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’m on day six. I don’t know what’s wrong. I can barley drink even water and all I do is spit up disgusting film. The white scabs in my throat have never been so bad.
Same here. Feel like I’m never going to get better, my tongue hurts, my mouth feels distorted, I’m miserable and can’t drink water
this had happened do me too, i couldn’t drink any water for a few days. Just try to drink really cold water with lots of ice because it starts to feel good.
I have never cried like this before the pain is not sharpe it’s lingering I’d rather it happened all at once. I can’t seem to find the cure or relief. It doesn’t just hurt, it hurts a lot.
Ask for anesthestic spray to numb the throat. I know the feeling. I’ve had it bad too.
Craig I’m not sure what day you’re on, I’m going on 12 I believe. It gets better I promise! Keep up on fluids. I drink lukewarm water, cold and hot are dreadfully painful. Jello is amazing. Your recliner is your best friend, sleep sitting slightly reclined. Use a humidifier. Keep an ice pack on your throat at all times especially in the beginning! Do not stop fluid intake. My urine (sorry if it’s tmi) has been clear my entire recovery and I have still felt like I’ve been in a living hell. I had a few really rough days and shed many tears and I swear I am NOT a baby when it comes to pain. You WILL get through this. Hang in there! Thank God for this site!!! Read through others comments when you feel you just can’t get a break. It helps.
Great stuff Brandy! Take care!
Hello, I am 34yr and both my son and I are scheduled to have a tonsillectomy early next month on the same day. He is 11 and the doctor advised his would be no where near as bad as mine. I am getting mine taken out due to continuously getting tonsillitis and originally that was the reason I had my son checked to have his removed. As we seemed to just constantly pass it back and forth. He however also has very enlarged tonsils causing sleep apnea as well. I am very thankful to be able to read through all of your stories here and be as prepared as I can. I will follow up more once we have had out surgery.
Hi Dawn! Best of luck to you and your son. Do you have some support for your recovery? I can’t imagine caring for my son recovering while I was recovering…
Hey guys, so I’m on day 5 post op now, I am 23, with 3 very young children, this was the first operation I ever had, I was meant to have my tonsils removed as a child because I had so many bad bouts of tonsillitis, but it never happened. So a few months ago I had a seriously bad case, wich made me very poorly and I was hospitalised with it, this is when they decided they would actually go ahead with removing them, I attended my pre op and then awaited my operation date, I was placed on the cancellation list, so I had 4 days notice for my op, all the Drs etc kept telling me was ‘it will just be like a bad case of tonsillitis, think of it as your last ever tonsillitis’ so I thought great I can do this, tonsillitis without the flu symptoms that come with it – easy peesy!.. 2 nights before my op I started searching all over google looking at forums of tonsillectomy recovery, I was scared so much of been operated on I was a nervous wreck, and iv got to say I didn’t read one good thing about it, I thought I’d had 3 children, surely I can do this!! My mum kept telling me I’d be fine, nothing to worry about, I attended the hospital at 7.30am and I was called in at 10.30am to get the hospital gown on etc, my partner wasn’t allowed to come through with me so I was alone at this point, I was petrified, they come and checked details etc etc, then I was wheeled into theatre, I laid there and it was everything I imagined and more about 20 people in the room, I burst out crying practically having a panic attack and they all looked at me like I was from a different planet pmsl! They put me to sleep and I woke up without my tonsils, I was very sore and I was struggling massively waking up, I just kept falling back to sleep pmsl! Anyways I was discharged the same day, very sleepy and in pain.. I didn’t know what the next few days would be like, all I can say is I am soooo glad I prepared myself by reading the forums online, I genuinely did not think it would be as bad as what it is, I would rather give birth to triplets all at once than go through this again, I really really don’t want to scare anybody, but please consider this operation carefully! 5 days post op my tounge is still completely numb from been clamped, and I don’t even think I can explain the pain, I can’t eat properly, I can’t drink, Iv spent the past 5 days not knowing what day it is because I’m that high on drugs! I honestly couldn’t of got through this without my partner, he has done everything for me and the children, I cannot wait until the pain has gone and I can eat a takeaway! Iv lost half a stone, I just seem to sleep a lot! I have met 2 lovely ladies through this process, one had the op 2 days before mine and one had the op 3 days after mine and they have both said exactly the same as me, the only thing Iv found that slightly helps is warm drinks, I would recommend staying away from cold! All I keep telling myself is it will be worth it, but right now it doesn’t feel like it what so ever, people keep telling me to man up, ‘you’ve only had your tonsils taken out’ believe me it feels a lot more than that!! As I say, I really don’t want to scare anyone, but I feel I need to be truthful about this because people need to be prepared for 2 weeks worth of pain, I have spent the past 3 nights crying, it seems the pain is worse on a night! A huge good luck to anybody who will be having this operation in the future! X
Kimberley I’ve had two C-section and I can honestly say It’s far better then tonsillectomy. 10 days was a long time for me. Felt like I was getting worse towards the end the day then suddenly there was a light in the tunnel by day 11. It certainly got less painful. I recommend taking vitamins for fast recovery as well.
Hi Kim, hang in there! It gets better and it will all of been worth it in the end. I had my tonsils out October 13, 2016, and it was the best thing I ever did in my life. You will slowly start to feel better as the days go by. My 2 top tips for you is drink constantly, this will keep the back of your throat wet and the scabs will be less painful. Also have a humidifier by your bed for when you sleep. this will help for when you cannot drink. And keep on your meds schedule…very important!! Good luck!
P.S: the pain will last a maximum of 2 weeks. However the healing takes 2-3 months, so don’t panic if things are not all back into place after 2 weeks.
Good advice Marco!
I’m 39/female and had my tonsils removed because of reoccurring tonsilities 12x in one year. I recovered by day 10 but during the time period it was extremely excruciating for me to tolerate the agony of swallowing plus the ear pain along with it. Felt like at the same time razor cutting my throat and my right ear. The oxycodone only helped to put me to sleep and hoping I would avoid to swallow. Regardless I kept drinking water to stay as hydrated as possible. The pain was severe that I had to go to ER to numb my throat as I’ve been terrified to eat anything or even drink for that matter. The scabs have slough off a lot by day 14. If you plan to get tonsillectomy done be prepared for long hours of darkness. I did kept my mind busy by cleaning house even though the meds kept putting me to sleep I was able to avoid doing too much activity. I mostly ate oatmeal, applesauce, sorbet, breakfast carnation drink. I lost 8lbs from not being able to eat enough due to painful swallowing even with taking meds. Day 15 I can tolerate swallowing without meds but have slowly eating solid food into smaller bites. I hope this cures me from constantly getting sick every month. Good luck to everyone.
Also I’m told to try to keep the scabs in for 10 days to avoid bleeding too early. It definitely hurts to yawn.