Recovery Tips for Adults after Tonsillectomy

Hi. Alayshia again from previous post. I am still currently on day 8. I just wanted to report that so far i have regained 80% my taste buds back. Sugary things still taste a tad off but savory foods are spot on. The metallic taste on my tongue is almost gone. My tongue is not numb, i have 95% movement in my tongue and is only 5% painful at the back part of my tongue, but gargling with salt water has been helping this. I do recomnend lightly brushing your teeth and tongue daily. I sleep sitting up to reduce swelling and head aches. I also try to get a complete yarn out alittle bit every day, even though it hurts, otherwise it creates some sort of weird lump in my throat thats painful. Just take it easy. What worked for me might not work for everyone, but it worth a shot! And the key is to not let your throat dry out...water water water.

Your tonsillectomy was quite a while ago but I read your post and my daughter , 25, is on day three. I am trying to get her to eat but she keeps refusing because of the pain. I’m frustrated because I can’t get in touch with the doctor. Do you remember what types of soft foods you ate to begin with? I’m going to go buy baby food just to get something in her stomach. She has lost ten pounds! Thank you for your concern.

Rita

Im on day 6 post Coblation tonsillectomy and i haven't felt any worse so far than a sore throat and feeling a bit run down. Ive been eating normal diet, had crisps and toast. I sleep through the night no problems, went back to work yesterday as I was bored. Pain when not swallowing 1/10 and 4/10 when i swallow. Maybe I'm very lucky but it really hasn't been that bad.
My recommendations are drinking ice water and chewing gum.

I know the coblation method is supposed to be a slightly better way of removal of tonsils as its not cutting the tonsils - I haven't had any swelling, not loss taste, no sore ears or neck.
My 3 year old daughter had the same procedure 2 weeks ago and she was back as normal instantly even quicker than me and back to school on the Monday. Mind you kids do bounce back quick. I decided to make a you tube video of my experience to give some people hope it doesnt have to be a horrendous experience,

These have all been amazing to read! They are making me feel so much better about how it feels and how I’m recovering!

24 year old girl here on day 6 of recovery. Reading through all the stories, the positive ones and the extremely difficult ones, has helped me out so much! I thought I would share my experience too in case it can be of help to anyone.

I went in for surgery about midday on Thursday 17th of May, and stayed in hospital overnight. My surgeon and anaesthetist were super lovely, both checking up on me to see how I was going. As well as the general anaesthetic, I had local anaesthetic in my throat which made waking up from surgery and the rest of day 1 pretty cruisy. There was pain, but nothing too intense. I managed to eat some chicken and corn soup for dinner as well as some bread, cheese and crackers, some buiscuits, and some jelly.

That night the local anaesthetic wore off, but I was on pain medication by then and slept pretty well. I was pretty much consistently sipping water, and also still had my IV in.

Day 2 I was given painkillers and antibiotics and headed home. Again, a fair amount of pain, but nothing unbearable. I managed to eat some butter chicken for dinner, as well as some icecream, custard, noodles...

From days 3 to 6 the pain has been slowly increasing. I'm still drinking almost constantly (water through a straw for the most part, but also tea with milk and sugar), eating a lot of ice, and my favourite things to eat at the moment are probably weetbix, and also scrambled eggs. I've been trying to eat fairly regular meals for dinner, like salmon fillets, and spaghetti bolognese, which my surgeon stressed would help my recovery.

In terms of sleeping, I've been taking at least one nap a day, otherwise I get too exhausted and everything becomes to overwhelming. I tend to only sleep for 3 to 5 hours at a time, so at night I'm often awake between 2 and 4 am (which works out nicely seeing as my long distance partner is finishing his night shift at about that time!)

I was warned so many times about the pain, but you never really understand it until it happens. Waking up in the morning is by far the worst, trying to get down the first pills of the day when you can't even sip water. I've struggled with speaking a few times, but it always improves once I've taken my medication.

Basically just resting up now, and hoping that things start to improve soon!

Xx

Hi having had my tonsils out I spent a lot of time trawling these sights and dreading the worst. Just wanted to share that my experience wasn't too bad. I may have just got lucky, but if there's anything I can share that will help others then I hope it helps. Prior to the operation I sent my toddler away with his dad and made sure I got rest and lots of excercise. I stopped drinking 2 weeks before and started taking arnica just before. I was incredibly anxious about the operation and recovery. After I came round I ate a sandwich in recovery room and stayed hydrated. I made sure I ate normally whenever I could and it was only when pain was at its worst (day 5) that I had to live off ice cream and porridge for the day. I used ice and ice packs from beginning even if I didn't feel I needed them. Just to reduce the swelling. Every day I drank a mixture of seeped ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and honey with almond milk and tried to eat as healthily as I could. I avoided dairy as it made me gakky in my throat. Also just tried to get a gentle walk out fresh air every day to stay positive in my head. Where possible I tried to delegate mothering and household duties to others so I could rest. When pain was at its worst (days 4-6) I did a lot of breathing and mindfulness excercises just to get me through. I took ibuprofen and paracetamol throughout and was off them just after a week. I feel incredibly lucky having read other people's experiences as I just kept dreading the worst to come.,but even at its worst it came and went a bit but did feel like someone sticking knives in my ears. Anyhow I how this helps someone out or at least gives hope that it doesn't always have to be so bad. I had them removed for inspection rather than because I get sore throats regularly so this may well have been the reason it went so smoothly.

Day 2. On a pain scale from 1-10, right side = 4 with some sharp pain when swallowing, left side = 7.5, esophagus/throat/stomach areas = 8.5+ with Tylenol Codine, 7- without pain meds.

Works: water, ice water, crushed ice (like a slushy consistency in a blender), iced apple juice (can dilute if needed), home made icy (diluted apple juice), luke warm to mostly cold home made chicken broth (less sodium), Jello
(Chewed very well and swallowing very slowly, makes me a bit nauseas.

Did not work: yogurt and/or vanilla ice cream (created too much phlem - ew), warm chicken broth made with chicken cube and/or gatorade (stung, too much sodium).

Tbh im just riding out the pain bc the Tylenol Codine gives me acid reflux, intense phlem build up, and intense heartburn that feels like my esophagus is getting scorched on fire tearing my flesh away, and it also makes me bleed. The pain on this painkiller is worse than the pain from the tonsillectomy. If it gets unbearable, i will try maalox with my Tylenol codine, but probably not bc im scared to try it. Constant cold liquids is key. Coughed some, had to clear the phlem, made me feel better but bled some. Hungry as hell. Good luck everyone. Mind over matter.

Day 2. On a pain scale from 1-10, right side = 4 with some sharp pain when swallowing, left side = 7.5, esophagus/throat/stomach areas = 8.5+ with Tylenol Codine, 7- without pain meds.

Works: water, ice water, crushed ice (like a slushy consistency in a blender), iced apple juice (can dilute if needed), home made icy (diluted apple juice), luke warm to mostly cold home made chicken broth (less sodium), Jello
(Chewed very well and swallowing very slowly, makes me a bit nauseas.

Did not work: yogurt and/or vanilla ice cream (created too much phlem - ew), warm chicken broth made with chicken cube and/or gatorade (stung, too much sodium).

Tbh im just riding out the pain bc the Tylenol Codine gives me acid reflux, intense phlem build up, and intense heartburn that feels like my esophagus is getting scorched on fire tearing my flesh away, and it also makes me bleed. The pain on this painkiller is worse than the pain from the tonsillectomy. If it gets unbearable, i will try maalox with my Tylenol codine, but probably not bc im scared to try it. Constant cold liquids is key. Coughed some, had to clear the phlem, made me feel better but bled some. Hungry as hell. Good luck everyone. Mind over matter.

I'm a 59 year old female and had my tonsils out 15 days ago because of a cyst on the left tonsil. Pain had gone down steadily and scabs were healing very well. I have only had water with protein and multivitamin supplements added, popsicles, puddings, Jellos, pureed, strained soups, broth and other similar foods/drinks. All was progressively getting better until this morning. My scabs are back, I had a pretty bad, dry cough that Delsym has quieted and my throat is very very sore whereas it was feeling almost normal. I have an appointment with my ENT this coming week but wanted to see if anyone had any advice or had had a similar experience. I don't know if maybe I am doing too much too soon for my age-I started back to work yesterday (mostly a desk job with minimal talking) and started working out again but at a slower and less strenuous pace. Thank you in advance for any help.

DO EAT OR DRINK
Ice Chips!
Cold Water or Cool Water
Aloe Vera Juice
Sea Moss Powder non-flavor
non-sweet; AMAZON
Organic Honey or if allergic Organic Agave (light and darK)
Honey Coconut Milk PopScicles or Honey Tea Popsicles
restaurant or homemade Egg Drop soup w/ organic eggs
Wonton Soup broth, room temp
Fruit Jello
Jello Pudding with Organic Coconut Milk
Organic coconut Milk Popsicles with agave syrup and sea moss powder
Cream of wheat
Organic Apple Juice
Regular Pasta to swallow as whole as possible, to minimumlly chew
Smashed potatoes or sweet potatoes
Organic Chicken Stock/Bone Broth
Chicken Broth Popsicles

PROCEED WITH CAUTION
Milk
grainy SeaMoss Gel
Cereal or Oatmeal
Tomato anything
Flan
Pomegranate, Ornage, Lemon, Cherry acid drinks
Bananas
Popsicles with fruit chunks
strawberries and mango
grape juice
Whole Grain Pasta
bread
hamburger

Hope it all works out