My daughter had the tonsillectomy for tonsil stones at age 20. The pain was extreme. The best things to do for the pain, aside from pain meds, was to use icepacks behind the jaw on both sides. Plus, stick to a liquid diet, eat no solids, and do not sing. Her pain felt, in her words, like extreme earaches. She's pretty tough, but was crying at times from it. You can stagger alternate IBUprphin, every 4 hours, balanced with two hours later Tylenol , every four hours. So that way an anti-inflamatory goes in every two hours. Plus USE narcotic pain meds. Do not let the morality police tell you that you cannot have narcotic pain med beyond 3 days or that you'll become an addict or whatever. She needed them for 9 days. After fighting with the prescribing surgeon/ MD's nurse when they were running out after 3 days, the covering M.D. inexplicably prescribed an amount DOUBLE what we were given to start with post-op! When daughter stopped needing the pain relief, she stopped taking any. Lots of non-acidic liquids help. I pureed soups in the blender. Nothing even slightly hard or sharp edged. But ice, ice, and, ice.packed on the outsides of her back end jawbone. It was pretty hellish but as the surgeon predicted, after the 9th day, most of the pain almost immediately stopped. And before then, the pain would subside and increase on alternate days.
NOTE: VERY IMPORTANT: bring a cooler with ice packs, even if it is bags of frozen peas, to the surgical facility so that as soon as you head home, you can be applying ice packs. Plus, start the anti-inflammatory meds and pain meds then too,even if the patient says they are not yet hurting.. All of these things will keep the area from swelling any more than necessary and that will make a difference in how much pain and suffering the patient has through the rest of recovery. Be kind and sympathetic to your person. It is a very hard op on an adult.
NOTE: VERY IMPORTANT: bring a cooler with ice packs, even if it is bags of frozen peas, to the surgical facility so that as soon as you head home, you can be applying ice packs. Plus, start the anti-inflammatory meds and pain meds then too,even if the patient says they are not yet hurting.. All of these things will keep the area from swelling any more than necessary and that will make a difference in how much pain and suffering the patient has through the rest of recovery. Be kind and sympathetic to your person. It is a very hard op on an adult.
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Thank you!!! Ive been dealing with tonsil stone FOREVER. I am almost 24 and am sick of them. I decided to get the surgery. Im asking my doc in a few weeks! Your story helped me thank you!
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I just had mine removed 5 days ago. I had really bad tonsil stones too. Like you, I tried every other supposed way to fix it with no results. I finally decided to get a tonsillectomy 3 months ago. I am with you though. This pain is the worst thing ever. I would rather be in labor for 2 weeks than go through this. But I can't wait till my breath smells so much better and I don't have to wake up choking anymore. Did you happen to cough up any stones during your recovery? I coughed up what looked like one an hour ago. It was softer and browner though.
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I'm encouraged after reading this article. I get tonsil stones ALL THE FREAKING time and I'm sick of it! I keep trying to get back in there and try to scoop them out on a biweekly basis with q-tips and I always end up vomiting from the gag reflux stimulation of the location. and the smell!! The absolute worst smell that has ever existed on earth! I'm definitely going to get those tonsils taken out. Thanks for sharing your experience.
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You are funny. I enjoyed reading your post. I hope you have decades worth of no more surgeries. Thanks man!
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omg!!! I have been looking into getting a tonsilectomy because of my tonsil stones, thank you so much for this! I've had bad breath for a while now and its those nasty tonsil stones... I brush my teeth so many times a day and NOTHING HELPS... seems like gum makes it worse and it smells like sh*t (sorry about my language). It is soo embarrassing!!!!!!!!
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Thanks, I think I need this, but I am 46 year old, I think I will talk you my doctor tomorrow.
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Thank you for this guide! I have been a tonsil stone suffer for years! A doctor approved a tonsillectomy for me when I was in junior high but my parents said no (due to lack of money and belief in natural remedies). I went to an ENT last year and he pretty much just dismissed the issue and told me I need to gargle daily with salt water. I set up an appointment with a different ENT in a couple of weeks, hopefully he will approve a tonsillectomy. Was there anything you said in particular to get your doctor to approve the tonsillectomy? I'm willing to go the elective procedure route and pay out of pocket at this point. I'm 28 and only get tonsillitis 1-2 times per year so I don't know if my insurance will approve it.
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Do you mind giving the name of your ent? I saw one last year who refused to do a tonsillectomy bc I dint have chronic infection, just tonsil stones.
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Thank you so much for this. I'm so fed up with tonsil stones. It's crazy to think of the amount of time I've spent stressing out over them and trying to clear them out multiple times a day. After reading your story, I will definitely be getting them out. However I have two toddlers so after reading the details of your recovery time, I will probably wait until they are a little older. Again, thank you so much. Unless you've suffered from tonsil stones, you'll never really understand how truly terrible they are.
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Great info! Just had my tonsillectomy today and was surprised how tolerable the pain was. But I see this most likely won't be the case for the next 10 or so days.
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This story made me laugh until I cried. Only a person who can relate can see the humor. I am on day 11 post tonsillectomy. I too had tonsil stones. Never heard of them until a year ago. Every time I saw a white spot on my tonsil I just assumed I was about to have strep. I about so sorry you had to throw up after surgery. I woke up and was so nautious I thought I would die. All I could think about was how much it was going to hurt if I threw up. Thank god for whatever it was they put in my iV for it cause that was horrible. My post op pretty much went the same as yours. Except I couldn't take pills until yesterday. I had to crush them up, throat was too swollen. On the worst days, I was happiest with ice packs on my throat. Strange that hot or cold was terrible, only room temperature water and food. I was eating room temperature mashed potatoes and pudding most of the time. As I have tried to taper off of the medication, I have discovered a new issue, throat feels fine, but the roof of my mouth and my gums ache and burn. I can't chew anything with any texture, feels like rocks in my mouth. I can only pray this is some kind of issue from surgery that will subside shortly and not some sort of permanent nerve damage.
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Thank you so much for posting this!!!! You just helped me make my decision to consult with my PCP to schedule surgery.
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