Recovery Tips for Adults after Tonsillectomy

Am 62 and had my tonsils out 9 days ago. For years doctors told me tonsillectomy was too tramatic, but the constant and nasty absesses I was getting put me into surgery mode. Doctor and nurses told me about how horrid the pain would be, so at least I felt prepared and looking for the absolute worst made the ordeal more tolerable. Days 3 through 6 were the worst as far as the pain, but basically, I kept on top of the pain med every four hours and that usually put me to sleep until time for the next dose. Doctor prep also included stocking up with gum or suckers for the ear pain-suckers didn't seem to do much but the gum took away the pain. My diet has been primarily ice cream, yogurt, pudding and applesauce. My first pudding was chocolate and thought I would die. Must be something about chocolate on the scabbed or raw throat, but it definitely intensified the pain. Right now, the pain is tolerable, but I still talk like I have a big cotton ball in my throat. However, plan to go back to work tomorrow - 10 days after surgery. Sure, this procedure is tough on us old birds, but then we are tough, too. If you are having this done, just hunker down and remember "this too shall pass". God bless and be with you!

I am 29 years old and on day 7. I have need been in so much pain in my life. Giving birth to my son was easier. I am still taking the meds every four hours. When will it stop. The minute I move, my ears, throat and neck hurts like crazy. I have only been able to eat soup broth and warm tea... I tryed to eat ice cream, jello, and pudding, but it hurt my throat worst. 2day I started eating rice krispies in soaked in milk. It still hurt so much to swallow. Will the pain go away....
 

You need to drink water or keep ice in your mouth all the time. I was 57 and had them taken out last Jan. I read all the stories about all the pain, and it was not that bad. Nights were the worst, but then I couln't keep ice in there. Also I kept popsicles going all the time. I went thru 5 boxes of them and 4 bags of ice. It's true what they have said about all the water and liquid, the more you drink and keep it going down one way or another the better your feel. After day 10 it gets better. Hang in there.

I couldn't have ice cream or milk products, made film. I kept popciles, water , ice going down for first week. lost 10 lbs. Then i had vanila pudding, and then and protein shakes. that was about it for 3 weeks. Pain was limited to late nights when I could not drink. I kept ice by my bed and would pop some in my mouth to help then. The meds were very helpful and I kept them up even if I felt I didn't need them. That was best thing I could do. I went back to work at day 14 and just kept drinking all day. Soups or protein for lunch for several more weeks.

Hi guys im 21 and had my tonsils out last monday 14th. before the tonsillectomy i suffered with tonsillitis once a month, with tonsil stones every other week in between. I also had small abscesses on either side of my throat, so it was constantly sore. Everyone is different with recovery, especially with pain! I think ive been extremely lucky! 2 hours after I came round I ate broccoli cheese with potatos and jelly and  6 biscuits with tea. I wasnt in as much pain as what I expected and have been eating solid meals ever since. I have avoided dairy because the film in your mouth is incredibly nasty! When I got home the next day, I had a jug of ice water constantly by my side and even when ive not been thirsty, ive just been drinking like theres no tomorrow! My scabs fell off around day 4, so day 5 was probably the most painful day. Everything made my throat sting, even water! But Ive been on paracetamol and codeine for the pain 4 times a day, i think my tip to everyone is to take them abut 20 minutes before food. masks a lot of soreness! also keep up the oral hygiene! day 5 i had a small bleed and had to go back to a&e just to be checked out. turns out i have a small throat infection, so im now on penicillin, but its really not painful at all! i did have the earache and let me tell you, as soon as the scabs go, that also goes :). it does make you down, but i think the best thing is to stay positive, stay at home and keep warm and hydrated. even though its already been a week, i can tell the difference already, i feel so much better in my self and i cant wait for a healthier working life! i hope im on the up now, but you never know! tomorrow could be terrible haha! good luck guys and keep positive! 

I am having a tonsillectomy in 3 weeks. I so appreciate all the posts as I prepare myself for the worst! I am greatful to hear from someone more my age (I'm 65)! After reading what all the 20 year olds were saying, I couldn't imagine what it was going to be like for an old grandma! Any more oldsters out there to share their experiences?

I was 57...my post above. I read all the terrible things also, llike glass in mouth etc... I found that the more ice, water, popciles I kept going in the less pain. Keep up the meds even if you don't think you need them. Keep drinking, putting ice in mouth, popciles one thing after another....it really helps. Put ice by your bed so you can put some in your mouth. The late nights is the hardest because your not drinking as much. I slept with pillows half sitting up at first, it helped. It was not as bad as everyone said. At least not for me. I could not stand food for awhile, just drank tons!! I went back to work on day 14. Best thing I ever did I have only had one sore throat since then..2 years ago.

I just got my tonsils and adenoids out 4 days ago, I'm a 20 year old male, and I was prepared for the worst. The day after surgery, I was up cleaning my room, and moving things around. That really took a toll on my recovery, the next day I was coughing up serious amounts of blood. I went back to the doctor, and he said I literally needed to be in bed for 72 hours with nothing but cold water. And that's what I did, and it has significantly helped me. If you can find the mental stability to stay in bed for 3 days, you will feel a lot better. I've lost 12 pounds in 5 days, which is a significant jump. Watered down smoothies and wet eggs have been great remedies, except I still feel like whenever I eat, I'm ripping off the scabs in my throat. Also, if you're taking any liquid painkillers, I found that refrigerating it makes it somewhat tolerable. When do you think is a good time to go back to work? I work at a coffee shop, so it's a medium amount of moving around. Also, when is an appropriate time to start smoking cigarettes again?  

Omg I feel the same way I got my surgery on the tenth of April. By the third day I was crying just to swallow my crushed pill not applesauce. Today is day Six and the is the same as day three if not worse. Cold foods hurt worse for me all I can eat is pureed chicken and stars soup and cream of wheat. I'm running out of Medicine and it still hurts for me to talk.. I'm getting super depressed this pain is unbearable. I thought childbirth was bad but this is absolutely. Worse. :'(

I'm twenty years old and having my wisdom teeth, tonsils and adenoids out tomorrow morning!

I just arrived back from university this morning and have been finding more and more horror stories about how much pain I will be in; I guess bringing back all my work for exams which start in ten days was a little optimistic then?!?

Surely it cant be as bad as you all say it is?!? Anything you can recommend before I go in?

Wish me luck!:D

Hi Jenns

My Name is Paul I am 49 year old male and have just undergone a full tonsillectomy to rule out Lymphoma I had aysmmetric Tonsils, fortunately the Biopsy came back clear but I did have a chronic infection.

There is no way I can describe to you the discomfort you are going to feel/are feeling on a scale from 1-10 its a 10 for 4-7 days. Your best friend is not ice water, its cold water with little ice infact I drank room temperature water because you body absorbs it quicker, Yogurts, Ice pops, Ice cream, and non fizzy drinks. I would recommend you get a dehumidifier for sleep purposes, this definitley helped me. (Do Not Become Dehydrated).

SLEEP is your enemy because when you sleep your mouth will be open and your throat will become dry the pain I experienced on a couple of occassion was Brutal to say the least. I developed a plan from reading another blog and that was to set my alarm for every 2-3 hours so I could take pain meds (Tylonol) and I drink plenty of water I did this for the first 4-5 days days but as the pain got worse, it became increasingly more difficult to sleep or too drink ( try to save your prescribed meds for night time). Definitley get Ice bags for wrapping around the neck its amazing how much that helped me.

If you can have someone home with you so you can a have assistance with some one bringing you what you need that would be good because the less movement you have the better youll feel. My dodctor gave me a combiniation of Codeine and Vicodein in a liquid format , dont be afraid to ask for more if you need it, it is highly addictive but you will need it, try to save you pain meds for night time use, although thats easier said than done. I found an antisceptic mouth wash (CVS) ( Alcholol free) which I still use) dont use this inside of the first 10 days gargling is impossible.

Here is how it went in terms of pain on a scale from 1-10 ten being the worst. not everyone is the same this is just how it affected me.

Day 1-(2-3)

Day 2-(2-3)

Day 3-(3-5)

Day 4-(6)

Day 5-(7)

Day 6 ( 9)

Day 7 (10)

Day 8 9 10 11 12 13 and 14 (10)

Day 15 (7)

Day 16,17,18,19,20 (3)

Day 21,22,23,24,25 (1)

Day 26,27,28,29 (0)

Hope this helps in some capacity and good luck

 

On day 9 I ate mashed potatoes and soup, but I was already 4 days constipated. This caused me to vomit all food out and burn my throat which bled after this episode. I thought I had to go to the ER, if this wasn't enough I was unable to blow my nose and get rid of the nasty vomit smell. However after the bleeding stopped, ice cream helped for this and immediately rinsing my mouth with water for the phlegm build up, I felt better. I am 35 and must say this is the worst I have ever been through and give this a 9/10 on a discomfort scale. I am at day 14 and the battle continues to get scabs of on the left side of my throat. I must admit reading these messages makes one feel better.

Hi there 

I am a35 Year old female who got a tonsillectomy on sept 2, 2013. My Doctor was not only professional, but he was so accommodating and courteous through out the whole day. As nervous as I was, he took the time out to chat with me making me feel comfortable. Even cracked a joke or two. Anyway, after the procedure, I was fed ice chips, and my mom picked me up and got me home. Now,day 2 I was still ok, went to pick up my prescription, went to the market, everything was ok. Ok, now for days3-6 OMG!!!!!! I felt like there was no possible way that anyone can go through this pain, now, i suffer through migraines, and i hate having them, but this type of pain, I'd rather have migraines for a couple of days than this. water, as much as it hurts drink. My ears, my throat , my head, it was all in pain, that when I cried one morning, I sound like a cow mooing instead because my muscles in my throat were soar. My mom came a couple of times to care for me, in which I was and is still greatful. And I was also greatful for the percocets. I took them every four hours. But I will say this, to anyone reading this post, please, please, please load up with water, prune juice, a lot of fiber, Metamucil. Please. The results for lack of, is very dangerous. trust me you don't want to end up in the emergency room. Please load up with water and fiber. I'm on day 11 now, and my ears are still a little sensitive when I eat as well as the back of my tongue. On the 5day, the doctor said that it was healing just fine and to still take it easy with soft food for the next 2 weeks. Everyday when I was in pain, I read these comments on this blog, and it encouraged me that it was gonna be ok. Btw, I had to take mines out because of constant tonsil stones, they were big, and horrid and I ended up getting an infection trying to take care of it my own. Hope this helps. Take care. Good healing, and good luck. 

Oh my. Reading all this has me so scared! They want me to get my tonsils and adenoids out at 30. I have a full time job and I don't want a lot of down time. But I can't stand getting sore throats, coughs, & losing my voice 8 times a year. Does anyone have any advice for me before I go in to see the doctor and set a date?

I trust my surgeon and he says dairy is OK. Thank god because that is the only thing I can get down half way OK. Mostly room temp choc milk. And believe it or not cold meats. Smoked turkey is now my best friend. Only two slices a day, but its better than nothing. My left side doesn't seem a bad as my right side. And by the way I am 48 and I have to agree this is the worse pain I have ever been in, in my life.