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.
Hello all!
I am a 20 year old female 11 days post op. I’ve had a pretty rough time with recovery. I’ve had just about every pain the doctor said I would (sore throat, hard to swallow, earache, jaw, face, and neck pain). Day 1 I was pretty drowsy from surgery and pain meds so I slept most of the time but when I woke up, I had the worst pain. The pain persisted days 2-4 I was only able to drink water and had to FORCE myself to do so. (DRINK WATER EVEN THOUGH IT’S BEYOND PAINFUL. It’s so important because it keeps your throat from drying out which is even worse. Drink especially those times when you wake up in the middle of the night). My throat was so swollen that to take one sip of water, I had to swallow around 5 times to get it down. I ended up going back to my ENT on Day 2 because I felt like I was unable to breathe due to swelling. Kid you not, I was in my ENT’s office for five minutes as he took a quick look in my throat and said everything looked normal. I went home pretty upset because I just wanted something that would allow the swelling to go down. Around Days 5-7 my swelling finally went down and things were looking better. I was taking prescribed Oxycodone and Tylenol around the clock and was feeling pretty good once I was taking the meds. I knew as soon as I was due for another med because I was starting to feel awful again. Write down what meds you’re taking and when because you will forget! It also makes it much easier when you wake up in the middle of the night so you can look at a paper and see what time you took something last, so you can get those meds in you quick because night pain was the worst! Days 8-10 I was finally able to eat some soft foods such as ice cream and mashed potatoes. (Before then I was surviving off water, watered down Gatorade, and soup because everything else felt way too thick for my throat.) I felt pretty good eating because I felt so weak from not eating all week. By Day 9, I was down 10 pounds! Pain wise, definitely improving but rough sleeping through the night. I stopped taking the Oxycodone and alternated liquid Tylenol and Ibuprofen (you’re not really supposed to take ibuprofen as it is a blood thinner but I got permission from my doc). This seemed to help me get through the days. Now here’s the kicker….. I finally was feeling better then today, Day 11, I woke up at 1:30 am coughing up bright red blood. It wasn’t much at first, but then it started pooling out of my mouth. I coughed again, which made me gag and the whole scab that had formed on the right side came out. This made the bleeding uncontrollable so that’s when my mom and I made the decision to head to the hospital. The hospital was a very rough experience as no ENT was at the hospital that late at night. The ER doctor did everything he could to try to stop the bleeding; suction, epinephrine mixed with lidocaine, saline rinses. The bleeding would temporarily slow down, until I would cough up the newly formed clot that was forming in my throat. I was losing a lot of blood and finally (around 4 am) found out my ENT was on call and on his way to the hospital to get the bleeding stopped. I got into surgery at 5 am and was so glad. Surgery went really well and they got the bleeding to stop. I was discharged from recovery around 7 am and able to go home. I slept for awhile after I got home and woke up to the best surprise. I FELT SO MUCH BETTER. The scabs are basically off (besides the new one formed from cauterizing) and I can swallow with very little pain. Even though early this morning was a nightmare, it was so worth it because of how great I feel. I still am very weak and tired but I will take that any day over the other symptoms I was experiencing!
I was not expecting this recovery to be so bad but hang in there!! I owe a big thank you to this forum because it made me feel not so alone! Best wishes and luck to everyone 🙂
my wife had the same thing happen today…. She woke with minor bleeding we called the ENT whom say she would meet us at the ER…. once at the er my wife started bleeding a lot…. the good thing was the ENT was right there…. she told my wife to start rinsing with ice water she made a phone call and we were off to the OR unfortunately my wife was very scared ” so was I but made face” she went under for maybe 15 20 minutes surgery to cauterize…the doctor came out said the bleeding was stopped …. but she needed to stay 24hr for observation. …. I am writing this to calm myself to sleep …knowing this has happened to so many and how you pulled through gives me hope
Hi,
I am a 18 year old female on my day 5 of healing.
Every pain that my doctor warned me I might have, I got them all. My jaw, neck, and face all ached. (Day 2-3) I also got a pink eye so that didn’t help.
However, day 4, things start to brighten. But I knew from reading previous experience that the worst will come on day 7. But, I was not about to wait for 3 more days. So, the night of day 4, in order to speed up the process and because the disgusting odor was killing me, I took salt water and gargled it vigorously so that the scabs would come off. I took my pain meds and immediately went to bed. 2 hours later I woke up with piercing pain and I have never been happier. (My pain meds are suppose to last me 4 hours) I ran to the bathroom and found a small piece of scab missing from the back of my throat. I sent my alarm for 2 more hours for when I take my meds. (I found that putting in earbuds and blasting country music helps me cope until my next dose of pain meds.)
I don’t know if it’s because of the salt water or if it was just time for the scabs to fall off, but I’m just going to keep gargling salt water because I seems to help with the smell at the very least.
Good for you, Anne. Whatever works for you, do it!
How did it go after that?
I am male, from Australia, currently on Day 11.
Day 1 – 3 – Pain wasn’t too bad. I could swallow yoghurt, mashed sweet potato and smoothies, although they still hurt going down. I begun to avoid diary as this created a mucus in my throat and it was very uncomfortable. Sweet foods became very nauseating, so I avoided these too.
Sleeping was difficult. I managed maybe 4 hours sleep before waking up in pain, or choking on my own saliva. I found that i couldn’t breathe sleeping on my back, so i had to sleep on my side on the edge of the pillow. I dribbled A LOT.
By day 3 I was feeling pretty great and i was very thankful for my large supply of strong pain meds.
Day 4 – 7 – The bad ear aches started on the evening on Day 3, along with the intense pain and headaches. The mornings during these days were horrendous. I cried over 2 table spoons of cold soup, and also a watered down banana/almond milk smoothie. Nothing prepares you for the pain on these days. Had I not of read this forum I would have been convinced something was wrong. Its important that you focus through the pain and remember that it is only temporary. Make sure you keep on top of your meds. There were a couple of days that I literally only ate icey poles.
Day 8 – 11 – I had ignored the tip to purchase a humidifier for my recovery, but wish I had of taken the advice. I hung out my washing in my bedroom just before i slept, because as the washing dries it releases the moisture into the air (humidifying the air). This was the best thing I did, I had my first full nights sleep. I still woke up with pain, but my mouth certainly wasn’t as dry as the previous mornings. Day by day things get slightly more manageable, and you begin to ‘see the light at the end of the tunnel’
As I said, I am currently on Day 11, nearly Day 12. Talking and swallowing still hurts a bit, but absolutely nothing compared to the pain of days 4 – 7. I am a little more hesitant to eat solid foods, although I can eat soft pasta with minor, manageable pain.
Some tips:
– Stay hydrated. This is super tough when the pain is at its peak. I found that icey poles were my best friend. But i’ve read that de-hydration can lead to heavy bleeding, and I didn’t want that.
– Distract yourself. Do anything to take your mind off the pain. Personally, I played video games for 7 days in a row.
– Stay positive. I read these forums everyday, and my key takeaway was that this horrific pain is only temporary, and all you have to do is make to the next day.
– Have someone with you. I was very fortunate to have my partner look after me 24/7 for the past 11 days. Seriously, it helped to have someone to do the basic things that you don’t want to think about, like preparing your next meal, or encouraging you to stay strong.
– Keep a pain management schedule. My mum came up with a schedule for when i should take my meds, and then put these times into my phone as alarms. Each time the alarm went off, i took the meds that i needed to. This is the only way i knew when my next med was due, and how long i have to suffer before i could begin to feel ‘better’.
Good Luck, and be proud of yourself when this if over. It is tough!
Great stuff Jay. Thanks for sharing. Take care!
48F – had my tonsillectomy on Aug 11. The first couple of days were pretty good, I was thinking “I’m going to be one of the lucky ones and breeze right through this”. Nope :-(. Been going downhill since day 3. I’m on day 7 now and the scabs are starting to peel off. It hurts, but I can get through it – the pain meds help (keep a notepad and write down the time you take what, it’s tough to remember through the pain what you took when).
One of my blessings is my CPAP. It has a humidity chamber. I cranked it up and have been essentially sleeping through a lot of the pain. Thankfully, I haven’t experienced the drying out while sleeping that many of you have – you have my sympathy, I’m sure it is awful.
An important point that I’ve not seen others mention (I’ve not read through the entire blog though) is if you develop an incredible headache – seriously skull splitting right behind your eyes, it might be from caffeine withdrawal. I was focused on drinking lots of water and avoiding coffee – essentially stopped caffeine cold turkey. It took me a little while (and some serious pain) to figure it out. Thankfully, the cure is to drink some coffee – worked like a charm.
Anyway, day 7 now. I’m looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel, based on the majority of the posts, it will get better soon!
26yo male, 8th day post op
I had the ‘routine procedure’ a week ago. Sadly it wasn’t ‘routine’ at all, I was under the knife for 2,5hrs while my parents were freaking out. According to the surgeon, my tonsils were so hypertrophic that I was bleeding every tin they tried taking them off. I had to be cauterized. And I had streptococcus on every test I did, even tho I didn’t really felt like my tonsils were killking me. I had gutate psoriasis that allegedly gets caused by tonsils and tonsillectomy is ‘the cure’.
Day 1: the anesthesia did its trick, plus I got hooked on the oxygen mask, it just made me feel so good (they took it shortly after). Wasn’t able to swallow even my saliva. Had 2 glasses of tea. Slept through the whole day.
Day 2-4: still at the hospital, getting IV’s twice per day (Antibiotics, vit C, analgesic, liquid food). I had trouble swallowing sometimes, but nothing major. I felt like I have something stuck in my throat.
Day 5/6: Pain rose to 7/10, taking liquid analgesics every 4/5hrs. I managed to eat cornflakes that became mooshy from sitting in the yoghurt for too long. Rice cakes in yoghurt (mooshy). Banana smoothie. Puddings and ice cream. Mashed potatoes with yoghurt.
I noticed my tongue is really weird, swollen and has a white coat. Tried cleansing it with my toothbrush + started taking probiotic. My breath stinks as well, can’t stand it.
My voice sound weird and I cannot talk for long time.
Day 7: woke up with abusisly bad pain, I had 2 painkillers on empty stomach. Tried having a banana, ended up being in a hellish pain. I later managed to eat cornflakes in yoghurt, some biscuits, few puddings and ice cream. My tongue is so swollen, I think it hits my back teeth and that hurts more than my throat. Still can’t talk normally.
My throat looks greenish, I haven’t really had the chance to see any scab in my mouth, I think I swallow them (cuz I feel like I have hair, or piece of food stuck in my throat).
Day 8: took painkillers twice before going to bed, here’s hoping it’s gonna be a turning point. I still get a mouthful of saliva all the time that sometimes hurts swallowing it… especially because of the smell. I still drink lots of iced water tho.
As for the psoriasis, it definitely isn’t worse – but it didn’t get a lot better. I have spots on my torso and on my arms, it kinda feels like it’s not gonna get worse, no itching or anything- physically, it just looks the same.
I’ll keep you guys updated.
Hey mate,
I suffered from psoriasis due to recurrent tonsilitis also. And have had a tonsilectomy 3 days ago.
The psoriasis is more with a healthier lifestyle and will get better from that. However, i hope that by getting rid of the tonsils, this will be the last I’ll ever see the psoriasis ever again.
Gd luck with ur recovery and same with mine.
Ben