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.
Just had tonsillectomy on the 23rd, so today is my 7th day. The pain is reasonably tolerable compared to what it’s been for the last 6 days. Nights are the worst, I would wake up crying in pain. No amount of water helped at night because even a short 30 minute nap dried my throat out so much it felt like I was swallowing acid. I would set my alarm for every 2 hours days 2-6 to wake up, drink water, get a fresh ice pack. That helped. I usually always woke up before the alarm in pain. I’m telling you people, get a million ice packs. Seriously. Stock your freezer. I can’t tell you how much they helped me. They helped with the debilitating ear pain, throat pain, sore neck, sore jaw, everything. There’s nothing worse than having to wait for one to re-freeze, so buy a ton!
Make sure you invest in ear plugs too. Something about the pressure being put on my ears relieved the pain dramatically. When I knew I had to swallow, but it hurt very bad too, I would plug my ears and it helped to dull the pain.
If you think you’re going to sit back, read a couple books, catch up on a few seasons of your favorite tv shows, you are mistaken! The pain meds make you so drowsy and unable to concentrate I can hardly get through an episode without passing out.
I have absolutely zero appetite whatsoever. The first two days, I ate Mac and cheese and instant potatoes without too much fuss. Now, the smell of them is nauseating, along with pretty much everything else. Fruit smoothies burn, pudding is too thick, everything tastes just a little off. I haven’t eaten much of anything in the past few days, and if I force myself to have a cup of smoothie or anything else I usually end up extremely nauseous for a couple hours until it’s time to vomit and get it out of there. Most of the goods I bought pre-op I haven’t even touched; artificially flavored cheap-o Popsicles are about the only thing I can choke down besides water and some very soft bread with lots of butter.
At times, I felt like I was an idiot for having the surgery. I couldn’t even swallow my spit for the first 6 days without writhing in pain! I broke down to my boyfriend multiple times in a crumpled sobbing mess on the floor. But people, IT GETS BETTER. IT IS WORTH IT. I’m only on day 7 and I finally have enough energy to write this without falling asleep halfway through.
When you feel like you can’t take it anymore, you can! Grab an ice pack, ice water, your ear plugs and pain medicine and let yourself heal! It sucks. It is terribly painful, but I know never having to deal with strep, tonsillitis, pharyngitis or tonsil stones again is going to be so incredibly worth it.
Thank you so much for making this website and letting us share our stories and read others! It got me through so many painful nights knowing someone else felt like this and lived!
Hi Molly,
I read a lot about tonsillectomies before I had mine done and it’s fair to say it really freaked me out. I had them removed 3 days ago and nothing could’ve prepared me for the absolute agony I’m in. As you said, so much so I really regret having them removed at this moment in time. I break down at least 4 times a day because the pain is so bad and no amount of pain killers seems to numb it.
I’ve tried everything. Ice cold water, ice pops, ice cubes, ice packs, yogurts etc. But I can’t even swallow water at the moment.
Your post has made me feel a bit better in that I’m praying this doesn’t last for much longer.
Is there anything else you would recommend to do post-op to make it as painless as possible?
Keri-Anne – day 5 is often about the worst, so focus on getting to day 6 and beyond. it WILL get better soon. Try a hot water bottle to relax the tension in your throat – this helped me in days 10+ but might be worth trying now. And try to distract yourself with films or TV. Melting crushed ice in your mouth is probably the best way to get some hydration and numb the pain (also to provide some numbing before you swallow pain meds) Good luck!
I’m on my 12th day of recovery and I’m feeling much better. Your wound is not fully heal so I would recommend drinking cold! Cold is your best friend and if you decide to eat soup recommend warm NOT HOT. Until you’re fully recovered. I would say 3 weeks to play safe but do small amount as you go. The worst pain for me is 4-6 day and 10th day. The pain medication help and yes, it does cause our body to feel drowsy, dizzy and weak. The pain does increase at night, I’ll take my pain medication and then my lollipop to help it numb quick. Do move around a Lottie bit once in awhile to keep your body flowing. I would stand for 30 minutes or sit outside it get some fresh air then go back to bed. I wouldn’t recommend going anywhere to the car and if you do, somewhere close by. I’ll get car sick and my body wouldn’t feel so good due to the medication. Good luck on your recovery
Sara, I am 34 yrs old and I had my tonsillectomy last Nov. I fought with strep 4-6 times a year. I will tell you that things are different for me not having them. I haven’t been sick since. It has done me well. It is a horrible 2 weeks but if I’d known the pleasure from it I would of done it years ago. I am very happy so far that they are out. I dealt with strep constantly my whole life and it is amazing not to have it. I know your son is young and it’s a hard decision for you to make, but it has been a miracle for me so far. Hope this helps a little, but just consult your ENT and hope you make the right decision. Good luck to you and your son!
Gary, thank you very much for your feedback. Much appreciated. I feel it’s best to have them removed for my son. Thank you.
Hello everyone. My 11 year old son is needing a tonsillectomy and I’m so scared and nervous. I’m reading everyones comments and I wolud just like to know if the outcome is worth it all? He is constantly having sore throats, tonsillitis and currently he has strep right now. I just want him to no longer have to deal with this ongoing pain. Thank you for your feedback.
I am 49 and had my tonsils removed 11 days ago. Please have your 11 yr olds tonsils removed ! Healing for him is so quick and I promise you he will not have to go though what I am going through at this very moment. The younger they are removed the easier they recove . This had been the most painful 11 days of my life i kept postponing doing it for years and regret it because it ended up being life threatening for me because they were so enlarged my airway became blocked. I’ve had all of my children’s tonsils out and they have no problems and they were back at it next day. So I would almost beg every parent if your child has had strep at all. Get them out !
I got my tonsils taken out on April 1st 2k15. (Yes a scary day to get a surgery) I got my surgery and got some ice cream and left about 3 hours after arriving. The first three days where great except for the fact that I couldn’t eat much! Then came day 4….. And the ear pain. I had ever been in so much pain. On day 5 I spit into a bottle and blood began gushing out of my mouth. I blacked out for a few minutes but was able to wake up and get my brother who was down stairs. My brother began to panic so he called my dad and he came home from work as quick as he could. Fortunately my bleeding stopped and I did not have to get them cauterized. I was all good after that but every single day was just a days of drinking lots and lots of water telling myself that i WOULD NOT have another bleed. Good news is i did not and I recovers faster than normal after two weeks. My doctor was thoroughly impressed and said he has ever seen such a quick recover. So all and all it could have been worse. Btw I am 13
Mine were so badly scarred they could only do the left side. The right bled to much the surgeon wouldn’t do it…Same horrible pain. It’s been a year since my Surgery. I am sorry I waited so long.