What are the Best Foods to Eat After Tonsillectomy?
The tonsillectomy diet can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the nutrition derived from solid foods is essential for out overall health and recovery from tonsillectomy surgery. The very act of swallowing also helps the throat recover. On the other hand, pushing foods past the raw and tender area of the tonsil beds after they’ve been cut and in many cases cauterized, can cause excruciating pain and, even bleeding. We need to go slow.
Liquids: The best friend of any tonsillectomy diet
Liquids. Let’s start here. Since you’ll be drinking at least 8 ounces per hour during tonsillectomy recovery. Put some thought into what you want. Sport drinks are good. They provide electrolytes and needed calories. Since most of the calories are from sugar, you’ll want to try some other drinks too. Avoid anything acidic, caffeinated, dairy, or thick for the first week. I was amazed by how many things I drank went down like battery acid or left a troublesome film on my throat. (tonsil bed) Water is always good, but it’s hard to stay interested in it. I also enjoyed chicken and beef broths. Don’t heat them beyond, “fairly warm.” Hot has an inflammatory effect on tonsil area tissue.
Gelatin was the first thing I was given to begin eating after tonsillectomy and I thought I’d gone to heaven. It tasted wonderful and, for some reason, I found it easier to swallow than water. It’s cool, soothing, and counts as hydration. Hands down, Jell-O, Jelly, or gelatin is my top pick for foods for a tonsillectomy recovery. For the first five days I didn’t venture too far beyond the liquids and gelatin. It’s contrary to what your mother might advise but, like sleep, a normally healthy endeavor can result in an hour of searing pain. I tried mashed potatoes on day two and had tears in my eyes. For about a day after that, I stopped eating . I don’t recommend this. Maintaining a good diet is important for several reasons. Nutrition, activation of muscles in the affected area, and feeling of well being are all benefits of a smart plan. Also keep in mind that most prescription pain killers can cause nausea, especially on an empty stomach. It’s important to get some kind of food down before taking pain medicine, even if it’s just a liquid food like Ensure.
Try to add as many calories to your day as you can. As your throat allows, try some foods like oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, (NOT al dente. cook it!), ramen noodles, mashed potatoes, gravy, or cous cous. Oatmeal was, without question, my breakthrough food as I began eating after tonsillectomy. I’m still eating it almost daily, probably because of the good feeling that it gave me in my second week.
When I was recovering, I used to daydream about eating steak. It seemed so unattainable. I couldn’t even handle mashed potatoes. When could I ever enjoy a nice juicy Steak?? I told myself, once I got through this, I would reward myself with a delicious slab of beef. To this day, I love my steak. I’ve put together a collection of items that I think would be helpful, if not essential, to making tonsillectomy recovery a little more pleasant, including items for your tonsillectomy diet. Check out theGeneral Store. -Greg Tooke My short bio
Hello my name is bre for nickname I am 13 years old I had my tounsils out on feburay 14 2013.I am on day 6 today it hurts worse then it did on day 5 which I don’t think is a good thing.:( chewing gum help just don’t swallow popcicles oatmeal jello pudding applesause apple juice gatorade ice water broth from soup (chicken or beef).my neck is swollen and i m really craving stuff like toast chips pizza and scarty thing anyone know how long till I will be recovered and be able to eat what I want ! 😕
Hi Bre, At 13 your body is very resilient. I would bet that, with the next couple days you’ll start feeling much better. (I hope so! :))
Try to keep drinking and using those throat muscles, eating what you can. Be careful though- don’t eat sharp things like Doritos!
Hang in there!
Hi Guys, Im on my fourth day after my op and so far my routine is take pain meds every four hours and eat food I would normally eat before the op. Im also chewing gum and trying to drink water as often as I can. Im avoiding spicy foods as they irritate my throat. I found that when I take the pain meds around 30 min before a meal its much more bearable. according to my ENT his advice was eat normal foods as this will aid the recovery process.
Had tonsillectomy on Thursday 31st Jan. Now day 5 and not great. Been eating toast every day since day one. Managed fishcakes and curly fries on day 2 but everything tastes really salty. I have found chewing gum really helps to clear spittle and other rubbish from mouth. Had an ice pop today which was divine- cant believe I hadnt tried one before day 5. Have lost about 9lbs in weight and am totally not interested in food at all. Luke warm tea really helps me too!
hello, my 10 year old daughter JUST had her tonsils and adenoids removed this afternoon. She has already managed to eat rice noodles, jello, ice pops and frozen banana slices. The banana slices I use to do for her when she was teething as a baby and it worked like a charm them and did now too 🙂 She was STARVING but I was afraid to push her stomach plus I did not want to give her anything that could hurt her so she sucked on some banana slices, chewed them up when they thawed. They soothed her throat and filled her belly at the same time. Plus, for those with upset bellies bananas are the perfect remedy. I will try making her some homemade juice tomorrow so that she get essential nutrients in her. My older daughter went through this but unfortunately she bled out at day 15 and need to be cortirized. I am trying to avoid that to happening to my little one (can’t live through that horror again). Any other kid friendly ideas? She is gluten free which causes issues of food choices.
I had a tonsilectomy on 1/16/13. Today is my best day yet, with yesterday probably being my worst. Day three is awful. Today I was able to have a little scrambled eggs, very cool and chopped up. Stayed down ok. I’m worried that it has been three and a half days and I haven’t had a BM yet. Any suggestestions on what I can eat to get things moving without killing my throat?
Hello there, I had the same issue and needed some help ‘going’ after 4 days of non stop Lortab use. I ended up purchasing MoM (milk of magnesia) only because I knew it a) wouldn’t burn my throat (though it does have a milky/chalky taste) and b) wouldn’t cause cramping and make me run to the bathroom. It got things moving again within a couple of hours. I’ve also heard about Mirolax; it’s a clear liquid that you can mix in with other liquids. I’ve never had it though so I can’t speak from personal experience as to whether it burns going down or causes cramping.
Hope this helps and you feel better soon.
You could also take colace capsules. They are very small and slide right down because they have a gel coating. You could probably get them down easier in some jello or apple sauce. Most importantly, you have to keep drinking water and stay hydrated. The reason you are having trouble is because all pain meds cause dehydration. Also don’t be afraid to get suppositories. Fleet works best. It makes it much easier to go. Honestly you don’t want to let it build up because it hurts like hell when you finally have to. Trust me I know because I had a major neck surgery back in July and had the same problem. Good luck!