tonsilectomy recovery time

Guest · Guest

I'm a 22 year old male and I just had the operation 2 weeks ago. They call it major surgery and it probably is, but the procedure is very safe and at the hands of a skilled surgeon, barely anything can go wrong. The first thing that they had me eat was ice cream, which was almost unbearable to swallow at the time, but its not impossible. By the morning of the next day I moved onto porridge and was eating rice by lunch. It hurt, but you have to eat and drink plenty. They recommend you to eat as much as possible because it helps in the recovery. The first 3 days were quite bad, but thats why they give you painkillers. Eat them about an hour before you eat and it becomes tolerable. I was on nurofen and co-proxamol 3 times a day which puts you into a very slight and given the situation, almost enjoyable haze. When day 4 rolled around, I was good enough to go off the painkillers, but took nurofen anyway as I figured an anti-inflammatory would be good. By day 5 I could speak relatively normally and when 1 week passed I was as fit as could be apart from it hurting a little when I yawned. Its been 2 weeks now and I would not even have known I'd had surgery apart from the holes in my throat where my tonsils used to be. It could be psychological, but I feel like I'm more 'awake' most of the time. I feel fresher in the morning and no longer have great difficulty in getting up. As a result, I've suddenly changed into a morning person who doesn't need coffee to be civilized to other people in my proximity. So go for the operation if you suffer from frequent bouts of tonsillitis, not only will you be free of it, but there are so many other benefits of not having your body always on edge from constantly fighting infection.

bavent · Newbie Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 2

I had my tonsils removed on 1/14/08 and it was tough for the first 2 weeks to do anything. Now I'm almost at 3 weeks and still suffer from a mild sore throat and neck pain. The neck pain hurts like hell and all I can think about is where to sit/lay down. If I walk up stairs, walk, or elevate my temperature at any time - I feel very tired. I'm a 26yo male and if anyone has any idea about how long this will take. That would be cool too.

--for those who are in days 1-4 don't eat ice cream. Ice chips, and blue bell bullets(popsicles) were the best. Baby food was edible as well.

days 5-7 ... just survive
get a cold pack for your ear pain and keep the house colder than usual. Sip cold chicken broth and try eating hotdogs-they're soft and give a lot of energy.

I can't stress how much water you need to be drinking. My recovery has sped up after drinking at least 2+ qts of water. I know it's a lot, but just relax the jaw and let it flow down. Don't try to gulp it.

I'm perplexed because I'm at day 18 and it's still a rollercoaster. My friend who was about 22 says it's going to be between the 3rd week and 4th week for recovery.

Can anyone put any weight behind the recovery time?

I am becoming more of a morning person too. I'm able to breathe freely now as well. My so called allergies are now gone.
I will have to differ in that I could not talk for about 7-8 days vice 5.

Guest · Guest

I am 27 yrs old. I just had my tonsils removed on Feb 29. It has been 10 days since the procedure and I can honestly say that it DOES hurt. I have had 4 kids and one of them I has with no medication and after the birth I was pretty much good to go the next day. I was back to normal. I was expecting it to be the same way when I had the tonsillectomy, but NOT!!!!! The first 2 days I felt nothing. I had questioned whether they actually did the surgery or not b/c I felt pretty good. I had the surgery done on Friday and on Sunday I went out to do a little shopping. That Monday the honeymoon was over. Since then I have been in a lot of pain and although some days are pretty good, the next day gets worse. It seems like the more I try to eat, the more painful it gets. I started out just eating jello and sherbert ice cream, then I went to Ramen noodles and scrambled eggs. I read on some other sites if you eat toasted bread, that helps, so I decided to try some toasted pretzel sticks (not the chips but the bread). That did it for me. It seemed to just make it worse. I will be sticking to my jello, water and juice. Also, during my whole recovery time I had diarhea so the slight dehydration may have made the pain worse. Needless to say, I am still taking the roxicet every day just to be able to eat. By the way, my dr told me that I had huge tonsils and that they had scarred into my throat muscles really bad due to infections, and it was one of the worse cases she has ever seen. She pretty much expected my pain levels to be very high. She advised me that my pain would be at the 6 to 10 level (on a scaled of 1 to 10). Hopefully this pays off and I don't have any more infections. We'll see!

Guest · Guest

I too am a mom and I had a C-section with my last child. I was over that in about 4 days so I thought getting mt tonsils and adnoids out on a Thursday would give me plenty of time to be back at work the next Mon. I was soooo wrong! It is now a week after my surgery, I didn't go back to work yet and I just started eating solid foods today (potatoes and porkchops soaked in water). My 2 yr old eats more than me and gets SO mad that I get ice cream and he doesn't but today I am actually starting to feel like a person again!!! I have a question about getting your adnoids out though....how long after the surgery before i can blow my nose? it is SO clogged but i'm afraid to open up something and have to go back to the hospital!

Guest · Guest

I am 19 years old and am on day 5 of my tonsilectomy recovery. I must say that this surgery is much worse than i originally anticipated. Days 1 and 2 were not that bad but each day after has gotten worse. I am just waiting for the pain to stop and the healing to begin.

JOOLAWOOJ · Newbie Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 1

I have just had my tonsils out, 4 days ago.

I am 33yr old mum of 2 pre-school age kids, so I knew no matter how much support my family/friends were prepared to give, I HAD to get better ASAP.

I went in very positive knowing that I was in good hands and that this would be difficult, but would put an end to the horrific bouts of tonsillitis and smelly tonsil stones! I slept like a log while waiting to go to theatre and every time my blood pressure was taken they commented how calm I was considering I was awaiting surgery - I really believe you can choose whether to be calm or dramatic about these things - stay chilled and dont wind yourself up - people love to talk about drama and therefore only report the BAD side of anything as it makes good listening, but for every BAD tonsillectomy out there there have probably been 1000 that went perfectly well so no-one bothered to comment!!!

Anyway, small scratch as anaesthetic needle went into hand while they chatted to me about skiing and laughed at my goggle marks, they ask you to think of something happy as you fall asleep and thats it, youre out and know nothing. Coming round was easy and nausea free (for me, I know this is beyond a persons control!) but I just woke up and felt fine. I drifted in and out of sleep for about 8 hours, then tried a mushroom soup which was a bit salty (salt in an open wound....ouch) so opted for the rice pudding, which was fine. Far, far less painful than any tonsillitis.

The overnight stay was not the best as the anaesthetic was wearing off which made me a bit weepy (about nothing, just the effect it has on me!) and having slept all day I found it hard to sleep at night. Next morning, doc shone a light in my throat, asked how I felt, asked if I had passed urine or eaten and said I could go home by 9am!

I had nervously ordered toast for breakfast having been told that scratchy foods were the best for 'sloughing' the throat clean and preventing infection. The first couple of swallows were achey/sore but definitely bearable and then every mouthful after that was strangely nice! It did hurt a little, but it felt better to be getting rid of the staleness and also relieved the pain somehow. I likened it to having a slight sunburn on your shoulders and getting into a lukewarm bath - it kinda stings for 5 seconds but somehow eases the burn after that.

That day I was collected by my partner and taken back to his parents who had been looking after the kids. I was still very tired so curled up under a duvet in front of the woodburner. By 1pm I was eating a meal of roast pork, extremely crispy roast potatoes included and enjoyed every mouthful.

I kept up my painkillers regularly for 2 days, then reduced them a little as really didnt need them, but just kept sleeping as so tired.

I did keep hydrated by drinking as much as I could, but not excessively so. Keeping a pint of water by my side, letting cups of tea go lukewarm as this was the easiest as slid down easier than hot or very cold, and the odd bottle of lucozade!

I made sure I swilled my mouth out well after eating anything so no food particles could fester in my throat. And I brushed my teeth and tongue as thoroughly as possible to minimise bacteria/smell/infection. Gargling with non-alcoholic 'Dentyl pH' mouthwash freshened it all up a treat and again seemed to ease the pain a little.

Worst time of day is definitely morning when you wake up with a dry mouth and the painkillers have worn off overnight. My advice is to take Ibuprofen at this stage with as much liquid as you can and a slice of toast to 'slough' the overnight accumulation of gunk away (you gotta eat with Ibuprofen!), then fall back to sleep while the Ibuprofen kicks in, wake up and have another slice of toast with a lukewarm cup of tea (the slight warmth helps) and then take your other types of painkiller as needed.

Anyway, its day 4 as I said, I am lounging around making the most of the fact my Mother-in-Law has taken my 2 kids to the zoo, but feel (with painkillers) well enough to get up and sort out this house which is now revolting having been left to a man to look after!!!!! (In fairness he has been FAB, but somehow men just do what is necessary to keep the kids fed/clothed/alive and everything else slips by the wayside. The house looks like a 'bachelor pad' and smells a bit too...)

Am not going to overdo it however 'well' I feel as understand that overexertion could lead to a bleed/infection and having done so well until now seems a shame to ruin it.

Stay positive, keep up fluids, keep up painkillers, eat as you normally would with an odd bit of toast for good measure, get as much sleep as possible. Day 4 after op and I have not (so far) felt anywhere near as bad as with a bad case of tonsillitis.

Guest · Guest

i'm 19 and just had my tonsils out two days ago. I took my pain meds for one day only because they made me throw up. I haven't taken them since, i've been drinking a lot and eating noodles, eggs and jello. I don't really feel sick anymore, even though swallowing is kind of labored and my throat feels a little bit thick. I hope to be better by the end of the week!!

Guest · Guest

6 days ago I got my tonsils out and I feel perfectly fine, in fact the day after my surgery I was eating pizza and drinking coca cola. Besides the slight pain in my ears I barely noticed that I had it done at all.

hunib · Newbie Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 1

ok here goes, different people heal differently. i am a 21 year old female who had my tonsils taken out 5 days ago, suffered no pain at first could eat basically anything and didnt once feel sick.
i woke up yesterday morning being day 4 feeling so sick that it wasnt funny i havnt eaten in 2 days and am fearing the worst that is still to come. i have this disgusting taste in my mouth and cant talk. my surgeon was really kind and i wouldnt ever say a bad thing about him.. even though i did wake up while still in theater and they hadnt quite finished that was the scaryest thing ever

cmp48047 · Newbie Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 1

Listening to people talk about their tonsilectomy surgeries is a lot like listening to all of the birth stories you hear from moms just as you are getting ready to deliver - you always hear the horror stories. I have had two c-sections and one natural delivery that would curl your toes if I told it, but attitude is everything!
I went in for my tonsilectomy one week ago today dismissing everything everyone told me about how aweful it would be. I woke up after it was done feeling pretty decent, drank a ton of water, which really DOES help! The first two days, I felt pretty good, a little more sore on days 3-4. but NOTHING like a full-blown case of strept! JELLO was the absolute best thing to eat, it was cool and smooth going down. By day 5, I was eating mashed potatoes and very small pieces of macaroni. Day six I ate a donut and a juicy hamburger patty - small pieces at a time! Today, Day 7, I am still alittle sore, but I have spent the weekend throwing a birthday party for my son, taking children to soccer try-outs, and going to Father's Day Dinner, so I expect it.
Sinus drainage has been my only problem - I gentley blow my nose, but try really hard not to sneeze.
Overall, it is going very well. There was not a single day that I felt worse than when I had strept throat - no aches and pains all over the body, no fever, chills or sweats. JUST the soar throat!

If you are debating it, please remember, the people who are telling horror stories certainly experienced them, but they are NOT the norm! Go in with a positive attitude, believe that you will do fine, DRINK LOTS OF WATER! Give yourself a few days to totaly rest (get outside help with very young children!), and enjoy the time off work/life with movies, reading, puzzles, video games,or whatever you don,t usually have time to do! Very Happy

tonsilectomy recovery time

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