Top 10 Tonsillectomy Recovery Tips
Though I’ve added to the initial 10, these are my top tonsillectomy tips for anyone preparing for, or recovering from tonsillectomy surgery:
- Drink cold fluids
- Continue to drink cold fluids
- Drink more cold fluids! This is perhaps the single most important tip to make life easier while speeding up your recovery period.
- Get a good cool air humidifier and run it all the time in the room you’re in. Consider having more than one for the primary rooms you’ll be spending time in.
- Don’t worry about sleep. Forget the normal time convention. Sleep for short intervals, preferably in a recliner. Sleep can be your worst enemy. Sleeping a few hours in a bed usually results in a dry throat that hurts like crazy. It can take almost an hour to get the pain back under control.
- Keep a written log of your medications as you take them. It’s easy to forget what you’ve taken and when. If you would have problems that require help from the doctor, it can come in handy.
- Plan ahead! Stock up on items you’ll need ahead of time for your tonsillectomy recovery.
- Take something with your pain medicine. Carnation Instant Breakfast or Ensure will at least provide a base in your stomach and reduce nausea.
- Drink ice cold liquids!
A few bonus tips for better tonsillectomy recovery time:
- Plan some minor events. Even a simple event like a walk or a bath can take your mind off the discomfort and help your mindset during tonsillectomy recovery
- Chew sugarless gum. When pain gets referred to the ears, and it often does, chewing gum can ease the ear pain. It also keeps the swallowing process active, which many believe aids in tonsillectomy recovery. A warm compress on the area can also relieve ear pain.
- Ice! Whether it’s a high-tech ice bag or a bag of frozen peas, applying ice directly to the throat and neck is a great way to reduce inflammation and take the edge off of break-through pain. (thanks Kate!)
- Those are my top tonsillectomy tips. For a detailed daily checklist, check out my upcoming book.
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 Recovery General Store.
Some Extra Tips – After Tonsils are removed:
- It’s REALLY important that you drink. I know it’s almost impossible at times, but you must. A trick I used was to use Cloraseptic (sp?) numbing spray. (There’s also a lollipop your doc or pharmacist might know of)- to numb the throat a bit. Then I’d take the medicine. Once the meds kicked in (1/2 hour?), then I’d try to eat. My favorite foods at first were Jell-o and creamed soups. (sweet potato or broccoli by V-8 were good)
- You must keep drinking it helps your throat heal and keeps you hydrated. One gal, a nurse, said she went to an emergency room and demanded IV fluids. Wow! Maybe not such a bad idea!
-Greg Tooke My short bio
Thank you for your quick reply Greg regarding my sore tongue. I read the information and looked at the picture of a tongue with oral thrush. My tongue looks perfectly normal, absolutely pink and no white spots. I am assuming that this symptom is always present in cases of thrush. Please let me know if oral thrush can be present without the coating on the tongue.
Thanks so much Sharon – i believe you as I have seen it enough but what is the importance of staying hydrated as I do not recall my daughter drinking alot. But then again you and I are mear the same age – She was 14 Anymore helpful tips greatly appreciated/
You bet Sharon! Yes, I think bruising is probably the cause. Hopefully it will heal quickly. Take care!
This website and recovery blog has been a godsend! I am 57 years old and had my tonsillectomy on Sept.24. IT has been one week and I believe that following the tips in this website saved me from a lot of suffering. The most important tip is STAY HYDRATED. Drink Drink Drink water all day and whenever awake during the night and use a humidifier. My recovery has gone quite well. Just one issue that I continue to have….tongue pain! What’s up with that? What causes it? When can I expect relief? The tongue is pink, no white spots, somewhat swollen. I have been using a tongue scraper (gently) twice a day. Any tips? This has been my biggest problem.
Hi Sharon- The tongue often gets bruised durubg surgery. It’s possible though that you have thrush- read more…https://tonsillectomyrecovery.com/oral-thrush-candida/
Your reply helped alot and the kindness you showed in doing so is greatly appreciated. I am 2 yrs older so any tips you have PLEASE pass them on
Hello- I am a 44 year old woman and have moderate Sleep Apnea…oh and I also snore like a drunken 500 pound gorilla. I have been trying different things over the years to help reduce the snoring and treat the apnea. I tried CPAP and hated it! The last two times I used it, I swallowed so much air that I ended up looking 7 months pregnant. I also had my turbinates reduced in the spring. This relatively minor procedure seemed to help with snoring and apnea but when I am sick or its ragweed season I go back to loud snoring and awful apnea episodes where I wake up gasping. Yesterday, I went to my Doctor who is recommending that I have the Blue plate special…. SMR (turbinate surgery), fix nasal septum, UPPP and tonsilectomy. I am terrified but feel like its the right thing to do. Any advice would be helpful. Am I crazy to do all of these procedures at once? Is it worth it?
I had a tonsillectomy done about 4 years ago, and just had the SMR turbinate reduction and septoplasty this spring.
The tonsillectomy recovery was, quite honestly, hellish. It was about 10 days of pain and opiate fog filled with bad movies, hunger, and of course a sore throat. But I went from 12 strep infections in 15 weeks to 2 in 4 years. I also had a jerk anesthesiologist who gave me gas with a paralytic without warning me ahead of time or explaining anything about it.
The septoplasty and SMR surgery was EASY. I was back to school in 6 days. The first day I was just out of it. The second and third, I kept up my vicodin schedule, but really had very little pain. The biggest hassle was feeling tired and drained from the opiates and the anesthesia. I think I only took vicodin for 3-4 days.
The septoplasty & SMR all but eliminated my sinus infections (an overdue root canal seems to have finished them off).
The only thing I can think of that would be a problem with doing all of that is this is breathing. When I had my tonsillectomy, I had a lot of difficulty breathing without gagging because of all the swelling in my throat. When I had the septoplasty, I had plastic splints up my nose (big, very thick-walled tubes) but couldn’t really breathe out them. You’d only be able to breathe through your mouth – but if you need the SMR/septoplasty, you probably have a hard time breathing through your nose anyway.
I’m not familiar with a UPPP (upper palate…??), so I can’t speak to that, but I will say that I wish I had let the Dr. who did my tonsillectomy do the turbinate/SMR and especially wish I had let him trim my uvula because it actually got permanently bigger from all the strep infections. The main reason I wish I had it done was 1) The turbinate/SMR recovery is nothing compared to the tonsillectomy and 2) It would have saved me 4 years of frequent sinus infections and another round of anesthesia.
My advice is: If the Dr. is really sure you would benefit from all of these procedures, get it all done, bite the bullet, and ride out one unpleasant experience. It’s worth it.
Whatever you decide, people here can chime in with helpful advice!
Wow- what a great post William- thank you so much!
Greg – thanks so much for your kindnesss as I almost cried – getting at that sentimental age – LOL but please please keep in touch as no one else has. You are a kind, great man and God Bless
Hi Greg, I had my tocillectomy done yesterday & after the anesthetic cleared my system I feel fine in myself. Throat is very painful – to even swallow water is a challenge but I know I’ve just got to plod on.
I’m finding that cold yoghurt & luke warm soups have been the best for me so far although I would suggest to avoid any soups that are thick or with bits in. I tried some pea & ham soup last night & really struggled with the thickness & small strips of meat, had to water it down with milk.
I would also suggest porridge is a great meal for breakfast, although its not to everyone’s taste, the texture was very soothing for my throat & lubricated it for a short while.
Can anyone suggest what to gargle with after meals? My surgeon just said to gargle but didn’t suggest with salt water or mouthwash..are you supposed to avoid this & just use water?
Thanks for your tips – I will be referring to them during recovery.
Best wishes,
Samantha
You will need to avoid creating thick saliva, so I recommend that you steer well clear of any dairy products.
Also, you mentioned that you had small difficulty with meat products, so another great option you can take without hurting your throat is to buy some natural hemp powder and mix it with water.
Plant based proteins get absorbed faster and are much much better for you than animal based proteins.
I am Vegan, and here is what I take everyday ( I had my tonsils done on the 20th of this month ):
B/fast – Porridge with Almond milk, 100g baby spinach blended with water and vit C supplement ( Berocca ).
Lunch – 1 pint of sparkling water, 30g hemp protein, half a mango.
Dinner – 1 pint sparkling water, vegetable medley ( broccoli, sweet potato, carrot, swede, turnip ).
Evening meal – 1 pint sparkling water, 30g hemp protein, 2 slices of wholemeal toast with soya spread.
Note: I always shake the bottle of sparkling water to release most of the gas. I dis-like plain water so I take semi flat sparkling water instead. It fools my brain into thinking I’m drinking diet soda 🙂
I am also gargling with salt & water solution, I am also using a non-alcoholic based mouthwash.
I recommend you use Difflam first thing in the morning, then take your pain killers. Wait 15mins and then you can use mouthwash and brush your teeth to your hearts content 🙂 Hope it all goes well for you. I am feeling pretty good, the pain is very low and I’m healing much faster than what other people are reporting in their blogs.
Welcome Samantha! Glad you’re doing ok. I stuck with water for gargling, but I don’t see why a little salt water would hurt? Mouthwash would probably burn. I’d avoid it. Best of luck to you!
I am scheduled to have a tonsillectomy exactly one month from now, and I’m super nervous. One of my co-workers said her ears were the worst pain; worse than child birth. I will take all of your tips in consideration! Thank you guys, and take care.
Hey Daynelle, its only normal to be nervous. I am 53 and just had my surgery on July 8 and as scared and nervous as I was it has turned out to be the BEST thing I ever did. Yes your ears will hurt but I don’t know about comparing that to being worse than child birth. Most importantly stay on schedule with your meds, I slacked off early on and it is harder to catch up then. Bookmark Gregs website and check it daily along your progress. He has a section just for that, your recovery day by day. I found it to be a huge comfort along the way to see others comments about them feeling pretty much as I was feeling. Good luck to you!
Maureen,
Thank you! I been having mixed feelings about my upcoming surgery, but I know it needs to be done. My tonsils have been giving me problems since I was a kid (I’m now 30), and I can’t wait until they are gone! I’m just nervous about my recovery. I think if I keep up with this website, I will be prepared. Thanks again