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.
Hi everyone! I really appreciate everything that I have read on this site about a tonsillectomy. I am a 21 year old female, and I am having my tonsillectomy the day after Christmas (so roughly a week from now). I’m extremely nervous as I hear it is extremely painful. Honestly I’m completely dreading the surgery. Is there any other tips that anyone would recommend for pre or post-surgery? Anyone who has any words of encouragement? Thanks again for everyone’s thoughts and tips!
Hello, I am a 21 year old female and had my tonsils out yesterday. The staff were lovely and reassured me as I was worried and nothing was too much trouble. Being knocked out is amazing and I didn’t want to get up but within half an hour I was eating toast and sipping water through a straw. Honestly it wasn’t as painful the worse bit is it getting stuck but just keep having your water topped up as and other than talking and eating I’m in no pain at all. If you get motion sickness sit in the front of the car and just take it slowly moving around. I woke up this morning and it was very tender but I’d managed 7 hours sleep and after having to painkillers prescribed, again it’s not as painful as I first thought! My advise is don’t look inside your mouth. Toast with fried egg has been the easiest to eat so far and iced water has been a life saver! Take very small sips as you can choke though. Eat as much rough food as you can to break down the scaring. Get easy slip paracetamol in plastic coatings as they are easy to swallow. Overall I just feel mainly tired and my tongues numb but the nurses assured me that was normal. I’d also advise someone just be around the house afterwards as I’m a worrier so having my parents around puts my mind at rest. Anymore questions feel free to drop me a message, you probably won’t believe me (as I didn’t) but it really wasn’t as bad as I thought and I now have lots of new friends from the ward and left smiling!
I had mine done yesterday, along with septum and sinus repair. I heard the first few days are easiest.l, and that for many, the pain is worst days 7-10. Let’s keep connected to how this goes for us. I’m 36 and female. So far I’ve fared well.
If you have any nausea, make sure to get some meds. I got some Zofran. They have made a world of difference in my ability to eat and function. I was able to eat mashed potatoes tonight with no problems.
The surgery goes very smoothly, I had mine done Friday and when I woke up, I didn’t even know my tonsils had already been taken out lol. Honestly, the recovery is pretty rough. Pain medicine every 3-4 hours 24/7 is the key, you really don’t want to miss taking meds as you’ll regret it. Pain is very manageable with medicine, never rises above 7/10. The worst part is always being hungry and not being able to eat normal food, but its well worth it as long as I dont keep getting strep. Good luck and I’d recommend trying not to think about it much until the day of surgery, unnecessary stress.
Hey, also a 21 yo female, on day 4 of recovery! The surgery itself is smooth and painless, and can go very quickly if you have a good surgeon! Anxiety for the surgery is normal but the surgery itself is the easy part. As you’ve probably read, days 1-3 are pretty tolerable. Definitely sleep with a humidifier and don’t expect to sleep in a normal pattern the first few nights. Passing the time has been a challenge, hopefully you’ve got some good shows going on Netflix or some family to keep you company! Don’t miss a pain med dose, even by half an hour.
Hi! I’m a 19 year old female and I just had my tonsils taken out on the 19th. Luckily I got to stay overnight bc I also had sinus surgery and my deviated septum was fixed so having medicine through the IV helps. Honestly the first couple of days were not bad and I was trying to go more than the 4 hours for taking my medicines because I heard days 5-7 are awful (which will be Christmas time /:) honestly sleeping is the hardest part because your throat gets so dry. I found that hot chocolate (at a warm temperature not too hot) helps a lot and ALWAYS DRINK WATER ALL THE TIME.
Hey chandler, don’t be too nervous, if you prepare adequately, you’ll be able to manage the pain! I got mine out on dec 15, I’m a 24 yr old female, and although it’s not a walk in the park, here are some things that have definitely helped:
1. Get a humidifier-this will soften your throats while you sleep and make it easier to swallow pills in the middle of the night, otherwise you won’t want to take them. (also, sleep in a small room so it the humidifier will actually help, too big of a room will defeat the purpose unless you’re inches away from it)
2. Get two sets of ice packs-while you have one on each side of your threat, another set is in the freezer to rotate so you. Never have to be without it. Make this your new best friend.
3. Sleep reclined-I’ve found it doesn’t dry out my mouth as much if my head is tilted up a bit, not sure why. But it also doesn’t strain your neck if there’s proper support. Don’t lay flat-you’ll fine you slightly choke yourself with saliva which you won’t be able to spit out accurately cause your tongue and throat will be sore
4. Jello, crushed popsicles, smashed pirates booty popcorn eaten with a spoon, soaked graham crackers in skim milk (other milk is too thick I’ve found), pedialyte to make sure you keep in electrolytes (Gatorade was too sugary and acidic for me)
5. If you have someone to help you be accountable for meds every 4-6 hours, do it. Also set an alarm on your phone too. Temporary annoyance for waking up every 4 hours is worth not having pain!!
6. Days 1-2 are simple, little pain, surgery is fine, you slee fine and can talk lots. 3-5 start a bit of pain, swallowing will become difficult and scabs will start to form, STAY HYDRATED, I know it hurt but keep drinking girl!! Days 6-8 I’m in the middle of, they’re not fun. My tongue is swollen that I can’t talk or swallow without pain, scabs have started to get a dark red color or bleed. I am expecting this to happen til day 10 and then for the scabs to begin to fall off and to lighten up pain a bit.
*i was scared for it too, as I went to the hospital the minute I finished my last final at university, and the hosp experience wasn’t bad at all, as I had a great support group. Make sure you have that and get used to the fact that movies and books are now your constant companion for the next 2 weeks. It’s not overly fun sweetheart, but I’m sure you’ll do great! It’ll be worth it!! I also had lots of people praying for me which I feel has helped me with the strength necessary to get through this, you’ll be in my prayers!! Good luck!!!
Janelle,
Thank you so much for all of your advice, tips, and prayers! I am on day 5 of recovery now. The whole process has gone pretty smoothly, and your advice, along with others, has been extremely helpful and comforting. I have been faithfully taking pain meds as recommended, and that has been my saving grace. I have been taking it easy, relaxing, and have been making sure to stay hydrated! As I have read the next couple of days are suppose to be the hardest, so I am just going to keep doing what I have been doing and hopefully they will pass by quickly. I would have to say that my favorite things to eat throughout this process have been ice cream, popsicles, mashed potatoes (followed by lots of water), overly cooked pasta, and I have had some mashed green beans. I haven’y personally had any problems other pain, and my next appointment in Tuesday so we will see what the doctor says then. I hope you are almost done with your recovery process, and that it has gone smoothly! Thanks to everyone again, and good luck to anyone having a tonsillectomy in the future!!
Hey chandler, don’t be too nervous, if you prepare adequately, you’ll be able to manage the pain! I got mine out on dec 15, I’m a 24 yr old female, and although it’s not a walk in the park, here are some things that have definitely helped:
1. Get a humidifier-this will soften your throats while you sleep and make it easier to swallow pills in the middle of the night, otherwise you won’t want to take them. (also, sleep in a small room so it the humidifier will actually help, too big of a room will defeat the purpose unless you’re inches away from it)
2. Get two sets of ice packs-while you have one on each side of your threat, another set is in the freezer to rotate so you. Never have to be without it. Make this your new best friend.
3. Sleep reclined-I’ve found it doesn’t dry out my mouth as much if my head is tilted up a bit, not sure why. But it also doesn’t strain your neck if there’s proper support. Don’t lay flat-you’ll fine you slightly choke yourself with saliva which you won’t be able to spit out accurately cause your tongue and throat will be sore
4. Jello, crushed popsicles, smashed pirates booty popcorn eaten with a spoon, soaked graham crackers in skim milk (other milk is too thick I’ve found), pedialyte to make sure you keep in electrolytes (Gatorade was too sugary and acidic for me)
5. If you have someone to help you be accountable for meds every 4-6 hours, do it. Also set an alarm on your phone too. Temporary annoyance for waking up every 4 hours is worth not having pain!!
6. Days 1-2 are simple, little pain, surgery is fine, you slee fine and can talk lots. 3-5 start a bit of pain, swallowing will become difficult and scabs will start to form, STAY HYDRATED, I know it hurt but keep drinking girl!! Days 6-8 I’m in the middle of, they’re not fun. My tongue is swollen that I can’t talk or swallow without pain, scabs have started to get a dark red color or bleed. I am expecting this to happen til day 10 and then for the scabs to begin to fall off and to lighten up pain a bit.
*i was scared for it too, as I went to the hospital the minute I finished my last final at university, and the hosp experience wasn’t bad at all, as I had a great support group. Make sure you have that and get used to the fact that movies and books are now your constant companion for the next 2 weeks. It’s not overly fun sweetheart, but I’m sure you’ll do great! It’ll be worth it!! I also had lots of people praying for me which I feel has helped me with the strength necessary to get through this, you’ll be in my prayers!! Good luck!!!
Hey guys. I just had mine out this last Monday (December 12) and I have to say I’m miserable. Food of any kind is not appealing and drinking hurts. I’ve tried Popsicles but honestly everything tastes nasty. They gave me oxycodone and children’s Tylenol and I haven’t noticed a difference in pain when I take these. Am I doing something wrong? Please help, I need some kind of relief
The first few days are the hardest. Are you taking your meds on schedule? If it becomes too unbearable you can call your doctor and have him prescribe you a different medication. Not all meds work the same. Having had mine out 2 months ago, the only think I can say is its gets better I promise.
As on schedule as i can. I have noticed that the oxycodone doesn’t do much other than making me sleepy. I feel no difference in pain management. I may have to call the dr and find out why my ears hurt so badly
I had my tonsils removed on Monday. I am 42 yo and have been plagued all my life with throat infections.
I am on day 5 and it is the worst day so far. Yesterday I switched back to Oxy. Today my tongue is thick and sore and I spit up some dark blood and I can barely talk. I can’t believe I was boasting on day 2-3 about how much easier it was then I had expected ….
Waterbottle tip: Nathan 10oz runners bottle is fantastic!
The bottle is small so you can take it anywhere (yes, I drink even while I am on the pot!). The bottle has a little pull out tip for easy drinking. And because the bottle it plastic, you can squirt the water in your mouth so you don’t have to do the painful sucking motion. I even drip a few droplets in my mouth while in bed at night to moisten my mouth, without choking on a big gulp.
Highly recommended! You can buy Nathan bottles on Amazon or in any running specialty store.
omg me too! last monday and the same medicine! i feel like it blurs the pain but doesn’t take it away. i’ve been able to eat pancakes and hashbrowns but it hurts so bad when i do. i was eating popsicles but they were really nasty, and i’ve been having a ton of apple juice even though it’s also nasty. i don’t have any tips but we’re in the exact same position.
KateLynn, how are things going for you? I am slowly recovering. Days 6-8 were the worst. I went outside for the first time day 9. Eating still hurts but at least I can talk a bit without pain. I have started to taper off my oxycodone today. Hopefully clear by day 11.
Liquid Norco is what I’m taking and has helped a lot.
I was also given oxycodone and it’s not really helping me either, my doctor said to rotate taking Tylenol and ibuprofen every 90 minutes and that’s really been helping me.
Hi, I had mine removed, Dec 14. I agree with you, drinking and eating is very painful. The first few days, I don’t drink directly from the rim of the glass. I used a teaspoon or tablespoon for drinking any form of cold liquid. Do it slowly. Sweet ice cream or yoghurt is painful as well. I took fresh milk instead. As the day progresses, I learned to take soft boiled egg. Then, room temperature creamy soup. I hope you feel better now that you are on your second week. I promised myself, I will eat a lot after this. Get well guys, and always follow the doctor’s instruction and advise.
I had my tonsils out a couple of weeks before my 23rd birthday (early July 2016) and although the recovery period was horrible, I’ve never once wished I hadn’t had it done. Just a word of warning and some advice for people having a tonsillectomy in the future or going through recovery now; you WILL be lulled into a false sense of security. I woke up from the operation with no pain in my throat at all, it felt a little weird but it didn’t hurt. Neither did day 2, in fact I managed to go out for lunch, and eat normal food. Then day 3 hit, that’s when the real fun starts. Days 3 and 4 were uncomfortable, painful and miserable, but tolerable. Day 5 however, I woke up in the morning with a horrendous stinging feel in my throat, grabbed my trusty water bottle, and had a drink. As soon as the water hot my throat, the stinging intensified, the pain started radiating up from my throat through to my ears and deep inside. This lasted about 10 minutes, having to drink continuously through the pain, and eventually it subsided, but it came back throughout the day, especially if I were to fall asleep or not drink for a while.This lasted from days 5-9, and I found myself not being able to eat proper food, which they recommend as it promotes healing. Couldn’t go near anything acidic either, although that’s a given. I also ended up back in a&e as the surgical sites were bleeding, however by the time I was seen the bleeding had stopped and a big clot was forming, By day 10/11 things started to ease up a bit, still woke up in an incredible amount of pain but it didn’t last as long. I started forcing myself to eat more ‘normal’ foods, things that would scratch away the scabs. The rest of recovery was plain sailing, just a constant sore throat but nothing compared to tonsillitis. It wasn’t until about 2 months later that I finally had no pain whatsoever in my throat, even when yawning. Best piece of advice I could give anyone, is DO NOT skip out on any pain medication. Even if you feel like you don’t need it or you’d rather sleep, take your medication. Set an alarm for during the night to take your painkillers, it will make the onset of pain on day 3 that much easier. Also try and stagger them; I was given co-codamol and ibuprofen, so I would take 2 co-codamol (500mg) and then 2 hours later take 1 ibuprofen (400mg), to try and cover every hour, because you’ll be counting down the hours before you can take more tablets. Honestly the best thing I’ve ever done, my recovery period ended 5 months ago and I haven’t had anything other than a sore throat because of a cold, which quickly went, which for me is a bloody miracle – the recovery is definitely worth it.
Great story! Tanks for sharing Lilly!
I am a 22 year old female, after having multiple bouts of tonsillitis I have opted to have my tonsils removed this Thursday! Reading this blog has been very helpful so far and I have already gone to the shops and bought a humidifier & lots of ice blocks. I will be commenting later to let everyone know my personal experience & to give more insight and tips.
Welcome aboard Chelsea! Hope all goes well. Stay hydrated!
Oh and also, is it normal to not be able to breath out through your nose? I can breath in fine, but out it just shuts off. I’m praying this will sort itself out?
I think it’s normal because I am going through the same thing. And I was terrified at first especially because of all the freaking post-nasal drip I suffer from! If I understand correctly, the uvula is so engorged it just blocks the passageway when you exhale a deep strong breath. I had mine removed on the 8th, so you are a little ahead of me…. If you are having more success with exhaling through your nose, please let me know! Or anyone else for that matter because I am quite curious (and semi worried). My doctor really didn’t sugar coat anything before the surgery, she really set me up to expect the worse, which was a good thing! It definitely has been by no means easy, (more so only at times) but I really did think it was going to be worse. None the less, totally worth it!! I couldn’t sit in front of the mirror picking out tonsil stones for 20-30 minutes a night ANY LONGER! HALLELUJAH!!
Hey, yeah I’m 2 days ahead of you (6th) and ive gotta say that unfortunately the pain is not easing up! ? but on a plus side, I can breath 90% normally through my nose now. It’s still a bit off when I’m lying down at night, or if I try to blow my nose it’s just not quite right, but compared to how it was its llllloads better! When I woke after surgery, the first thing I said was that I couldn’t breath out through my nose! Scared me to death! They didn’t explain any of that to me, they just made me stick a decongestant spray up my nose! (Which obviously did nothing) so I’m guessing not a lot of people bring that to their attention that early on.
Omg I know!! I was panicking so much because of that, that they injected me with something to calm down! I’m like why didn’t anybody think it was important to forewarn me about this?!
Same here, I’m day five and the pain is the worst so far. I can breathe in but it doesn’t seem to work when I breathe out, I sound like a bulldog!