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.
I am a 41 yo stay-at-home homeschooler of a 2.5 yo daughter. (I’m pretty sure the fact that we’re teaching her sign language, as a second language course, will come in handy this week!)
I had my tonsils out this morning!
Ouch.
I haven’t been able to swallow anything but COLD water and liquid jello (extra water keeps it from solidifying), so far.
It hurts and it looks WICKED!!!
They told my husband to check my throat every hour or two for signs of bleeding…..I think they’re forgetting I’m not a child.
I can check my own throat! LOL Perhaps, on one of the 8 MILLION trips to the bathroom, with all the liquids!!! *sigh*
Here’s hoping Day 2 goes smoothly…..
PS – There is a BIG difference between a humidifier and a vaporizer…..GET A VAPORIZER!!!!!
Okay, obviously, I’m not going to say it doesn’t hurt…but my tongue hurts far worse than my throat! They accidentally pinched a little bit of it against my teeth when they clamped my tongue down! OUCH!!! It is seriously bruised and swollen. It feels almost like it doesn’t fit in my mouth!
I DID think I would be able to eat something by now…but it just isn’t happening. Some of that is due to my tongue, I think. I found that the baby food squeezers (they aren’t all fruit!) go down really well and with only minor additions (usually a tiny pinch of salt!) taste pretty good!!! So far, I especially like the Sprout brand Garden Vegetable & Turkey! It was a bit thick but tastes like corn chowder with turkey…not bad really!!!
We still buy the fruit, smoothie, and cereal ones for car trips with our daughter, so I have no problem buying extras of those kinds because if I don’t eat them…she will.
I found that you do NOT want to miss a dose of pain medicine though!!! Just an hour late, puts you in some kind of pain! It’s not unbearable…but why do it!!!
I have been running all over, as usual. I just wrote a few basic notes on cards (Excuse me for not talking…I just had my tonsils removed, Thank You!, etcetera) and took a note pad and pencil with me for other questions/answers.
YES…I can whisper without a problem but in a noisy grocery store…they can’t always hear you (especially at the deli counter, etcetera) and I didn’t want to risk having to raise my voice!
I had my mom chauffeur us around though as I have not been able to eat NEARLY enough to counter the medication enough to feel safe at driving! I certainly will NOT risk my toddler’s life for cat litter, a pound of bologna, and some eggs!!!
It hasn’t been TOO terribly bad, but I am glad you only need to do this ONCE!!!
Having mine out at 9:00 tomorrow, super nervous about the recovery. I almost wish I hadn’t searched the internet until after! I’m sure it’ll be better than the constant tonsillitis though.
Great blog you made. I’m having my tonsils removed on March 13th, 2013.
Hopefully it will go well(little to no bleeding).
I’m a 20/F, went in for tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy on 2/15. Today is day 5, including surgery day. I. Feel. AWFUL. The first day was great, Saturday and Sunday weren’t too bad either. Then Sunday night came. Nausea, pain, a dry, scraping feeling when I swallow. And, I can’t swallow all the way! I try taking little sips, and it seems to stop halfway down my throat and get stuck. It doesn’t hurt, but I’m afraid I’ll start choking and rip the scabs out.. I’ve taken up spitting instead of swallowing because it hurts so bad and I’m so afraid I’ll choke. I’ve been drinking nothing but water, and the mucus is sooooo bad! Does anyone else have this problem? I’m afraid to clear my throat too.. The medication they put me on is hydrocodone. I cannot stand it! It takes a good hour to kick in and then wears off around hour three, so I get maybe two hours of relief. The only problem is that it’s gotten to the point that it’s making me sick. I’ve finally decided that I’d rather feel the pain than the feeling that I might get sick. Also, I’ve noticed that today there was a little bit of blood when I spit, but no where near what they say worry about. Even with the pain, I think the worst thing is that I can smell how bad my breath is. I picked my daughter up yesterday and she said “ewwww, mommy, you smell like poop!”.. Yeah. I’ve entirely given up talking, as well. The mucus makes it too hard for me to form words.
I just had my tonsils out too. I totally understand where you are coming from. I have all the same issues. This sure is a tough surgery, I had no idea how much pain was coming and there is still a lot. I was not prepared for this at all.
I wanted to give everyone a bit of an update, **disclaimer: I am NOT trying to scare anyone**, I started hemorrhaging this morning around 6. I ended up going by ambulance to one ER, they did nothing for a few hours, and then I got transferred to a different ER, the one where my original ENT works. He got me all settled down, joked around with me (he’s a really good guy!), and did a suction thing to get some of the clots out. Well, it seemed that the bleeding stopped, so he gave me one of three options – 1. Go home, 2. Stay for observation until that evening or the next morning, or 3. Go directly to the operating room to have it redone. I chose option 2, and I am SO glad I did! My boyfriend came up to my room to sit with me until work, and just before he had to leave, I started bleeding again. Not awfully bad like early, but enough. Then it stopped again. My ENT came in to schedule some goofy name to fix the bleeds (this is around 1:15 p.m), and after we talked I asked to use the bathroom. As I was finishing, my mouth filled up with blood again. From here until I went back under (around 1:30), I was bleeding, gagging, crying, and vomiting blood/blood clots. I woke up around 3 and there was a little bit of dryness that some ice chips took care of, I got my scrip for Percoset, and my sister and I walked out the door just before 5 (I had to wait for her to get there). I filled my scrip when I got to my town, and here I am. 7 hours post-op (again), and there is no bleeding, no pain, no need for meds. I feel better than I did before my surgery. I’m worried about what could happen in the next few days, but my ENT said a second bought of bleeding, after it was fixed a first time, is so ridiculously unlikely that I shouldn’t even bother worrying about it.
Now, I’m not saying that if you start bleeding, you should just assume everything is hunky dory. If you’ve got blood draining from your mouth and there’s no way to stop it, CALL 911. The first paramedics said “nothing to worry about, you’ll be fine”. My ENT took me back in for further cauterization. If they start giving you crap, tell them you WILL be taken to the ENT who did your surgery and HE or SHE will tell you what they think is best. I’m really not trying to freak you guys out. I just want at least one person to see this, read this, and retain this. If, GOD FORBID, one of you reading this ends up going through what I did today, please remember to stay calm, don’t try to force anything out of your throat, lean forward and spit out everything, try not to swallow, and, most importantly, BREATHE. I got through it. I swear I’m the unluckiest person on the planet. Yesterday was my 21st birthday. The boyfriend and I went out, had dinner, came back to my place for some Big Bang Theory (it’s a tele show, nothing dirty!), and he left. I even asked him at the restaurant, “if I start bleeding, will you stay with me?” and he said “yes.” He left 8 hours before I started bleeding. I was alone in my apartment at 6 in the morning, freshish tonsillectomy, bleeding profusely into my sink. And here I am. Alive and (hopefully!!) well! Okay, that’s all I have to say for now. Take care, you guys. And thank you for listening to my (disgusting) day =D
Hi,
I am getting my tonsils out next month and I am worried. I have a compromised immune system and because of that I usually take twice as long to heal regular cuts and bruises so I’m a little worried about my recovery time. I am a full time college student and and have to get my tonsils removed during my finals week before spring break so i have almost two weeks recovery time. I worry how my bodies slow response time will effect my coming back to school.