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 my tonsils removed at age 26 and it was a rough recovery. Over the years one of the tonsils grew back and now at age 45, a year of chronic sore throats and laryngitis my ENT said its time to take that booger out. Shaking my head, thinking this can not be happening. At age 26 I had 2 small kids and I was a stay at home mom and I remember how much weight I lost, it truly was a time I would rather forget. Now, I have a career and I know I will be out of work for at least a week and I’m really nervous about the recovery at age 45. I’m not as young as I use to be.
I am a sixteen year old female. I am on day 2. i got my surgery august 23rd at 12:45 p.m. it is currently august 24th 11:10p.m. my pain has been alright. i take my meds around the clock. but the worst thing is i was so tense going into surgery that now my body hurts so bad. the things that help me is warm baths and it feels great having ice on my chest and throat. some say that ice cream and dairy products hurt because they cause mucus but honeslty the little mucus it has called covered the scabs and made it better. sherbert is definetly my go too. so far i have had 6 bowls of sherbert and one of ice cream. my family had really been helping. get lost of sleep and sit up because others you uvula is already swollen and if i lean forward enough it will come out of my mouth. keep these things with you: tissues (or toilet paper)- for spit, your meds, an ice packs, a cold drink (sip on the constantly), puke bags ( just in case), a laptop, a phone, chargers, a humidifyer, and finally something for trash. i have to say it sucks. the worst part was waking up after surgery. i feel the worst when i first wake up but the humidfyer will help. i want a froster from circle k but all the circle k’s that are close to me have shut down their machines. i missed my best friends birthday party too. but i believe that by the end it will be worth it. just take it easy even on the good days otherwise the next day you will regret it.
I’m a 19 year old male evening of Day 9 post op, and I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised to be doing okay. I’m one of those people who tends to worry, and I also struggle with some mild anxiety, so listening to all these horrific adult tonsillectomy stories weeks before my surgery almost caused me to cancel. To anyone out there who may be reading about how bad the recovery can be, take it from me, if you have had bad cases of tonsillitis before, you can definitely weather this storm. Everybody’s different though, and I like to think I have a decent pain tolerance (haha yeah right). All in all, the experience hasn’t been nearly as bad as I’ve expected. Surgery Day and Days 1 and 2 following definitely play tricks on some people, which was the case for me. You don’t feel all that bad though, and for the most part, you’ll probably be able to eat and drink with little overall discomfort. Drink a ton throughout the entire process, and stay away from the dairy at first. You can ease into it in a few days, cause trust me, you really don’t want to mess with all that mucus just yet. Side note: if you muster up the courage to take a peek back there the first couple days, your uvula will probably look and feel enormous and will be a pain in the butt, this kind of freaked me out but it’s totally normal. Days 3, 4, and 5 were definitely the toughest for me, simply because it was much more difficult to eat without discomfort and even drinking became quite painful. Stick to the soft foods, cold is good for the soreness, soups and oatmeals are your friend because they go down easy. These are also typically the days where your scabs start to fall off I guess, but don’t panic if they don’t. I still have mine moving into Day 10 and for me they have simply started to thin rather than come off completely. Days 6, 7, and 8 were pretty much more or less the same, just a slightly different kind of complication each day. Not a whole lot of pain (in my throat at least, ear pain….well that’s another story) but not a whole lot of progress either. And thats the thing about this recovery that will play with your mind a bit. No day is completely like the other, there’s no real consistent pattern of healing or feeling better (at least for me anyways). Day 3 felt like Day 6. Day 7 was worse than Day 5. I say this as a warning: DON’T GET COCKY. You’re not out of the tunnel until you’re feeling completely painless, and you’ll know when that happens. Here’s a couple little tips that I found that helped me and I want to pass along:
The pain meds will likely daze, confuse, and constipate you (don’t be embarrassed to take a few stool softeners haha). You can probably get nearly the same type of pain relief from extra strength Tylenol (1000 mg at a time) or something similar, I heard staying away from ibuprofen/advil is smart because it adds additional risks to bleeding, but I’m no doctor, nor do I have any scientific evidence to prove that. I took percocets the first 6 days, and they depressed the shit out of me. Opiates will definitely num the pain and keep you feeling decent, but if the side effects are killing you, don’t hesitate to call your doctor and see if you can switch things up.
Set alarms to take pain meds and keep that throat moistened, especially at night when trying to sleep. I’m telling you, it helps keep you more comfortable and helps speed up the recovery.
If you can, eat a lot and eat often, especially in the scabbing days. Slough those suckers off with some toast if you can manage it. The less weight you lose, the less crappy you’ll feel about yourself (unless of course you’re trying to lose weight, in that case, just eat ice chips haha). Overall, I’ve heard eating early on in recovery makes the recovery process better.
Sleep sitting somewhat up if you can, even if you feel comfortable lying down. It makes breathing a hell of a lot easier.
Talk as little as possible, you may feel great and up to it at the time, but you’ll likely regret it later on. I had some decent soreness after some of my chattier days, and I don’t think it was simply a coincidence.
Lastly, STAY POSITIVE. I’m a very active person who has a really hard time coping with lack of productivity. If you’re like me, after the first few day cabin fever will sink in and your mind will start to eat itself. Don’t let it eat itself. Find ways to occupy yourself, keep company if you can, and as soon as you’re feeling decent enough to do even small, non-strenuous activities, do them. Day 7 I was swimming in the pool and racing go-karts. It’s all about the mindset, and remember, if you elected to have this surgery, which most of us did, then you did it because you know the benefits of giving those tonsils the eviction notice. It means no more sick days, no more missing out on nights out, vacations, and no more feeling crappy!
Lastly, consider writing on this forum haha. It’s therapeutic, and its helping to give me that extra little push to stay positive in moving towards this eventual full recovery. Good luck!
Finally! I read a story that’s identical to mine, today is a week since my tonsillectomy and my scabs haven’t fallen off. The pain hasn’t been above a 3 and because I too suffer from a wee bit of anxiety, im freaking myself out for what’s to come because of all the other experiences I’ve read. I am losing my mind because I am so bored at home, and every night I’m thinking is tonight the night that will lead to a morning in agony. Hmmm, all I keep thinking, this is too good to be true. When will the pain come?
But once again thanks for sharing your experience because at least I can finally relate to someone and I know I’m not alone!!! Haha
Morning of day 7. actually feel pretty freaking amazing guys. yesterday was the best day, very painful at times but I was able to get up leave the house and go to Walmart and sonic. It was miserable when it did hurt tho. but back to this morning. last night I actually got some decent sleep for the first time and didn’t have to take my last pill. woke up in some pain. my morning routine consists of running to the bathroom and trying hawk up some of the scab that I can feel lodged in my throat. if it doesn’t come out after a couple tries I just give up and deal with the pain. BUT MY MOM GAVE ME SOMETHING THAT CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER. My mom gave me some mouthwash. but not just any mouthwash. Orajel Alcohol Free Antiseptic Rinse for all Mouth Sores in mint flavor and oh BLESS IT. It felt like giving my throat a winter blast. it felt so amazing I’m telling you buy this asap it will help so much. i still some discomfort with swallowing but this mouthwash is great. Good luck to everyone in recovery. I literally feel your pain!
I will write more later but wanted to let people know that tiger balm works really well to help relieve the ear pain. I’m in day 7 hell…