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…
Today is day 17 and feel like I am close to 100%. I’m a 46 year old who’s had tonsil issues for years, with a tonsillectomy being the last option. To sum up the entire experience, the pain has been not much worse than my worst tonsillitis episodes. I did have a small amount of ear pain but nothing too terrible. Just when I thought I was feeling better, I would have a bad day where I really tried to not talk or do anything. I used Jello (with extra gelatine to make them more solid – 3 boxes Jello, 1 box of Knox, 3-4 cups of water) to get me through the middle days when my appetite returned but throat was too raw for anything else. The lack of extended sleep during the first week drove me nuts but I’m sleeping much better now. The white scabbing in the back of my throat has almost disappeared completely. I ate some boneless buffalo wings over the weekend with minimal pain – but they tasted sooooooo gooooood! One unexpected side effect is that my taste of food has changed slightly, especially when food hits the back of my tongue – I’m hoping it will come back to normal.
I primarily work from home but did have to visit a customer 3 hours away on Day 7 – all went well. I’ve been able to keep up with email, conference calls, etc and not really miss a beat – essentially not missing a single day besides surgery, which was on a Friday.
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I’m 19 and getting my tonsils removed in 2 days on June 5th (the day after my last final exam for the college year) and am a bit nervous. I only have 1 week for recovery before I must begin my summer job, so I have my fingers crossed for a super fast recovery… Really hoping that doesn’t come back to bite me. I will say that I am sort of looking forward to laying around doing absolutely nothing after a grueling year of classes but still a bit worried about the recovery. I’m loving the suggestions on how to get your veggies in though, and I will definitely be using our blender a lot per your suggestions.
You’re out of your freaking mind!
I had mine taken out on June 5th and all the food I eat comes out of my nose.
I’m crying…. You can’t go to work! Stay home and relax
think about your health first.
Guys….GUUYYSSS!! This isn’t something to worry about. After perusing this page along with many, many other internet sources. I found myself terrified of my upcoming tonsillectomy, especially considering I can’t take more than a week off of work if I plan on making bills in any way, shape or form.
So…I designed a system…
Do you have a blender?
THAT’S ALL YOU NEED.
As we all know, vegetables and fruits hold the most cell-repairing nutrition out of almost any food on the planet. Plug your nose, steam some high nutrient veggies (like broccoli, brussel sprouts, spinach and carrots) add at lease half of a banana to each blended meal for taste and consistency, and add a plethora of berries, half an apple, fruit juices, WHATEVER YOU CAN to pack in those nutrients and keep your throat willing to swallow the food.
I promise you, it doesn’t taste that bad at all (especially considering you’ve probably lost a good amount of taste) and my healing is happening AT LEAST twice as fast as ANYONE I’ve seen posting on the internet.
I had my tonsils AND adenoids removed and turbinate nose surgery, I took a walk the second day, but still spend most of my time on the couch trying to gear up for work on Monday (I just had the procedure on Tuesday) …you do the math. Multivitamins, veggies, veggies, veggies, and fruit with a water-heavy liquid diet will literally exponentially decrease your recovery time…and when I say water-heavy, I’m drinking about 150 ounces a day, that’s an average of 5 nalgene bottles.
DON’T FORGET THE HUMIDIFIER!!! And as everyone says…take your meds like clockwork!!
Also, don’t forget the ice/ice pops for comfort and keeping the swelling down. The numbing lollies do wonders as well. Oh, and if you’re my age, early 20s, you wouldn’t BELIEVE the release you get from killing a few virtual zombies on left4dead 🙂 good luck to all!
Here are the things that helped me:
1. Read the articles and posts on this website – expect the worst
2. Make your caretaker read the articles and posts on this website so they know what to expect as well
3. Buy extra ice packs so you can alternate and always have something cold to put around your neck
4. Stock up on your favorite easy to swallow snacks, I found that cinnamon apple sauce was great ice cold. Pudding and jello was ok. I couldn’t do ice cream – it burned going down. Ramen noodles were great around days 3-4. I also tried a single serving size of mashed potatoes and then mixed them with chicken broth to make a very creamy type soup. I couldn’t eat a lot, but it’s amazing he far a few bites will go to help you feel a little more normal.
5. Borrow or buy a blender if you don’t have one. I used a ‘magic bullet’ system and it was great. I had stocked up on frozen bananas and frozen strawberries. I combined that with Greek yogurt, soy milk, some protein powder, and miralax to make a great smoothie. Again, I didnt eat a lot, but just a few bites really helped me to keep a positive attitude and have some energy.
6. do not expect to be able to do anything but sleep, drink water, take meds, and ice your neck. For 2 weeks. Just plan on that
7. I set an alarm day and night to stay on top of my pain meds. This was huge for me. I shared my schedule with my caretaker as there were times when I felt ‘out of it’ and couldn’t remember when I took them last.
8. I thought it was great to have the surgery during summer. I was able to sit outside and feel the warm sun and get some fresh air. This really helped me to not feel depressed or get too negative. I can’t imagine being locked up inside on pain meds that didn’t allow me to drive and not be able to get outside. If you can, plan to schedule your surgery when you can take advantage of warmer weather.
I think those were the major lessons I learned. Good luck!
Oh yeah – gum was my best friend. But I did find out that some Drs believe that xylitol can help promote thrush. I had a little bit of thrush and it wasn’t fun. Maybe pick some gum that doesn’t contain xylitol.
Shaved ice with organic honey drizzled over it! Popsicles were sickening to me, jello was not going down, and I didn’t even want water. But dehydration is a major concern, and this solved it! So soothing, natural, and tasty.