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,
I just turned 50 and had my tonsillectomy done this past Friday. I’m on day three and things aren’t near as bad as I had feared. There are a lot of horror stories about how bad the recovery can go, so I’m real happy with the progress so far. I did have to go get a blood vessel re-cauterized yesterday, since I was experiencing some bleeded at night. Besides that, the doctor said everything else looked great and he couldn’t believe it had only been 24 hours since the surgery.
Thank you so much for all your tips and suggestions. I picked up a humidifier, am using frozen peas as regular ice packs, and drinking lots and lots of cold water and popsicles. For protein, I am eating plain egg salad. It seems to go down easy. I’m also trying to stay away from dairy as that seems to gunk things up. I would attribute my smooth recovery (so far) to the tips I found here.
Thanks again, Greg (and everyone here who posted their experiences).
Welcome Doug! Glad things are going along ok. Please keep us posted!
Just want to drop a quick note on how things have progressed. It’s been a little over a month and I’m OK. At a follow-up visit with my doctor, he told be a few specifics about the operation.
1. I had the biggest tonsils he had ever seen.
2. When he went to grab them during the operation, they shredded apart and disintegrated. He said this was due to the years of infection.
3. Usually, 2/3 of the tonsil is exposed and 1/3 is below the surface of the throat. Mine were so large that a full 2/3 were buried under the surface and he had to dig them out (with a melon baller, I presume).
4. A usual tonsillectomy takes him about 20 minutes. My operation was over an hour.
5. With my abnormal circumstances, there’s no telling how long the recovery time will be.
I went back to work after ten days, but needed the pain medication for about three weeks. Not so much for pain, but I would have wild coughing fits when I stopped the meds. Luckily, my doctor prescribed the Oxy freely, in fact I’ve still got a full bottle leftover.
Everyone says it, but it bears repeating: Drink plenty of fluids. After that, drink twice as much. I also had a humidifier blowing toward me while I slept, so I didn’t find the need to wake up every few hours. After the first couple of days, I pretty much was sleeping through the night, although elevated via three pillows. It was 2 weeks before I could even think about eating regular food. Between the intense tonsillitis prior to the operation and the operation/recovery, I lost 30 lbs.
After this much time, I’m only experiencing a few problems. I still have the occasional coughing fit, but they are not too bad. The main problem is that my throat always feels dry. It doesn’t matter how much water I drink, it still feels dry. It’s not actually dry, it just *feels* that way and can be very annoying. I imagine that it is simply part of the healing process and the nerves will get back to normal at some point.
So, add my experience to the “it’s not as bad as they say” column. This is coming from the guy with the biggest tonsils ever and two ginormous holes in his throat.
Hi Doug,
Thanks for posting this. I am getting mine out in the morning, and am very nervous. I’ve been reading through this site religiously for about a month. Your comment just eased my nerves in the 11th hour. If you did so well with such preparation I have high hopes.
Thanks for posting!
Good Luck, Miriam! Drink lots of water. Apple juice is good too. And Popsicles! I couldn’t have made it without my Big Sticks.
One thing I didn’t mention: Drinking through a straw was absolute agony. Especially if it was thick liquid like a smoothie.
Try using biotene products for that dry feeling. I realize you posted this a month ago but if anyone else is experiencing the same thing biotene toothpaste, spray and mouthwash is really helpful.
surgery schedule for 16th of October, Scared to death. 55 years old male tonsils have grown 3-4 times normal. very low pain threshold
Hi Gregg, firstly thankful so much for creating this website, I am finding it both really helpful and really comforting as I endure this awful process of recovery. I wanted to ask you a specific question if I may? Last night I had what I can only describe as a panic attack , I was trying to clear my throat in a way I did when I had tonsils, but of course it didn’t work, and it it felt really odd. In addition the back of my Tongue area felt strange really really dry, and as I tried to swallow to make it moist, I couldn’t get the swallow reflex for a second. This really freaked me out and I has to sit constantly sipping water and swallowing for about 15 mins until I calmed down. I have never had a panic attack in my life and wondered if it could be my medication causing me to get anxious, or if it is just part of the recovery process? I had really bug tonsils by the way, and there feels like a huge empty cavern at the back of my mouth now which feels a bit scary, now the swelling has gone.
Hi Nicky- glad you find the site helpful. You know, I read of LOTS of people having panic attacks during their recovery. I don’t think that I did, but many have. I guess I assumed that they may have had a history of them, but you bring up an interesting question. I think I’ll research whether there is an increase in panic attacks or anxiety for people on pain killers. Thank you and best of health to you
Thanks Greg for replying, I have never had them before, but I think the route of is it my mouth is making no saliva at all and therefore dry as a bone this past two days. This is meaning i can’t swallow properly and this is then making feel anxious and want to swallow all the time . I am doing all the things I can such as sipping and drinking water,sucking ice and chewing gum. I had the doctor come this morning ( extremely unusual for me) He changed my medication and has prescribed some diazepam, however I am reticent to take it just yet as has never been on anxiety medication before and I am 46!
I just hope my mouth eases a bit which I think may help. Any further info you have , would be very much appreciated , if you find anything. Thanks again Nicky.
I started to research- Here’s what I have so far…https://tonsillectomyrecovery.com/panic-attacks-after-tonsillectomy/
I am on Day 5 post-op after having my tonsils out on September 4, 2013.
Waking up from anesthesia was interesting. All I remember is the amount of pain that I was in and how dizzy I was from the anesthesia. Not only does the back of my mouth hurt, but you can clearly see distinct lines on my tongue where they clamped my tongue down. Sometimes I wonder which one hurts worse, where my tonsils used to be or my tongue. I am having a little bit of referred pain to my ears but it’s not bad at all.
The first day or two I was great and didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. However, on the 3rd day the pain hit me and I was pretty much stationed on the couch all of that 3rd day. The pain was the worst on the night of the 3rd day. It was never unbearable but it did get to the point that it brought me to tears once. My suggestion would be to NOT try to be a tough person and stop taking scheduled pain medication. TAKE THE PAIN MEDS ON A TIMED SCHEDULE even if you have to set an alarm to wake you up.
The most helpful thing to me was my Crane Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. It got me through several nights that I slept longer than I was supposed to without drinking water/ice. The next most helpful thing was my Hamilton Beach Ice Shaver. It made just the right size of ice that melts quick and fits in my mouth. The foods that I found were helpful (but you will be completely sick of by the end of this) is jello, mashed potatoes, sherbet and shaved ice (any flavor). I added macaroni and cheese on day 4, although it does take me a long time (about 30 minutes) to eat a small bowl and I am exhausted after that.
There are only two annoying things that I found weren’t mentioned on here prior to my tonsillectomy:
1.) was that foot gets stuck in the pockets, where my tonsils used to be, when I eat anything semi-solid like macaroni and cheese. I have to go to the bathroom after I eat and use a q-tip to get the food out so it doesn’t start to stink. As far as the scabs go, I think the scabs are just starting to form. I have always had a white colored, thick scab-like substance covering these spots though. I’m not exactly sure what the scabs exactly look like.
2.) That there constantly feels like there’s a huge ball of phlegm sitting right behind my uvula. I’m not allowed to cough or ‘hack’ or do anything to get it out, and I have tried drinking water, water and more water to try to get it to go away. However, nothing helps. I’ve finally just given up.
I am a 19 year old male. I had a similar problem to a few others who have posted previously. I would get strep consistently at least once a year and as much as 3 times in one year. However, it never was a problem to the point that my doctors thought I should get my tonsils out until this year when my strep infection in early March triggered an autoimmune skin rash called guttate psoriasis that I am still fighting to this day. I decided to get my tonsils out to decrease the chance of getting strep throat in the future and having my guttate psoriasis re-flare. My surgery was August 7th, so today is day 7. Overall, I did very well with the surgery and recovery. I scared myself before the surgery by reading all of these posts, but my experience was far from all of these horror stories.
Day 1 I only ate a couple apple sauces and hard boiled egg whites, but I continuously pounded ice water.
Day 2 I found that buttered macaroni noodles with small chunks of rotisserie chicken tasted really good and went down very easily. I also bought Gatorade Recovery which has 18g of protein and lots of sugar. I highly recommend incorporating both of these into your post-op diet.
By day 3 I was eating Perkin’s pancakes and fried rice.
Day 4 and on I pretty much ate anything soft that sounded tasty, McDonald’s hamburgers, hot dogs, LeAnn Chin’s chinese, etc…
My biggest advice is to constantly drink ice water! Whenever my cup ran out I would fill it up. Also, stay on top of your pain meds. I would wake up in the middle of the night four hours after my last dose of lortab and drink a glass of ice water and take more lortab. Also, return to normal foods at whatever pace you can as it will only help with recovery.
Best of luck to any of you dreading your tonsillectomies!
Another note: For me the pain was never unbearable. Other than day 1, it was basically equivalent to having strep throat. My ear would make a clicking noise when I moved my jaw, but that has pretty much stopped as of today. I had a slight headache when I woke up on day 5, but that might have been due to stopping the pain meds.