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 have had my tonsils out on Monday and the pain is crazy my ears An throat hurt, I can hardly swallow I have to spit every few mins, paracetamol isn’t working, the throat spray they give you doesn’t work, I have been really unable to eat , my neck and throat and face are swollen, it’s so Hard An painful I can’t hardly sleep I keep chocking and bring up yellow stuff.. when does it get better it seems to be getting worse not better, when I try to drink it stings and I have a horrible cough ?
Nicole
I am so sorry to hear that. I will keep u in my prayers. Dont u give up! Please keep me updated.
From what they explained they burn the site to stop the bleeding. I was sent home but I haven’t sleep because I’m still bleeding. It has slowed but still bleeding and I swallow it which causes me to vomit up the blood. Ent refused to get out of bed to come in I have to go to their office to see if he’s sending me to get another surgery which means I have to start all over for scratched. This surgery has been a murphey law. i guess I will see what this doctors says tomorrow. The er was amazed this is happening so late in recovery. For some reason my recovery was very long. I just ready to get back to normal and eat. I haven’t ate in 2 weeks. The thoughts of starting over is causing major anxiety. Thank you for your prayers I need them.
Hi everyone,
I had my tonsillectomy on January 30th. I am now about 18 days post surgery. I am 27 years old, my profession is a teacher in a very rough school. So I requested 2 weeks off from work – since I unfortunelty have to speak loudly often.
Now that I’m thinking with a clear mind I just want to reassure all the people on here looking for help/guidance that you can do this! I got my tonsils removed mainly because of the tonsil stones and also because they were huge and in the way. They disrupted my daily life. When I went to the ent she suggested right away to get them out, but I waited about a year until I actually got the guts to do it. I heard SO many horror stories and kept putting it off.
So here is what I experienced.
Day one- I was so nervous for surgery! I got the to hospital and prepped. They gave me a sedative to calm me down before surgery and that’s the last thing I remember before getting the anesthesia. I woke up very confused I felt a little sore. The nurse gave me applesauce with ginger ale. I was surprised to find I could actually swallow! I was able to go home and rested for the day. I drank a lot of water and took my Percocet every 4 hours. Day one wasn’t bad. Just keep an ice pack on your neck, crush your pills up in applesauce, use a humidifier and drink ALOT of water. Pain was about a 4/10 day 1.
Days 2 and 3- so the worst part about this recovery for me was the first 5 days I got absolutely no sleep. I had to get up every 5 minutes to drink water to stop my throat from drying out. I also needed to sit up while sleeping because if I didn’t I would choke on my swollen uvula. On top of that you don’t want to let too much time go by in between pain pills. Make sure you have your doctor prescribe you something for nausea just incase!!!!! Being on the pain medicine with no food caused me to have awful awful nausea the first night into the second day. I was convinced I would throw up and that was my worst fear. Thankfully I had someone to take care of me and forced applesauce down my mouth to get some substance in my stomach. The next day my doctor prescribed me promethazine, it worked wonders. It did make me feel super loopy combined with the pain meds but whatever no more nausea. I could only eat soup broth, applesauce, and water ice. Pain was 5/10 on days 2+3. Drank a lot of water about 3 large glasses per hour.
Days 4-7: these days were probably the most painful for me. Big thick yellow scabs formed in the back of my throats leaving a weird like mucusy feeling in my throat, which was fine not painful – just something that happened. The pain was a throbbing feeling in my throat, ears, and head. I couldn’t turn me head it was very sore, just keep the ice packs on there it helps! someone also said put a warm washcloth on your ears; this was great too. I didn’t get much food down on these days – still soup broth, ices, and applesauce. I also didn’t get much sleep I was so out of it from lack of sleep and being on medication. But again this wasn’t anything unbearable – YOU WILL SURVIVE It was a very sore/stiff feeling. Not being able to sleep was the worst. I tried to sleep in a recliner. My humidifier, ice pack, and staying hydrated really really helped! Drinking water was so important to me because it kept the scabs wet which made them falling off so much easier for me. I honestly didn’t experience any serious pain with the scabs falling off because they didn’t dry out. talking was hard I sounded very weird – it’s best not to talk because it’ll be sore later on. Pain was about 6-7/10 during the days 8/10 in the evenings.
Days 8-11: these days were like a roller coaster for me. I would feel great and then the pain would set in during the evening / night time. Not as bad at the previous days. The scabs started to look like they were going to fall. It is so important to drink a lot of water! My friend said the scabs coming off were the worst part for her because she didn’t hydrate but for me I didn’t really feel anything! They fell off in my sleep on days 9-11. I still didn’t eat anything crazy the most I ate was a little over cooked Mac and cheese and some potatoes with butter. I still was taking pain medicine.. I needed it during the nights especially. Sleeping became possible again on these days I would sleep for about 2 hours wake up and hydrate and sleep and then wake up for meds and water. Pain was 6-7/10 but again nothing unbearable!
Days 12-14: I started to see the light!! The scabs were almost all gone. I was able to eat potatoes and Mac and cheese. I ate ice cream too these days. I was able to open my mouth much more. I didn’t take my pain medicine too often. I still used ice packs, humidifier, and lots of water. Sleeping on my side became possible, and felt amazing! I slept through the nights. Still be careful with what you eat because I cut my wound a little trying to eat a soft brownie which caused everything to sting that spot. Pain was 4-5/10.
Days 15-today: my voice is almost back to normal! My students said I sounded like I had a bubble stuck on my throat. Talking at work was really hard for me and caused me to be sore but I survived. I felt a lot better I could walk around and do things. Still no hard foods. Until about 5 minutes ago on day 18 I at a chicken nugget and it was glorious!!
Anyways, my recovery wasn’t too terrible. Yes at times is sucked but I made it and you will too!!! 14 days of rest I needed. 17 days of soft foods. I lost about 12 lbs. But, guess what? I feel like I can breath because there is actually room now. I feel fresh and not self conscious of my breath because I don’t have those darn tonsil stones! I don’t regret getting the surgery at all and I’m only 18 days out. You will be okay and feel so much better soon!
Hello,
I was looking for some relief on your blog.. on day 6 as I had surgery on the 8th of February. The most pain I’ve been having in these few days is from my ears, not even from my throat that much. I hope the pain is almost over!!
My 2 year old had his tonsils out on the same day. The first few days were fine, but the last couple he refuses to take his meds, he just spits them out, and he won’t drink. Once in awhile I can get a popsicle into him, but that’s it.
Hi Nicole
I agree with Janet.
Now the pain you are having are all part of the surgery. You will have swelling in your tongue/ throat/ excuses ear pains and that will last for awhile. I was getting anxious on my day 10 after surgery that all my pain was not easing down. I had to take another week from work aside of the 2 wks I took off to heal. It little took me 3 wks to actually feel better. Alot of us heal different some may take a few days others like me took longer. I know is very frustrating as you looking for answer with your surgeon. Just try to rest as much as you can as when we rest our body heals faster. Yes gargling with warm salt water will help. Keep drinking lots of water because you will definitely feel dry. I also managed to gargle with peroxide that helps alot as well. The cold compress will definitely ease the pain and swelling just keep doing it. I wasnt to much on the oxy as they wasnt doin to much for my pain so serious crush tylenol will numb your pain faster and longer. I know food is hard to eat but dont push it if u cant is very stressfully painful when you trying to chew and that tongue hurts so bad. The more fluid you intake the more hydrated you will be. Chicken broth will help too. I really didn’t care of food while i was in excruciating pain. Yes i did lose weight but my liquids kept me hydrated and away from heading to the ER for hydration. I am so sorry you going through this but keep strong i promise you it will get better. You will have them bad days and it will turn out to be good. Keep me posted please.
Ok it makes me feel a little better that someone else was in pain this long. I knew pain came with it but most of what I read people were getting relief or starting to get relief by now. I haven’t ate due to the swelling mostly, and the pain. 9-10 days without food is taking a toll on my body but I am not dehydrated. I’m by a humidifier 24/7 and I drink water all day long. Bewtween the lack of sleep more than a few hours at a time and no food I began to panic. But knowing others were in pain this long soothes my mind because I was really thinking something was wrong. Because my pain is mostly in my mouth, in my throat too but my mouth more. Thank you. Your post has let me calm down a bit now I just need to finish this recovery I hope the pain starts to decline soon!
I am glad I can ease your anxiety. Believe me I was also going crazy thinking why I wasn’t healing as fast as everyone I was reading there post. My surgery was on 1/23. And to be honest just last week Thursday I started to feel some relief. I still have a bit soreness in my throat but I am over the pain as of last week. I kept chewing on ice chips for my tongue swellingness to go down. Or and also i kept drinking warm tea with a teaspoon of honey/ and ginger and a slice of lemon. I felt some type of comfort doing it. I bought cepacol extra strength (honey) to help to numb my throat and tongue. Chewing gum sugar free will also help for the tongue relief. Believe me it will hurt at the beginning but push through just for a bit. Doing it everyday your tongue and throat will start feeling different. The humidifier will help. You are almost there. It took me more than 10 days to heal. So dont you worry. I even lost my voice. I just got it back last week. Everyone goes through recovery differently. i kept my ice pack all the time around my neck.