Recovery Tips for Adults after Tonsillectomy

I'm 42 and on day 5 of recovery of an adenoidectomy. Today it really really hurts! My neck kills just kind of below my ears when I swallow. The doctor doesn't know why, he's changed my antibiotics. Three times a day for 10 days. It does hurt when I move my head from side to side and downwards. My neck even hurts when I walk. I

Disclaimer: First off, I am not a doctor nor medically trained, just my own researching health advocate. I am fresh, only 12 hours post tonsillectomy, but gotta say, not as bad as I was anticipating so far. My advice is prepare, prepare, prepare. I bought a stockpile of local raw honey, amazing. When I start to feel burning back there, I slowly let the honey mingle in my mouth and tilt my head back so it reaches back there. Amazing! Using 1/2 tsp 3 times so far after eating as eating seems to annoy the site. Also, concocted a healing cold soup. Felt really good going down and is reawakening my digestive system again, which is great! I poured 1 c. cold bone broth, 2 scrambled eggs and 3 spoonfuls of homemade mashed potatoes (dairy free) into my blender. And down the hatch it went. Tasted pretty good too and nothing got stuck! Win-win! Tomorrow I am adding some fiber to it so I can be regular again after all the anesthesia and pain med. Only taking Tylenol 3, very sparingly as I am sensitive. Also using diluted Lavendar essential oil and Peppermint essential oil topically 3 times daily. It does help the pain, and a lot out there on Lavendar for faster healing and better pain control. Also, made healing pops ahead of time with sambucus, frozen blueberries, coconut eater, a little honey and some tart cherry juice. Love these! Anotjer thing that felt really good back there, plus has vitamin C for healing, antioxidants in blueberries and tart cherry good for soreness and inflammation. Anyway, I am optimistic as I was living with chronic pain with my tonsils for so long. My Dr. was actually concerned they might be cancerous. Thank God that was not the case! I'd say for me, the discomfort is somewhat comparable to my last severe sinus infection, less ear pain with this though, and the areas in back of my throat are akin to when I have had a bad mouth ulcer. Love that I don't feel goopy anymore and excited to see how great I'm going to feel once I fully heal! I wanted to post something more positive since I believe that goes a long way in healing, prayers work too! Oh, and a good homemade ice pack that stays cold longer and easier to manipulate, 1 part rubbing alcohol to 3 parts water. Double bag in good Ziploc bags and freeze. Love these things! Ice, ice, and more ice, chew on ice, and ice again! And rest, listen to your body, take it easy! Hope this is helpful for someone out there! God bless!

The pain is tolerable, I had surgery 5 hours ago, so far I can eat Popsicles (otter pops) and I can drink water . I slept with an ice pack on my more sore cheek. Honestly the right after pain has been the worst so far

Hi I'm 16 and I got my done 4 days ago and I already can't take any more medical because ever time I do my body want me to throw it up. My ear hurt so much a hole lot more them my throat and it so hard to sleep I wake up every night at 3am I can eat anything soft but I can't talk it hurts to move my mouth I really want this to end already if I new it was going to be this bad I wouldn't did it! :(

Hi everyone. I'm 25 years old and am on day 10 of recovery from tonsilectomy surgery. Here is my experience and some tips:

Day of surgery: I woke up with lots of jaw/neck pain. I was very drowsy from the anesthesia and wanted to sleep. I have had previous surgeries with poor reactions (vomiting) to the anesthetic, so they pumped me full of anti-nausea meds. If you know this, ask. It was helpful. I ate a banana popsicle at the hospital and was on my way. At home, I started the pain meds and took a nap. Later on, I ate some ice chips and some room-temperature soup broth. All in all, not an awful day.

Days 2 and 3: by far my worst days. I was in a lot of pain and tried to stay on top of the pain meds. Drinking water was important but painful. I mainly slept on and off and ate very little. I experienced major ear pain so I constantly had ice packs on my ears/neck (big key for me). I also had major swelling - mainly my tongue and uvula.

Days 4,5,6 - everyday got a little better. Pain was bad but sticking to a schedule with meds help. Your breath will be awful, it will hurt to talk, and you won't feel like doing anything still, but it stared to feel like I was coming around.

Day 7: turning point. Started to feel better. Still needed pain meds and was mainly experiencing ear pain. My scabs were starting to fall off so this seemed to speed up my own recovery. My swelling was going down and this was the first day I actually wanted to eat.

Days 8-10: almost back to normal. No more swelling and very minimal ear pain. I still have some pain when I swallow but it is nothing compared to earlier in the week. I'm eating real foods (with careful selection) and moving around more. My doctor suggested I slowly move from the pain medicine to ibuprofen.

Biggest tips: be ready to rest. Don't try to do too much and just plan to spend at least 1 week (maybe 2) doing nothing. Having someone to help and bring you water/food/medicine is also a good thing if you can. I tried to buy foods ahead of time I thought I would eat but wanted just about everything else after the surgery. Foods i found easiest to eat for the first few days were soup broth, pudding, scrambled eggs, popsicles, and jello. Eventually I moved on to waffles and mac and cheese. I constantly had ice packs in the freezer for my ears and could not sleep without them. I used soft packs (cloth filled with rice) because they were never too cold and formed easily to my face. These saved my life. I also slept with a humidifier to keep my throat moist at night and kept a Yeti tumbler nearby with cold water at all times. Other than that, I just kind of rested up and feel like although there were some rough days, I had a pretty quick turnaround. Best of luck!!

I'm on day 8, still on almost only liquids. I won't even consider ice cream due to the phlegm I already have. Sherbet has been good, very smooth and almost to the point of melted.
I can't eat jello or pudding, too thick. Popsicles hurt too.
My neck, ears and jaw are still sore but are finally starting to get better.
I'm hoping that the scabs start to leave soon. I'm afraid of bleeding.

I wish I wouldn't have done it at all this pain is unbelievable if you have other choices look into the other choice this is my biggest regret

It was over 2 months since I had my tonsillectomy and as much as it may sound bad, the best thing to get better quick is to eat toast. For the first couple tries it may hurt but it gets rid of stuff that is on where your tonsils were and it that area is clear it will have an easier time clearing. Hope this helps.

Hi I am 5 days post removal of my tonsils and adenoids. I am a 22 year old female and have been struggling with severe bouts of strep, tonsillitis and sinus infections over the past 10 years. I saw an ENT when I was 5 for sleep apnea and they recommended that I did not have my tonsils removed. However, after 6 months of sinus infections I went and saw an ENT again and they recommended that I have my tonsils and adenoids removed ASAP because the size of my tonsils were constituting my airways. On Tuesday at 8 am I went into surgery. I woke up feeling pretty loopy but with minimal pain compared to what I had expected after reading message boards. They kept me overnight due to oxygen issues and put me on liquids, Percocet and anti nausea meds. I was released the next day at 11 and sent home with Percocet. My boyfriend has been my primary caretaker (WHICH NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE YOU NEED A BABYSITTER AFTER THIS SURGERY) he picked me up soups, Gatorade popsicles, apple sause and instant mashed potatoes. Due to the swelling I couldn't get anything down but chipped ice, water and Gatorade. About 3 hours after returning from the hospital I started vomiting and didn't stop for about 38 hours. Since I had nothing in my stomach I was purely throwing up stomach acid which was burning my incision sites. After this my doctor switched me to hydrocodon and a anti nausea medication. Continually, I have serious congestion which makes everything worse. I recommed spitting out your mucous so that it doesn't bother your stomach. I woke up day 4 in intense pain, I began to pass out and throw up again at about 3 pm when my boyfriend took me to the ER. They told me I was clinically deyhdrated and extremely swollen and gave me liquids and more pain meds. I immediately threw these up :)

Although I am only 5 days post op these are some tips and tricks which have helped me:
RITAS ITALIAN ICE squished up with Gatorade has been my savior. It has been the only thing I've been able to get down and the Gatorade has electrolytes which are needed.
U DONT HAVE TO EAT IF U DONT WANT TOO. it hurts and it's hard and will make you depressed. just go with what feels right.
Let yourself feel pain. This surgery is extemely painful and if you try to ignore or downsize your pain it'll be worse.
Have someone to take care of you! My boyfriend has been my savior, picking up ritas and ice constantly, switching out ice packs and basically taking care of me constantly. Allow yourself to be taken care of! I hate having to ask people for things but you have to get over it and allow someone to help you. If they can stay with you overnight, that's even better because they can wake you up to take your pain meds.
Finally, hot baths with bath salts have been my savior. I use essential oils and soak for about 40 min. This brings down the swelling and pain in your neck.

My biggest advice is trust your body! I didn't want to complain or go back to the hospital because after reading so many message boards and blogs I thought I was supposed to be in extreme pain constantly. So instead of listening to my body I tried to ignore my pain. This lead to rehospitilzation and a lot more pain. Be honest with yourself, be kind to yourself and let yourself heal. Good luck all

I am 24 had my tonsils removed on 9/19 and I felt fine before I went in and days leading up to it I went in and it felt pretty quick they said all went well I was shaking when I woke up and I was in some pain was terrible but I was in a lot of pain later that day it got worse to the point I could eat or drink with out really bad pain I had to take pain pills ever 4 hours and 2 to help with warm drinks and humidifier and throat spray and I was in so much pain I got so bad I couldn’t walk or breath easily ended up going to the er two days later to be admitted for pneumonia in both lungs and low potassium i have been on oxycodone and Tylenol antibiotics ever 4 hours and nebulizer I ve been starting to feel better but I still can’t bately eat with out extreme pain my throat is so swollen and sore everything just burns I have to have ice on the the right side ever couple hours cuz the right is what hurts the most The pain was worse then giving child birth I’ve never felt such discomfort no matter how much I drink or eat the pain meds cut the pain down half way at most but still nearly impossible to eat I’ve been on a heart monitor since I got here to make sure I do not fall septic at any time and I am check every hour to see at the rate I am going other than the pain dnt think I’ll be going home for a while yet hope no one else has to experience what I’ve been threw just looking forward to getting better and getting back to my bed and my daughter at some point

This is exactly how I feel. I had mine done yesterday Oct 30th and I feel like death today. It hurts so bad even the lortabs aren’t helping and I’m 25 years old. I did hear it’s much worse on adults than children though. But I hate popsicle and ice cream my husband said they gave me one at the hospital and they told him I can handle flavors like that (I can’t even drink koolaid or cough meds without getting sick) guess she gave it to me anyway I don’t really remember and I puked everywhere.

Hi there.
Day 2 after tonsillectomy. Surgery was yesterday, 2/2218.
I am a 46 yo female who had incredibly large tonsils, trouble eating certain things, frequent choking and trouble sleeping.
All things considered I feel like things have been pretty smooth so far.
I attribute this to being super prepared from taking others tips.
And I do realize that things may get worse going forward. Of course I hoping they don't, but prepared for that if they do.
What has been most useful for me:
-Having a nurse put on an anti-nausea patch behind my ear before surgery. This stays on until tomorrow. I cannot imagine dealing with constant stomach upset on top of the throat pain, and god forbid having to throw up.
-drinking ice water, lots of it. Starting as soon as you wake up from surgery.
It should never leave your side.
-take pain Meds 15 minutes before each dose due. Add children's liquid Motrin to your med doses. 2 teaspoons of this in addition to your regular Meds.
-eat something 20 minutes after every medication dose. Could be pudding, jello, broth, but something.
-run a humidifier near where you will be sleeping. Breathing is a bit of a challenge so your mouth may be open a lot. A dry mouth and throats is very painful. So it will help with that.
-have soft covered ice packs ready in case your jaw or ears start to hurt.

That's what I have for now. I'm sure things will take a new turn in the next couple days. I will update on that as well.

i got mine done 6days ago and my first 3days were fine but on my forth night i woke up i couldnt sleep my pain was reall ... now im scared to swallow bc it hurts so much they tell me to drink alot but its so much pain... i miss food so much i lost weight... i sleep with ice packs i dont know what to do anymore

It seems you don’t have to make an account to respond here, honestly I’m not one to do these things but it’s 2:33 AM I’m still in the country I decided to go to for this surgery. . And I’m still recovering a bit.

I’m a 21 year old male from California, I was having sharp (powerful) pains and sore throats for the longest time in 2017, but it really hit an all time record during my summer semester in classes. . I felt like I wanted to seriously quit everything and stop all at once.

At any rate, I went to the doctors and eventually the pain was so bad urgent care and basically they all just said it’s probably post nasal drip. . Which I thought too because I always have a bit of ( TMI sorry) drip drop touching my throat.

Anyways I went on a steroid for the nostrils and the pain finally relieved, I was shocked?

I don’t like taking pills or anything unnatural for the body or harmful, so I didn’t want to keep using the steroid spray and yet again the pain came back.

Around this time I noticed one of my tonsils was quite swollen and inflamed (throat too)

Some doctors saw it and said it’s fine, nothing to worry about.

Others said hmm that’s strange

And the last one in December when the pain was just too much said it’s likely pharangytis and maybe allergies since I haven’t been tested for that.

I think I probably do have allergies considering my whole family does lol and yeah, anyways, at that point I had already done my own research (I know they say not to be your own doctor, but I can assure you I’ve done this multiple times and have found my own cures for other problems when the doctor wanted to just basically prescribe me a list of nonsense that wouldn’t work)

side note: I had angular cheltis once (like a little slit at the side of my mouth) that was soooo damn annoying and was prescribed like five creams and a steroid from my doctor who really was just lol

Anyways I discovered the ‘cure’ my own way, it was because EOS lip balm, they can p*****f btw

also Miley, you’re crazy and I love you but you’re the reason EOS lip balms blew up so I also blame you lol

- - -

Anyways back to this post, my doctor who last saw me was condescending and rude and basically I told him that’s fine and that I’ll continue with my other plans.

He basically said you need to be in pain multiple times and suffer repeatedly and have it documented to which I said, thanks but no lol

Anyways from there I went to Seoul as I got prices for the tonsillectomy, I was told her you can do things much easier too and I’m familiar with Seoul a bit so it wasn’t difficult.

Found a clinic offering a $4000 estimated price (ended up being $3000 only, score for me lol)

I told the doctor I had multiple cases of tonsillectomy cause that’s mainly what he was looking for (though that wasn’t really true) and he said yes to it.

early February was the surgery (can’t recall the exact day let’s say 2/1/18 and yeah lol it went down

They put this IV thing in me the morning of and I really didn’t like it, that was a needle lol and it was just a bit of sharp and uncomfortable pain.

Sent me to the surgery room and they took out all my ear piercings (this is important if you have them on you can get electrocuted and burned)

I was worried because I didn’t want them to close as two of them would always in like 10 minutes and then I just said it can’t be helped. .

Shockingly even two hours later after surgery I was able to put them back in with ease and they didn’t close, weird no?

Yeah so inside the surgery room they put this time on your finger and there was multiple people talking, all of a sudden I was told to put this thing to hold my mouth open and to breathe in deeply through some gas mask thing. . I was worried because I was slightly anxious about this and within seconds. . Boom. . I was knocked out and just remember waking up slightly dizzy and thinking “I feel weird, when are they gonna start this already...”

And it was already done, unbelievable. .

immediately I felt dizzy getting to my room and for two hours sat on the toilet seat just holding onto the sink. .

I think they said I couldn’t have water for a little bit of time so I was like noooOoOoo

The nurse came in and was like lol are you ok sir and I was like just a bit dizzy haha

Anyways I ended up getting water and my food which was a rice porridge and something else

The rice porridge literally was the most bland thing I’ve tasted in my life and it felt like pure mush

I opened my mouth and would just take a little bit by bit which made me feel better

Day 2 was meh

I ate the rice again and basically just forced myself to keep drinking water despite a semi sharp pain along with my pills and what not

Day 3-5 relatively the same with pain slowly progressing, but I was getting use to this ball game

Day 3 I had the rice again and the same dish of tofu and something else

Everything but the rice I puked twice and I told the nurse and she just said to wait a bit.

I ended up not eating the other things and asked for the next meal to be something different

At that time I got so tired of the same food except for the rice porridge... I got tired of it but still preferred it and I didn’t seem to throw it up

TMI sorry but for those wondering, my throwing up 2x was painful or rough it was just liquid and a bit of tofu so nothing crazy.

This was the only time I puked and day 3 is when my nausea really seemed to be gone completely, finally.

Day 6 I was getting use to this game lol, around day 3 I started buying strawberry ice cream or just vanilla with no toppings and what not. . Just smooth ice cream, I got orange juice too because I figured that would be useful because vitamin c and it burned a bit but I got over it and kept drinking a little bit everyday.

Like a confident fool, I was like ok the pain ain’t bad. . I don’t need the pain killers
Ha ha ha, Day 7 came with a fury and kicked my a** lol, I was in so much pain yet again that I was seriously just like I want to rip my eyes out and just ugh it was a mess. This was worse than day 3 when I was literally just thinking about dying because the pain was just unbearable, please note this is because I was going easy with my pain killers and didn’t take all 3 throughout the day.

So yeah day 7 was just wow I was like how on earth did the pain get worse? I thought my goodness, when will this pain go away

Day 8 was better and I was so grateful for it. .

It wasn’t as sharp and painful, but it was still quite painful

Note: one thing I want to say is every morning was the worst time for me because the throat was dry and just nooooOoO. . Not a fun time, so I would drink water nonstop

I was seeing myself get skinner quickly by day 3 and that continued until day 8

I think around day 8 I was like lol I’m gonna eat a ton of ice cream and fruits and whatever lol

Around that time I think the weight loss stopped, I never weighed myself but I would say at the time I lost about 10 pounds max.

Day 9 I felt better again and was like wooooooh we can do this

Day 10 was just a good day lol I was like I’m eating this and that and this, by like day 8 I was eating things like noodles and scrambled eggs and just so many things I probably wouldn’t have been recdomended, especially the amount of spam I ate days 4-6 lol. . That hurt but it was good so . .

Day 8-10 : I was eating things from restaurants and what not lol

Pancakes, cheese toast here in Korea, cheese tarts

But for the most part I cooked myself scrambled eggs (plain), had a PROBIOTIC YOGURT (sorry as I was thinking of what helped, I recalled this holy grail that helped in a variety of ways. . With the inflammation and pain because it was cooling and t got my stomach flowing with ease, this is good for you by the way. . You want probiotics during this time), some spam (3 days I had it), water everyday literal liters and liters. . Fruit cups. . Yeah lol

I also had street food sausage on a stick on day 10 and that was fairly uncomfortable to swallow so I regret that but it was still good so #yolo? Lmao.

Day 11 I had candy, cheese toast, wafers. . A banana and (day 10 I had pizza, I forgot to mention that) cream pasta which was so good with fried shrimp just yum lol, around day 9-11 my scabs pretty much all fell there’s a little bit left but nothing really.

- - -

Things to note:

Always drink water and just keep going, trust me you’ll thank me later.

Bananas are not easy on the throat at the start of recovery, it just felt sharp

Orange juice or anything acidic is going to burn a bit, so its up to you there

Ice cream was a blessing and a reason why I didn’t use my painkillers 24/7

I would say go to ice cream around day 3 lol

Get a lot of sleep, trust me. . It’ll only help you.

Go easy on your body, don’t lift anything too heavy and strain yourself mentally

Your body worked hard so thank it, please.

Make sure you’re eating something. . Day 2 I only ate one meal of three dishes (it was dinner, not breakfast or lunch except water) because the pain and ya lol

Now it’s 3:10 AM and I’m writing this because I pray help somebody or calm their nerves. . Truly. I am grateful for everyone who left their personal experiences myself. I’m officially day 12 and yesterday my ear pain was a bit bad, so later today I’m gonna buy some gum as I heard that helps?? For the most part the pain was always something I could keep fighting against because the HELL in this surgery was my nausea post surgery, that was ridiculous because I felt so weak at times and dizzy.

Pain though. . The surgery itself is not painful, I promise. Just a needle from the IV prior was a bit but nothing I couldn’t handle and my pain tolerance isn’t too high.

My throat doesn’t hurt at all day 12 unless I swalllw some things then it could be a little sore.

Also the “death breath” people mentioned got bad for me day 3.. prior to this I floss almost daily and brush 3x a day so it was honestly not unbearable. This could be good though if it really reeks it could take your mind off the pain.

Alright, I’m starting to feel my eyes close so I’ll wrap this up.

My final thoughts if you’re gonna go into this surgery or thinking:

You’ll be fine, don’t worry. . I promise.

Stay calm before the surgery happens, I had to remind myself and feel my heartbeat and I just prayed in my mind to be fine. The staff and my doctor were so kind and I trusted my doctor so it’s was no worries.

He did ask if I was nervous a moment before I knocked out and I said just a bit and when he said “don’t worry, you will be fine” I wanted to give him the biggest hug as I felt so much more relieved.

Make sure you rest up and my biggest advice is to not stop drinking water.

Listen to your body and keep a calm peace of mind, don’t do anything or think of things that’ll make you feel any bit of stress . . Or it’ll make things worse.

The pain can be unbearable and bearable, but trust me. . You’ll get through it, stay confident it’s not the end of the world.

This was my first surgery too and let me tell you, recovery can be a bit hard but it’s all a matter of time till you feel fine again.

Around day 10 most my scabs fell off too. . And now my breath (THANK GOD) doesn’t reek of the disgusting tonsil stones I was finding and having to poke out. . I know things are going to be better as I finish the recovery.

So yes, please dont worry at all.

I know for me it was scary, but you’ll be fine. . I promise. Just stay calm and keep a peace of mind, please be kind to the staff too and thank the doctor for the work he’s performed.

Hi. My name is Alayshia. I am a 29 year old female. I had my tonsillectomy surgery 2/6/18. The 2 days were a bit of a blur. I didn't actually start having severe pain until day 3. I was given only children’s T3 and liquid amoxicillin. The T3 burned so bad and was so disgusting that I just took generic acetaminophen (3) 500 mg tablets from Walmart with applesauce every 3 hrs. Day 4-6 was painful. I felt very weak from not being able to eat anything but only cream of wheat. Every other kind of food burned really bad and gave me awful ear aches. The applesauce even burned my throat, so I just stuck to taking my pills with just water. Day 7 was a huge turn around and a minor set back for me. Even though I was feeling a little better, let me just say never take a zinc pill on an empty stomach. I had severe stomach pain. The pain was so bad that I had to force myself to throw up. It was extremely painful on my throat, but I felt better afterwards. I have not experienced any bleeding, even since operation day. Thank God. On the up side I was able to eat 4 pieces of buttered toast and 2 McDonald’s chicken nuggets with honey mustard sauce with no problem. I am currently on day 8 and was finally able to eat 2 pieces of buttered toast, 4 spoonful’s of bean soup, 2 taco bell nacho flavored hard shell tacos with only sour cream, beef, and shred cheese, mini shred wheat soaked in almond milk ( even though I love 1% milk instead). I feel good and noticed that it did not make me bleed or scratch up my throat. Now everyone’s different, but in a weird way it stung a little but actually felt more good. The key is to take small bites, chew thoroughly to mush and before you swallow drink a little water first, then swallow everything together. Makes it easier. I actually believe by forcing myself to eat more normal foods, I am actually forcing my body to recover more quickly! And I have definitely noticed a difference. I am definitely in shock with my self, especially since my ENT said only soft foods for 15 days. I going to definitely keep pushing my self a little more and more each day, until I’m 100%. God be willing I keep getting better. Another helpful tip is that chewing gum , drinking lots of water, opening your mouth wide as it will go each day, gargling with salt water after every meal really helps speed the recovery process. It might be painful, but tough through it. You guys can do it! Just tell your body, hey we have no choice but to try and recover faster. That’s what I do and I have been feeling better and better each day, minus some minor set backs. Oh and I just sneezed for the first time since the surgery....drum roll please. It hurt for about 2 mins. but I’m still alive and not bleeding! Also I can tell im healing fast, because I can see a little pink through my white scabs. So I’m convinced that the scabs might very well "fall off" but, I think more or so just slowly vanish into thin air so to speak. :) Also, I do cough, but I try not to cough too hard. I think the most irritating part of this whole ordeal is the painful nerve that connects your throat to your ear. When that pain comes on I just use an ice pack on my neck or try and tough it out. A warm towel over the ear helps a lot with ear pain. Couple of things: I set a water alarm for every 10 mins so my throat doesn't dry out. My mouth seems a bit dryer, but I just stay on top of my water. Hopefully better days to come! I hope this post helps someone out there and if you have additional questions or need advice or encouragement, you can text me ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** posting of private information such as name, phone number or email address is not allowed in order to protect your privacy*** Please read our Terms of Use God bless!