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 on day 22, still feeling some pain in one side of throat, somedays i feel lime im progressing well, and others mot so much. I can constantly feel that swollen feeling when I swallow on one side. I had my post op yesterday and doctor said I look like im healing well. I have a high paced, talk alot, high stress job and I can definitely feel at times like I’m pushing to hard and those are the evenings that I tend to hurt the worst. Sometimes that pain dissolves by morning but others, sleep does not shake it off. I’m on day 3 of no pain meds but Advil, still feel I need something stronger at times, but am trying to keep moving forward without. My sleep is much better, and I can tell my airway is much better as well. However I have it stayed asleep the past few nights (even though I’m exhausted after long days at work). Hoping I feel more energetic tomorrow and to get a good nights rest. I will say that over all I have felt better each day, accept the past 2 days have been exhausting and a lot of sinus drainage.

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      1. i can definitly relate to this.Im on day 19 and i still have trouble eating from my throat being swollen.I have gotten to the stage where i would rather just eat liquids ha

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  2. Today is Day 10 for me and I know that I would not been able to get the past 10 days without the help of this website. I read through a lot of the pre-op stuff and felt prepared even though I was in denial that I would be in pain for so long. The first 2 days went as I expected. I was only on Roxicet and took it with no problem every 4 hrs. This medicine was my savior but also became the death of me. I slept so much the next 6 days. I only ate mashed potatoes, apple sauce, jello, popsicles and mac and cheese. On the evening of the 6th day, the crying started. I didn’t think much at first as I knew I was really tired. I had been at my parents house the majority of my recovery but by day 7 I was ready to go home. The crying got worse. I cried when I said goodbye to my mom. My dad dropped me off I cried when he said goodbye for about 3 or so hours. Again I brushed it off as being tired and maybe a little of the meds. It wasn’t til day 8 that I realized I had the post-op depression. I cried most of the morning and into the afternoon. I ended up calling the ENT. At first the nurse told me to drink more fluids and continue the medicine. Thankfully an hour later she called and told me to stop the Roxicet and take Motrin. This single move changed my world. Wednesday I was upbeat positive and piddled around my house some. By Thursday I felt so good I took an adventure out the first time.

    Today I still have minimal pain but able to start eating more. Sleep is a little difficult for me but I’m working on it. The scabs are still about 60% there so I know my journey isn’t over yet but I appreciate that this website was there with me every single day. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have someone else who is going through the same thing with me. My family would look at me like I was crazy and unsure of if I was healing or normal in the process of recovery. With the help of this website, I knew I wasn’t going crazy and I was not the only one. Thank you. Thank you to all who have shared. This is not a pleasant experience but misery loves company. Good Luck to all who read this. Take the time they tell you to take off and rest. I wasn’t a believer but you really do need it all.

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  3. 35/f I had my tonsils out on Feb 11 2013 I am on day 10 post op. I just wanted to say thank you for helping me prepare for my tonsillectomy and I believe it is because of this site that my recovery was easy breezy compared to some that I have read on here. My surgery day and the following were not terrible because the amount of pain killers I was taking made me sleep from on dose to the next. That however was not a good thing as I ended up in the hospital on day 3 with extreme dehydration. When I left the hospital after recieving 3 liters of fluid and steroids to help the swelling I felt like a new woman. I also am a recovering drug addict(15yrs clean) I refuse to be on pain killers for an extended amount of time. When I had my children via c-section I refused morphine drips afterwards. I was extremely nervous that was going to need them for the at least a week after this procedure but I didn’t. I took my last dose of pain killers the night I came home from the hospital. I have used liquid tylenol sore throat. Now I am not saying I wasn’t in pain because I was. I lived on Powerade, slim fast, and yogurt. I believe I psyched myself up so bad that I was petrified the morning of the procedure and I must say it has been nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Now I am slowly starting to eat “real food” but it still has to be soft. I ate a soft pretzel at the mall the other day that was a huge win! I wish you all the best in your recovery and thank you for being there for me through mine. I am still waiting for the most of the scabs to fall off and when I am able to eat again all i want is a burger from 5guys!

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  4. Well, it is day 13. I was supposed to return to work this morning….my recovery has been terrible…4 ER trips due to swelling and pain. I have been sick to my stomach since the surgery but has gotten much worse since my throat now has draining (since day 8). ate a meal lastnight….i puked it all up…puked this morning too…which is brutal on the throat…I will be callling my surgeon as soon as his office opens.

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    1. I’m experiencing the same problems. I was told it was due to taking my meds on an empty stomach. I’m on day 14 and back to work, even though I’ve lost my voice. Hope it gets better for you!

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  5. Hi folks,

    I’m 3 weeks post-op today and getting very frustrated.

    Throat is feeling … well, cramped, only way to describe it. I also feel like I’ve constantly got loads of phlegm/spit stuck at the back of my throat that I can’t get rid of. It’s driving me potty, to the point of gagging/feeling like being sick. Sometimes can move it with a cough/growl, but can’t actually get rid of it.

    Anyone had this? Anyone got a solution?

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