Tonsillectomy Recovery Day 11 and Beyond

Tonsillectomy Recovery after Day Eleven

 

At some point I hope to add pages for day 12, day 13, day 14, day 15, day 16, and another page for days 17,18,19, and 20.  For now, please share your tonsillectomy recovery experiences here.  I wish you the very best of health!



  1. ty
    Hey. Its me again. Had the surgery last week and OMG! The worst days of my life. I will make it but geeze!! This sucks bad. I had to read your comments again because I began to get depressed, lol. Im driving my husband and doctor crazy by keep asking them how long will this last. Its good hearing from someone that understands the process and pain. Your experiences are helping me through girl. Thanks again:)

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    1. Kate
      Horrible flashbacks reading your message Ty! I have just returned from a business trip, meeting lots of new people, and I didn’t have to worry about my breath: so liberating and confidence building. I discovered that one of my colleagues had her tonsils removed 2 years ago – when I happened to mention that I was just a few weeks on from my operation, she gave me a big bear hug because she could empathise with my more recent experience. You WILL eat, sleep and enjoy life again – I promise! Stay positive: you made the right decision.

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  2. Kate
    I am now four weeks post surgery (in the UK), and life is good! I had a tonsillectomy due to tonsil stones (I had small, pitted tonsils, and was unable to remove the stones myself, whatever method I tried) – private medical insurance and a past history of throat infections helped get me the surgery. I knew it was a drastic option, but I was prepared to do ANYTHING to solve my bad breath problems. I did nearly cancel when I read this forum the day before surgery though! But I didn’t, and I survived, and my tonsil stones and bad breath are finally GONE!Having found this forum so much help during the dark days post-surgery, I wanted to share my experience/what helped me. If you are about to have surgery, or are still in recovery, I can promise you it will get SO much better in a few days – hang in there!1. Don’t plan ANYTHING for the two weeks post surgery – and make sure you book at least two weeks off work. Days 5 – 8 were the worst for me, although in total I had about 10 days of constant pain/medication and sleep deprivation.
    2. I cried A LOT on day one – a mixture of the anesthesia/trauma, relief at getting through surgery, and pain! I had one night in hospital.
    3. Sucking on crushed ice helps a lot – make sure you have some in stock. I did not use a humidifier – we didn’t want to pump damp air into our bedroom!
    4. Take as much pain medication as you can – I used Tramadol, ibuprofen and paracetamol – you will not get addicted, and you WILL need them. But keep a drug diary so you can recall what drugs you took and when – you will not remember!
    5. Sleeping with my face/throat on a hot water bottle helped me a lot in days 5+: your throat muscles tighten up in response to the surgery, and I think this helped relax me a little
    6. The nights were the worst, as I would wake up in a lot of pain and then struggle to swallow more medication/get back to sleep. Listening to the radio really helped get me through the dark, lonely hours. My husband moved into the spare bed for the first 10 days, to ensure he could get some sleep and I could thrash around the bed as much as I needed to get comfortable!
    7. In the UK we are advised to eat rough food e.g. toast when we can. I did manage this a couple of times, but I mostly lived on soup (no bread!), fish in sauce (you can buy this frozen in handy microwaveable pouches), yogurt, porridge and hot chocolate. I tried making smoothies but the fruit was too acidic and hurt my throat. There were a couple of days when I could not face eating anything due to the pain. I did not get constipated, and I did not lose much weight – because I spent two weeks resting, and most of what I DID eat was high calorie!
    8. You will be too tired to read much – have a good set of DVDs on standby
    9. I did not have any bleeding. I felt so ill that completely resting in the first week was an easy option – and I made sure I had someone on call in the first few days, just in case
    10. I was able to speak on all days, although about half an hour of conversation was enough
    11. I went for my first short walk one week after surgery. Four weeks on, I am now exercising as normal – running, swimming and pilates.
    12. I stopped regular pain relief on about day 15, having gradually cut down on what I was taking.
    13. I gradually re-introduced different types of food after two weeks. I still have a sticky feeling in the back of my throat, which I expect to disappear over the coming weeks.My tonsillectomy recovery was the worst 10 days of my life. But ridding myself of tonsil stones is one of the best things I ever did!

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    1. Ty
      Thank you for sharing. I also have tonsil stones and thought I may be going to far getting surgery to remove them. I’m a married woman and nothing’s is more damaging to a marriage than insecurity. TMI, I know just wanted to say thanks for sharing your experience. I’m going forwadr with the surgery.

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      1. Kate
        I am also married (and 47 – forgot that bit!) and would not even discuss the problem with my husband. So I feel your insecurity! It will hurt a lot – stay focused on the goal and remember that in a few days you will be much better, and also liberated!

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  3. Ellen Howard
    Day 9 of my recovery.I’m not sure how relevant this will be to anyone because I’m not entirely sure how common it is. I’m just turned 18 and have been having a lot of problems with my tonsils for the best part of three years. One thing I always found when digging out those god awful tonsil stones was that my tonsils were extremely prone to bleeding – something my ENT surgeon also found out on the day of the op!He said no one in his experience had bled that much in a tonsillectomy procedure in years. I had to be stitched right up on my right side and let me tell you, we all know how sore recovery is without stitches right? Imagine being wheeled out of theatre with those bad boys in you. It’s been sore, for the first few days it was the actual space at the top of the back of my throat that was painful and white and scabby. I was throwing up old blood so frequently (and a lot of it might I add) that I couldnt keep anything down; not food, not painkillers. It was awful.But I powered through and ate as much as I could, despite the pain, because I thought ‘you know what I’ve put up with enough sh*t from my tonsils this time I’m gonna show ‘em what I’m made of!’ And after about day three or four the pain subsided from my tonsil bed area and is now a horrible stingy/achy feeling further down my throat, which apparently is due to the whole stitching procedure, I guess a lot of tubes were bumped around in this process and it’s seriously bruised me inside. I find the pain really hits me at night and I’m starting to get severe earaches to accompany that, which is nice! My co-codamol painkillers ran out days ago so I’m going strong on paracetamol and Diclofenac.

    I hope everyone else is managing to power through! Just think of all the tonsillitus and nasty tonsil stones that you’re gonna get to avoid for the rest of your life! Remember, at most this recovery process is going to take 17-20 days, which in perspective, is more than worth it to be tonsil free!

    Stay safe xxx

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  4. Lindsey
    I am a 24 year old female, I had my tonsils removed on July 23. I had my tonsils removed due to horrid tonsil stones. Let me start off by saying DRINK WATER NO MATTER HOW BAD IT HURTS!!!! Day 1: after procedure you’re so loopy from meds it flys by. I was offered a blue slushing and teddy Graham’s. 8 bags of teddy Graham’s later I am ready to keave!! After surgery I even had McDonald’s I don’t even remember eating it. Throat was numb all day long. I received percocet 5mg. All you will want to do is sleep. Have someone wake you up to drink and take meds!!Day 2: pain was still tolerable I started taking the pain medication every 4 hours so the pain doesn’t get out of control. I was eating mash potatoes ( the pre made bob Evans kind was the smoothest), I noticed ice cold water stung my throat so room temperature worked. I was drinking every 20 mins to keep the throat moist. Sleeping was horrible, I ended up sleeping on couch so my head would be propped up. Waking up every 45 mins to sip water, you get no sleep at all. I didn’t want my throat to dry out because it is so painful. I set my alarm every 4 hours so I would take my medicine.Day 3,4,5: Worst days ever! Extreme pain 10/10, that pain medicine didn’t help! Ear pain started kicking in. I had ice constantly on my throat to keep swelling down. Scabs were formed in back of throat very thick. Drinking water was a task. Everytime I swallowed felt like razorblades. I had to force myself to eat. Ended up getting a blood clot on my left tonsil on day5 and started bleeding. On call dr told me to drink ice cold water and it helped. Woke up after and blood clot resolved on its own. I was having mini hot flashes all day.Day 6: I felt like a new person. Pain was a 6/10. I was eating drinking taking my neds around the clock

    Day 7,8,9: scabs started falling off day 7. It feels like something is caught in back of throat when them fall off. Throat is very sensitive after they fall off that any liquid or food stings the throat. I have bumped my meds down to 1 pill every 4 hours instead of 2 pills. Sleeping longer through the night.

    Day 10 and on: pain has started to be controlled with Motrin. I feel 100% better!! I am starting to eat solid foods. I had PBJ sandwhich and it was easy to go down. I feel back to my normal self. Throat still hurts but just like it would as a sore throat.

    I think keeping myself hydrated non stopped helped with my speedy recovery. I go back to wk in a few days and feel comfortable going back. I still have to drink water so throat doesn’t get dry. My scabs are 75% gone. I’ve had someone with me the whole time and you DO need that. Milk never seemed to cause the phlegm in my throat as others posted. It soothed the burning. I lived off mash potatoes and chick n star soup mix for the first days. Keep taking medication when it’s due so pain stays under control!! Take the full two weeks off dr reccomends because you will need it. I would do this surgery again knowing it is going to cure my tonsil stones and stinky breath! Sorry this blog is all over the place my mind is going crazy! I hope everyone as a good recovery as well as I’ve had!

Check out our new tonsillectomy recovery video- Caution: Not always pretty

A collection of various experiences of adult tonsillectomy patients after their tenth day of tonsillectomy recovery
From thousands of post comments to the tonsillectomy recovery forum, I am assembling a sampling of various accounts and impressions of tonsillectomy recovery for each day. Below I share comments about tonsillectomy recovery after day 11. These comments are 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
Depression After Tonsillectomy?

-Greg Tooke 

343 comments

  1. I’m finally on day 11 of my recovery, I last posted on day 3, and well, it’s been quite a ride since then. I was one of the few people to experience severe post op bleeding on days 6 and 7 and had to be rushed to the ER 2 times. I’m only 25, and I have to say my whole perspective on life has dramatically changed in the last few days. The first bleeding episode was succeeded by severe pain and pressure in the ears and in my jaw, It built all night. I tried ice, narcotics, but nothing alleviated the pain. Finally the pain just released, but i was also gushing blood from my mouth. In total I lost about 2 pints of blood, it slowed and I managed to drive myself to the ER. The bleeding stopped on its own, but I was on an IV for 8hrs while under observation before being released. All felt great afterwards, and I actually got some sleep. The next day the pain returned and I had the ominous feeling that I was in for another bleeding episode. Lone behold 30min later my throat is gushing again, but there was less blood this time, needless to say, my fiance was traumatized. I knew this was less severe, so i told her to cancel the 911 call and we went back to my ENT for a visit. He recauterized my scabs and took out my nose splints(from septoplasty) so it was nice to be able to finally breathe through my nose. I was put on steroids, which have greatly reduced swelling and pain. The first day back from the hospital was rough, but I have been steadily improving since. Oddly enough, my scabs are temperature sensitive, so all my food has to be slightly warmed. I’m hoping this goes away soon. So far no bleeding for the last few days, I’m hoping to be out of the woods. Despite the horrible experience of almost losing my life, I still think this procedure will be beneficial to me in the long run both physically and spiritually. The only advice I have to people is be ready for anything, always have someone with you, stay calm if things get ugly, and take at least 2 weeks from work. I greatly under estimated my recovery time, but luckily had plenty of time to take from work. Best of luck to anyone in recovery or thinking about the surgery. Don’t let my story dissuade you from the procedure if you can benefit from the surgery. I am a very rare case, this is NOT common at all. Best of luck!

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    1. Chris- I just read this. My goodness! What a ride indeed. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I think you’re right, and that your life will be improved from the surgery. I hope all goes smoothly from here on in. Take care.

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  2. I am 40 years old and am on day 16. I am still experiencing throat pain. Everything is still swollen, including my tongue. I can’t yawn without it feeling like my throat is ripping open. I am now starting to get ear pain also. I couldn’t eat for the first 5 days. Not even jello. I am off the pain pills, but still taking Tylenol. I didn’t have a bowel movement for 14 days. I was taking stool softener every day after the first week and still was having issues. I recommend trying to battle the constipation from the pain pills right off the bat. I still can’t eat normally. This was the worst thing I have ever been through and am still not convinced it was worth it. Sleep is still fleeting and I am so weak. But, I don’t snore like I did before the surgery. One good thing I guess….. Sipping water all the time helps a lot. I took two weeks off of work. Boy am I glad I did. I didn’t leave my bedroom except to pee for 5 days. Then I graduated to laying on the couch the second week when my husband went back to work. I could not do anything but lay around for two weeks. I have been back to work for four days but can’t work a full 8hr shift yet. I just want a cheeseburger or a big ass sandwich. I have lost 10lbs from this ordeal. I can’t wait till I am completely healed.

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  3. I am on Post op day 11. 23 years old. This has been a rough experience for me, but this website helped me out tremendously.
    Last night/this morning I woke up every 2 hours because of terrible pain in my right ear. My right side has hurt extremely worse than my left. It has been a few nights since the earaches has started . I can not get off my narcotics yet, because the pain is so severve nothing else helps. My throat feels a lot better, I think that most of the scabs are done. It’s still hard for me to talk and open my mouth though. Best of luck to everyone.

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    1. Hi, I’m 25 and on day 13 post op. The experience has been rather painful but nothing prepared me for the ear pain which was unexpected. I am a teacher in England so the nurse recommended three weeks off. I’m now in my final week off work and there’s still no way that I’d be able to teach my kids. My speech is still slurred a bit and it hurts to burp and yawn! The worst days for me were day 4-8. I was not managing to eat anything and drinking was so painful. On day 6 I noticed a bit of blood at the back of my throat on one of the scabs and I had tasted it all through the day. I rang the doctor and he told me to go to hospital to get it checked out. I ended up staying in for two nights as I was dehydrated so had fluids through an IV. I was also told that my throat had become infected so I was given antibiotics and countless painkillers. After two nights in hospital I felt so much better. I’d actually managed to eat food – it took me ages, but I was eating!
      Now on day 13, it does still hurt to swallow but I’m managing without painkillers. I’m sleeping flat and I am talking a bit more everyday. I’ve still got some antibiotics to take…augmentin 625mg – they are knocking me out and making my tummy a bit unhappy but I’m not complaining! I’m due back at work on 10th feb. hopefully I will be ready. I guess my message really is if you every taste any bleeding or see even just the smallest amount GO AND GET IT CHECKED OUT! I felt stupid going to A&E but the do tors and nurses were very kind and said I’d done the right thing. 🙂 good luck everyone who is recovering from this not so minor operation!

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  4. I had a pretty serious bleed out my nose at 16 days post T&A. Had to make a trip to the ER. Anybody had bleeding so long after? The ER doc wasn’t too worried and didn’t give me any reason why!

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  5. I am just over 3 weeks post-surgery and had my follow up visit with my surgeon a couple days ago. He was very pleased with how everything looks and cleared me so I am good to go. I am not 100% pleased with how it looks as my throat is now very asymmetrical…apparently one tonsil was bigger/deeper than the other so he had to cut more on one side. My throat looks like a lopsided m. I am a little OCD I guess and this really bothers me…but I am not going to seek out cosmetic throat surgery to have it fixed! 🙂

    I am still taking a few tylenol each day to lessen the small amount of pain I still have. Yawning can still be quite painful at times. I have been sleeping flat for 3 nights now and that is going well. Last night was the first time I tried sleeping without the humidifier, and I woke up with my throat hurting. I guess I still need the humidifier. It is a bit dry here in Arizona.

    I am pretty much back to eating normal, except I have some irrational fear of potato chips. I haven’t even attempted those, not even the Maple Bacon Kettle Chips. Yesterday was my birthday and tomorrow I am having a party with cheese and crackers (the good stuff…not Handi-snaks). If I can eat the crackers without a problem, I can probably handle just about anything.

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