleeding or anesthesia. As if I wasn’t nervous enough! Fear and anxiety are usually born of uncertainty The more we know about what to expect, the better we are able to execute a task without irrational fears.
I’ve read thousands and thousands of comments on the various pages of this website. One message is expressed again and a gain: Knowing what to expect helps enormously! This is your chance to do others a great service. Take your wisdom, born of personal experience, and help others. When you shine a light for others, you also light your own path.
For a live discussion about tonsillectomy and tonsillectomy recovery, join us in the Tonsillectomy Recovery Forum
The doctors, nurses, bloggers, publishers, family and friends all helped shape my expectations about what to expect before, during and after my tonsillectomy. None of it compares to the value of actually experiencing it. I learned more in the weeks before and after my adult tonsillectomy than I could have learned from years of research. This website is filled with over 50 pages of that wisdom.
If you are reading this, you probably have some experience yourself. How would you like to help someone who is trying to decide whether to have a tonsillectomy? Help someone planning or recovering from tonsillectomy surgery? By answering this one question, you may be able to save someone from a struggle you had:
IF I WAS PLANNING MY TONSILLECTOMY TODAY, THIS IS WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY…
When I was recovering they gave me liquid pain meds. Tylenol with codeine in the beginning, and then Vicodin when it was clear that the Tylenol wasn’t helping the pain at all. My tip is to ask for liquid meds instead of pills if possible because I can’t imagine trying to swallow pills with all the swelling and scabs that happen in the back of the mouth. Very few narcotic pain meds come in liquid form, though. Really just the two mentioned above. But quite seriously, liquid Vicodin worked amazingly for me.
Incidentally, you’re supposed to eat within 30 minutes of taking the pain meds to decrease nausea. The liquid stuff takes 30 minutes to kick in, but it makes eating alot easier.
I am 38 and had my tonsils out on Friday 12/7. First off I am on day 5 d=and the pain is incredible. There is one thing I have found that has helped and I highly recommend it as I can barely eat. Please get yourself a 7-11 slurpee. It feels amazing and is so cold. I can only drink coke flavored as fruit burns. Try it!
Hope everyone is recovering well!
Stacy
Along with what others have said about humidifiers (get a good quiet one), pain meds (take them on a schedule prompted by an alarm so you can’t sleep through a dose), staying hydrated ( drink as much as you can of whatever non acidic beverage you enjoy-try warm if cold hurts), and getting plenty of rest- here are my top ten recovery tips-
1. Raspberry tea sooths the throat naturally. Make sure you get the kind with real raspberry leaves, not just the flavoring. Drink it warm, not hot, especially when all else is failing and you want to shoot yourself.
2. Biotene mouthwash. I brushed and rinsed with it because toothpaste foam made me gag. It is soothing and alcohol free with an enzyme formula that kills germs while moisturizing and freshening. It is really great stuff. They also make a moisturizing gum that is very helpful. Another mouthwash that might help is ST-37. It is an antiseptic that has a numbing effect. It tastes a bit strange but doesn’t burn. It can be harder to find but worth it for the pain killing effect.
3. Hide your pills in something squishy like pudding or oatmeal. Apple sauce didn’t go well for me though, too acidic. They won’t stick to your scabs or rub nasty tasting burning pill slime off all the way down your throat if they are surrounded by slimy pudding or oatmeal. Instead they will go right down.
4. If you are taking narcotic pain meds like Percocet(oxycodone), Lortab (hydrocodone), or Tylenol 3 take a stool softener. Seriously! I highly recommend Miralax or its generic form. You mix it in a liquid and drink it. No gas, no cramping, no taste, no side effects. Narcotics cause constipation which causes straining which causes bleeding. Why risk it? Getting backed up will also make you nauseaus. Puking on a throat this painful is just evil!
5. Use an ice pack on your neck, face, and ears to help with pain. There will be times it will save you. Frozen peas, corn, or similar are good if you don’t have a gel one in the house, just don’t eat that pack later if you refreeze it.
6. Bending over with your head down hurts! So does carrying heavy things. Don’t do either.
7. Pain meds prevent pain better than they treat it so don’t get behind. They are also more effective with protein in your stomach. One good source of cold protein that worked for me was Jamba Juice with BOTH soy and whey protein boosts. Get several and put them in the freezer. Then scrape out a bowl worth to have with your pills or freeze in smaller cups to eat with pills. I couldn’t get my mouth open far enough for popsicles, but I could slide some of that in off a spoon. Protein makes pills work faster!
8. Get a syringe from your doctor or pharmacy (without a needle-30cc is good). Use it like a water gun to gently spray crud out of the tonsil beds. Very good for hygene when used to Gently! spray salt water and then mouthwash onto scabby areas and spots too sore to brush.
9. Get a nasal wash kit. Either a squeeze bottle or neti pot style is fine, though I prefer the squeeze bottle. Use warmed distilled water with the provided salt packets to wash out your nose and behind your soft palate. There is simply no other way to get the snot out from behind your uvula without excrutiating pain. Use according to package directions first, then refill ( or only use half) , and block off your nose so the saline runs out your mouth. Do both sides. Miracle!
10. Sleep with your head elevated until the swelling in your uvula goes back to normal. Otherwise you will wake up in the night unable to breathe because your uvula has blocked everything off. Even if you sleep through it it will make you snore which greatly increases your pain from all the vibration all night.
Good luck! My recovery has been hellish so far, but these things have made it a little better. I am a 35yo female who had tonsils out Dec 3rd 2012 due to staph infected peritonsillar abscess not responsive to antibiotics after history of recurrant tonsillitis over the past several years. I would not recommend surgery to anyone whose infections respond to antibiotics because the pain is so bad. While each person must decide if it is right for them please read these pages carefully and understand that this surgery is extremely painful.
i had mine out a few days back. 44yo male. jeez this hurts. broken bones before but not as bad as this constant pain. i noticed when using a wahl to clip my beard, for wifey, the vibration actually soothed my throat and ears. so i tried taking meds whilst holding the vibrating body against my ears and throat. it really eased the pain of swallowing for me. i hope others can try to do similar and it eases the pain for them.
That is interesting! I might try it for general pain relief.
Try burying the pills in pudding too, especially in the night when your throat is dry and sticky. The spoonful of pudding slides right down as a single lump and you won’t even know the pills are hiding in there. Plus it helps keep the nausea controlled since the pain meds are not on an empty stomach. Good luck.
I am on day 9 and the best I can say is that today is the first day my pain didn’t continue to get worse. It is no better either, but at least it stopped getting worse for one day. You have to be happy for the small victories!
I am with you Toni, Dec 4 th, and today is the first day it didn’t get worse! I have turned the corner. I agree celebrate the small victories!
Agreed had them out today and it’s so much more painful than the full tummy tuck and hernia repair I had 21 days ago. I can’t sleep without drying up and feeling as if I can’t breathe. Every swallow hurts even with pain med…. Ugh this is a rough one
Besides dont do it, its flippin brutal? Heres my advice:
1. Copy and paste a few quotes from this site and send them to your boss, husband, children… all the people that will need to understand how major this surgery is. They need to understand what you are going through, on top of excruciating pain, depression, nausea, bleeding vomiting you dont need a bunch of pressure to return to work too soon or unsupportive family.
2. Borrow 2 humidifiers. When you wake up in the night because your throat is on fire and your meds wore off it is a godsend.
3. Stock up on popsicles (strawberry seemed the least acidic to me) mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, cream of wheat, chicken and beef broth, jello, yogurt and pudding. There is a wierd scab taste thing that will make everything else taste AWEFUL especially bread products.
4. Keep ice chips by your bed at all times.
5. Stay ahead of your pain meds, if you wait till they wear off it gets excruciating to take the next batch and it starts a whole cycle of pain and nausea. I pre-poured my middle of the night dose so I was more likely to take it quickly and go right back to sleep.
6. As for anti nausea medication- I dont know anyone that did not get severe nausea. And throwing up could make your world nightmarish, cause bleeding and set you waaay back.
7. Never been constipated in my whole life, so when I was I just thought, oh- no big deal, itll happen when it happens… Nope, you wait too long and it gets way worse and you get severe nausea every time you eat because there is no where for it to go. After day 4 of no go get something for it.
8. Hydrocodone burns like hell going down, I avoided milk most of the time but when the pain was just too much I would mix it with chocolate milk, it helped it go down much better.
9. Gargle very gently every day. I used a small amt of salt and baking soda- made me feel fresher and kept away infection.
10. GET 3 GOOD BOOKS BEFOREHAND. I got very depressed when it seemed there was no end in sight to the pain and nausea and I was so glad I had a book that I looked forward to finding out what was going to happen next.
11. Ask for a foot massage. I wanted to just sit and moan and rock but my husband gave me a foot massage one day and it really distracted me from my own misery.
12. expect MINIMUM 10 days to recover. Im on day 9 and still have terrible pain nausea and fatigue.
13. dont jump up and run around the minute you feel a little better. Your body is weak and needs time and energy to heal the gaping wounds in your throat, so take it easy!!!!
Good luck to you, I feel for you and am sending you heathy sympathetic thoughts 🙂
Water mixed with baking soda takes the sting out of your wounds down to a dull ache! Baking soda is a acid reducer so soothes wounds that are hurt by the acid in drinks, food, saliva… it helps!!!!
Its also supposed to help with nausea if you swallow some but Im too afraid it will make me gag and throw up…
Hia. I’m Keena from north wales ,uk. You have made me feel so much happier. I had my tonsils out on the 22nd of November 2012 and thought I was a big baby. I’m 27. You made me realise it is worse than what people think. Thank you so much. Xx
I love your idea of copying some of the posts. I don’t think some people take a tonsillectomy seriously. Thank God my husband found this site, read up on it, and got everything possible to take great care of me with no time restrictions! I am 53, and it has been quite difficult. this will be my 10 th night, hoping for my best!
Healing thoughts to all!
TEA!!
I drank Chai Tea (it is black tea w/ spices sweetend with milk and sugar. tastes a little like pumpkin pie). it allowed me to get the caffeine i was used to getting before the surgery (the soda burned even if i let it get flat) a the milk i added took away the hunger pains from not being able to eat solids. Since the milk was warmed up from the tea, it didnt make my throat all phlegmy, it cleared out the existing crap back there. and of course since it is mostly water, it helped up my water intake.
For me personally, i could not eat sweets like ice cream and popsicles (or even yogurt). the level of sweetness burned the back of my throat.
Ensure Powdered Drink Mix (vanilla for me) COMPLETELY COVERED THE TASTE OF CRUSHED UP MEDS before i could swallow the pill whole.