adult post tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy, what to expect

OK, I'm 35 years old. I'm on Day 9, and I'm a survivor.

Here are a few things I've experienced and learned from this whole ordeal. Hopefully these tips can help someone else out too...


1) STAY AHEAD OF THE PAIN!!! There was (and still is) a tremendous amount of pain. There's no way around it. You are going to experience pain. Stay ahead of the pain, by anticipating that it will constantly be there for 2-3 weeks, waiting for the moment your meds have worn off. (Take your meds at the shortest / allowable intervals if possible.) Roxicet / Oxycodone & Acetaminophen has been a god-send to me! I highly reccommend this drug, if the current one you're using isn't quite cutting it. I'd say this cuts down on the pain by 90%. Be sure to take it with you wherever you go! If you have to set an alarm to wake yourself up at night, do it....again, this will help you stay ahead of the pain.

2) DRINK TONS OF WATER!!!! This will keep you both hydrated and your throat moist. It will also help to keep those scabs soft and from making you feel like you're gonna 'gag' on them! If they do fall off, you want the scabs to come off naturally...while your're drinking so you don't feel it. (Frankly, I prefer Gatorade!) If you're a coffee fien like me, ice-coffee with a touch of flavored creamer really does the trick,...plus it tastes good too!

3) CHEW GUM! This will also help keep your throat and mouth moist. Supposedly, this speeds up the healing process, by creating saliva flow and blood moving in the jaw / neck area. Plus you're gonna have really *BAD* breath, so why not freshen it up a bit?

4) EAT! Eventualy, you're going to need to eat. Fortunately for me, I was eating jello, apple sauce and instant cream of wheat by day 2. If that's too hard, try Slim Fast / Ensure / Boost, etc....you NEED the calories, vitamins and protien! By just sticking to water / juice, you're going to remain feeling weak and this will only add to your misery. Other 'soft' foods that worked for me: Mini raviolis, instant oatmeal, cream of ______ soup, popsicles, fuit smoothies, egg salad, mac & cheese. All of the 'hot' foods could only be eaten once they were a luke-warm temp.

5) SLEEP / REST!!!! Sleep propped up at a 30-degree angle...this helps keep your head above your heart, as well as reduce the chance bleeding / throwing up and choking on it. Relax...it's only for about 2 weeks or so. Also, the less talking and phyical exercise you do, the fater it's going to heal. I made the mistake of going back to work on day 3, did a whole lot of talking on the phone and this really seemed to irritate my throat.

6) DO NOT COUGH / TRY TO CLEAR YOUR THROAT! This is a sure-fire way to open up those scabs and start bleeding. If you have phlem in your throat, it's better to swallow it (Yah, it does sound gross) rather than to risk the alternative. Remember, this doesn't last forever.

7) EAR ACHE??? Yah, I have them too....bad! Really cold beverages seem to soothe the throat, which cuts down on the 'referred' pain to my ears. Gel packs placed below your ear on your neck will also help. Also, for some reason, my ear pain went away while I was chewing gum.
If this doesn't help, I'm sure you're prescribed narcotic will do the trick.

Hope some of these suggestions help. They did for me and I'm huge wimp when it comes to pain.

I had my tonsils taken out on July 4th. The doc sent the ole buggers out for pathology and the report came back that I had a colony of bacterial infection that was a pretty bad one according to the doc.
I couldn't eat for 10 days. Only Italian Ices. I kept sipping ice water cause it felt like it was helping soothe the throat. I did not find the oral gel lidocaine very helpful. It didn't last long. Eating was pure hell. I lost 12 pounds and didn't have a bowel movement for 13 days.
The most interesting thing about the whole ordeal was the loss of taste for almost all flavors except sugar. It is now almost a month later and I have a lot of drymess in the back of my throat and I have to keep drinking ice water. I don't like the taste of many foods I used to enjoy. Does this subside with time? My throat is still sore a little and the dryness bugs me but the benefits are numerous.
I finally get a full nights sleep, I am DREAMING for the first time in my life...I never dreamt before! I can't believe it. Also I am snoring alot less and my breath seems to be improving. My constant earaches seem to be gone and my mental attitude seems better..more alert less cranky..probably cause I am sleeping better! It was a tough road but, wwell worth it!

I am 20, and am finishing up day 10 of hell. I needed to get my tonisls out due to sleep apnea, and chronic strep throat/tonsilitis (trust me, 3 times in a month is not fun).
The first two days i couldn't eat or drink at all due to the pain and swelling. On the night of day 2 i was so swollen i was choking on my saliva and couldn't swallow and pain meds. My mom took me to the ER where i passed out from dehydration. A few IV's and a morphine drip later I was sent home with some stronger pain meds, steroids for the swelling and instuctions to ice my throat.
Day 3, 4, 5 followed slowly and miserably, but i was swallowing and managed to choke some jello down.
Day 6 started with a bang. I woke up with instese pain that would not subside and then began to bleed profusely. The blood that got swallowed made me nauseous and I began throwing up making my throat feel even worse. My mom took me into my ENT who checked me out and sent me home with some anti-nauseua meds.
Day 7 I wake up not bleeding thankfully, but this time with white-lesions and a bloody tounge. My mom once again takes me to the ER where I am informed that all of the antibitocs i am on have caused me to get Oral Thrush, a fungus like buildup infection in my mouth. Not only hurt like hell, but it looks gross too. The Dr.s now prescribe me a nyosin rinse, which taste oh so yummy (not).
Day 8 I have an allergic reaction to the nyosin and the taste buds on my tounge become enflammed, red, and burn. Also, my throat begins to bleed again and this time i guess the ENT feels that its serisous, and rushes me into surgery to recauterize my throat.
Yesterday and today pretty much felt like i have started this whole process over...hopefully there won't be as many complications. This has been the worst expirience of my life, no joke. I've lost 10lbs, can't poop, can't eat, can barely drink. Not to mention i'm so drugged up i feel like i'm stoned 24/7, but the drugs don't really manage the pain they just knock me out. Looking back, I would rather deal with strep throat for the rest of my life then have to do this all over again. It's really the pits, and I better get well before I have to move back to school becuase i can't really afford to be like this down at school.

I'm officially on day 5 of recovery. I had my adenoids, and tonsils removed. I knew there was going to be pain but i didn't think it would hurt more than the original chronic strep throat i had

One thing i felt was that the doctor didn't really go over anything with me wat to expect or what is normal. All i was handed was a piece of paper of what i can and cannot eat. nothing about symptoms afterwards or anything. One thing i noticed immediately was the phlegm in my throat. THis caused me not to sleep for the first 2 days, i still have trouble sleeping but i can now spit the phlegm up. I think the phlegm was the worst part, it feels as if i'm gagging or choking on it! its quite ridiculous ALSO i don't know what people mean by seeing white scabs, i can't even open my mouth wide enough to see it, and my tongue is swollen lol!

I was able to eat the first day, i was told it would hurt less the first two to three days but for me it has hurt more!!! now finally on day 5 its more managable. I'm not sure if i have had the scabs fall off, cuz i have read that i either is mixed with the phlegm, or they fall off. But i think i have already had the fall off we shall see though.

I must say drinking ice cold water feels amazing. Ice chips, otter pops (they aren't soo acidic as other popsicles), and jello (not the sugar free kind burns like hell) help with hunger. All i can think about is steak, chinese food, mexican food, and pizza HAHA. Frozen peas help with the pressure and pain around the face. I hope it gets better with each day.

I just hope for all those out there being hesitant, go for it if u have problems, yes the pain is a annoying, the phlegm is gross, and eating is nasty as well, but in the long run i know i will do better. Just make sure u ask ur doctor EVERYTHING u might experience. I think my main problem with freaking out is not knowing if signs of coughing, phlegm, or gagging are normal!!!

GOOD LUCK

ok i go in for surgery in 3 days and i now wish i wouldnt have read any of this!! and to the guy that posted his website with the pictures, i couldnt help but look. thank you for the nasty display of what im about to put myself through. im 21 so hopefully being a "little" on the younger side that will help. the only real thing im worried about is that i took 2 weeks off from work. is that going to be enough time?? and one more thing. im a 911 dispatcher, am i going to be able to talk after this death trap im jumping into?? if not im out of luck for my career! <- thats what i looked like after i looked at this website, and needless to say im at work where i hear it all!!!

I am having a CO2 laser tonsillectomy and LAUP where my uvula and tonsils are going to be shaved. My surgery is in a couple of hours. I will post during my recovery. Has anyone had this done? What was recovery like?

Had it done at 27, might be one of the worst things I ever endured in my life. It's been several years and I still remember the pain vividly.

I am 19 and had my tonsils out 9 days ago. I wish I hadn't read this website first because it scared the bejesus out of me, thinking all this horrible horrible stuff was going to happen to me. I asked my doctor prior to the surgery, and most of the stuff I read on here must be worst case scenario. Yes, its been painful and on day 9 my throat still hurts, but I don't feel like I walked through the valley of the shadow of death. So I just wanted to post something a little more positive for those of you who are freaking out right about now. Basically, the pain is like a bad case of strep, but my pain meds (liquid vicodin and a numbing lollipop) have controlled it very well. The most important thing to remember is to stay hydrated. I started drinking water 30 minutes after I was out of surgery and have been drinking at least 64 oz every day, and I know it has made things a lot easier. Just make sure you take it easy, and eating really helps too. I forced myself to at least eat pudding and some noodles, and also some slim fast shakes and it helped me to heal faster. I guess all I would say is don't freak out, its not going to be as bad as you think. Its not a picnic, but you will be ok.

I am now eleven days post op from my tonsillectomy. I'm 35 years old. It took having my dh take off one day of work and family come from out of state to help with our children for the week. My pain wasn't that bad. In the surgery center, the nurses said I should swallow not spit and drink as much cold liquid 24 hours a day as possible. I found this amazing yummy brand of natural ice pops at our local natural food store (nature's choice) in coconut which hit the spot. My ENT prescribed Hycet, 2-3 tsp every four hours, a liquid antibiotic, and a low dose seven day steroid pack to calm the swelling. My scabs look thin and white now with some pink showing through. I assume they'll continue to dissolve this week. I'm still sleeping in a semi-upright position waking up several times a night to sip water to keep my throat moist. I stopped taking the Hycet mid week, but started again when the ear pain set in. The nurse I spoke with said the ear pain is a sign that the scabs will come off soon.
I was also told no exercise for a solid two weeks...I go back to the doctor next week.

I can't seem to figure out how to edit a posted post.

Anyway, meant to say heating pad is great for ear pain. crushed ice in packs to put on my neck worked wonders.

My friend said if I could birth three babies without any drugs whatsoever then I could get through this and survive too!