Tonsil Stones - My Tonsillectomy *21 Days After*

This was an excellent guide to tonsillectomy. I'm likely to have this done too, and my ENT physician even told me that the pain is severe. I didn't quite believe him, but now I do. At least I know what to expect for the recovery. I'll make sure to take two weeks of vacation for the recovery. Thanks again.

omg im just sitting here laughing as i am reading this. I am not laughing because i find your pain stories funny but because i know i am going to have a tonsillectomy (soon hopefully) and im laughing as sort of a mechanism to prepare myself haha. Ive had tonsil stones for a while and they are annoying as hell. I went to my doctor who said my tonsils are not that big and just gave me amoxicilin ( which did not help). I am sitting here now with my tonsils so inflamed that i fear my throat will close up. i have tried sleeping the pain off but i wake myself up with my new snores. I am going back home from my dorm this weekend in hope to get an appointment with an ent to schedule my tonsillectomy. I know the pain is going to suck but hopefully I can handle it.

Do not use Motrin after a surgery. It can increase any bleeding.

Do not use Motrin after a surgery. This is dangerous because it can increase bleeding.

Thank you for this post, it has really given me some much needed hope.

I am a 22yo female that suffered from chronic cryptic tonsillitis and the resulting stones. After a year of extremely painful bacterial infections that would completely wreck my body (for about 2 weeks at a time) my ENT decided it was time to remove my tonsils.

Preceding my operation I read a lot of these forums to prepare myself and make sure I was as knowledgable as possible about what was to come. I am a tough cookie normally(and rather tattooed and pierced as well) but when it comes to beig sick I'm a big baby, so any information was handy!

Even with all that research, I was not prepared for the pain I am feeling. I am on day 8 of recovery (including day of surgery, it was early in the day) and I feel like utter c**p. Day if surgery-day 3 were ok. I took my medicine every 4 hrs to stay ahead of the pain, was drinking 2 liters of water a day, drinking broth, eating jello, pudding, Mac and cheese, it was great. I thought to myself, I can do this! Day 4 the ear pain started, but it was still ok. I was able to eat some soup and ramen. Day five I was in constant pain, my ears felt like they were on fire! Also drinking cold water made my throat burn. I had to back off to only drinking broth. Day 6 actually wasn't too bad. I was able to drink part of a smoothie and increase my water intake again however i coughed up one of my stiches, but i wasnt bleeding so i ding think too much of it. Day 7 whch was Thanksgiving, I woke up a 4:30 in excruciating pain that continued throughout the day. I cried whilst trying to drink some broth and I couldn't even manage to drink water. I lived all day on ice chips and ice packs around my neck. Today is early day 8 and it feels like yesterday, but maybe a little less horrid.

I am so so so so hungry and I'm worried I'm goin to get dehydrated since its so hard to drink right now. I'm just extremely tired from the pain... My lortab seems to not even be touching it.

I knew this was what I was in for, but it's still hard to cope with.

If I have learned ANYTHING thus far: ICE PACKS, ICE PACKS, ICE PACKS! I hav two sets so while I'm using one, the other is freezing again. Even through the worst pain, if I can get an ice pack on my neck I can calm it down and finally fall back asleep.

Sorry to be a Debbie downer, I hope I don't sound too bitter. Just my perspective thus far. Every experience helps.

Good luck to everyone else!

Very helpful considering I'm in the same boat! I've had tonsil stones for almost a year in a half. My only question is, can anyone please advise me on what to do If i don't have insurance? I need this surgery ASAP, I can't take it anymore. I priced the surgery without insurance and it's nearly $7000! I def. don't have that. I'm also a grad student. PLEASE HELP!

I have to thank you so much for your honest and very entertaining information. I have been dealing with tonsil stones myself for about a year and they are the most disgusting thing. Although I am afraid to go through this hell you describe you've inspired me to do so!!

This is the best thing I've read since I got my tonsils out 5 days ago. Dead on!! This is BRUTAL!!

Thank you, I just booked my tonsilectomy today. The consultant warned me that pain peaked on days 5 - 13, and to beware of bleeding on days 7 - 12. Your account is truly horrific and i am so glad to have discovered this. I have paid particular attention to you saying how much anti-nausea med and steroids helped you with the pain - I will make wure i enquire about these, I don't see any point in unnecessary suffering if there is pain relief availabe. I am quite worried about weight loss as I am already quite slight. Thank you so much for this honest account.
Perhaps I could live with the stones, no body has noticed bad breath from me, I just seem to have a constant mildly upset tummy ( I think from swallowing the nasty pus stuff), I just don't like the thought of carrying around a constant source of mild infection. From what you said I will probably wonder why on earth I made the decision to have my tonsils out and regret it most severely for a fortnight. I just hope that like you, by the end of january I swill be completely happy about the decision.

I was refused surgery a few years back and have been feeling so completely helpless. I LOVE everything you wrote! Mostly I love that you say it is all worth it. I keep imagining myself YEARS from now as an old lady, trying to get these darn things out of my throat... why wouldn't they just do something about it now no matter what the recovery is like. It is great to read every little step, even the 10 for pain. I am scheduling to see a new doctor about this asap!!! I thank you very much for this extremely helpful post!

Oh! dude!..thanks a lot,really made me feel a lot better after reading this...today's my 5th day..and yeah....its really takes u to the pinnacle of pain!..hope to recover soon...

I really wish that I had saw this before my surgery. I'm only 13, so I'd imagine my pain might not be as bad as yours was, but I did eat ice cream. Lots. All of my friends were saying that a benefit of it is eating tons of ice cream, but they lied! I threw up 3 times because of the ice cream and yogurt i had. The worst part is, it was on my second and third day! It makes it so much more painful to swallow after throwing up a few times, so keeping hydrated is difficult. Water tastes nasty because of the unusual taste in my mouth. I drink apple juice and eat apple sauce. That's it. I'm only on day 6, so I'm not sure what else to eat. Since other dairy was bad, I'm afraid to eat mac n cheese. I tried oat meal, but it is so bland when it's harder to taste things! I can't wait until I'm done with recovery. I miss pizza, tuna, chicken, ice cream, and any other real food. My stomach feels so acidic since there's just liquids in it. I hate it so much, but it's a good thing I don't normally throw up.

Thanks for the story. Im in the same boat looking at getting mine out. You just made up my mind for me.

I had my tonsillectomy on 1/23/13 in hopes to cure my bad breath which became a huge problem for me a year and a half ago. I had tonsil stones i would hack up from time to time and when I was fed up with the bad breath and nasty taste in my mouth and had tried everything to get rid of it I decided to use my finger and touch every part of my mouth and do a smell check test. I checked every inch of my mouth ,tongue, teeth nothing smelled. I then pressed my finger against my left tonsil with pressure and I couldn't believe it a nasty tonsil stone popped out! It was the size of a pea and smelled so awful! I could smell it as soon as it came out. I then smelled my finger and I almost vomitted it was so bad! Literally smelled like s**t! I knew then that my tonsils were definitely the cause of my bad breath!

I had been to a few ENTS, Gastroenterologist, Allergist, Dentists and my primary care doctor complaining of this bad breath and taste for a whole year! I had everything checked Teeth were fine, Gums were fine, no acid reflux, Cat Scans showed no Sinus Problems, No Allergies! I brushed and flossed about 10 times a day! One ENT mentioned my tonsils once but didn't think I needed a tonsillectomy. I gave up on everything for a while until I did this test. I looked for another ENT in my insurance provider Network and found the ENT who performed my surgery 7 days ago. I explained my symptoms, bad breath, horrible taste in my mouth, white chunks (tonsil stones), feeling like I had something stuck in my throat, sick numerous times a year. She said your tonsils need to come out! I was like YES finally God has answered my prayers! The doctor told me she had the same problem and had hers out at 28. She said she was so self conscious about the stones and her breath that she had them removed. I was so excited and wanted to have it done asap but I had to wait an entire month and a week to have it done because she was booked.

It has been exactly 8 days since my surgery and I am hoping and praying that this has cured my bad breath. I cannot really tell at the moment because bad breath is a symptom after a tonsillectomy because of the scabs and all the gunk in your throat etc. I will give it another week or two once the scabs fall off to see if the bad breath is gone for good! I Wish you all the best of luck! I really hope this was your cure too!

I am getting mt tonsils out tomorrow technical today at 7:30am. I am nervous for many reason but the main  ones are that the idea of being put under freaks me out and the painful recovery. I am 25yrs old and I have never had any surgies or have been to a hospital hence my trepidation. I think ,aybe I have seen too many movies where the patient being put under doesn't wake up and remembers the pain or isn't out all the way sooo yeah nervous about that. I have a pretty high pain threshold after having a severe spinal injury that left me in excrutiating pain and not able to walk for a year. But I have never had someone do surgery in my mouth with a laser so I guess it is apples and oranges. I am also having nodules in my nose remove that keep me from breathing. So I thought what if my throat swells and my nasal passages swell and I have to throw up? I maybe a wee bit paranoid but it could happen, right?? I am glad that I found this sight reading what everyone else went through and the tips on getting through it help put my mind at ease but I'm still freaked and can't sleep and I'm hungry but I can't eat with my surgery in hrs. Well here is hoping that I get some very good pain meds that last because I went through my injury with no meds what so ever and I don't feel like being brave with this one. I wanna be doped up lol. Wish me luck :)