Tonsillitis,Tonsil Stones, and Tonsillectomy Recovery
Tonsillectomy recovery can be a long dark tunnel. With all the anxiety leading up to tonsillectomy surgery, and all the challenges of recovering from a tonsillectomy, a patient can easily become overwhelmed. The best weapon a tonsillectomy patient can arm them self with is information. Knowledge is truly power. Going into surgery unprepared is the most common mistake made. Your doctor, while trained in treating tonsil problems like tonsillitis, strep throat, and tonsil stones is an excellent resource. If you and your doctor decide that a tonsillectomy is the right choice, your job is to arm yourself with the best information you can and, perhaps more importantly, tonsillectomy recovery. I’ve maintained a forum for patients recovering from the surgery for several years. Most patients report that their Doctor’s attention quickly wanes after discharge. Many people complain that after their tonsillectomy, their doctor was pretty hard to get a hold of. The key to successful planning is self advocacy. Planning for tonsillectomy must begin weeks before surgery. Get support from your health care provider, your job, your family, your friends, and other tonsillectomy patients. We’ve built an amazing community of adults considering, anticipating and experiencing tonsillectomy recovery.
Tonsillectomy for me was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. After a lifetime of chronic tonsillitis, strep throat, tonsil stones, and sleep apnea, a couple weeks of pain and anxiety were a small price to pay. Three years ago, when I finally made the decision, there wasn’t much support for patients considering a tonsillectomy or recovering from one. The internet was like an ugly landscape of random horror stories and snake oil salesmen with cures for tonsil stones, bad breath, and belly fat. I decided to create a one stop resource for adults considering or recovering from tonsillectomy.
Tonsillectomy Recovery Resources is a place you can research topics relating to tonsils and tonsillectomy. I’ve experienced and researched topics like tonsil stones, tonsillitis, strep throat, tonsillectomy methods, oral thrush, and tonsillectomy recovery time.
I learned a great deal about tonsillectomy as an adult. In particular, I learned that it would have been better to undergo the surgery as a child. Tonsillectomy recovery as an adult is much tougher. There are however numerous tonsillectomy recovery tips that can make the experience a little easier. Simple practices like drinking and drinking and drinking can have profound positive impact upon your tonsillectomy recovery.
Tonsillectomy recovery tips like chewing gum to alleviate referred ear pain are not obvious or intuitively logical, but can make all the difference when nothing else seems to help. I’ve collected, researched and shared many of these morsels of wisdom and published them all here in one place to help others.
Tonsillectomy recovery questions like yours may have already been asked and answered. Try searching the site using the Google search box at the right side of the page. Type in a term like, “tonsil stones, ” or, “tonsils,” and see what you find. Feel free to comment on most of the pages of the site. Open and active communication is what makes this community such a valuable resource for everyone considering tonsillectomy or in the middle of tonsillectomy recovery.
Relax and be yourself. Ask questions, share concerns, and offer support. It’s our community. Thank you for joining us!
-Greg Tooke
From Our Readers
Read what our Facebook friends had for advice to adults preparing for tonsillectomy:
I posted another question for our Face Book friends. This is a group of about 350 adults who have had a tonsillectomy within the past five years. It’s an amazing community of supportive and thoughtful adults without tonsils. 
I wanted to assemble a collection of tips for new patients who are planning tonsillectomy surgery- particularly adults since they have a more difficult recovery, but also because they would typically be the ones doing preparation for themselves or a child.
Tonsillectomy Recovery For Adults – How to Prepare
So here is the question:
If I could recommend one product to someone preparing for tonsillectomy it would be___________.
And here are the responses;
Grace- Water!
Mari Re- A snow cone maker-a must!!
Dayna – Humidifier!
Dee- Do a lot of good deeds before so when ur praying for relief he will help ya. Seriously. Water is great and a humidifier helped me greatly.
Shiva – Coma
Sarah -Ice chips… if morphine isn’t available
Katie-DONT DO IT!!!!!
Shannon – Toradol
Jean – Water, a recliner, and a humidifier.
Meghan- Percocet.
Misty – After pain meds it would be pudding for me.
Donna- water
Kate-Several big flexible ice packs–always keep one in the freezer so it’s ready to go whenever you need one.
Kierstin -If you live in the US sonic crushed ice saved my life ! You can purchase it in a bag like at the grocers, and it’s tiny enough to lodge between the back of your tongue and scabs, and just rough enough when you swallow it, it scratches the back of your throat just delicately enough to semi relieve irritated ears ! Seriously I cried for this ice over a few day period haha
Bethany -My brother-in-law owns an amazing gelato company. He made me the most delicious mango sorbet. Even when my throat hurt bad and I really didn’t want to eat before taking my meds, I could always get excited for some delicious sorbet
Jean -I would agree with the flexible ice packs! Ice was my life saver!
Karen -Cool mist humidifier
Vickie -Straws
Hollie – Liquid medications! Tablets just wouldn’t go down
Doug -water
Kiersten- Instant mashed potatoes! I know….gross but a lifesaver
Kiersten -Lol-I thought pain meds and water was a given!!!!
Jayne-Hard drugs!!
Diana – 2 weeks to recover
Rhiannon – Pop ice and a cool mist humidifier
William -A humidifier
Rosie – Jello, peaches, netflix, and hot bathes.
Christy-After pain meds, the magic mouthwash, mashed potatoes after you can somewhat eat. Go to an urgent care if you are starting to get dehydrated. I lost 14lbs in 7 days.
William -Magic mouthwash?
Tonsillectomy Resources Wow! Great stuff. Thanks everybody!
Brandi – Pain meds and Sonic ice chips – I think I would have died without both!
Chente-Pain meds.
Crista – Ice packs!
Chente -Also- Thought I would pass along something re: magic mouthwash just to make others aware so it doesn’t happen to them. At one point after using the wash and I swallowed to pass saliva, my mouth and throat were numb and the saliva just kinda sat in my throat and I couldn’t pass it and then I choked and started coughing really bad. That isn’t what you want to do after a tonsillectomy. So just be careful and swallow with caution!
Beth Ann – Ensure or Boost drinks
Jina -Humidifier, ice packs, crushed ice with water. Boost drinks in the beginning for energy.
Kitty – An alarm to remind the next med and note pad to write down the meds as taken. It was hard to remember in the middle of the night. Both help to keep meds on board and the pain at bay.
Christina -Ice and pain meds
Chente -Pain med journal!
Rachael – Pain reliever in liquid form.
Hi all,
I am not sure where the best place to post it, but I am scheduled to have my tonsils out on November 9, 2012. I am 32 female-I have three small children-and am super scared of this surgery and mostly, the recovery. I am praying that I can catch a break and that it won’t be as bad as I’ve heard. I have had three c-sections and sinus surgery so I’ve at least has some experience with painful recovery time. Wanted to see if anyone else was scheduling theirs close to mine and also ask if anyone had any advice to help me get through this?! Thank you!
Hi Jennifer- This is s good page to post. Do you have some help with the kids? you will need it! Read through all the stuff on the site. I’ve spent year putting together the info I think people need. best of luck to you- drink, drink, drink!!!
Hi Jennifer,
I had a tonsilectomy in March this past year. I was 34. Medicine generally doesn’t make me sick but the roxicet made me very sick. they gave me an antinausea patch which REALLY helped. I did not give myself enough time. I took a week off but to be honest, the first couple days I slept. It was the 5-10 days that were the roughest. As already posted, make sure you have help!!! You will be in pain and exhausted- not a good combination with kids!!
I know it sounds rough- it is for 2 weeks but it is totally worth if after the fact.
Good luck!!
Hi Greg, thank you! I am a bit lost with the forum, where should I post to be in the current forum (April 2012)? This one seems to be March 2012. Sorry!
sorry for confusion. old forum seems to have maxed out. i pointed to new one. if you click the menu tab at top right, “tonsillectomy forum.” you should have company soon. take care
Hi everyone! I hope everyone is well recovering after the tonsillectomy. I had mine in England, but English is not my mother tongue, so apologies for my language mistakes. I was really scared of the surgery but it went ok. I was joking with the hospital staff just before the surgery, so it wasn’t too stressful. The first and second days I felt really well – I could eat, talk and just felt a bit tired. I was telling myself that the worst is in the past and I thought that the worst thing was the surgery. I was really wrong… It was the third day when the pain started. I was taking codeine as a drug which was horrible as I couldn’t eat anything (not only because of the pain but especially as I was feeling sick after codeine). I’m now on my day 8 and I feel like the pain will never leave me! The interesting thing is that I don’t have that pain all the time – I take the pain killers and I feel ok during the day. When I go to sleep I have a horrible pain in my throat and ears. I have the same pain in the morning when I wake up. It hurts so much! I can’t talk too much but I’m trying to eat and I can manage it. I try to drink a lot of fluids and I drink lots of cold chocolate milk which is great for my throat. Before my surgery I was working a lot, doing plenty of activities, socialising and I feel really sad to stay at home for such a long time. Can anyone advise me if it is ok for me to go back to work on Monday? Is there a lot of risk of getting worse? When did you go back to work after your surgery? Many thanks and take care.
Anika- Welcome!
I really think that 10 days is the minimum recovery time, with two weeks being better.
Take care,
Greg
Just curious…how much weight have people lost during this?
I have lost about 7 pounds and I’m on Day 10 of my recovery.
Day 6…..I’m so done with this 🙁 Emotionally I’m done. My kids are ready for me to be better. My husband is ready too. I am now feeling stress to get back to work.
One hour I feel okay and the next I feel absolutely awful. I’m going to try to not take the Roxicet today..it has been making me so sick.
Please just can I feel better soon 🙁
Meghan, I so understand how you feel. Yesterday i starting feeling really well. Thought maybe the worst is over. Then it hit me again late last night. Stinging ears, stinging throat all over again. Back to the Roxicet and ice packs. Depressing. Trying to get back to normal, but it takes time. Don’t feel guilty about trying to get back to work, your body needs to heal. Take care of yourself.
Thanks Suzanne. I’m sorry you are going through this but glad to know I’m not alone 🙂
Last night was scary. I was lying in bed and tasted blood. I turned the light on and I was beeding a fairly good amount (just about he 2 ablespoons they say to go to the er). I started to panic when it wouldn’t stop but after about 20 minutes and some ice water it finally stopped.
I know I’m now in the stage where the scabs are coming off. I ca feel them and It feels like there are a million pieces of glass in my throat. To be honest though, I’m happy to be here as this means I’m making progress and hopefully the end is in sight 🙂
How are you doing now? Hang in there!
How scary! Did you call your Dr., mine told me there should be no blood afterwards. Last night was painful, got up twice for ice packs and medicine. Trying to chew gum to suppress pain instead of pain med this morning. Dont like the way medicine is messing up my stomach. Am dying for some iced coffee. Think I will try some. By the way, i’ve lost 7 pounds since Thursday. Sick of soup, and can’t even look at jello.
How Scary! Did u tell your Dr., mine told me there should be no blood. Last night was painful, woke up twice for ice packs and pain medicine. Am trying to chew gum now to suppress pain. Really dont want to take any more Roxicet, its messing up my stomach. Am dying for an iced coffee, think i will try. So sick of soup and can’t even look at jello. By the way, i’ve lost 7 lbs.
No, I didn’t call my dr. I probably should have but I didn’t.
I tried an iced coffee yesterday but after a few sips couldn’t drink it anymore. That seems to be the same with everything! I had a rough night…terrible pain and earaches but my mood is still somewhat better as I’ve made it a week. Somewhere in my mind if I could make it to the week marker I knew I’d start to feel better soon. Not yet but almost 🙂 How are you today?
Hey Meghan, Good to hear from you. I was worried after you mentioned the bleeding. Glad that stopped. Last night was also rough for me. Couldnt get pain meds in fast enough. I understand what others mean by stabbing pain. Daytime surprisingly is much better for me. As long as Im up and constantly sipping I feel somewhat normal. Nights, however, is much different. Hopefully, we have passed the worst of it. My poor dog probably thinks Im dying. Just lays by me all day, he’s not eating either. Husband asked if I wanted to go for a short walk yesterday. I havent left the house all week. Actually got my shoes on, walked out to the backyard for about 5 min. Couldnt do it, had to go back in and rest, pressure in my ears. Pretty worthless right now. Thank goodness for laptops. Mine has a permanent place in my bed now.
I could have written your post ..about my dog and the laptop 🙂
I’m afraid to say this….but I feel really good today! I’ve eaten more today than the past week combined! Are you eating any better now? I bet your energy will be back once you do. I’m scared for the night…..the nights have been so bad. But I’ll take a good day 🙂
On a funny note, I left the house for the first time today. I went to get an iced coffe at dunkin donuts by myself (!). I never realized how bad I sounded until it took 2 different girls to figure out what I was asking for lol
I have to admit, my other savior has been pinterest for completely taking my mind off this!
Hope you are doing better!!!
Your trip to Dunkins made me laugh! Can so relate to that, my tongue gets so swollen I have ridges from my teeth on it. So bizarre. I love Dunkin’s coffee. Maybe i’ll be brave and venture out tomorrow. Today was pretty good. Take care.
Hey Meghan! How’s your recovery coming along now? Hard to believe that it has now been 11 days since our surgeries. I am doing really well. Actually took my daughter to a ballet performance and ate dinner out 2 nights ago, although being extremely cautious as to what I eat. Scabs are almost gone, thank goodness. Stopped all pain medication around the seventh day. All in all, I feel pretty lucky that I have recovered this quickly. Hope you are doing well!!
Hi Suzanne- I meant to post yesterday but it was my first real day back at work and I was so busy. Glad to hear you are doing well!! I’m doing good. Great compared to a week ago 🙂 I still have 1 spot at the lower back corner of my mouth that hurts- feels like a big kanker sore really. I can so live with that though. I have to be careful with what I eat but physically I’m back. Dying to get out for a run…..On Sunday I took the kids to the mall. It was going great until we stopped for smoothies….it hit my sore spot and sent searing pain into my ear and we had to go home. But all in all things are much better. So glad this is over with!! oh…are you still talking funny? At times I am….other times fine.
Suzanne- Are you still having any pain? I have one spot that is still pretty sore. I can’t eat any spice or chocolate or tomatoe anyrhing…if I do this spot sears in pain. I think it may be the part that bled that night so maybe its just taking longer to heal. Not sure. I’ll see the doc next week so if it’s not better by then I’ll ask. Hope you are well!!
Hey Meghan, I actually haven’t tried anything spicy yet. Although I’m really missing our usual Mexican dinner out. I think I’ll wait a few more days to try anything that spicy. My doctors appt is next Tuesday, I’m curious to see what he has to say about the tonsils. One was so large. As far as pain, I still feel like I have a very mild sore throat. But It doesn’t really bother me much. Still haven’t returned to work. Arranged my schedule so that I would have almost 4 weeks off. I was really scared that I would need that much time off (prepared for the worst). I’m a night shift nurse and staying up all night without much time to drink probably would not have helped with my recovery. I would be careful about that spot in your throat and stay away from the spicy stuff for now. Do you think you may still have a scab? Keep me posted : )