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 had a tonsillectomy on Jan. 2, 2015, just last week. To be honest, the pain was no worse than many of the strep throat and ear infections I have experienced. I have had strep so bad that I could not drink water, and had strep and ear infection for 3 months straight and nothing seemed to help it. I have suffered with severe strep for 3 years, got guttate psoriasis from it, and this past year (2014) it started on New Year’s Day and I ended up getting it almost every month. The pain is bad though, no sugar coating it, I am still having to take some pain meds-about 2 a day, mainly for the ear pain. The worst part now is, I think I am constipated from the pain meds. If anyone can give me advice on that and what can help, please do. Also, after stopping the pain meds, will the constipation go away? This is one thing I did not expect.
I had a tonsil removed on 17 December due to it remaining enlarged following infections and also to rule out anything sinister. I have to be honest and say it was the worst pain I have ever experienced. The first 4 days following surgery were bearable but days 5 to 10 were hell, I couldn’t drink plain water without incredible searing, burning pain! Here in the UK, they make you eat your normal diet straight away (I ate half a sandwich as soon as able on return from surgery) and I tried as best I could. Now on day 20, scabs all gone and surgeon says all is good.Maybe its because I am older (40’s) that recovery was so painful just for one tonsil, I can only imagine what it would have been like to have them both removed! Hang in there everyone!
Irene, Chuck is absolutely right. I had my surgery Nov. 25 2014. My surgeon told me the same that Chuck posted. Luckily, I never did bleed. My surgeon said to immediately come to the ER and they would call him and he’d be there to stop the bleeding. Unless it’s emergency where the ER doc would have to do it of course but he was sincere about him being there no matter what. I could not image what your going through and hope your okay. As far as I know by only reading about this, it is normal to bleed a little bit,(which I did a little the first day but that’s it) but lots of bleeding can be very serious and go to the ER immediately. The doc can stop the bleeding but would also put you out again. I don’t know of any ones doctor saying that’s normal if your bleeding that heavy. Any commented support on this is appreciated. Again, I’d listen to Chucks comment and possible get another opinion if it is possible. I’m not a doctor but if I bled heavily, my surgeon would be there to stop it and fix and/or stitch it up again. Good luck to you and so sorry your going through this.
My Doctor said more than one time prior to surgery, if I start to bleed and I bleed more than 5 minutes I must immediately proceed to the closest hospital and go to the ER and have the bleeding stopped.
I’m a 35 F and had my surgery 12/29/14. On day 7. Not good. Spit up/threw up insane amounts of blood on day 4 and again on day 5. Went to ER and saw my ENT and was told it was normal when scabs break off????? WTF. The blood flows down my throat in a steady fast flow and I feel like I’m going to choke on it, it fills my toilet, and that’s normal??? And why didn’t anyone warn me about this before surgery??? I literally think I’m going to bleed out!
This post op is not good. I can handle the pain ect , but the blood pouring from the back if my throat is crazy!!!!
I’m really scared to sleep, drink, eat soft foods, everything…
Please respond if this happened to you and/or suggestions.
Desperate,
Irene
I had my tonsillectomy at the beginning of December 2014 and was very apprehensive having read numerous horror stories online.
It was a miserable three weeks but having spoken with my surgeon two weeks in, it would seem I didn’t experience the worst that could have happened for which I am eternally grateful !
My wife unfortunately came out with a cold on Day 2 so we had to avoid each other until it passed. I was sleeping in an armchair for the first week as found this easier – plus I was likely to be awake within an hour as the pain meds wore off and the dryness of the throat was painful. So I was in the right place to watch TV until I slept again a couple of hours later – ice lolly was useful at this time to ease the pain while waiting for the time to come to take the painkillers again.
I was told that to eat hard foods straightaway and no ice cream. Day after the op breakfast was cornflakes and lunch I had toast. It isn’t easy but worth persevering with every day . This I believe helps ensure that the back of the throat is kept clean. I also cleaned my teeth five or six times a day – oral hygiene important to keep infections at bay.
I drank insane amounts of water – probably up to 5 litres at day – this keeps the throat moist – dry throat = pain.
Yes, the pain does get worse before it gets better – probably from about Day 4 for about 3 days. I used soluble pain relief as this in cold water was soothing too – take the meds when they are due – no point trying to be a hero/heroine. Also expect some ear pain too.
A month later and I am feeling well, slightly uncomfortable in the back of my throat but nothing to worry about.Just as an aside lost some weight too which was good but not a recommended method of dieting !
Summary – unpleasant time but could have been worse. It sounds a bit brutal but as my daughter said to me “its only a few weeks of the rest of your life”. I haven’t had tonsillitis and my operation was due to a “C” scare and for me having the tonsils removed and knowing that there were no hidden “nasties” made it worthwhile.
Hi I am 23 years old and I had my tonsillectomy the same day as you! They do say that bleeding is normal but depending how much it is. So far I have been lucky that I haven’t bled. I have been in severe pain though and the ear pain started yesterday and is slowly dragging out to today 🙁 I had to force down pancakes for dinner tonight, it felt like knives in my throat but I chose that pain over nausea. If I don’t eat real food before my pain meds I get really sick. So far I have been able to tolerate oatmeal, soup, mashed up crab cakes, soft flounder, rice, soft cut up pancakes, soft pumpkin bread and icepops. I find that I need to eat food with carbs before I take my meds. The first few days I tried doing protein shakes and taking my meds but it wasn’t enough to coat my stomach. I lost 9lbs but gained back 2 because of the amount of carbs i’m eating. Not gonna lie but I was pretty happy that I lost so much weight that I actually didn’t really want to eat but realized that’s not why I got this surgery so I had to do a little reality check lol. I am just counting down the days for this pain to go away, it is truly unbearable at times. But do not be afraid to drink or eat your body needs the nutrients even though it hurts like hell. The key is to stay hydrated or else there will be more pain and more bleeding unfortunately. Try some lukewarm tea or if there is swelling in your throat try some ice pops. The ice pops have really been helping me. good luck!