Adult Tonsillectomy Recovery....Ouch!

Hello all, I'm 19, had my tonsils out 10 days ago. The night before I really considered not showing up, but I needed it done so I went through with it anyway...snip snip surgery done, the meds they gave me at the hospital made me incredibly nauseous dizzy and tired, worst I've ever felt in my life and then I vaguely remember the nurses telling me I'd have to try to get up and walk, HA! After I threw up, things went a bit better from there until they have me more meds and I threw up again (throwing up blood is normal, you swallow some during surgery) anyways so back home day 1 wasn't much about the pain but just this horrible sedated state that I didn't like whatsoever, I was given codeine meds for the pain and took them around the clock, its a pretty big pill not easy to swallow! The codeine made me groggy and I never felt like I was completely awake, I practically slept walk around the house, and I couldn't talk because my uvula was pretty swollen and would place itself between my tongue and my palate (really weird feeling) ...so I got down quite a few things those first few days, Popsicles, ice cream, mostly, water and liquids seemed to be harder to swallow than food. Then that peak everyone dreads around days 5-7, the pain somehow gets worse! At the same time my codeine meds had started building up in my system and were making me nauseous again, so after throwing up again (which is incredibly unpleasant even without a tonsillectomy, imagine with one!) I decided to stop taking the codeine and switched to Tylenol and Advil. They honestly didn't help much, I couldn't eat or drink for 3-4 days, lost 10 lbs! I was soo hungry and thirsty but just couldn't swallow, much too painful! Things are finally looking up now, day 10 the pain is still there, but substantially less, I'm not on medications anymore. The improvements? I can string sentences together with some effort, I can drink water (man, I never thought I'd miss water so much!), I can have some warm soup, a crepe, a scrambled egg, yogurt, soft fruit...I can only eat them in small quantities so I'm still always hungry, but it's better than nothing! Now that I'm nearing the other side, I wouldn't say I regret it, but it's one heck of a roller coaster ride! It still hurts to swallow, I prefer to spit though cause it tastes bad Here are a few pointers I learned: Stay away from anything that can make you sneeze or cough (allergies), go to sleep when you're tired so as to avoid yawning, drink water! (If you can't, try Popsicles or ice) take little bites, chew well, make sure your pain med is right for you, you may not need a humidifier, if you have one, great, but you can try an open window at night, (the one night I forgot I woke up coughing, so it works) Good luck to all, I know every experience is different so I thought I'd share mine for those who are scared or who think they won't make it through the pain..hang in there!

Hi, i'm a 22 year old female and i had a tonsillectomy 2 days ago. I wasn't too bad, but this morning i woke up vomiting and had prefuse diarrhoea :( i'm also passing blood in my stool! I was told it could just be the blood i had swallowed since the op, so hopefully they are right! I feel like COMPLETE CR*P!!!! I havnt been able to take any pain relief at all today because of my upset stomach, so my mouth is also in agony. The SMELL from my throat is actually knocking me sick, i cant stand it. I can't even drink water without throwing up so i'm also incredibly dehydrated, i just want all this to end but by reading all your posts, looks like i'm in for a couple of weeks of pain yet :( Hope you are all better now BLEH :(

I had my tonsils out 7 days ago. I was able to eat fine and it helped to eat the first couple days into my recovery but now it's getting worse. I was up at 3 in the morning forcing myself to be sick as I think my uvula has swollen, I just want to gag all the time and it's making me feel sick. The throat pain is bearable but the massive blister/ulcer that was left on my tongue afterwards is unbearably painful. I don't mind taking painkillers to get rid of the pain but I can not deal with being sick and the constant feeling of it. Respect to everyone who has has it done if I knew it was this bad I would have backed out!! :(

I am 20 and I had my tonsils out on 13th March so two weeks today. I'm not gona lie it was the most painful experience I have ever been through. I would rather have a baby! When I came round from surgery I was sore as expected however morphine wasn't taking the pain away I was in recovery for 2 hours trying to control the pain. Finally tramadol did the trick as it knocked me out. I was very emotional from the anaesthetic and I still am now! All I wanted was my mum. My surgery was at 10am and I left the hospital at 9pm. They wanted me to stay the night but the cannulae in my hand was half in half out which was uncomfortable and if I stayed they said I would have to keep it in (even though they weren't giving me IV drugs) it was nice to get home though! The first few days were painful as expected and the pain would wake me up at night and I would have a swollen tongue. But It wasn't until day 5 when the pain became unbearable. I got neuralgia in the left side of my face which is a chronic nerve pain. It affected my ear, cheek, jaw, teeth and tongue. I couldn't swallow my own saliva. The pain was unbearable I had to go to a and e but the trouble with neuralgia is there are no pain killers that help it. You have to just get through it! But I was given tramadol and voltarol to ease the pain in my throat. I was told I was going to have a drip put in but I just did not want to stay the night as a and e was manic and noise was really affecting my ear so I went home my dad did some acupuncture which did relieve the pain a bit and I slept with an Ice pack on the side of my face. After that it's been onwards and upwards and now on day 14 I feel almost normal! I have to take paracetamol in the mornings as I'm a little bit sore but that's it! I'm eating normally and I feel good. When I had the neuralgia I would have said I regret the surgery as I did genuinely feel suicidal. You can not explain the pain of neuralgia but then also feel like you're swallowing glass at the same time. All I did for a week was cry. But now that I'm through it I'm glad I don't have my constantly infected tonsils! It's a very very very painful recovery but once you're through it the benefits are great!

Cancel it trust i me I'm going through it now worst experience you will have in your life its more painful than having a baby my sister told me

Hello, I'm 25 and I had a tonsillectomy and bilateral submucus membrane reduction a week ago. I'm assuming surgery went well. I woke up nauseated and wanting water really bad. They gave me Zofran and sent me home almost immediately after I woke up. I was in the er maybe 8hrs later with severe dehydration and surprise surprise I'm also pregnant. I was hooked up to an iv with pain meds and nausea meds for about 3hrs. Went home to sleep a little bit just to wake up and go back to the er because my throat started bleeding. You would think that if someones throat was bleeding the er would react a bit faster, but no I was there for almost 4hrs without being seen. I'm so glad the bleeding stopped on its own or I'd probably be dead. It's a week later now and I'm able to swallow a little better and talk a little better but I'm had some really bad diarrhea. It's killing Idk what to do I'm trying to keep hydrated but that's hard to do when I'm in the bathroom every 5 min. Also the pain meds they gave me ran out in 3 days even with trying very hard to not take any. Sadly I'm allergic to all the other meds they gave me so they substituted it with something that smells like they took it straight from the sewer. I think if I had to do it over again I would have the surgery.

Seriously same boat...I'm 25 got mine out two days ago. Its hell. I'm definitely not understanding this whole diarrhea thing because I haven't eaten in three days...like where the hell is *this all coming from. I'm forcing myself to drink as much as possible even though I have to try and pinch my arm or leg when I swallow so I can trick my pain sensors a bit so it's bearable. My tongue and uvula have swollen up so bad that I gag on them constantly and then the medicine they've given me for swelling makes me so nauseous because it says eat when taking this medication...eat what? The little sustenance I get from jello and broth is quickly flushed (diarrhea reference) out. This is just the worst experience ever, but I'm glad I could vent it out to someone who understands. To those that have said oh I had mine out it was a piece of cake....you and that piece of cake can go suck it.

I actually still have my scars, and it is day 14. I'm also 19. I wouldn't say that my pain is unbearable, but it is certainly there. I think part of the reason is because I am having post nasal drip.

It's is worth it

I'm 19 years old and had my tonsils taken out 10 days ago today. I had tonsil stones. Went in around 10 am and was able to leave around 1 pm. The surgery was so quick and easy, afterwards I was a little nauseas so they gave me some fluids and medicine that made me sleep for about another hour. Got home, no talking and eating only soup, I felt warm things on my throats were a lot more easier to swallow than extremely cold. Actually what I would do is eat a snow cone, to numb my throat take my Motrin and then eat so my food went down a bit easier. Drink PLENTY of water, it hurts but it helps so much for the following days. You should be wanting to pee at least every two hours. Days 1-3 were not very bad at all, of course it hurt and I was not talking but it wasn't until day 5-10 that have really been bad. I have cried a few times just wanting it to be over with already, it's defiently a slow process so be patient with the recovery. I have had diarrhea for the past two days now, and the pain comes and goes. Some days are easier than others but I'm talking now, not completely sounding the same yet. Still eating soft foods, don't know how people have even tried to eat anything hard. I'm off all of my medicine except Tylenol which I take right when I wake up and right before I go to sleep. I still have white spots all over the back of my mouth and my uvuila is swollen, tongue often feels like it could just fall right out of my mouth. Teeth hurt from clinching at night, awful smell but I'm now brushing my teeth. Also my jaw was very tender and couldn't open fully I can still only open just enough to brush my teeth. Haven't bled at all, just ready to be fully recovered! Remember drink plenty of water and it is a slow process but I'm sure it will be worth it!!

19 and got my tonsils out yesterday. I was in private healthcare from work luckily and I was in the hospital for 7 hours recovery and I managed to eat really well and it hardly hurt. Apart from the feeling sick (which they gave me medicine for) yesterday was easy. Today is completely different, I've got a temperature, my throat feels on fire and I feel sick again. I can eat but it's definitely hurts. My doc told me around day 3 it gets worse so I'm not looking forward to tomorrow if today is like this

I'm 58 and I would Not do it again ! Repeat don't do it ! Omg it was bad

Hey guys, I’m 21 years old, 9 days post tonsillectomy op. I’m almost completely pain free! Straight after the operation I felt pretty good but it hits you that night. Very painful and sleepless nights for about 3 days after operation. They said day 5 would be the worst for some reason but it was just the same as the others! I think what worked well for me was pretty much the second day I was attempting to eat solid foods - ritz crackers, toast with jam, and basically whatever I would normally eat! It really wasn’t that difficult, just have to take it slow and chew it all! Peach cups were the best for me! Yoghurt and porridge was horrible, so hard to swallow, it would just get stuck! I was on strong Panamax and nerofen every 3-4 hours, and antibiotics every 4 hours. The scabs started to fall in small pieces around day 6 and are almost completely gone now. The worst thing for me was the diarrhoea. From the medication you get constipated at first then diarrhoea. I came off all meds day 8 but still have diarrhoea now, hopefully not for too much longer.
Sure it’s painful and seems to be worse for others which sucks!!! But the pain is only temporary and if you’ve suffered from tonsillitis constantly like me then it’s definitely worth it! All the best xx

31 year old Female. just had my tonsilectomy. On my day 6 now.. here's an update so far!

Day 0. Friday - opp day - I was fine, walking talking eating everything normal - I thought this was great!!!!

Day 1. Saturday - thought i slept fine, started taking ibuprofen and cocodamol as prescribed..

Day 2. Sunday - partner told me I was shivering during the night and fever kicked in. He made me take ibuprofen and loads of water. Stayed awake to keep changing cold cloths on my forehead and keep checking my temperature. Don't remember much of it. Small amount of sickness in morning. Very painful on throat! Foods starting to make me feel nauseous, started to feel more light headed and drowsier as day went on. Managed to eat some rice in the evening. Starting to realise the morphine may still have been in my body last 2 days because it's not the same now!!!!

Day 3. Monday. Clearly no morphine in me.. *sigh* Sore throat, tongue pain, ear aches, unbelievable high temperatures but only now taking ibuprofen to help control temperature. Still waking up in puddles of sweat or clothes absolutely drenched in sweat. Had about 3 tiny bites of banana. Ate some watermelon chopped into tiny pieces around 10pm. Drinking water but with alot of pain too. Slept almost 20hours in the day, maybe more. Feeling very sensitive to light giving me headaches.
*Drinking water from children's sippie cup!!!!

Day 6. Tuesday.
All I want now is a McDonald's!!!!
Temperature still the same and still waking up in a lot of sweat. Staying hydrated and still drinking water although a lot less than I was. Finishing same banana slowly through the day. Welcome back ache now. Rubbed thai balm on back, slept well still sweating during the night. Finding more comfort in laying down than sitting up or standing up. Less pain swallowing laying down on side which is useless since I can't really eat like this!! Starting to get a little dry cough which is super painful in my throat. Don't have a humidifier but always get dry cough when I'm ill so if you don't have one, try and keep some blanket covering your nasal and mouth area. Not completely over. But just enough so when you breathe out your breathing in air with some moisture you let out. If that makes sense.
Decided to stop all tablets Blaming them all for the nausea so not taking any more.
Headache has eased up loads. All other pains still present.

Day 6. Wednesday. Losing track of days. Woke up to puddles of sweat again. Vomitted air. Not nice on throat regardless. Welcome early strawberry season. Body has obviously been going through so much trauma that I ended up coming on early too now. Finally mastered the strength to stay standing long enough to have a shower. Been sick twice today - no burning as I've only been drinking water. Maybe alot of the scabbing has come away with it not sure? Tried to eat soup and bread but threw up right before so put me off before I could even have any. Poor mum made it fresh! Ended up having a little bit of brioche, went down okay, feels like bread is stuck at back but hard to tell the difference really! Hair falling out in chunks - I'm guessing body is drained and not getting enough or any vitamins/minerals supplements it needs right now. Still getting the dry cough and ear ache.

Day 6. Thursday. Today... Welcome diarrhoea!!! Spent all night running to the bathroom! Considering I haven't really ate since Sunday's rice, I'm not sure what my body is getting rid of. Trying to eat some banana again need to try eat fibre to harden the stool again - haven't left my room it's now 3:30pm.
Tired of family keep telling me I smell - googled it and found it happens because of the breathe also lingers in the room. Still suffering from the pains but laying down writing this is easier.

I can only pray this will all ease up soon. Good luck! I will try keep up with the diary!