Tonsil Removal – Tips for Patients
Getting your tonsils removed can be a path to a better life. Perhaps, “tunnel,” is a better word. Whether due to chronic tonsillitis, strep throat, tonsil stones, sleep apnea, cancer, or all of the above, getting your tonsils removed will change your life. After having a tonsillectomy at the age of 44, I found very little support, understanding, or good information available to people considering tonsil removal, or recovering from a tonsillectomy.
For those reasons, I created this site for people considering tonsillectomy, or who have recently had their tonsils removed.
After having my surgery and subsequent recovery, researching, writing, and reading experiences of others, I’ve learned a bit about how to best go about this. Read all the other pages of the site, especially the comments posted. You’ll learn alot. Let me just take this one post to highlight the basics of tonsil removal, and recovering from a tonsillectomy.
Should I have my tonsils removed?
This is often a tough question to answer. I won’t attempt to answer it for you. If you have large cryptic tonsils like I did. If you get tonsillitis and/ or strep throat several times per year. If you snore at night-maybe you suffer from sleep apnea and you don’t even know it. I did. All of this, to me adds up to some compelling reasons to have a tonsillectomy. I did. I am glad. Talk to your doctor. Read these pages. If you decide to have a tonsillectomy, let me give you my quick and dirty guide to getting your tonsils removed.
A Note About Ear Pain After Tonsil Removal
A common side effect of having tonsils removed is ear pain. This phenomena is what’s called a referred pain. The actual source of the pain is the throat, the tonsil beds, more specifically. The nerve that runs along the jaw can refer pain to the ears. The best relief I know of for this ear pain after tonsillectomy is chewing gum. I recommend a sugarless minty gum. A warm compress can also relieve this ear pain that often follow having ones tonsils out.
If I were to have my tonsils removed again, I would…
-Take two full weeks off from work.
–Buy a good quality humidifier
-Talk with my doctor IN ADVANCE about pain management. Insist upon enough pain medicine to last ten days!
-Make sure I had a comfortable recliner to sleep in.
-Buy a good ice bag
-Begin icing IMMEDIATELY after tonsillectomy surgery and stay with it.
-Stock up on full seasons of good shows. (Medications make reading difficult)
-Begin eating as much as possible and continue eating as much as possible.**
** This is a big one. Eating after tonsillectomy helps ward off the nausea associated with pain medicine. But it also helps the healing process. The old, “use it or lose it,” idea. In the U.K. and Australia, doctors advise their patients to eat rough foods after tonsillectomy. In the U.S. this is not so common. Usually the soft diet is recommended. It’s what I did. After reading THOUSANDS of accounts from people all over the world who have had their tonsils removed, I have decided that the U.K. and Australian doctors have it right. Time and time again I read of folks saying that their’s was not such a bad recovery-much better than the accounts they’d read of. Nine times out of ten, those people were eating rough foods from the get-go, and stayed with it.
I think having that food brush by the tonsil beds regularly minimizes the formation of scabs. these scabs are what cause many of the bleeding problems as they fall off. The scabs also make it hard to swallow. wait, let’s say, “makes swallowing feel like a ball of razor blades going down your throat.” Ok, back to the list of what I would do if I had my tonsils removed again…
-Drink lots and lots and lots of ice cold water. This is huge! It reduces inflammation after tonsillectomy, but also keeps the throat moist and works the muscles of the throat.
-Buy a Slushie machine
-Talk to my family and friends and ask for their support.
-READ THE COMMENTS FROM THIS WEBSITE!!!
Whether or not you decide to have a tonsillectomy, I wish you the very best of health. Take care,
Greg Tooke
My short bio
Hi I had my op last Wednesday an the pain is getting really bad I can’t cope!! I’m on codeine an paracentomal!! I’m struggling to eat I can’t have anti inflamtiories as I’m alrgic to them!! Can u suggest anything to help me at all??
Thanks
Hi there I had my tonsils out last Monday 11/2/13 . I’m 34 years old and I’ve had a bad time . I was in hospital Monday for my operation came out Monday night and Tuesday I felt on top of the world but then from then in I went down hill. I ended up having bleeding from the back of my throat on Saturday and stayed in hospital again and now I’m home with my family . I did get told that it was a big operation but I didn’t realise how big until I’d had it done .i have lost over 1 stone in weight within a week as I have been that poorly This site helped me through and did give me lots of information than anywhere else thank you for this and hope it helps others like me
Stumbled across your site looking for information on getting my tonsils….I just found out today that i will have to have my tonsils out…i’ve been having swelling of my tonsils for about a month now and prior to that off and on, there was no pain associated with the swelling however about 2 weeks ago i woke up in the middle of the morning really thirsty so i got some juice and happen to run my hand down my neck and it felt like i had another neck growning there, lol so i immediately went to ER, they told me that my tonsils were extremely huge and gave me antiboitcs for an infection (come to find out today it wasnt an infection)…i made an appt the same day with an ENT and finally saw him today and YES, I have to have them out cause they are still huge and touching each other which can cause me to not breathe at night when i sleep (doctor said), i told him i need time to think about it (which should of been a no brainer since it can cause me not to breathe) but im really scared of being put to sleep…I’m 44 and scared but reading this site has put me at ease. (dont know about the scab stuff falling off in my mouth, nasty lol)…so after reading this site and all the comments, i guess ill give him a call tomorrow to give the go ahead…Thank you Greg for giving me a peace of mind and all comments.
Well thank you Valerie, and best of luck to you! I am SO GLAD that I got mine out!
This website has been great, it makes me feel like I’m not alone. In the long run all this pain will be worth it. Really grateful for the site as it has helped me out alot.
Lara, you are not alone. Thank you for the kind words. Best of health to you!
Thank you so much for making this site. Endless nights of not being able to sleep reading stuff on here kept me positive I’m on day 8 now and feel like everyone who has contributed on here has made my recovery bearable. So thanks Greg you are my hero
Awww, shucks. I’m glad you have found comfort. That’s what I hoped to create. (Couldn’t find when I searched 4 years ago.) Day 8! Ouch! Hang in there!