Recovery Tips for Adults after Tonsillectomy

i found that you have to find a right temperature for everything you eat or drink im on day 10 and still cant eat a thing, a hot pad or magic bag on the ears helps also this is very helpful *plug your nose and blow but keep your mouth closed, like you do when your ears are popping in an airplane, trust me in helps a whole lot* and liquids i found that somedays water burns so i go to apple juice and other days apple juice stings so i go to room temp water. If you are loosing weight nothign to worry about ive lost 20 lbs myself and trust me im starving. I also found that eating like mashed potatoes or jello or mac and cheese is impossible to swallow without geting a sharp pain. An last thing pace yourself when drinking if you swallow too many times in a short period that upsets the throat, I try to drink about 2 tsp every 2 min. Cold things hurt but warm-room temp are ok.

I am 18 and am on day 8, day 3 and 4 were the worst for me. The only difference with my doctor and all of yalls is my doctor told me to eat all the hard stuff. He said not to go easy because it would knock the scabs of faster if i ate hard foods. in that i did and have lost 6 pounds. Because i was told that i have been in the worst possition of lying to my parents and tossing the food to the dog. I went to another doctor for my post op. and he said i had internal throat bleeding :'( . the pain meds stopped on day 5 due to having to go to work n school. sleeping is the worst and talking has turned off.

I am 26 and had my tounsals out fri. Oh yea Easter was today FUNFUN lol I havent been in too much pain. Day one and two were easy I was up and around. Today day 3 I felt like death was weak and tired and just plain ol bad feeling. I found pudding and yogurt were good for me.

I just found this. And it made me feel a lot better. I am 19 and had my tonsils taken on June 3rd. The first 4 days were horrible. And the first 5 I just didn't eat anything. Had as much water as I could which really wasn't much. And ate Popsicles but only with a spoon. My jaw haw hurt so bad. But day 5 I knew things would be better. I've eaten actual foods. Drank a lot more water. No more pain meds. I even went out to the movies. The thing that helped me best for pain was to take pain medicine then get myself comfortable propped up with an ice pack across my throat. Even now after I'm feeling a lot better I still do that. It's so soothing to me. Well without the pain meds. Keep strong everyone who has their tonsils out do the best you can and what makes you feel better. I must say though. That the stomach pains in the last 2 days are HORRID. They are off and on from having so much pain meds in me then stopping them all of a sudden. I can't figure out why it hurts so bad though. Does anyone else feel it???

Do NOT get a tonsillectomy. They are miserable. I have cried myself to sleep every night. Worst pain I have ever felt and I have broken a lot of bones.

I am 22. Friday was my tonsilectomy. Woke up, and was fine, thought "this wont be anything!" That night the pain started, the next day the pain got much worse. I was put on liquid codine, the c**p tasted like fire. Caused me to start vomitting that night. Acid vomit of course made it worse. Day three, I still couldnt eat, ice chips and ice pack on my throat helped a bit. Monday I was still in pain and had switched to plain ol tylenol. Tuesday is when i thought i was going to die. It started with me waking up nude on a bathroom floor because I had passed out due to lack of food. Mom came home and brought me a Boost (which as bad as it hurts to swallow, doesnt taste horribly and really helped me to feel better). I walked down stairs, coughed a very small amount, pure blood. Raced to the ER. They put me on percocet pills (wich have been better) as well as a suppository to help me keep food down. Then wednesday came...bleed once, stopped, thought I was fine. Bleed twice, stopped thought I was fine. Started up the third time, knew I wasnt fine. I started coughing up blood clots (4-5 of them) the size of golf balls. ER rushed me back, my doctor was there in 15 minutes and I was rushed back for more surgery. I thought I was going to die. The pain was so bad when I woke up, that i satarted going into shock and they had to put me back under. I got home last night, woke up every two hours crying. Today is thursday and my throat, ears, and jaw hurt so much I would like them to put me to sleep for the rest of the time. A few things that have helped me: ICE CHIPS (gods gift),hot showers (sitting down letting the water beat down on the back of my neck), and Ice pops, Boost (I try to drink at least one a day), and ice packs. Things that have made me want to die: My breath...no matter how many times i brush my teeth its puke worthy. Laying down, fine at first then pain ensues (I have discovered sleeping in a recliner helps), ice cream (dont care what anyone says...oww), and having people around me. I need help right now, but people are starting to drive me crazy, telling me what I have to do (eat, take meds, keep potatoes down) and when to do it. Hope this helps and hope you have better luck than I have.

I have not seen to many updated reports on this subject. I am a 56 year old female. I had my tonsilectomy last Friday, 7 days ago to the day. I had read everything I could find on the subject and was worried sick. I went in nothing big, when I came out they gave me water to drink but that did not sit well and they switched it to a sprite. I was not able to drink water day 1 or 2, sprite only. Pain was nothing like I thought it would be, not . I would rate it a 5 in 1-10 table. But on 3rd day, I woke up around 2am with very sharp pain in throat. I figured it must be the white scabs starting to come out. Since I drank alot of water they are very thin. But when it came off, the skin under is so tender the pain is great. I filled up on ice again and kept it in my mouth also took my pain meds. I thought I didn't need them and didn't take he full amount berfore this happened. Everyday sine, I get these moments of great pain. I went to my one week follow up and yes Iwas correct, the scabs are falling off and this is why all the pain. Dr said everything looked really good. That I would have 3-4 more days of this cycle of pain. Then things should get better from that point on. I will be going back to work after 2 weeks. Several things helped I think with the smooth going, water!! Drink 1 gal a day. It really does work. Also gum. I found that it helps when my earts start to hurt. Also I found that when these last few days of scabs coming off and the pain, if I chew the gum, I can drink more water without pain. Also I sleep with a warm air mister in the room, helps prevent drying out while sleeping. I must tell you, the one thing I am looking forwar to is a good nights sleep. I don't sleep much right now, since I must take my meds, and must keep water going in. I am exhausted but will get more sleep in 3-4 days, I will have 5 days left to get caught up with my sleep. All and all, I would do this again, I have been so sick for so long, I can't wait until this is all over and I will have my energy up . I added up and have spent over $700 in meds and co pays this past year on my throat. Good luck for all!!

I am a 28 yr old female, I had my tonsils removed Friday, so I'm on day 3. When I was in recovery my nurse told me my ears could hurt and that it was normal, and I noted that they already were hurting. But she didn't indicate how long the ear pain could last. The pain in my throat hasn't been too terrible, but my ears are killing me! Does anyone know if I can use heating packs/ice packs to help alleviate the pain? I'm taking my liquid Lortab (Vicodin) every 4 hours as prescribed, and am drinking about 24 oz of water with each dose of pain meds. But the pain meds don't seem to help with my ears. Previously I've used homeopathic drops to sooth my ears, but I'm afraid since I just had surgery. Can anyone recommend something to help with my ear pain??

Thanks!! :-)

I found that if I chewed gum it seems to help. Also if i lay on my back up and not on my sides it helps. I used a ice ban on my throat since the pain is really coming from there. Besides doing that, nothing seemed to help stop it comletely. I also used ear muffs they seem to help me. Dy 10 today and I have finally turned the courner. days 3-9 were hard with the scabs comig off and the skin so tender. I still have only had jello, protien drinks mashed potatoes today. i have lost 15 lbs.

@vperkins, thank you! I will try adding chewing gum. This evening, I alternated between ice packs on my neck/throat while I was awake and a heating pad on the lowest setting on my ears if I'm napping. This seems to have helped out a lot. I've been sleeping in the recliner to keep from rolling around, to help eliminate that 'choking' feeling. I'm curious what the ear muffs do for you? But like you said, nothing really seems to take the pain away completely. I've only been able to have water, I tried some soup earlier, but the noodles did no work out. I'll stick to liquids only for the next few days. Thus far I'm down 9lbs.

I know that sounds funny, ear muffs, but I cant stand to have air go in my ears right now. ear muffs stops that. They like to be nice and warm. I have two large body pillows that I'm using to sit up with, so I can be in my own bed. Your rough days are coming up. Just sleep, drink tons of water!! It keeps the scabs thin, I have had no bleeding. I have given up trying foods for awhile and will keep to my high protein drinks jello. I wish you well, it is geting better now. don't forget the gum!!! These hard days coming up, chew gum first and then start drinking it really helps!! Good luck!! ;-)

Hi everyone, I am 27 years old and am recovering from a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. I had the cold scalpel surgery, and it took about 15 minutes. I could hardly believe how easy the surgery itself was--they knock you out with anesthesia and you don't feel/see anything. I woke up about 15 min later and the nurse gave me some cold water with crushed ice.



The surgeon prescribed Percoset sand amoxicillin. I had already stocked up on non-acidic juices and Gatorade. Aloe Vera drink was my favorite drink because it was not too sweet and it has a very soothing quality to it (you can find this at many Asian and Latino markets). I also kept ice wrapped up in a towel or scarf around my neck. This seemed like it helped a lot.



The first 1-2 days after surgery were fine. I was thinking, "what's the big deal, they told me it was going to be painful…I have to be off of work for 2 weeks for this?" I was up walking around, talking, and doing my normal activities. I was also taking my pain pills every 3.5 or every 3.75 hours.



The 3rd night, everything changed for the worse. I started getting nausea and then began vomiting uncontrollably. I vomited 5-6 times, and then called the doctor, who prescribed the anti-nausea suppositories. These started working, and I thought I was fine. I tried to replenish all of my lost liquids on the 4th morning, and I did not like taking the suppositories because they made me sleep all day (how am I supposed to drink anything when I am sleeping all day?). So, I skipped a dose or two, and then by the morning, I was vomiting again. This time I vomited about 10 times, and then I passed out in the bathroom. My boyfriend was so scared he called 911, and the paramedics came, but by that time I had come to and told them that I was fine. So they left, and then I vomited again, and passed out again, and my boyfriend called the doctor, who said that I need to go to the emergency room immediately.



When I arrived at the emergency room, I passed out again, and they hooked me up to IVs and gave me morphine for the pain. I was in the hospital for a day and a half so they could monitor my nausea.



At the hospital, the nausea wore off after about 4-5 hours, and after that I could keep down some soft foods, like mashed potatoes, vegetables, and jello.


The doctor finally sent me home and told me to resume the Amoxicillin and Percocet. So I did, and I began getting nauseous again at home. This time, my mother was with me, and told me to drink soda and have some crackers. She mixed the crackers with a little milk so they weren’t so hard. Then she said that if I chew them really good before I swallow, they wouldn’t hurt my throat. So I slowly drank the soda and ate the crackers, and my nausea called down. We called the doctor, and he said to go off of the Amoxicillin, because it was probably making me sick.



After stopping the Amoxcicillan, I was pretty much fine. I still had occasional nausea, but now I just eat a few crackers and sip on some soda. Also, make sure you lie down because moving around just makes your stomach more upset.


Also, the pain was the worst days 4-8. Take your meds on time, before the pain really kicks in, and use ice.


I was able to eat real food after the first week, so make sure you have enough real food at home to get you by (I think I made too much soup and did not make enough real food).



Here’s my top 10 list:
1.) Drink as much as you can (aloe vera juice, tea with honey, and water were my top 3 picks)
2.) Take your meds on time
3.) If your doctor prescribes Amoxicillin, take it, but consider stopping it if you get nauseous
4.) Make your favorite soups for the first week, and your favorite real foods for week 2
5.) Set alarms in the middle of the night to take Tylenol. In order to take Percocet, I had to have a heavy meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner), and found that I could get away with taking Tylenol on an empty stomach
6.) Use an ice-pack
7.) Stock up on movies from the library and upgrade your Netflix account
8.) Sherbert and puddings were my favorite sweet smooth foods
9.) Plan on taking the full 2 weeks off from work
10.) Don’t take Amoxcicillan if it makes you nauseous

I found this site last night and couldn't believe how much better it made me feel. I turned 40 a month ago and am day 11 after a tonsillectomy. I had tonsilloliths (tonsil stones) that were causing chronic low-grade infections and fevers and decided to do this to myself. It seemed like a brilliant idea at the time and of course, it didn't occur to me to do research because what the hell - kids have this done all the time. I'm kind of glad I went into it as blind as I did - then there was no anticipation.

I went into surgery at 8:30 and was already at the pharmacy at a little after 10 to pick up my meds and go home. I got the Lortab, some antibiotics, some suppositories (which, thank everything, I didn't need), 2 of the Tetracaine lollipops, and a bottle of this foul thick green liquid that is my docs own concoction (he is originally from Texas and calls it lizard juice. Pureed lizard, mixed with black licorice and ass, maybe...). It has a topical anesthetic as well as an anti-inflammatory and an anti-histamine. Like so many others, I thought I was all in the clear the day of the surgery. Pain meds? I don't need no stinkin' pain meds. By that night, I was pretty much in tears - and I do have a pretty high pain tolerance. (I know it isn't a huge deal but I had 4 bicuspids with surprisingly long roots pulled 3 years ago when I got braces and didn't take any pain meds at all).

Surgery was Friday and I went back to work on Monday - Lortab in tow. I guess I am fortunate in that I can still function pretty well on it. A little happier and more relaxed than normal but I was still able to do the data analysis and scheduling required for my job. I guess I just wanted to give everyone some tips that really helped me - and to let some reading this that have yet to undergo the surgery - it sucks but it isn't absolutely horrid for everyone.

1. GET THE LOLLIPOPS! They really help!

2. As everyone says - HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE! The first week, I only wanted the coldest liquid possible and pretty much lived on popsicles (especially the banana and rootbeer flavored ones. No citric acid at all was wonderful as even the mildest tartness in fruit burned the hell out of my throat). Now, anything cold feels like I am being stabbed in the neck with a dull steak knife so I stick to room temperature water and vaguely warm things.

3. I have one of those long cloth-covered gel packs you can freeze or heat and I go to sleep with that wrapped around my neck each night. If you would have told me I'd go to bed with ice on my neck before all this, I would have told you you were insane but it really felt phenomenal. For the first week especially, I would go to bed with one, then, when I woke up in the middle of the night to take more meds, I would switch it out for another one.

4. The nurse taught me a new way to eat. Basically - you take big bites of stuff and chew it up really well but swallow it all at once if you can. Strangely enough, the larger the bite, the fewer muscles it takes to swallow (I guess this makes sense since your throat is actually a tube and you swallow by constriction - a big glob doesn't require as much constriction to be forced down). And stuff that will stick together is good.

5. Food - I went from a high-protein diet to living on popsicles and it's horrible. I found that bananas burned the c**p out of my throat (how weird is that?) and that anything textured was torture. So... soup and posicles. No dairy - but sorbet is pretty decent as long as it isn't too tart (the phlegm from the dairy was disastrous as it made me feel like I was going to gag all the time). Mashed potatoes (both regular and sweet) are great - I mixed in a bit of deviled ham for flavor. Someone on one of the posts recommended Cream of Chicken soup as gravy and that worked well. I also started eating white bread again - egg sandwiches are awesome - as are tuna fish (without the pickles). Oh - and grilled cheese with lots of butter works well. Nice and gluey to form a cohesive ball for swallowing.

6. Swallowing HURTS - but to make matters worse, I have been having a horrible time with Nasal Regurgitation - where the food is pushed up into the nasal cavity instead of down your throat. Your soft palate and uvula are supposed to keep this from happening but they are so swollen, they can't. This is apparently a common problem and some docs, when you tell them about it, will prescribe steroids. Mine gave me some super-anti-inflammatory called Keterolac and it is already making a difference. And I knew to ask for this because other fabulous people talked about it on here! Thanks for that! This has been my biggest obstacle to eating - I can manage the pain (which really is quite terrible when I let the meds lapse) but getting chewed up salami and ham sandwich stuffed up your nose from the inside? Intolerable! Ask for the anti-inflammatories!

7. Chew gum! Swallowing is terrible but chewing gum keeps the saliva going, keeping the scabs moist, and everything working the way it's supposed to. Also - they have your mouth open and really torqued for the surgery so chewing gum will help your jaw work through the pain of that and feel better.

8. TMJ - if you have TMJ - let them know before surgery. I casually mentioned something about my jaw popping and the nurse said that was good to know as they had a somewhat different technique for holding your mouth open if you already have jaw problems.

9. Pain management. I thought I was pretty tough and wasn't going to take my meds but you know what? Take your freaking meds. Don't be an id**t about it or anything but keep ahead of the pain and use them as long as you need to. You will know when you can cut back gradually on them but there is no reason to suffer.

That's all I can think of right now. I hope this helps someone out there get through this more easily. The whole thing has been an ordeal and much worse than I anticipated (when I saw that my scrip for Lortab had a refill, I scoffed. I just picked up my 3rd prescription today... but I think I am finally seeing the light. And though I am really tired most of the time (not nearly enough food - I don't know how much weight I have lost so far but it is becoming pretty noticeable), I know that this was for the best. And I feel very lucky that it hasn't been worse.

Thanks everyone, for posting your stories. It has been incredibly reassuring to see that I am not alone in this - something I didn't expect at all.

Wishing everyone a speedy recovery!

This is a good site. But some of the stories were bad!! That is why I decided to give my story. I am back at work now, 2 weeks after surgery. No problems at all, no bleeding. Only thing I find now, if I yawn it hurts still. I can feel the difference in the way I feel. Glad those tasty things are gone. I would go thru it again to feel better. Worth it. My recommentation to others thnking about having it done: Don't be afraid, just be prepared. You can do it!! Good luck.

oops! Meant NASTY things!!