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How long does it take to recover after tonsillectomy?
Tonsillectomy recovery time is unique for each patient. The recovery timeline for children is much shorter than for adults, with seemingly less pain. My own eight year old son was back to his old self in less than a week after his tonsils taken out. This may have fanned the flames of my unreasonable expectations of my own recovery time as an adult. His was fairly typical of a child his age. Children’s bodies heal faster than adults’ do.
Tonsillectomy Recovery Time
What to expect after tonsil surgery
The timeline for recovery for an adult is a different story. Age matters. In fact, it appears that the older an adult is at the time of their tonsillectomy, the longer the recovery is, in general. Based on my own adult tonsillectomy recovery, and the stories of thousands of my readers, I’d put the average adult tonsillectomy recovery time at approximately 10.43 days. Yes, I’m that good!
Humor aside, ten days seems to be pretty typical. I added the .43 because so many people, myself included, thought they had it licked and went back to work around day ten, only to find they weren’t quite ready. As scabs slough off in second week of recovery, many adults experience a bit of a pain relapse, just as they thought they were almost recovered. This is a really tough period for many. They’ve spent almost two weeks with minimal sleep, minimal nourishment, minimal activity, and lots of pain medicine. It can be downright depressing for adults recovering in this second week.
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I do hear from many adults whose recovery times are closer to a week – perhaps due to my good advice, perhaps due to genetics. It’s hard to say why some adults’ recovery timelines are shorter, and their experiences less traumatic. There are also cases that drag out further. If you’re one of a small minority that requires re-cauterization for bleeding, or don’t take the proper precautions, (many of these are outlined here and in my book), your tonsillectomy recovery time may be as much as three or four weeks. I want to make an important point here- one that I cannot overemphasis: Stay hydrated! Keep drinking fluids! Dehydration is the worst enemy of the tonsillectomy patient.
My advice: ask your employer, your family, your friends, and the rest of the world to give you two weeks for your adult tonsillectomy. You may surprise them, hopefully for the better.
Recovery is unique to each individual- sure. We know that recovery time for adults is longer, and maybe harder, than 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!I’ve put together a collection of items that I think would be helpful, if not essential, to making tonsillectomy recovery a little more pleasant. Check out the Tonsillectomy General Store.
-Greg Tooke My short bio
Ok first of all I got my surgery 4 days ago I’m only 13 I got it because if I didn’t I would have had a ear infection once a week for the rest of my life everyday so yah the reason was good enough my family has been the best ever for these last days besides them taking so many pictures after my surgery I recommend apple sauce It is the most less painful thing I could eat for now I could only last a minimum of 4 hours without pain medication I was warned about the pain before the surgery on the 2 day I was thinking o this isn’t so bad but the 3rd day was terrible advice eat your food before taking your medication because I threw up my medication and food and it hurt worse than swallowing now it started to hurt to swallow by the 3rd day the most important thing is stay hydrated even if you have to shove the food down your throat stay hydrated the pain of swallowing is for me hurts me thoat then goes up to my ears even if I am just drinking water it hurts to swallow pudding ramen noodles jello apple sauce and water is the best thing to have after surgery thank you for giving your time to read my comment I hope it helps you I wish you good luck for your surgery I don’t mean to scare you with this it’s just the truth I hope you get strong pain killers 4 days down 10 to go happy recoveries 🙂
Oh the pain the pain If I ask nicely will someone put me out of my misery. I just want to drink prune juice to get rid of the constipation and Im scared to swallow. Day 4 after surgery.
I am an 18 year old female and I had my tonsils out Friday May 31st and it is currently Thursday June 6th so I am on day 7. First of all, despite all of the things that I was told, I was completely caught off guard by the level of pain. I don’t think anything could have prepared me for it, though. Pain meds will be your best friend- although I have never felt completely pain free even on days when I took pain meds every four hours exactly on the hour. Ironically, the first two days after surgery have probably been the easiest for me. Since then, sleeping has been impossible, swallowing even worse, and the ear and throat pain on a scale of 1-10 has been a consistent 7-9 despite pain meds. ‘ve been able to force down some room temp soft foods like mac and cheese and noodles, and of course some water ice and ice cream, but nothing is easy. Swallowing water is even a daunting task. I’m really hoping I start to feel better, I’ve been miserable and irritable and bored! (And I’m sure my family is sick of me laying around feeling sorry for myself), Wondering if it will get any easier with days 8 onward? One can only hope!!! This is definitely the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my life.
Best of luck to anyone getting theirs out, hang in there!!
I had my tonsilectomy on Feb 22nd, 2013. I am a 45 y/o female. Unfortunately, I am allergic to Tylenol and was not able to take a mixed drug. This required me to take the full narcotic Hydromorphone. I took a anti-nausea with it from the start, to prevent nausea. My huge warning to you is drink a lot of water. Popsicles are good, but dairy will make you feel sick. The reaction of the cautery with the dairy is nauseating. I ate a lot of thick soups, like split pea and butternut squash. Don’t eat anything hot, but room temperature or slightly warmer. The side effects of the anti-nausea and the pain meds, made me dizzy all the time and I absolutely could not have driven until I was completely clear of the drugs in my system. I was on the Hydromorphone for about 2 weeks. The pain subsided about day 14 or 15 and did not come back. What happened after that was severe constipation that was extremely painful. When I took a laxative that should have been mild, I felt nausea and felt like I would vomit for days. I did, but only one time. I thought the nausea would never end and the anti-nausea did not relive the feeling. Please make sure that you are taking in enough fluids and also taking a probiotic or eating yogurt. I ate coconut yogurt for the first 2 weeks, since dairy did not agree with my system. You will want to brush your tongue. Do not be agressive and activate your gag reflex. I brushed my tongue on day 12 and it was the best thing I did. I had a thick layer of yellow crust on my tongue. It was from the cautery. For days it tasted like I had sand on my tongue, after I brushed it. My nausea improved a little after brushing my tongue too.
I praise God that I did not have any bleeding. Yes the recovery was about the worst experience I ever had, but I will say that the problem I was having of feeling like there was a constant lump in my throat, is gone and it will ultimately have been one of the best decisions of my life. Do not eat scatchy, hard or crumbly foods for about the first 4-6 weeks. The new tissue in the back of your throat is very soft and sensitive. Tiny seeds from strawberries and other berries, can make you feel like they get stuck and choke you. I also had difficulty with rice, until just a couple of days ago.
Do not be afraid of the surgery or recovery. Be aware that your body needs to get stronger after you are on bed rest for 2-3 weeks. Give yourself extra time and don’t rush your daily activities. Don’t go back to a heavy exercise routine to quickly. I continued to have dizzy spells and ear congestion until just days ago. I would not say that you are truly back to normal until week 5. I would not say that recover is 100% age related. I know someone in her early 20s that had as much, if not more trouble than me with recovery.
A couple more things. Your ENT may say you can use a throat spray like “Chloroseptic”. Don’t do it. It dries out your throat and makes it much more painful when it wears off. There is a lidocaine rinse that your physician can prescribe. It is very thick and can make you feel nausea, but it does help to decrease the pain, if it is unbearable. Swelling can be very scary on day 4 or 5. Use an ice pack on your neck as long as you think it helps you. Eat cold foods and ice chips. They do a lot of manipulating your mouth and throat during the surgery, and I am sure there is a great deal of trauma that occurs to your entire neck, throat, ears, jaw, tongue and uvula.
I really hope that my recovery tips help others.
I’m 16 years old and on day 5 of recovery. I have a very difficult time swallowing. It’s like my mouth can’t open wide enough for food because of my jaw pain. I also have pain under my tongue. I’m trying not to be too down in the dumps about this but goodness, its just so painful. I’ve been relying on liquid hydrocodone to offset the pain but it doesn’t really do much except make me tired and eating a little less painful. Does anyone know how long this pain lasts for? How do you know when the scabs fall off? just want this entire thing to be over and done with.