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 Nikita. We are all here waiting for an update, and always ready to share our thoughts on your journey. You will be just fine. Ice, at the ready!
So I’m 6 weeks post op in 2 days. I went to see my surgeon yesterday for a checkup on how everything went and his really happy though I’m still healing. Yes, still healing and apparently this is normal.
I still have not got my taste back properly since surgery and he said that this is normal and can happen and it should come back in time.
I asked him exactly how gross my tonsils were? He said they just kept on going and going, they were buried so deep that everytime he thought he found the end of them he had to keep going. Followed by, and omg, they were just full of stones. Everytime that I grabbed them stuff come flying out. They really needed to come out for a long time.
So today I’m feeling so happy that I went through with the tonsillectomy. I don’t have tonsillitis anymore, I don’t have bad breath 24/7 anymore. I have stopped snoring like a steam train – I was getting super bad at snoring. I feel like I have more room in my throat if that makes any sense.
Upon yawning and similar I still get ‘stretching’ pain on my tonsil beds – but that will settle in time.
It was the most cruel thing in my life I had to recover from (as far as pain goes), but I did recover and I’m so happy THEY ARE GONE!
I wish everyone that makes the ‘tonsillectomy’ journey the best of luck and prayers ♡
HI Shondell. I am thinking of getting a tonsillectomy because of tonsil stones. I have seen several ENT doctors and one told me that my bad breath could be from something else besides tonsil stones. Did you have any test done prior to the surgery or did they take them out because they could see a stone or two? I am terrified have the surgery
I had mine out because of stones! I got so tired of cleaning them all the time. I was tired of bad breath! I’ll tell you what, the first couple days the pain is bad, and intense! But even on day 1 I still didn’t regret it!!! I’m day 4 and I’m feeling 90% normal ( I’m sure it’s temporary). The worst part is not eating… lol
Thanks for the encouragement. I hope to have the procedure by June. If this is the cause of my BB
Hi Shondell Langley,
I am really very happy for you, could you please tell were your tonsils big or smal?l mine is really small but infected
Hi Everyone, I am 22 years old and I get my Tonsillectomy on tomorrow February 21, 2017. I am very nervous but I’m preparing myself for the WORST . I hope my recovery is bearable. I will keep you posted
Hi Nikita, and welcome! Best of luck to you. We’ll be here.
Good luck Nikita – I was terrified before my op, and the recovery was hard, but you DO get better – being young means you should heal faster too. It’s a quick operation, then two weeks for the worst part of the recovery… and then you can spend the rest of your life free of tonsils/tonsil stones/infections etc. There is some good advice on this forum, but the best part is knowing that it is normal to feel rotten, be in pain, have a swollen uvula etc – you WILL get better soon. In the meantime, prepare to bed down and convalesce for a couple of weeks. !
HI Nikita, just thinking in on you. Nowbb that you have the surgery behind you. How are you feeling? Are you keeping ice packs around throat? Got humidifier going full time? Drinking plenty of water? Taking meds when due? We are all thinking about you, hoping that you are recovering well. Stay in touch!
Hello I had my tonsils out 16th February and of course I’m in pain. The first day was difficult since my uvula was swollen. The size is reduced, I swallow easier, but is still difficult to sleep as it blocks my throat. I eat, I mean drink, almost everything like chicken, steak ect as I cook them and then make it cream. Cold water makes huge difference, so I drink many lt a day. Painkillers like depon and ponstan do amazing job. I hope I will be ok till 27/2 and able to go back to work.
I had my tonsils out 8th February and it has been ten days from hell! The day of the surgery and the few days that followed wasn’t too bad. I was able to sleep right through the night and took enough painkillers to see me through the day and drank plenty of water. When it got to day 6 this is when the pain kicked in but I thought this was due to my scabs falling off and didn’t take much notice to the pain increase. By day 7 and 8 I was in so much agony I was constantly upset as the pain was so unbearable and it was so painful to even swallow my own saliva.
I went to my GP and they had a look and instantly he told me I had an infection and prescribed my penicillin. After being on my antibiotics a day I feel so much better in myself already
If the pain is too much I would definitely go see a doctor and I wish I done this sooner as I was so run down from the lack of sleep and pain I was in!
(And I can finally talk properly!)
My top tips would be to hydrate a lot- even if it’s super painful. My doctor told me that because I was unable to drink or eat properly I was lacking sugar and told me drinking flat Coke? Would help this. I read not to eat ice cream as it causes a build up at the back of the throat and I ate plenty of lolly ices as they soothed the throat and I would put an ice pack on for the swelling and took plenty of ibuprofen to help with any ear aches