Tonsillectomy......What to EXPECT...how to cope

No overnight for me. You'll be fine. It's survivable!! Get on here and post if you want during recovery. Good luck, you'll do great!

Hi all! I'm a 20 year old female, had my tonsils out on Tuesday October 16th, I don't really remember much of that day besides going into the hospital. Day 2 wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, but day 3 at 4 am I woke up with a splitting headache (most likely from not being able to eat) day 3 was the worse for me, I felt great over the weekend but today I woke up with my throat so dry and burning somewhat. I even bought a humidifier thinking it would help but it doesn't help me to much. Today is the worst so far for me, I can't eat or even try to take a nap because my throat hurts so bad, I never had to much trouble with my ears hurting because the pain medication helped so much with my ears! I've been so  hungry since the operation, but on Saturday when I felt well enough and my throat wasn't hurting no more than a little sore throat you better believe I ate everything! I had pizza, and chicken stew, and more pizza! Although the next day my throat wasn't too happy with my choices the day before I didn't regret it at all. The only downside to everything I am able to eat, all of it tastes so bad. Nothing I have tried tastes good even the pizza had a funky taste and the chicken stew. My doctor told me no hot food, but when the warm broth hits my throat oh my gosh! it is the best feeling in the world. I'm hoping tomorrow goes better for me, i'm ready for this pain to be over with. Not saying I miss work to much though, it's nice having this little break but the pain not so much, too bad I can't enjoy it while it lasts! I'm just going with the flow hoping for the best, trying food here and there and what doesn't work for my throat there's nothing that a little water won't fix. My advice is definitely drink water and always have it by your side. Warm chicken noodle soup, just the broth feels the best and tastes good too. If you have DVR record all the movies and shows you can, or if you have a tablet, or a smart phone, get some good games or download some good books or buy a few books because you are going to be spending a lot of time getting to know your bed better. I love reading articles like these they have helped me a lot with my tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy recovery!    

Hi I am 21 years old and I live in the UK. I had my tonsils out a week ago. This has been the hardest experience I've ever had to go through. Day 1 was OK woke up in a lot of pain after the op but just slept a lot. In the UK doctors recommend that you actually eat rough things like toast and biscuits and celery to clear the c**p from the back of your throat. I had toast about 2 hours after I woke up and it was very difficult, took me about 20 minutes to eat less than half. I drank as much as I could. I had chicken nuggets and chips which I only ate a tiny amount of. You have to eat before you can go home in the UK. I felt really sick and vomited blood twice and was assured this is normal post surgery as you cannot digest blood. I have been on a mixture of ibuprofen, paracetamol and morphine, all liquid. I made myself very sick through not eating hardly anything and having 20 mls of ibuprofen every 4 hours. The pain fluctuates between OK and excruciating. The earaches are ridiculous and I have several times broken down and cried because I was not coping. I was on the phone to NHS direct Friday night and Saturday went to an emergency doctors because I felt like I was dying. I have practically been starving myself and I never want to see another bit of toast or Calpol ever again. Sunday I was very ill being sick and diarrhoea which the sickness subsided after a few hours but I still have diarrhoea because of the pain killers. I stopped taking ibuprofen on Sunday because I think that is what irritated my empty stomach. Today apart from feeling a bit sick and still really tired the pain (so far) hasn't been too bad since I dosed up. I'm now just on paracetamol and have reduced to 15 mls every 4 hours. I had to have my tonsils out because they suddenly flared up with tonsillitis one night (I had never had tonsillitis before) and the left tonsil has been inflamed and very enlarged since august. I hope I am on my way to recovery now and ready to eat soon and enjoy it! Everything tastes a bit weird and my breath is so gross I feel sorry for my partner and my family! Hope this helped someone, bit more relevant for people having the op in the UK!!

I really felt compelled to write about my experiences because what you read on the internet are just plain horror stories. This is dedicated to the person who is reading this a few days before surgery and is freaking out as to how awful this is going to be. I am from Washington DC and I am a 29/m. This is a very detailed article about my experience but scroll to the bottom for my tips at the very minimum.

So here I am the day before surgery and I am doing my homework on what to expect and what do I read? HORROR story after horror story about how awful it was. I have had wisdom teeth out before but nothing really beyond that. I got so nervous about what I read, I really considered cancelling the surgery the day before. If this is you, don't do it! Think about all those horrible sore throats you have had. Anyways, that's what I did and hence I went through with it. 

This may be a really unfair statement, and it probably is, but I've noticed that all the horror stories for the most part are from women. I only know this from reading the authors names on message boards but I saw a correlation between women and how bad this was. So if you are a woman, maybe it's different from what I experienced or maybe the pain threshold is perceived a little different, i'm not sure. I know, very unfair but I did notice this. 

I am now on day 13 and I can say I am pretty much completely recovered. I still have white on the back of my throat but its very quickly going away and doesn't hurt. So if you are asking when you should expect to feel better, target around 2 weeks. 

Should you take 2 weeks off from work or 1? I thought I could do 1 but I was dead wrong, you need 2! Don't kid yourself. It's not because you will be in so much pain, it's because my bleeding happened on days 10 and 11. You do not want to be at work and start bleeding, so avoid this completely and just take the 2 days off no matter how good you feel. 

Was this painful? To be honest, no it wasn't. It was not any worse then a typical sore throat i've had. One motto I read online and stuck by is "stay ahead of the pain" and that's probably why it didn't hurt. Meaning, take your pain meds religiously. Mine said take up to 3 oz every 4-6 hours, so I took 3 oz every 4 hours. I set my alarm at night to do this.

However, doing this lead to the real annoyance and hard part of this surgery.... the side effects!...i'll get into that more in a bit.

The surgery itself was a breeze. I woke up and had a standard sore throat. Nurse gave me some ice to suck on as I came out of the haze and then a popsicle. I say it took me about 30-45 minutes in recovery (surgery was 45 min according to my gf) then she asked me if I wanted t go home and I said yes. I got home and took a nap and had crazy dreams from the anesthesia. I woke up and felt pretty good, I was talking and even called my mom. So days 1 and 2 are a breeze, again just keep taking your pain meds. 

I made the mistake of eating a large meal (Wings) for my "last supper", HUGE mistake. The wings constipated me so I went into surgery already semi constipated. The pain meds will constipate you! So when you do your last meal, don't stuff yourself and don't eat anything out of the ordinary.... a standard meal. Have your glutton meal the week before. 

Day 3.... constipation! Ouch....I tried to go so bad and wasn't even close. I started taking the stool softeners and at that point it was too late. So if you are going to take your pain meds full blast, take stool softeners in the morning and evening from the very beginning! Anyways, so i'm screwed at this point so I eventually had to go with "Milk of Magnesia" which basically is a liquid that makes you explode. Yup that worked.... pure diarrhea. Problem is, it didn't stop! 3 days of pure liquid coming out. So here I am on day 5 and I kept expecting to get clogged up again but it just never happened. I even took Imodium to plug me up and that didn't work, and that is strong stuff. I must be missing something so I ended up calling the doctor and the liquid antibiotic I was taking twice a day had a diarrhea side effect. Ahh that made perfect sense as to why I wasn't getting normal. He told me to stop taking it, which I found surprising but that ended up doing the trick. Thank God I did not have any infection issues, I think this was a roll of the dice on the doctor's part. Day 6.... diarrhea stopped. After being completely emptied for 3 days, I decided no stool softeners (mistake).  I'll get into that later. 

I noticed on day 4 my tongue had a gash on the side. I read online beforehand that they clip your tongue to the side during surgery, so I knew what it was. I then noticed a small canker sore and by the time I was over my diarrhea on day 5, I had a HUGE painful canker sore on the site where they clipped my tongue. This was the worst part of the surgery!!!!!! OUCH. It was so painful, the pain meds did nothing. I had to wake up every 2 hours to put a numbing gel on it just to get some temp relief. Again, throat itself is okay, but between the diarrhea and canker sore that was so much worse! This canker sore went on until day 10 until it finally started going away. 

Day 10 I was getting ready to go to sleep, kind of happy the canker sore was going away. I laid in bed and I was talking like crazy to my girlfriend, since I couldnt really talk before this. I also took some advil PM to get drowsy. Big mistake! Between the advil (which should never be taken during recovery, blood thinner) and talking so much I noticed I was swallowing alot. Looked back, yup I'm bleeding on my right side. I kind of freak out and right away ran for some ice water. I hold the ice water in the back of my throat until it was warm, spit it out and then put some more in. I also put an ice pack around my throat. After 5 minutes, the bleeding stopped and I slept with my head elevated all night. Good thing I didn't go back to work. 

Day 11 I am feeling good but then I realized I hadn't moved my bowels since the diarrhea on day 5, so I haven't gone in a week. Not good! Yup.... I'm constipated again. I finally had the urge to go on day 11 and it was the most painful bowel movement ever. So hard and difficult to pass. This is a helpless feeling of having to go but not being able to. I read online what to do.... took a stool softener, drank a bunch of water, and that allowed me to barely pass the stool. OUCH. So now back to the stool softeners which helped slowly but upset my stomach for 2 days. I go to bed that night and wake up in the middle of it with me swallowing alot, I am bleeding again from the same side. I hit more ice water. I still don't know why I started bleeding. I slept again with my head elevated. 

So that brings me to day 13, right now. Stomach is still a little off but returning to normal. Throat is not painful and I should be eating normally (providing my stomach comes around) tomorrow. I stopped my pain med on day 11. I feel pretty good but I lost a lot of weight from the liquid diet. 

Anyways, to sum it up, my advice:

*No big meals the night before surgery! Standard meal, your stomach should be strong going into surgery.

*"Stay ahead of the pain" - Take your pain meds religiously but also take a stool softener. If I could do it over again I would take one morning and night right when I start my meds. If you ever get diarrhea, call your doctor. 

*Be prepared for a canker sore: nothing you can really do here to prevent, maybe tell your doctor you are concerned about it (especially if you are prone to get them, like I am) and maybe he can be gentle with the tongue clamp but I would have numbing gels in the house. 

*Bleeding is always a possibility up to 2 weeks.... never think you are past it. If you ever wake up with excessive swallowing you should get up right away and check. Have ice water and ice packs ready. I did not have to call the doctor because I got mine to stop but if you bleed a lot then call your doctor right away (or if it is the middle of the night you should consider an ER visit, I know it sucks but it's just bad luck it happened at night. Don't be nervous, just go and they can stop it). 

*Nausia is a huge possibility but I didn't experience any of this. I would ask your doctor beforehand on what to do in you experience this, he may have you get some medicine before (especially if you are prone to nausia)

*Keep hydrating! I didn't mention this above but it was hourly goal to try and drink as much water as possible. You read this everywhere and it is so important. I stuck to water as Gatorade aggravated my canker sore but always hydrate. 

Anyways, that's it! Do not be worried about the pain!!! If anything, be worried about the side effects because they could be much worse (they were for me). But if you are aware of them and are proactive, then this whole surgery could be a breeze.  So stop reading about the horror stories.... people are more bound to write about a negative experience than they are a positive. Just take it with a grain of salt and just be prepared!

 

Hope this helps everyone. 

 

 

This Helped Alot I Got My Adnoids An Tonsils Out Yesterday An Im In Sooo Much Pain I Just Needed This Info To Cope With It An Im 16

I know this post is really old but I just wanna say that I had my tonsils out 2 weeks ago and the surgeon and a specialist said that chewing gum withinh first 3 weeks after surgery can actually cause more harm that good and can actually cause bleeding. I'm not saying that they are 100% right but I just thought I would share that in case. The rest if this post is 100% true and helpful. Please everyone remember fluids fluids fluids fluids. Solid foods ASAP!!! I was on toast 4 hours after my op and believe it or not toast etc hurt a lot less than jelly. It helps wall quicker because it 1.gets and bits scraped off the tonsil bed (sounds gross an painful but it's a good thing) an 2.it also toughens the throat up :) And finally take pain killers wet 4 hours even if you don't think you need them. Your body will thank you!!!!! Good luck to anyone reading this after/before a tonsilectomy. You'll be fine :)

I am on day 7 and iv never felt anything like this kind of pain. I have a family that thinks I make up the pain because children manage to go threw it not understanding it's worse for adults. Day 5 I had spots of bright red blood in my spilt and day 6 got taken to hospital to check everything was ok. I have an infection so on meds for that now and upped my pain killers. People told me it would be painful and I nearly backed out some days I wish I had. But hopefully the pain will pass and all will be normal again. Just waiting for the scaps to arrive. Wouldn't advise anyone to go threw this ever!

Hello everybody! I am on day 8 of my tonsillectomy, the first 2 days were by far my easiest days maybe because I still had the morphine in my system? But day 3 it was all down hill, 8 out of 10 for pain from my throat to my ears. The ears was by far the worst feeling ever! Waking up is by far the most painful part due to the dryness and coming off my last dose of pain meds. I live in Las Vegas aswell, so its extra dry here. Just dandy! Scabs are slowly starting to come off peice by piece. Last night I accidentally blew my nose to hard and ripped nearly the entire scab off the back of my throat. Was bleeding pretty bad, woke up my mom and she called my doctor. I just gargled slushy ice for about 10 minutes and the bleeding eventually stopped, really freaked me out due to all of the horror stories that I have been reading online about people having to get emergency surgery and all that fun stuff. I guess its pretty normal for the scabs to bleed a little bit around days 7-10. So don't panic! If you cannot get the bleeding to stop after 30 minutes then go to the ER. But the worst thing you can do is panic, it's way easier just to take a step back and know that you are going to be alright and it is quite common to bleed toward the end of your recovery! Has anyone else had a similar experience with the bleeding like my experiences? I go back to work tomorrow but only for a half day! 

I'm on my seventh day and it's hell! the scabs are making me sick and the medicines are no longer helping. the doctors suggest saline nasal spray I had an adnoidectomy as well and is helped some. I've also had to have my best friend stay with me all seven days so if you have to have someone longer don't feel bad you aren't alone! cold drinks can soothe but be careful cause they can remove the scab if you try and chew the ice even if you think you've chewed it into tiny pieces or blended it. also the medicine can cause some depression so if you feel like you need someone call them it's always better than crying alone!

I'm 14 and I got my tonsils out about 11 days ago. (It's Tuesday and I got them out two Fridays ago) It didn't really hurt that much for the second and third day and I ate soft foods like mashed potatoes and Mac and cheese but after to that point, it was extremely painful and I could barely even drink water. I survived on vitamin water for about 4-5 days because it was all I could keep down. I went back to school yesterday and I had some crackers and cheese for lunch, my first solid food in a while. Still only eating cheese and crackers but getting better each day. It gets better everyday.

I had my tonsils out two Tuesdays ago, so today is day 10. I've had 4 surgeries in the last 2 years and this one was definitely the worst, and one of those surgeries was getting screws in my broken foot. I haven't been to school in two weeks and I'm a junior in high school so going back on Monday should be awful. Expect to be out of school/work for a full two weeks, and expect to not be able to eat a lot. Usually in one day these past few weeks I'll eat a bowl of broth and a snack or two and that's it. I couldn't eat solid food until today, and I had some fried rice. For the first week ice cream and ice water was the best, but the second week anything cold hurt really bad. Also, the first week the dairy coated my throat, but it did make it feel better. Drink lots of water!!

I've heard a lot of horror stories from people's personal tonsillectomies, but my own story, I feel, is pretty positive! I spent a couple nights before reading about the constant pain and the blood (eww..). I'm 17 years old and had mine on December 22nd. The night before my tonsillectomy, I ate and drank until I couldn't anymore! I was told to stop eating and drinking after midnight the day of surgery, so I had some water and some chips around 11:30 p.m. Then I went to bed. And in the morning I got everything together and took two quick puffs from my inhaler (my doctor recommended this because I have asthma). And do make sure that you bring a blanket and pillow! I was able to have my blanket in the recovery room. While getting ready for surgery, they gave me some medicines and some nasal spray, got me changed, and then had me follow them into the operating room. The anesthesiologist took my blood pressure and gave me some oxygen and nitrous to relax me while they put in my IV. As soon as the doc told me he was putting in the anesthesia, I was out within 3 seconds! In recovery, I woke up to my parents by my side. Apparently, they wake you up in the op room, but I had no recollection of it. (I just sort of came to in the recovery room.) At this point, my lips were what were bothering me; they were VERY dry from surgery and I begged my mom for her chapstick. My throat wasn't really bothering me, but I did spit out a bit of blood in a straw-like thing. After about a half hour, I was allowed to eat a popsicle, and as soon as I finished, I got dressed, and was helped to the car. Now, I didn't feel nauseous at all until we actually started driving, so expect to feel this way on the ride home. You were just injected with a bunch of meds on an empty stomach! I was given a bag to vomit in if it came to that, but I just layed my head down in my pillow and covered myself with a blanket to help. Worked just fine! Day 1: This is after returning from surgery. I was gone from home for about 3 hours to have surgery that morning. I immediately went and layed down to take a nap. I was very very tired. But then, my mom woke me up about 3 hours later to take my oxycodone and some children's Tylenol. I even made myself eat some applesauce and chew on some ice. I wasn't uncomfortable at all. Every 3 hours that day/night I was to take oxycodone and some children's pain relievers. My mom crushed the pill and put it in applesauce or sherbert for me (I'm lactose intolerant, so sherbert was a life saver!) But I pretty much just napped the first day, especially because of the meds. They made me very drowsy, and a bit unresponsive. Day 2: I read a lot about people waking up the the day after in a lot more pain, however that wasn't the case for me. I didn't feel as great as the day before, but I'm sure taking my pain meds is what kept me out of trouble. So, be sure to take them when suggested by your doc! I had also been forcing some flat ginge-ale and water down my throat to exercise my muscles and get my throat used to swallowing. And I'm sure that was another reason why I wasn't in a ton of pain. The ENT said to exercise the muscles as soon as possible. I felt good enough to try some mashed potatoes too, and it went down just fine. Barely any pain 2nd day. Day 3: I woke up in a bit more pain, but it was about a 3/10. It was Christmas Eve, and so I went to a family gathering. Let me tell you, the soft food diet does suck when you have to watch people eat in front of you! I had some mashed potatoes and some sherbet while my family feasted on ham, meatballs, cheeses, etc. But the pain wasn't too bad this day: I was able to talk to my family. But when I take my pain meds, I tend not to make very much sense, so I was made fun of a lot. Day 4: I woke up feeling differnt, the scabs on the back of my throat were forming and causing a bit of an uncomfortable sensation. But today was still about a 3/10, maybe a 3.5. I was able to eat some slow cooked mac n cheese from our crackpot. And I thought I'd treat myself since it was Christmas! Day 5: Today is when I began to get earaches. Your ears, nose, and throat are all connected, so I got a aching sensation in my ears. I also developed a small fever. I kept an ice pack on my throat and ears, which helped miraculously. But overall the pain was a solid 4/10! Day 6: It is technically day 7 since it is past midnight, but I just finsihed day 6 of recovery. Today had been the worst pain so far, at a 6/10. But still nothing too terrible like I had read. In the middle of drinking some white grape juice (which is absolutely delicious during a tonsillectomy) one of my scabs peeled off a bit and I accidentally swallowed it, and in front of my boyfriend! I started gagging, but that side of my throat seemed to hurt a lot less after the experience. I'm hoping the same thing happens to the right side of my throat now, because it's causing me some discomfort. Like I said before, this recovery hasn't been very hard so far, just like a normal case of tonsillitis for me. I'm planning on starting a somewhat more normal diet and adding a casserole on Day 7. What I thinkn has assisted my recovery is forcing myself to eat and drink almost immediately. As well as keeping up with my pain pills. I'm now taking them every 5 hours, but I'm soon switching to every 6. I'm on liquid vicodin now instead of oxycodone, and it has a very unpleasant taste. So if you are stuck with it, just shoot it down and chase it with some Gatorade! Good luck to you, if you must have this surgery!

I'm 17 and had my tonsils and adnoids surgically removed 4 days ago. when I first had the surgery I woke up with anesthesia shakes where I shook uncontrollably but they got that taken care of with a shot. I had ice pops for the rest of that day. Couldn't sleep at all the first night, sipped on Apple juice which hurt at one point so I went to water for the rest of the night. If you are getting either your tonsils or adnoids taken out, your jaw and tongue are going to be so sore. Just take the pain medication every 4 hours as your doctor says to. They gave me liquid Acetaminophen/codin for a pain killer which seems to not help that much but I'm not changing it, just going to keep on taking it like I was told to. Second day I attempted to eat buttered noodles because I was craving something that was not sweet. I stopped eating them after a couple bites because it started to hurt a bit. Then continued to eat applesauce and drink Apple juise or water. The hospital had given me an ice pack but that broke open all over me when I got home from surgery so home made ice packs is what I use. Just a baggie with ice and a bit of water it.the second night was a bit better and more relaxing as I had been propped up to sleep though after I slep. For a bit I would snore thanks to my uvula being so swollen Then when I would snore, I would wake up completely and not be able to sleep again until I took my pain medication. Day three of recovery was a bit better as I could make slight noises whereas since the surgery I was unable to talk. My mom thought it would be fun to make me laugh though it hurt my throat worse and I was about in tears trying not to laugh because of the pain. Though she thought is was hilarious to do anyways Until my dad picked my up to take me to his house for the rest of recovery. I had Apple juice, water, and ice pops all day and at night managed to eat mashed potatoes (slightly warm) and soft beans that I had cooked in seasoned water to give a bit of flavor then washed off before waiting for it to cool enough for consumption. Though I was unable to chew much, I could mash soft stuff on the roof of my mouth slowly then swallow. This morning I missed my 4am medication thanks to forgetting to set my alarm but took it when I woke up at 6am, just had to adjust my timers for the medicine to 6, 10, and 2 am and pm. Now on day 4 eating applesauce for breakfast while my family cooks bacon to tease me with considering how I love bacon. I know I can't have it for two weeks and I would rather not go through this for a longer period of time then I already have to so I shall stick with my applesauce this morning. The doctors told me I should not have ice cream within at least 48 hours after a surgery because it causes any mucus to thicken and makes it more uncomfortable to swallow. Also no hard foods especially any with sharp or jagged edges at all for at least 2 Weeks after surgery. They also said no hot or spicy foods, only cold or Luke warm foods for the 2 weeks. I had a tiny bit of bleeding my first night after surgery which the doctemor said was normal and to drink ice cold water to stop it. You should only be concerned if the bleeding worsens or doesn't stop. I also heard that the faster you start getting use to solid foods the faster recovery will be? Not sure if that is true or not. But the best advice I have so far is to keep with the soft foods the first couple days then slowly start to eat normal but soft foods such as mashed potatoes, soft breads, or Mac and cheese. KEEP HYDRATED! It is super important to keep drinking juices(no acidic juices) or water constantly. You may have to pee like a race horse but it is sure better to keep hydrated then end up in the hospital throwing up and about ready to pass out because of dehydration (I had got dehydrated playing soccer time or two). I was also told that ice chips help the swelling in the throat, you can buy a whike bag of tiny ice chips from sonic or break up ice into a bag at home, if you put a couple pieces in your mouth and let them melt it is suppose to help your throat. I havent tried it yet but have heard of it helping people with swelling and numbing the throat slightly. Anyone that is having either a tonsillectomy or adnoidectomy (sorry if i spelt it wrong) good luck and i hipe your healing process goes as well as possible. :)

I am 25 and on day 4. I was adventures in eating, mashed potatos were a big mistake and I couldn't open my mouth wide enough with out my ears being in excruciating pain, so that was a no on the popsicle. The first night I couldnt stop vomiting because I swallowed blood during the procedure. Gatorade, broth, and jello have been my go to for nutrients and I am still hungry. My ear pain has been by far the worst pain I have dealt with and the only meds I have gotten is tylenol, ibuprofen (doctor approved), and some swish and swallow medicine to numb my throat. I sleep elevated, ice packs are my best friend, and today I was brave and spoke and am still regretting it. All in all i am only 4 days in and I just want drugs to sleep the next week and a half away. Hopefully tomorrow isn't as bad.

Me again! I am on day 11 and things are a lot better. My nights are still rough but now I can talk and the pain is tolerable. I have to take things slow, every time I think I can handle activity I just need to remember to not push myself. I am down to 2 doses of medication a day and I can eat soft foods. Last night I had chicken!