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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
My husband made me beef broth and chicken broth popsicles. They were delicious, probably because i was starving! But, it felt good going down…also ask for some “magic mouthwash” prescription med. it worked great for me! There is also a home remedy magic mouthwash with about the same ingredients…benedryl for swelling, maalox to coat and sooth your stomach and throat and cherry tylenol. Just swirl it around, lay down and let it slowly make its way down your throat. I laid on my left side as that was the side that broke open and needed to be restitched.
I just had mine this morning. I am almost 24 years old and 108 lbs. On e i got home i have been absolutely beyond miserable. I cant drink, i cant eat. Seems the only thing my throat can semi-handle is ice. I have taken vicodin for the pain, but did not help for more than an hour/maybe 2. So now i am tryin tylenol with codein. I need any suggestions and home remedies out there to help comfort and soothe, coat and protect. Thank you
Hi Victoria, Sorry you got off to such a rough start. I know it’s hard to drink, but it’s very important that you do so. Ice or frozen popsicles are a great way to get hydration and sooth the throat. Stay with it! You might also try a little throat spray to take the edge off. (Cepacol makes one) You might also try icing the area with an ice pack.
Good luck my dear. Hope things improve for you.
Hi Victoria,
I hope you are doing better in the 3 days since you posted this. I have some advice. Take your meds right on time. Set your alarm to take them 15 minutes early if the pain is bad but not too early. Drink, Drink , drink tons of water. Try to get some food down. I know it hurts but try to get something in your stomach. I have been living on mac and cheese and mashed potatoes for the past week! Try and have something to look forward to…like a show your going to watch, or your post op appointment. I am currently on day 7 of recovery and am making a list of things I am going to do once i am fully recovered. For me the pain has gotten slightly better each day but its still painful. Hope you are healing up soon and I hear that people in their early to mid 20’s heal quicker than people like me(in my mid 30’s).
Russ c i had my out and am 30 and on day 14 and i feel great a little pain but that i can hand that and no pain meds or any i had my out on the 11 and i feel great have them out
Adult tonsillectomy is not to be taken lightly. It’s a world different for an adult than for a child, and it’s not just age, it’s SIZE! Scar tissue and tissue removed is much more substantial as an adult. I’ve just gone through this and it made me sad to read all the problems people are having. Rule #1 is drink, drink ALOT!!, I know it hurts trust me I do, but you have to keep your tissues in your throat wet! If your throat dries the pain becomes much more intense and you risk bleeding which is an ER trip. Every two-three hours through the night drink something. Scar tissue will start coming off day 5-7 and it’s an awful nasty couple days. Hang in there, it’ll get better soon! Best of luck to you all.
Thank you Lisa- That’s great wisdom!
Im a 20 year old and I’ve heard that I shouldve gotten my tonsils out sooner. Im on day 4 and I havent slept in 2 days. Worst pain ever. I cant swallow liquids other than my meds which keep being changed and nothing has helped with the sores on my tongue. I need sleep! Any suggestions?
Hi Jacob- sorry you’re having a rough time. Are the sores from bruising during surgery, (common), or might you have oral thrush? https://tonsillectomyrecovery.com/oral-thrush-candida/
I would be sure to stay on top of those meds, perhaps try a topical throat spray like Cepacol, and suck on ice cubes as well.
Hope this helps and you feel better soon. Take care
Well I’m on day three ans my pain is horrible… Wen I woke up today I wanted to cry I had gotten a good night’s sleep the night before and I guess I dried my throat out… Nothing worked and I still had an hour 1/2 til med time… I keep coughing up this really thick greenish brown mucus… And I just found out my antibiotics are making me break out lol… But I did eat vanilla pudding today and it was sooo good and smooth going down.. suck on ice chips it helps with the swelling and a ice pack around ur neck helps.. lots of water and chicken broth that’s warm helps a lot… Popsicles haven’t really helped the syrup from the flavor is super thick on my tongue and it’s just nasty…
Dear Whitney – I am on Day 6. Worst day yet for me. I have had two hospital visits in the past 48 hours and both were for my throat drying out (didnt know that till i got there). I am sure that you are staying dehydrated, and I was, but no matter how much water I drank or ice chips I ate every morning I got up it would get worse. When this first started happening I asked over the phone for a better pain reliever. I was put on Lortab right after surgery, wasnt much help. Switched to Oxy, worked for two days then stopped. After that I had my first 1AM ER trip. I woke up feeling like someone took a jagged razor blade through my tongue, throat and ears. The pain was unbearable. When I got there they said “Yeh, a little dry. Not too bad.” WHAT??? Just a little made me feel that way? I dont EVEN want to know what a REALLY dry throat would be like. They gave me diladud and an IV immediately. Within seconds I could feel the back of my throat feeling cooler and the pain subsiding. I spent about two hours there and was home feeling like I was semi-human again. The reason I am mentioning this is, like you, I had pain RIGHT AFTER surgery, on day 3 it really really started to become unbearable. I thought I could get through it, no problem (well mininal problems) and take my pain meds as scheduled, drink water, get passed another day. I was WRONG. SO WRONG. The jagged razor is an elementary description to how I felt on my way to the ER. I don’t want anyone to go through this AT ALL if it can be avoided. If your taking your pain meds and you are still in a substantial amout of pain please go see someone. The staff at the ER were SO understading and nice. As soon as they could understand me try and say “Tonsilectomy day 6” they ALL rushed to help. I hope you are feeling better now but if you aren’t there is any reason you shouldn’t be. Thats what my nurse said anyway, and hey, I think she is right! 🙂