Adult Tonsillectomy Recovery Time – a Poll
Tonsillectomy recovery time is unique to each individual- sure. We know that recovery time for adults is longer, and maybe harder, than tonsillectomy recovery time for children. I remember my own son bouncing back in less than a week! My own experience taught me that ten days off from a job that required lots of talking was a bit light. I generally advise two weeks. As I’ve said, most employers will let you come back early. That’s easier than asking for more time after the fact. I’ve read the accounts of thousands of tonsillectomy patients- most of them adults. I’ve learned that the time required varies. I wonder though, how many tonsillectomy patients never really post about their experience. Are you one of those quiet ones lying in the weeds? I’d like to get a better feel for the average adult tonsillectomy recovery time. Please take a moment and share your own experience in recovering from tonsillectomy surgery. You can help us all!
So let me put this out as an informal survey for people who have been through it, to help those planning a tonsillectomy. (It’s also one of the most commonly researched questions by adults considering tonsillectomy.) It’s my hope that we can amass a good sampling of experiences to help guide would-be adult tonsillectomy patients as they plan their family, work, and other obligations,
What is the average recovery time for tonsillectomy in adults? Read my Summary: Tonsillectomy Recovery Time Summary
So, what is it? What is your recommended adult tonsillectomy recovery time?
Join the discussion
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Before you schedule an appointment to have your tonsils removed, do a little research.
I’m 25 years old, a stay at home mom to an 8 month old and still decided to get my tonsils removed. I got them removed on April 9th, I am now 8 days post-op and I feel just as horrible as I did when I woke up from surgery. If I would have known recovery would have been this bad I would not have gotten them removed. I was given liquid pain meds that I have to take every 4 hours but they wear off after about 2 so I’m in pain non-stop. Not only am I unable to talk but I can hardly swallow anything so in turn I haven’t been able to eat anything and with only being 8 days post-op I’ve already lost 14 pounds….that’s not normal! I’ve tried eating scrambled eggs the second day home and they did not settle right and came right back up. I’ve also tried mashed potatoes and some alphabet pasta in sauce but it was too painful. I think applesauce and sherbert were the only things I was able to get down a decent amount of. It’s a struggle to even drink water.
I had my tonsils removed on April 10 th. I am now at 5 days post surgery and I must say that I’m not doing too bad. After surgery I was not in too much pain, just a bit sore. I didn’t take the pills they prescribed because the pain was not that bad so I just stick with some Tylenol when really necessary. I am mostly drinking boost drinks and lots of water because it is still pretty difficult to swallow. I did manage to eat a couple of bites of rice but had to stop due to pain. Overall, I would have to say that the amount of pain is way less than the things I was reading. Oh and my ears started feeling like if they have a lot of pressure yesterday( like when you’re plain is landing you get that pain) but it goes away with pain meds.
Also the mornings are the hardest for me because my throat does hurt the most then.
I just had my tonsils removed about 10 hours ago, I’m 21. Honestly the pain when I first woke was horrendous. Since coming home at 530 pm (surgery was at 11am) I’ve had one Percocet. I am able to eat yogurt and cooled off mash potatoes, drinking water however feels worse as its very funny feeling to swallow.
I am 20 years old and now on my 6th day since having the procedure and the pain today is pretty much the worst. The day of the surgery I was still pretty messed up from anesthesia and meds so I slept all day and since it’s been painful swallowing, talking, etc. It’s always much worse after just waking up too, so try and drink as much water as possible before hand and for the first couple days after surgery. My ears have started to feel really full but the doc said that would be normal, I’ve found that after drinking as much water I could stand just sitting in a hot shower/bath helped me feel much better. I’m hoping I will start to feel more relief and less pain since I’m about halfway through typical recovery time.
its awful.for the first 5 days, don’t be a heroin addict either or.have a high tolerance to pain meds cuz it’s constant pain and the medicine will not phase you this is day 5 for me…still awful and still cant eat.