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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
I’m 35. Today is Friday and I had mine out on Monday. I tried doing as the dr suggested and pushed through the pain to eat on day two. Screw that. I’ve spent the last few days drooling into a towel. The pain meds are useless. They knock me out, but don’t touch the pain. So my sweet husband gets the joys of me jerking awake from my sleep each time I swallow. A few hours of uninterrupted sleep resulted in crazy green gunk lining the roof of my mouth. I’m on my fourth drool towel. I’ve found that the lime Popsicles, and the cocoanut water ones don’t leave that slimy film that makes breathing harder. I’ve tried ice chips, Gatorade, noodles, mashed potatoes… Nothing has flavor and nothing has been worth the pain of swallowing it. I would’ve been content to remain sedated for another week. 0_o
My heart goes out to you Sara- All I can say right now is to remind you that this is temporary. Did you happen to read my latest article? https://tonsillectomyrecovery.com/adult-tonsillectomy-tips/
Hang in there. I wish you all the best. (KEEP DRINKING!!!!)
I had mu surgery on 10/25/13 and I fell like crap. I’m so hungry. The pain meds don’t help. I just realized two days ago I could use an ice pack. I have four children and I woyld sell anyone of them to make my ears stop hurting. I hope its gets better soobn because I’m tired of being asked how I feel everyday.
Hi I am a 41 year old female who recently had a tonsillectomy 5 days ago. Let me just tell you I am hating life. Days 2-3 seem pretty good then 4 and 5 everything hurts and the pain is extra. Im hungry, I got diarrhea, cant sleep good, always got to swallow but don’t want to cause it hurts. My throat feels like its full of flim. I have been staying hydrated and taken my meds every 4 hrs. I did all my throwing up on day 1. I hope days 5-10…14 max gets better, I am so ready to see these scabs fall off. Thanks for listen!
I’m 36 years old and on day 7 post op. The first day was pretty rough. I was vomiting all day. I was fearful of taking the Rx I was given because I was just so sick that first day. I was also afraid of bleeding but after the 5th vomit session I was all better. I would only take extra strength Tylenol for the next 3 days. I finally gave in on day 4 and took the prescribed medication but I would only take 1/2 of a pill every 3 hours. I guess I could say I have a pretty high tolerance of pain. I have read so many horror stories that people had so much pain. I wouldn’t say I’ve been in so much pain but just very uncomfortable. The 4th day I had severe cold symptoms (congestion and strep throat like feeling) I did not get much instruction from my doctor so I did a lot of research. ICE your neck and jaw area for the first couple days. The best tips I can give is hydrate with LOTS of water and ice chips, to limit irritations. If you gargle with warm salt water after every meal and every morning and night it will really help reduce bacteria and infections. Brush your teeth and scrap your tongue regularly. Liquids for the first 2 days. Eat really soft foods for the next 5-6 days. Add more texture as the days pass. NO CRUNCHY OR SHARP FOODS for the first two weeks. I bough extra OTC meds just in case I needed them such as, Tylenol caplets, liquid Tylenol, ear drops, Nyquil, throat spray, and cough drops. These were all used at some point. So here I am on day 7. I have read that day 8-10 can be bad but I don’t believe it will be that bad at all since I really have been coping with the pain thus far. I see some of my scabs are starting to fall off. Remember to log your medication doses and times so you do not over medicate and try to remember to hydrate every 30 min, even through the nights.
I am 1 month shy of 49 yoa and I had my tonsils removed on Oct. 1st. The first 2 days were smooth sailing. Pain was minimal, no meds on day 1 and only used Advil on day 2. I sipped on ice water and ice chips for both days and ate Jello, popsicles, and ice cream. Sleep was minimal first night, and about 3 hours at a time the second night. Day 3 was much worse. Pain more intense and could not talk above a whisper. Swallowing was very painful. I chewed gum to keep my throat moist. Increased Advil, but still no prescription pain meds. For me I found low fat ice cream to be the best pain medication. It numbed my throat and made it feel so much better. Day 4 things went down hill. I woke up in horrible pain. Oh yeah…I have been sleeping in my recliner. I thought it would help with swelling. I set an alarm for no more than 3 hours because I didn’t want my throat to dry out. But I think getting up every hour to drink or chew gum will help. Tonight I am doing that. Today I started taking 1/2 a Percocet every 2 1/2 hours. I am afraid to take a whole one since I am a single mom to a special needs child and need to be alert. I am not able to eat today, the pain is too severe. Drinking is hard so I am chewing gum. I still cannot talk above a whisper. It is hard to open my mouth very wide. I have had NO bleeding and it appears to be starting to scab over. Tomorrow is day 5 and I don’t know what to expect. I am hoping the pain eases off some, but for some reason don’t think it will after reading several other posts. Overall, I think this recovery is going well, but I won’t lie….the pain is intense. Thank goodness there is about an hour of some relief after I take a pain pill before it starts increasing again. Its been a long few days. Hopefully I will turn a corner soon, at least to be able to talk.
I am a Tanzanian (East Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro).. I’m sure that rings a bell 🙂
This is day 6 following my tonsillectomy and it isn’t getting any better. The pain is severe and sleeping is a real challenge now but I find sucking on ice really helps.
It is true icecream gives me mucus and I plan to switch to popsicles + am afraid to put on weight.
I have found cocopops have really helped. i soak them for an hour until they are completely soggy but it works for me.
i find soups especially from the supermarket that are sodium based really irritate me and have had little luck with anything else.
I wish you all the best.
This too shall come to pass comrades