A collection of various experiences of adult tonsillectomy patients on their ninth day of recovery
From thousands of post comments to the tonsillectomy recovery forum, I have assembled a sampling of various accounts and impressions of tonsillectomy recovery for each day. Below I share comments about tonsillectomy day 9. These comments are taken from tonsillectomy patients who were kind enough to share their experiences to help others as they navigate the bumpy road of tonsillectomy recovery.
Many will experience depression toward the end of of their tonsillectomy recovery.
Depression After Tonsillectomy?
Please feel free to add your own experience with tonsillectomy day 9.
-Greg Tooke My short bio
Tonsillectomy Day 9 : Pain hasn’t changed, but something’s different. I’m going walking-So Day 9 was overall much better than any day so far of this recovery. But the pain came back tonight in force. Urgh. Back to the painkillers and junk TV.
Tonsillectomy Day 9 : My throat felt a lot better last night, it was moister and clearer than it has been in a few days. THANK YOU HUMIDIFIER!! The Tylenol I’m slowly easing off of, and the pain is almost gone in my throat. My ears still hurt, but definitely not that bad. I didn’t eat much today because of the panic attacks again, but I kept drinking through them because I know I need to keep a moist throat. I actually went out today!! I went to the mall with my mom which felt very liberating after spending so much time confined to my house. The only semi-new symptom is stinging in my throat. Every time I drink water it stings a lot and I’m not sure why. It could be because it’s healing and still raw; but I’m not really concerned. My dad looked in my throat today and he said almost all of the scabs are gone. He did see a few small red bumps in my throat, but I’m not quite sure what they are (another question to ask my doctor about)! Otherwise I’m feeling okay today.
Tonsillectomy Day 9 : day 9 and today I was able to talk a bit without pain. I haven’t napped at all today and am fading fast. It was nice to have friends visit me but also exhausting.
Tonsillectomy Day 9 : day 9 (today i feel better again)I had bled quite a bit last night before I went to bed which scared me a lot because it was more than a tablespoon, however I kept rinsing my mouth with ice water and sucking a piece of ice and after 5 minutes it stopped.
Tonsillectomy Day 9 : Day 9 – hallelujah… feeling so much better in myself. My throat still feels sore and im still on my meds., but I find I’m not willing for the 4th hour to come to pop more in. It’s also a little easier to talk today (something I have not done for the past 8 day’s and believe me it’s been hard having 2 son’s 5 & 2yrs) I went to the doctors yesterday to make sure thing’s where as they should and all is well.
Tonsillectomy Day 9 : Day 9/10 is slightly better than the last couple of days. The white in the back of my throat looks a bit more transparent, so I think it’s slowly sloughing off. There’s a red rim where it used to be. Everything is still sore, but not as bad. However, my right ear and the area behind my right jaw are KILLING me. It feels more like an ear infection than referred ear pain, but my temp is normal, so I’ll wait to bring it up at my post op on Monday
Tonsillectomy Day 9 : first day I’ve spent most of the day alone. No much to report, but that is a good thing. My appetite is returning a little bit. I had some chicken noodle soup last night, and tried some mac n’ cheese for dinner tonight. It was a little painful getting tonight’s dinner down, but not to bad. Pain levels are still about the same. I tried talking in a fairly normal voice for a little bit today, but didn’t maintain it very long, it did get a bit painful. In the interest of tracking my recovery and health i will share the following story. Had my first BM in a week yesterday, was fairly constipated.
Tonsillectomy Day 9 : Day 9 and I am waking with a bit more energy.
Tonsillectomy Day 9 :Day 9: The skies opened, and the angels sang! I felt good! (by good, I mean much better than the previous 8 days, but not “back to normal”) I could eat, with some pain, but actually consumed a breakfast, lunch and dinner. I stopped taking Lortab and haven’t been back. This helped get my head cleared up, and also helped with my extended absence from the bathroom, if ya know what I mean 😉 I was able to do some work (from home) and really started to feel like myself again.
Tonsillectomy Day 9 :Recovery Day 9 (post-op day 10):
I have lost the majority of the scabbing on my right tonsil bed but my left side still have massive scabs. my uvula was so huge it was resting on the back of my tongue but it seems to finally be starting to shrink a bit but when i do talk it makes me sound a bit slurred. Pain today is not nearly as bad as it was during the first 8 days. Was able to eat 2 over easy eggs today
Tonsillectomy
390 comments
After careful observation of the pain meds and OTC meds I’ve been taking, I realized yesterday that Advil makes the severe ear and throat pain go down at least 50%. After I take a dose of 400mg, about 45 minutes later the severe throbbing and sharp ear/throat pain dissipated last night. I was in so much pain–probably a 9/10 just from the left-side ear pain and being unable to eat or drink anything, couldn’t even swallow my saliva. Then an hour after Advil, I WAS ABLE TO EAT TWO WHOLE BOXES OF MACARONI AND CHEESE with NO pain or complications. Unbelievable. I was smiling and felt I had been granted a lifetime of peace and serenity after being in such hell. Then I wake up feeling horrible again. I take my pain meds, wait 2 hours, nothing. I take 400mg Advil, a half hour later most of the pain is gone and I can eat and drink water with no problem.
So this must be some pretty bad swelling/inflammation that Advil seems to temporarily help, but I can’t believe with all the Oxycodone and Hydrocodone I’m taking, it turns out Advil is the most helpful in pain relief. My doctor never recommended I take Advil and even when I saw him, and could barely speak from the throat and ear pain, he just said all of my pain is normal and it will go away in a week. I think it’s important to listen to my doctor, but half of it is also doing my own research and studying my own body and its response to substances. Clearly a steroid or something of the sort would help my pain and I will talk to my doctor in a bit about this because that really irks me how many people could be in less pain. Most doctors I’ve talked to said to just avoid Aspirin, but at the ER the other day, the doctor said Advil has barely any effect on thinning blood. Is this true?
I’m going to post this in all of the days of tonsillectomy pages, not to spam, but because had I seen this posted earlier, it would have saved me from a lot of unnecessary pain. (my original story is posted in Day 8) Obviously TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR FIRST about anything and I can’t say something will work for everyone, but when I took Advil, it saved me from another miserable day of pain.
Today is Christmas, it’s day 9 for me and I am doing much better. Ear pain is still there but not too bad. I decided to not take the pain meds after day 2. I have only been taking ibuprofen. Some call me crazy but I couldn’t stand the way they made me feel. My worst pain was on day 5 and it was from my ears. Drinking room temp water is better than ice water. I pack ice bags around my neck right when I get up and it helps a lot. The morning of course is the worst. I sleep slightly upright. My family and I just finished eating our Christmas dinner and I actually was able to put a little for on my plate and eat with the help of sucking on the cough drops prior to eating because it helps to numb the throat a little. I feel like I’m moving in the right direction. I see the doctor those week for my 2 week follow up.
Christmas Day for me to, and also on day 9. Pain killers were awfull I stoped day 7 alittle late but that was the day the pain killers got me sick. 3 Advil help so much, except I’ve been waking up at 3 with pain having to take more. I just had my real first meal today green beans and that actually gave me energy. I was able to go to my Christmas party but potatos & gravy was all I served up for myself. I’m also going in the right direction just hate this suffering.
I’m 44 and it’s day 9 for me. I want to start by thanking Mr.Greg for this page. It has been so wonderful! I had this tonsillectomy to end my apnea problems. The only info my Dr and his team gave me was “It’s going to hurt like hell! Stay hydrated and eat soft foods for 2 weeks.” They gave me liquid demerol/Tylenol for the pain. Having heard about a “childs” tonsillectomy and feeding them ice cream, I went to the store and got pudding, ice cream, jello, sherbert, chicken noodle soup, etc. So I have the surgery, eventually get prescription filled (not all pharmacy handle “compound scripts”) and go home and to bed. Let me tell you about me first though. I’m a USMC veteran, police officer, cancer survivor and have had a hysterectomy. For the Dr to say “it’ll hurt like hell”, we’ll I felt I had already lived thru that and just how bad could it be? I have a high pain tolerance and so didn’t give it much thought.
Anyways, I was sleeping good, thanks to the meds and thought this wasn’t going to he that bad. HOLY CRAP…WRONG!! I was awaken by terrible nausea and ended up vomiting ALOT. That’s when I googled “vomiting after tonsillectomy” and found yall. Each day I read day 3, 4, 5, and so on. Each day has new details and brings additional comfort! I apologize that this is ending up like reading a novel but I’ve learned so much from reading yalls stories and my own experience and I want to share it with yall.
First of all, get a humidifier! Mine is a warm mist but I guess either will do. Yes buy a variety of soft foods and drinks. For me, I never could have the ice cream. Dairy makes ur mucous thick and your throat is already so swollen so you feel like you’re gagging even more. The first couple days I could have cold water and ice, jello and pudding. After about day 3, I couldn’t do cold stuff anymore. It was room temperature water, warm tea is my best friend and 1 time of chicken noodle broth. After day 3, it was cream of chicken soup every day since and sherbert. Now I did try mashed potatoes and they tasted so good, went down good too. The problem is their texture. For lack of better words, they don’t stay together in your chewing/swallowing. They get all over your mouth and you can not use your tongue to rake them out of the areas. So it’s either use your finger or swish water and rinse. Which may be fine for some. Swishing was not fine with me til about day 6 or 7. Point is, have plenty of food variety because everyone’smouth is different and your taste buds are messed up. Mostly you will be doing liquids for about the first 4 days. Drink lots of fluids!
Sleep upright in the recliner or several pillows in the bed. If not, your neck muscle pushes on your throat and causes more pain. Speaking of neck, get ice packs, 1 for each side, keep it on your neck 24/7. I found this info here on day 3. IT’S WONDERFUL!
At some point, you will have ear/jaw pain. It will be hell! I am still using the warm packs on each jaw/ear. I will be the first to tell you that I look funny with an ice pack on each side of my neck and a warm pack on each jaw, all held in place with a bath towel wrapped around my head. IT WORKS!
Keep taking your meds! Your pain tolerance will be different from everyone else and will even be different from other procedures you may have had. It takes the liquid pain meds about 20 min to kick in and if you have been off of them all day or so, you will have to build back up. You will have a time, somewhere in the middle, where you feel better and think it’s almost over. The next thing you know, you feel bad again.
Hopefully, you have someone helping you. I don’t since my husband works away from home and kids are grown and moved on. Nothing prepares you for the silence. You won’t have a voice, atleast nothing anyone can understand. So there’s no calling your bestie and so on. Text, social media, tv, text, social media, tv, etc. is your lifeline. Unless you like books.
If you are still reading this, I hope it helps. Good luck and keep your chin up. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, even if I haven’t seen mine yet. Praying for each of you. God Bless!
Hi. I have been reading this site all the way through and just read your entry too. Im on day 9 today. Can you please tell me when does everything start getting back to normal and when do i get my voice back please?
Wow… Thank you guys i am on day 8 and reading everyday really helps….. Thanks
Thank you for this post. Word for word, my reply was yes, exactly! I am 39 and had the same mind set of “I have a high pain tolerance, How bad can it be”…and then day 3 came and it was a complete 180 deg turn, I was knocked down, wondering who tired to cut out my tongue. I was promised ice cream only to have room temperature temps as an option…that was just evil of them (haha just kidding I am truly not crazy just trying to find humor in this whole episode).
Day 8 spent crying because I am out of ideas to eat, sleeping not an option and thinking I am weak because the doc said I would recover and be back at work in 7 days. So blessed to have found this page and your story tonight. Loved the humor added. Going to try the warm pads on the ears now….ugghh the ear pain. Thank you again!
I’m 52 and it is day 9 for me. I can honestly say worst medical experience of my adult life. It took 3 days before I could drink water without gagging. 7 days before I stopped drooling all the time. Today is the first day I have gone without a pain pill for over 12 hrs ( I’m doing otc now). I still have a sore throats but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I can actually talk about it out loud. Now I have came down with thrush. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I googled it and it Seems to be commun with tonsillectomy patients I called the ENT today on call ( Saturday ). He acted if he had know idea what I was talking about. I really think he was pissed being called on a Saturday. He told me I would have to wait it out until Monday. Luckly I have doctors and dentist that are friends. I sent pics and both decided it was thrush and called me in a script. I was wondering if anyone else had experience this problem
Totally normal, my whole entire tongue was white from all the mucus and “normal” stuff coming from the back of my throat after the surgery. I was told to just gargle warm salt water and I did and it helped a lot with the whiteness of my tongue and the bad breath!
Same situation. Thrush day 7. Red spots all over my tongue and roof of mouth.. milky substance all over tonguem ENT prescribed Nystatin swish and swallow. I take 5 ml 4 times a day and he has been helping the pain so much! I can finally start to eat a little and hydrate normally!
Ninth day today and finally I can say, ” I think I am actually going to live.” Never thought it would be such a painful roller coaster ride. I also had a septoplasty done at the same time. I had bone spur removed but ended up with a couple of tares so have stents in both my nostrils. Can not wait until Monday when I get them out!! Finally able to eat chicken and potayoes for supper. Sore but tolerable!!!!
.
Today is day 9 for me as well..I’ve sucked on Cepacol throat lozenges that has benzocaine in it..this helps numb the back of the throat so you can eat & drink comfortably..the taste isn’t great, but well worth it!!
After careful observation of the pain meds and OTC meds I’ve been taking, I realized yesterday that Advil makes the severe ear and throat pain go down at least 50%. After I take a dose of 400mg, about 45 minutes later the severe throbbing and sharp ear/throat pain dissipated last night. I was in so much pain–probably a 9/10 just from the left-side ear pain and being unable to eat or drink anything, couldn’t even swallow my saliva. Then an hour after Advil, I WAS ABLE TO EAT TWO WHOLE BOXES OF MACARONI AND CHEESE with NO pain or complications. Unbelievable. I was smiling and felt I had been granted a lifetime of peace and serenity after being in such hell. Then I wake up feeling horrible again. I take my pain meds, wait 2 hours, nothing. I take 400mg Advil, a half hour later most of the pain is gone and I can eat and drink water with no problem.
So this must be some pretty bad swelling/inflammation that Advil seems to temporarily help, but I can’t believe with all the Oxycodone and Hydrocodone I’m taking, it turns out Advil is the most helpful in pain relief. My doctor never recommended I take Advil and even when I saw him, and could barely speak from the throat and ear pain, he just said all of my pain is normal and it will go away in a week. I think it’s important to listen to my doctor, but half of it is also doing my own research and studying my own body and its response to substances. Clearly a steroid or something of the sort would help my pain and I will talk to my doctor in a bit about this because that really irks me how many people could be in less pain. Most doctors I’ve talked to said to just avoid Aspirin, but at the ER the other day, the doctor said Advil has barely any effect on thinning blood. Is this true?
I’m going to post this in all of the days of tonsillectomy pages, not to spam, but because had I seen this posted earlier, it would have saved me from a lot of unnecessary pain. (my original story is posted in Day 8) Obviously TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR FIRST about anything and I can’t say something will work for everyone, but when I took Advil, it saved me from another miserable day of pain.
Today is Christmas, it’s day 9 for me and I am doing much better. Ear pain is still there but not too bad. I decided to not take the pain meds after day 2. I have only been taking ibuprofen. Some call me crazy but I couldn’t stand the way they made me feel. My worst pain was on day 5 and it was from my ears. Drinking room temp water is better than ice water. I pack ice bags around my neck right when I get up and it helps a lot. The morning of course is the worst. I sleep slightly upright. My family and I just finished eating our Christmas dinner and I actually was able to put a little for on my plate and eat with the help of sucking on the cough drops prior to eating because it helps to numb the throat a little. I feel like I’m moving in the right direction. I see the doctor those week for my 2 week follow up.
Christmas Day for me to, and also on day 9. Pain killers were awfull I stoped day 7 alittle late but that was the day the pain killers got me sick. 3 Advil help so much, except I’ve been waking up at 3 with pain having to take more. I just had my real first meal today green beans and that actually gave me energy. I was able to go to my Christmas party but potatos & gravy was all I served up for myself. I’m also going in the right direction just hate this suffering.
I’m 44 and it’s day 9 for me. I want to start by thanking Mr.Greg for this page. It has been so wonderful! I had this tonsillectomy to end my apnea problems. The only info my Dr and his team gave me was “It’s going to hurt like hell! Stay hydrated and eat soft foods for 2 weeks.” They gave me liquid demerol/Tylenol for the pain. Having heard about a “childs” tonsillectomy and feeding them ice cream, I went to the store and got pudding, ice cream, jello, sherbert, chicken noodle soup, etc. So I have the surgery, eventually get prescription filled (not all pharmacy handle “compound scripts”) and go home and to bed. Let me tell you about me first though. I’m a USMC veteran, police officer, cancer survivor and have had a hysterectomy. For the Dr to say “it’ll hurt like hell”, we’ll I felt I had already lived thru that and just how bad could it be? I have a high pain tolerance and so didn’t give it much thought.
Anyways, I was sleeping good, thanks to the meds and thought this wasn’t going to he that bad. HOLY CRAP…WRONG!! I was awaken by terrible nausea and ended up vomiting ALOT. That’s when I googled “vomiting after tonsillectomy” and found yall. Each day I read day 3, 4, 5, and so on. Each day has new details and brings additional comfort! I apologize that this is ending up like reading a novel but I’ve learned so much from reading yalls stories and my own experience and I want to share it with yall.
First of all, get a humidifier! Mine is a warm mist but I guess either will do. Yes buy a variety of soft foods and drinks. For me, I never could have the ice cream. Dairy makes ur mucous thick and your throat is already so swollen so you feel like you’re gagging even more. The first couple days I could have cold water and ice, jello and pudding. After about day 3, I couldn’t do cold stuff anymore. It was room temperature water, warm tea is my best friend and 1 time of chicken noodle broth. After day 3, it was cream of chicken soup every day since and sherbert. Now I did try mashed potatoes and they tasted so good, went down good too. The problem is their texture. For lack of better words, they don’t stay together in your chewing/swallowing. They get all over your mouth and you can not use your tongue to rake them out of the areas. So it’s either use your finger or swish water and rinse. Which may be fine for some. Swishing was not fine with me til about day 6 or 7. Point is, have plenty of food variety because everyone’smouth is different and your taste buds are messed up. Mostly you will be doing liquids for about the first 4 days. Drink lots of fluids!
Sleep upright in the recliner or several pillows in the bed. If not, your neck muscle pushes on your throat and causes more pain. Speaking of neck, get ice packs, 1 for each side, keep it on your neck 24/7. I found this info here on day 3. IT’S WONDERFUL!
At some point, you will have ear/jaw pain. It will be hell! I am still using the warm packs on each jaw/ear. I will be the first to tell you that I look funny with an ice pack on each side of my neck and a warm pack on each jaw, all held in place with a bath towel wrapped around my head. IT WORKS!
Keep taking your meds! Your pain tolerance will be different from everyone else and will even be different from other procedures you may have had. It takes the liquid pain meds about 20 min to kick in and if you have been off of them all day or so, you will have to build back up. You will have a time, somewhere in the middle, where you feel better and think it’s almost over. The next thing you know, you feel bad again.
Hopefully, you have someone helping you. I don’t since my husband works away from home and kids are grown and moved on. Nothing prepares you for the silence. You won’t have a voice, atleast nothing anyone can understand. So there’s no calling your bestie and so on. Text, social media, tv, text, social media, tv, etc. is your lifeline. Unless you like books.
If you are still reading this, I hope it helps. Good luck and keep your chin up. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, even if I haven’t seen mine yet. Praying for each of you. God Bless!
Hi Jennifer- Glad you found us! Thank you for your service and also for sharing your experience. Hope the rest of your recovery goes well!
You’re welcome. I’m doing much better at the end of day 11!!
Hi. I have been reading this site all the way through and just read your entry too. Im on day 9 today. Can you please tell me when does everything start getting back to normal and when do i get my voice back please?
Wow… Thank you guys i am on day 8 and reading everyday really helps….. Thanks
Hang in there Eddie. You will be better soon. When it happens, it’s fast like someone turned on a light switch. Good luck and Merry Christmas!
I’m on Day 8 today, and I’m hoping Day 9 is better tomorrow. I say that everyday and it just seems like it’s getting worse. :/
Thank you for this post. Word for word, my reply was yes, exactly! I am 39 and had the same mind set of “I have a high pain tolerance, How bad can it be”…and then day 3 came and it was a complete 180 deg turn, I was knocked down, wondering who tired to cut out my tongue. I was promised ice cream only to have room temperature temps as an option…that was just evil of them (haha just kidding I am truly not crazy just trying to find humor in this whole episode).
Day 8 spent crying because I am out of ideas to eat, sleeping not an option and thinking I am weak because the doc said I would recover and be back at work in 7 days. So blessed to have found this page and your story tonight. Loved the humor added. Going to try the warm pads on the ears now….ugghh the ear pain. Thank you again!
I’m 52 and it is day 9 for me. I can honestly say worst medical experience of my adult life. It took 3 days before I could drink water without gagging. 7 days before I stopped drooling all the time. Today is the first day I have gone without a pain pill for over 12 hrs ( I’m doing otc now). I still have a sore throats but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I can actually talk about it out loud. Now I have came down with thrush. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I googled it and it Seems to be commun with tonsillectomy patients I called the ENT today on call ( Saturday ). He acted if he had know idea what I was talking about. I really think he was pissed being called on a Saturday. He told me I would have to wait it out until Monday. Luckly I have doctors and dentist that are friends. I sent pics and both decided it was thrush and called me in a script. I was wondering if anyone else had experience this problem
Totally normal, my whole entire tongue was white from all the mucus and “normal” stuff coming from the back of my throat after the surgery. I was told to just gargle warm salt water and I did and it helped a lot with the whiteness of my tongue and the bad breath!
Today is my 9th day as well and I woke up yesterday with thrush. My dr said today that it’s normal and will usually heal itself.
Same situation. Thrush day 7. Red spots all over my tongue and roof of mouth.. milky substance all over tonguem ENT prescribed Nystatin swish and swallow. I take 5 ml 4 times a day and he has been helping the pain so much! I can finally start to eat a little and hydrate normally!
Ninth day today and finally I can say, ” I think I am actually going to live.” Never thought it would be such a painful roller coaster ride. I also had a septoplasty done at the same time. I had bone spur removed but ended up with a couple of tares so have stents in both my nostrils. Can not wait until Monday when I get them out!! Finally able to eat chicken and potayoes for supper. Sore but tolerable!!!!
.
Today is day 9 for me as well..I’ve sucked on Cepacol throat lozenges that has benzocaine in it..this helps numb the back of the throat so you can eat & drink comfortably..the taste isn’t great, but well worth it!!
Yes that is the best. I’m on day 8 and found that suckingredients on cough drop then eating is best.