Planning and Recovering From Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy
Let’s start with my own tonsillectomy recovery story. I wasn’t always this healthy. As a kid I ingested more penicillin than a corporate-raised chicken. I was in the doctor’s office several times each year with a sore throat. As the doctor or nurse peered into my mouth, the reaction was always the same: “Whoa, those are some big tonsils!” The diagnosis was usually tonsillitis, or strep throat. As the doctor wrote the prescription, he’d explain that years ago, tonsils like mine would have been removed, but, “these days,” we try to hang onto them. “These days,” were the 1970’s. I guess the tonsillectomy pendulum had swung back from the days when kids got their tonsils out because their brother was getting his out.
Aunt Kate’s reassurance helped, but I still wrote out some just-in-case instructions for my brother and hid them in my closet. I sheepishly told him where they were, just in case.
“This is temporary. You WILL feel better. Hang in there and stay hydrated!” -Greg Tooke
As an adult I continued to suffer from frequent bouts of tonsillitis. It seemed that I caught every bug that passed through my house or workplace. I guess those big ugly tonsils were a nice home for those nasties. It wasn’t until my 40’s that I also became aware that I suffered from something called, Obstructive Sleep Apnea -a condition in which a person stops breathing while asleep. I snored often and would awake abruptly, gulping in big breaths. I felt tired most days. After raising four babies, I had come to accept fatigue as a normal part of life! One day at a routine physical my doctor remarked about the number of episodes of strep throat and tonsillitis I’d had. We also talked about the sleep problems. While he didn’t formally diagnose obstructive sleep apnea, he suspected that I had it. He recommended a tonsillectomy, because of all the tonsil problems I’d had. As a bonus, I might find relief from the sleep apnea as well. If not, I’d undergo a sleep study. Forty four years old and father of four boys and a doctor finally said it: Those tonsils are doing you more harm than good! As much as I hated those tonsils, I was terrified at the thought of going under the knife. I started reading about tonsillectomy recovery on the internet and talking to friends. That didn’t help. “My cousin knew a guy who got a tonsillectomy and bled to death.” “At your age, tonsillectomy is dangerous.” When I met with the ear, nose and throat specialist, (an otolaryngologist), he told me that the risks are the same for an adult undergoing tonsillectomy surgery as for a child, but tonsillectomy recovery is longer and more painful. He was right about that!
Deciding to get a Tonsillectomy
I scheduled the surgery for the day after Thanksgiving. A traditional day of feasting in the United States. If it was to be my last meal, I planned to make it a good one! As it turned out, I was so nervous and scared that I could hardly eat on that day. I was recently divorced and had shared placement of my four boys. So many people counted on me that I began to question my decision. What if I died on the table? How reckless to leave behind a family, simply to avoid frequent tonsillitis? My aunt, a registered nurse reassured me about how simple the surgery was, and how far anesthesiology had come. I had nothing to worry about. Aunt Kate’s reassurance helped, but I still wrote out some just-in-case instructions for my brother and hid them in my closet. I sheepishly told him where they were, just in case
“My tonsils were like a 400 pound gorilla on my back. I don’t miss them at all. Ever.” -from the forum ________________________________________________________________________________
I took a week off from work, asked my ex wife to take care of the boys that week, and asked my uncle to drive me to and from the hospital. (a requirement with anesthesia) That was about all the tonsillectomy recovery preparation I did. I was about to learn a lot! Surgery went fine. I awoke in recovery with a serving of Jell-o in front of me. (“Jelly,” to my British friends) The nurse said that I had to finish it before I could check out. I swallowed it with great relish. It was divine! I called my uncle and we were out of there. I felt ok. I told him thanks and not to worry. I’d be fine. I believed this. Aside from a couple visits, I spent the next ten days alone in misery. The pain set in after about 24 hours. Streaming movies and television shows were my friends. Sleeping became my worst enemy. I’d wake up with my mouth dried out and my throat on fire. Oh my God. I was not prepared for this! I ran out of Popsicle’s on day three. I ran out of pain medicine on day five. The pain peaked on day seven. I broke down and cried in front of my brother on day eight- a combination of pain, drug induced depression, and sleep deprivation. Since then, I’ve read thousands of similar accounts on the tonsillectomy forum I created. It didn’t have to be so hard. If I’d known what I do now, I could have done so much to make my tonsillectomy recovery better. I hope to reach as many people as I can to help guide them through the tunnel. It has been my passion and taught me more about compassion and the amazing strength of the human spirit than any other life experience. When you shine a light for others, you also light your own path.
In the pages at follow, I’ll share tonsillectomy recovery tips with you that I learned from my tonsillectomy experience and years of coaching others through tonsillectomy and recovery.
I did a huge post and in my oramorph state… I deleted it and weeped ha!
So I’m imo… I had my tonsillectomy on the 4th of July. I literally had 2 years of constant tonsillitis and as a child it would only take someone to look at me with a cough or cold and I would have it.
I’m on day 4 and I can’t really decide if I’m feeling better- the Pain is terrible and after having an emergency c section in 2015 I actually thought this would be easier-I was wrong lol
eating is just agony so I’m sticking with ice pops, very cold water and soft food.
I guess I’m posting for support? I’m signed off for two weeks but being a receptionist… I am worried I’ll need more time? Anyone else got any insight?
How do i delete a post?
If you point me to it , I’ll delete it.
So Im finally through the first week and I just got back from the hospital! So after I had been consipated and throwing up I HAD to do an enema on like day four and that was awful and didn’t work so I also have to take miralax. I was sick through day four and then on out but I had gotten in under control but when I started throwing up again monday I tore a scab off and started bleeding every where and the docs said the liquid was making it worse because my stomach couldnt handle any more liquids because they weren’t going anywhere so I was throwing up all of my liquids I was bleeding so I had to go to the hospital where I was still throwing up in the waiting room. They finally got me back and thank the lord I was the only one there at 4:00 am! They had to get the entire staff in there to try and get an IV in me bc I was so dehydrated and they couldn’t get a good vein because they would either collapse, blow, or be too small. They thought that they had one and they started to draw blood but then it wuit flowing and my blood was clottes anyways. It took an hour to get a good IV in and it went in my armpit!!! Then they got two liters of fluid in me within an hour, gave me morphine twice and did bloodwork. It was terrible. But I’ve been home since and they increased my pain med intake so that helped but not with the constipation, I still havent went since that visit again. I don’t know what to do because Im taking stool softeners, miralax, AND fiber. My throat feels so much better just from being dehydrated though so if you’re not at least drinking 8+ glasses a day then that could be contributing to why. I know it hurts to drink but it allowed me to sleep at night so I didnt wake up with gook in the back of my throat. And same wirh food. Your body needs nutrients to heal so you have to eat and do not take your pain meds on an empty stomach or you’ll pay the price. My humidifier is my lifesaver and I think that that’s why my scabs dont hurt nearly as bad when they peel off now because they’re moist and hydrated, not dried out and stuck. Fruit juices sting my throat still but coconut water is great and it’s apprently really good for recovery. Essential oils are great too; peppermint for nausea, cypress, marjoram and frankenscense for healing and pain relief and lavender aromatherapy for soothing and sleeping. Keep your fluids up though because I was urinating all day and my urine was close to clear and all of the sudden I wake up, throw up all my liquids and become dehydrated again so stay on top of it and eat even when it hurts! Bending your chin down towards your chest when your swallowing helps for some reason.
I’m on day 6 post op and I’m actually living a nightmare. I’m 19 years old and my surgery went well. They easily removed the right, but the left the surgeon said was very scarred and had embedded itself tightly in the wall of my throat. I woke up after surgery instantly in pain. This led to the nurses giving me high doses of pain killers that lasted me the rest of the day. Day 1 and 2 really wernt that bad. I was taking pain killers ever 3 hours, even throughout the night and could eat. Day 3, the pain really started to kick in and that’s when I started taking oxycodone, which would help, but put me to sleep for almost the entire day. Day 4, the oxycodone had made my stomach so sensitive that I was up all night throwing up and throughout the morning. Throwing up was actually the most painful thing, I cried the entire time and now refuse to take oxycodone, in fear of throwing up. I couldn’t sleep at all last night. I took a sleep pill last night, hoping it would help at all, but I have been awake since 2am and have just sat there in excruciating pain. I really need help! I heard the humidifier helps, but what else? I haven’t slept throughout a night since before my surgery and my poor family is exhausted. I have SO much spit and I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing. My jaw is always clenched and cramping from pain, I haven’t pooped since my surgery and have this DISGUSTING taste constantly at the back of my throat. Whenever I look in the mirror it honestly looks worse to me. When will this end?! I am in such pain!
Oh my gosh is there nothing to speed this up??? I’m an 18 year old female who just had a tonsillectomy and I didn’t think it would be this horrible!!! So I had them taken out June 27, 2017 because I had recurring tonsil stones which would get impacted and cause other problems. Today is July 3rd and my pain is even worse. (Btw the doc prescribed me oxy’s w/ tylenol to take) I’ve been taking my meds every four hours. So the first few days were very tolerable, I was even eating solid foods cut up into tiny pieces like shrimp and chicken. So the fourth day rolls around and that’s when I started to cough up some pieces of my scabs. I could no longer eat my solid foods, and it was back to jello and popsicles. Then, later that day, I began vomitting out of no where. And I hadn’t pooped since my surgery because all of the pain meds were clogging me up but if I didn’t take the pain meds then it was excruciating pain. We figured out that the vomitting was from me eating yet the food not coming out anywhere, so my body naturally tried to make it come out the other way. The vomitting perisisted all day and night and the next day. I used an enema and that didn’t work (NOT TO MENTION HOW UNCOMFORTABLE IT IS). I took miralax and finally could go to the bathroom but my stomach paid for it, it hurt so badly. Im on day six now and my throat it stinging, I cannot swallow, and Im starving but yet have no taste for anything. This has been the worst experience ever. I feel like I have swallowed razor blades. Get a humidifier FOR SURE. It did wonders for me. Ice helps a lot if you feel really swollen
I had mine out the same day and thought the same thing. Today is July 5th an I have a double ear ache and am in the worst pain of my life! Also I feel like there is something sharp in my throats like a needle on the right side and the left side feels pressured and closed.