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.
Dawn,
Yes if you have had that much issues with them then def talk to your doc about taking them out. If you decide to, read these forums on here and prepare yourself for it. It is very important. I am 34 and had mine out a few months ago, and haven’t snored at all, not once. Yay. Good luck to you and keep us posted.
I have always had tonsillitis and swollen tonsils. They are about the size of a dollar coin in diameter. When I was a kid I would have tonsillitis and would lose my voice for weeks at a time. I am now almost 44 and still have chronic sinus problems, asthma, allergies not so much food that I know of but outside stuff and a good bit of inside stuff also and sinus drainage all the time that gets on peoples nerves because I make noises all the time. I stay sick with a cold or sinus infection throughout most of the year. What made me start looking on the web is because I have this white spot on my right tonsil and it is about the size of dime not quite a nickel and I am finally going to the doctor about it because my brother had cancer in his neck and I was afraid that I had what he had, but as I started looking at pics and searching for an answer before I went to the doctor I came across tonsil stones and this makes perfect sense to me now. I have a few bad teeth that I have been slowly having pulled and my dentist has not said anything about the white spot so I wasn’t worried and then I said I’m going to the doctor and then I immediately feared the worse. I don’t have that bad of bad breath like most that I have read has had. After reading about tonsil stones this has shown me that it may really not be anything really bad so I’m going to the doctor and see what they say hopefully I can get my tonsils taken out that’s what I really want to do because I am tired of having sinus problems all the time. One thing that I did not read anything about is people saying that they snore a lot. I snore like a freight train and it has become really bothersome since I have insomnia and have had it all of my life. I am a fulltime student and as with anyone that goes to college sleep is not a luxury. lol If I do get to sleep good I will snore loud and wake up, so having my tonsils taken out will hopefully solve that. It has helped two of my kids from snoring. If I have my tonsils taken out I hope it will be a smooth ride. Wish me luck. Thanks Dawn
Today is day 10 for me after surgery. One thing I wish I would have been told is to take Stool Softeners. Three days ago, felt the urge to go and I could not go. It hurt worse than the surgery. LOL. So I ended up taking the suppository and a softener, it finally came out but it still hurts so now I know take them daily. Other than that I lost 16 pounds in 10 days. I was on a diet before this so it helps that.lol The pain in my throat is not that bad, i learned that if you want to eat make sure you do that after the medication is in your system. The first five days I was on water and ice cream, some pudding. My throat burned with orange jello, and the lemon lime gatorade and also ibprofen burned, so everyone is different. The thing is you have to try on your own and see what you can handle. The first two to three days i had a slight temperature which i delt with. My speech is impared alittle cause my tongue is still swollen a little bit. The only thing i am still wondering about is why does your tongue stay white for so long? I know babys get thrust when drinking lots of milk ect but adults. My tongue is normal now..lol. I also had my Uvula taken out besides the tonsils… lots of tonsilitis and i also have sleep apnea. So hopefully this helps with both. I am still reading up and learning about this and i hope i can help others as well.
I’ve posted several times on here. The first week is rough, but I have had strep so bad that I could not drink water, and it got to the point that I would have strep and ear infections and could not sleep even with pain medication, no medicines would help, and I had one infection that lasted 3 months straight. Then tonsillitis, then strep again, but being the person I am, I pushed through, ran races, and just dealt with it until the tonsillectomy. The first week of recovery was just like the strep and ear infections, the only difference was, I had pain meds that actually helped and knocked me out, Thank God!!
Drink lots of water throughout the recovery, get off the pain meds as soon as you can, take stool softeners while on them, I quit taking them on day 8 and the next day switched to extra strength Tylenol after talking to nurses. The pain is still bad, but if able to bare it, better to stop the pain meds and get the head right, at least that’s how I felt. Popsicles are your best friend. If unable to swallow pills, break them up and make a slushie with the popsicles or put in cold apple sauce.
The ears will hurt pretty bad Days 5-10 or even 12. I am on day 20 now, and still have some ear pain. I just started running again yesterday, alternating between 10 minutes run and 10 walking for an hour. I ran 3 miles straight today, then walked for a while. I was extremely active before the surgery and to be honest, I was supposed to wait till day 21-tomorrow-to start light running (which is a 9 minute 30 sec mile for me). So, be careful. If you feel any strain, slow down.
Still not eating hard foods, tomato sauces, pizzas. But am drinking mocha’s 🙂 Everyone deals with pain and healing differently. For the first two weeks, sleep and take it easy. Sleep reclined if able. I could not lay down on a stack of pillows until day 18. Hopefully be back in the bed by next week. And as everyone on here says, drink lots and lots of water. The doctor said wait at least 3-4 weeks before drinking any alcohol, preferably 4 weeks. They said after 3 weeks the remaining scabs will heal very fast and the more hydrated the throat, the faster it may heal. Always ask a dr. Or nurse if there is any doubt.
Good Luck to all, and just remember, it will end.
I hate to break it to you but imagine your worst case of strep throat/tonsillitis and multiply that pain by 1000 and that is how you’ll feel. Drink lots of ice water and keep popsicles with you. Ice packs feel pretty good too. Also STAY ON TOP OF YOUR MEDS. Even in the middle of the night because it will hurt so much more if you don’t and you will be miserable. Make sure you have plenty of fun things to do to keep you busy and have someone to take care of you and bring you more soft foods when you run out because you won’t be able to drive really or go anywhere. I’m 21 and currently on day 3. I’m not ready for my scabs to come off because I heard that is going to be miserable. Get a sippy cup because it makes drinking water and juice and other things such as that so muc easier. I also had my adenoids removed and some tubes in my nose shrunk so I have a lot of drainage. The best thing to do for that is make sure you’re well hydrated before you try to swallow it. Make sure your throat stays moist, that will be the best thing that you can do to help yourself stay out of as little pain as possible. Also keep your head elevated and your head up because it makes the drainage of whatever that stuff is easier to go down. If things get too bad with swallowing, if you tilt your head back and kind of open your throat, stuff just slides down which helps when swallowing gets really painful. Also a little tip I learned, I’m taking liquid hydrocodone and lidocaine. Take the lidocaine before the hydrocodone and you can take the hydrocodone up to an hour early and still be okay. I’m only on day 3 so this is just what I’ve learned so far. If I come up with anything else I shall let you all know.
Oh and DON’T have sex. It can cause bleeding. I didn’t try it but I asked my doctor about it and she said a firm no. Keep your heart rate at a minimum and you’ll be good.
Best of luck to everyone having this done, who’s had this done, and who’s in recovery. We can all get through this!