I am an Adult Tonsillectomy Survivor.
I know, I know – you’re probably as tired of hearing about my tonsillectomy as you are my running. I get it. But I wrote about my surgery day and never got back to writing about the recovery. Because of this gross oversight (and yes it is definitely gross in all the intents of the word), I have had several future tonsillectomy recipients ask me for the full analysis of what the recovering is really like. We’ve all heard that it’s the most brutal surgery an adult can have and that you’ll hate your surgeon for the rest of your life – but are the rumors true?
I cannot confirm or deny the experience of every tonsillectomy, but here are the facts, observations, and tips from my personal experience.
1. The pain never got to what I would consider a “10” in and of itself. Especially on the actual surgery day, which really wasn’t bad. During the whole recovery, I never found myself writhing about in pain that I couldn’t handle. I’d rate my pain experience at 60% of what I expected it to be.
2. However, I spent ten entire days never allowing myself to go more than five hours without a pain pill – I even had Chris waking me up like a nursing newborn every four hours overnight, except that he was feeding me Vicodin instead of breastmilk. I did start to take half pills and even quarter pills during the second week, but even letting a quarter of a pill wear off was a really bad idea.
3. The exception to #1 and #2: The one night I did attempt to make it through the night without a pain pill did end in writhing pain. Lesson: take your pain pills. Do not screw this up. Keep a pain pill diary to make sure you do not screw this up. I repeat. DO NOT SCREW THIS UP.
4. The hardest part was not the pain – it was living. No one told me how impossible the function of swallowing would become. On days 2-4, I had to go everywhere with a spit cup – just to relieve my mouth of excess saliva (count how many times a day you subconsciously swallow saliva. It’s more than you think.) Spit cups are not sexy.
5. The not swallowing thing is a bummer, since having a tonsillectomy does not deplete your appetite, and you also kinda need to eat so as not to vomit back up those all-important and giant pain pills. Reality versus expectations with regards to my ability to swallow rates in at 300%.
6. Slowly allowing sorbet to evaporate down your throat in microscopic amounts is the only way to absorb nutrients during these exasperating few days. My recovery in numbers: 7 Quarts of Doodles Sorbet and 2 half-gallons of Edy’s ice cream. Yet I lost 12 pounds. (Which I’m sure I’ve gained back in entirety but I wouldn’t know because I ceased stepping on the scale immediately after I quit losing weight because scales are only fun when the numbers are going down.)
7. Tonsillectomies do not hinder the ability of your legs to function. I took several 1-2 mile slow walks with Chris, starting on day two, that helped me feel somewhat normal and medicated my feelings about my over-medication. Pain pills just make me sad.
8. During the days where swallowing was impossible, breathing was also difficult, which made living difficult, and sleeping even worse. Even sitting straight up, I snored so loudly that Chris said it was nearly worse than when I was 9 months pregnant.
9. The three most painful things that you can do while recovering from a tonsillectomy are yawning, coughing, and sneezing. Yawning is the worst because it occurs the most often. I didn’t sneeze for the first time until Day Ten, yet it still made me cry. Then I began sneezing regularly. The painfulness of sneezing continued on into the third and fourth week – it was so excruciating that I taught myself how to quit sneezing through my throat and start sneezing entirely out of my nose.
This is a problem because sneezing out your nose can be, and most likely will always be, messy.
This is a serious problem because it’s hard to relearn how to sneeze out of your throat.
In fact, I have yet been unable to do so.
So every time a sneeze catches me off guard (at least twice a day), I end up covered in snot and horrified at my own existence. This has not yet happened outside my home, but the time is coming – I can just feel it.
I need Sneeze Rehab as soon as possible.
10. All food tastes like carburetor after a tonsillectomy. It’s uncanny really – even if you’ve never tasted carburetor or maybe it’s been ten years since you last tasted carburetor, you’ll know what carburetor tastes like when you have a tonsillectomy. On day one, 100% of everything tasted like carburetor. The percentage of carburetor foods slowly decreased over the next five weeks, in order of foods with least to most preservatives, thereby forcing me to eat healthy. Golden Oreos were the last thing to return from the carburetor.
11. Even if you’re not the kind of person that gets a high off of pain pills, they might still make you draw eyebrows over all of your thigh freckles. That is okay.
12. If you find yourself in need of protein, try Corned Beef Hash. It might still taste like carburetor and look like wet cat food, but it will keep you alive. Other “foods” I managed to eat were: Mashed Cauliflower, completely textureless and lumpless soups, chicken broth, and yogurt. Sorbet was infinitely more pleasant than any of them.
13. It wasn’t until day five that I could finally see an opening down the back of my throat. That was the day that I also started feeling better and my throat scabs began to flake off. I felt like recovery was imminent and all those promises of fourteen days of misery were lies.
14. I discovered that now I had giant caverns on either side of my throat that liked to house all of my attempts at eating food – think wisdom teeth holes except ten times bigger. After each bite, I had to flush my mashed cauliflower out of these rather sensitive holes. That was gross. And I feared greatly that I’d have mouth holes for the rest of my life.
(Spoiler: they grew back. Just like wisdom teeth holes. The body is a weird and amazing thing.)
15. Throat scabs are white. Very white and very thick. I have many pictures of my fabulous progression of throat scabs that you don’t want to see. And then I have pictures of the cups of used salt water that I gargled to remove my throat scabs once they started peeling off. You definitely don’t want to see that, but since I’m sure you’re curious, it looks somewhat like giant flesh-eating amoebas floating through the Amazon. Or an ocean full of plankton.
16. Once I gargled my throat scabs off, my throat became intensely raw and painful – more so than when I couldn’t swallow. This was a big fat bummer, as regressing is the worst feeling ever. I am still unsure if it was my own fault for cleansing my throat, or if it was going to happen anyway. This made days 7-8 the absolutely worst days in the whole process – because I was in pain and depressed.
(As a side note, I SO WISH I had my Red Light Therapy bars when I was recovering from this surgery. Aside from helping with aches and pains and sleep and sadness, it heals flesh wounds – even in the throat – so much more quickly than they heal on their own. I might have spent the entire two weeks lying in front of that light. Or maybe I’d have just needed one week because my healing would have been sped up. If you haven’t read about Red Light Therapy, I highly recommend it – it has literally changed my life.)
17. When I woke up on day nine, I actually WOKE UP. It was the most amazing feeling – I felt alive again, and realized that I had been very much dead for over a week. I actually didn’t realize how un-lucid I had been until that moment – anesthesia always messes with me significantly longer than it seems like it should. I was still in pain and was still taking pain medicine religiously, which made me realize even more so how much the surgery had actually affected me.
18. On day fourteen, I went out on my first true run (I’d attempted on Day nine and day twelve rather unsuccessfully). All of my favorite victorious anthems came on, spurring me on to life again. I pumped my fists in the air while runners by stared judgmentally, and nearly cried from my exuberance over being alive.
19. On day twenty-eight, I contracted a throat infection. As I had been sold on getting a tonsillectomy for the sole purpose of ending my cycle of throat infections, I was unhappy.
So naturally, I cyber-stalked my ENT. Turns out he lives exactly one mile from my house. I fantasized about walking up that hill, demanding my money, my tonsils, and a month of my life back.
But in an effort to be slightly less creepy, I went into his office the next day and demanded all of those things. With Noah in tow. Who asked him 757 questions about everything in his office as extra punishment.
20. I’m now eight weeks out from surgery, and I am completely recovered except that I am still somewhat hoarse – which you will discover if you approach me unexpectedly. I will do that high-pitched “Hi there! How are you doing?” and “Hi” and “You” will be silent because my voice cannot hit those octaves anymore.
My Most Important Tips:
a. Have a long series queued up on Netflix ready to binge (my show choice was 30 Rock.)
b. Have a freezer full of sorbet (I preferred peach and mint chip.)
c. Be emotionally prepared for a regression. Do not let yourself believe that you will be the exception to a two week recovery.
d. Do NOT miss taking your pain pill.
e. When you reach the crossroads of sneezes-that-make-you-cry or learn-to-sneeze-through-your-nose, just cry it out. Once you go nose, you can’t go back.
And, one final FAQ: one of my friends asked me after the surgery, “So do you have a cool scar, or were they able to go in through your mouth?”
No worries, people – you can see your tonsils when you open your mouth – they hang out on either side of your uvula. They will not slit your throat open to get to them.
Editor’s Note (November, 2017): Getting a tonsillectomy was the BEST decision I’ve ever made. I went from having 13 antibiotics in a year with multiple secondary infections to hardly ever getting sick. When I have gotten a cold, it has be super light and hasn’t turned into anything worse. I do not remember the last time I went to the doctor for a nose or throat problem. It was miraculous! So have hope – it will all be worth it.
I would love to see your throat photos. My son had his out the day after you. I took a picture of his throat about every other day for 10 days. It was gross, but very interesting to see the progress.
I cannot believe you had another infection 28 days after surgery!?!?
I emailed you. I accept no liability of any negative consequences of opening said email.
Reading this was so helpful. I am going into my 3 day recovery and can relate to you so far very much. Would you mind sharing your pics with me? Not here to judge. We were/are on same boat. Hope by now you are 100% good.
I know it’s 2 years later and you may not have your lovely tonsil pictures but if you do could you please email them to me? I am on day 5 including surgery day and so far still terrible.
Im also on day 7 now. I believe we had our surgery on the same day. My first five days were completeley HORRIBLE but the last two days have been decently okay. What about you as of bow?
Omg. I had my surgery last Friday the 21 and this is the 8. Day recovery and my throat is super itchy is that supposed to be normal.. Makes me want to throw up or I tear up becuase it botheres me I try to drink water. How is the scab process. I’m so over this… Been in pain and can barely it had to get my adenoids out and tonsills. And nose had to be opened up for better breathing .. Any tips.
Hi!!!!! I am currently going through the recovery! I hate this solo much but I agree the pain is some times hard! I want to see them pictures too!!! I have a to go spit cup to! But spitting hurts sometimes. Has it ever hurted for u??
I would like to speak to you about your tonsillectomy because i just had mine done on the 21st of this month last week technically lol. Getting absolutely bored sitting in the house. Feel free to email me
i’m a bit concerned now.. i’m on day 7 of recovery & you just gave me so much anxiety ! lol
i stopped taking pain meds because i didn’t feel like i needed them & could swallow with minimal pain. worst pain is in the morning until i have iced coffee and i usually pop an advil. help me
Thank you this really helped I enjoyed reading your story to recovery. I had mine 11/9/2020. I’m sitting here now mouth open hanging over garbage with saliva dripping. My question is did you use the nose Rinse if so how often? I feel like I’m drowning when using this alkalol solution. Any suggestions please
I had my surgery on the 1st im 38!My tonsils were a 4+ in size. It has been the absolutely 100% worst for me as far as pain. Im on a liquid pain medication and it didn’t work for the first 5 days and barely works now. So question after the scabs come off is it still going to hurt? Or is it the food that hurts them? After day 14 is all the pain really going to go away? And I would actually love to see the pictures you have if you are willing and still have them! Thank you for doing this follow up right now I just don’t see a end to this tunnel I’m in.
Wow I had never heard that this surgery was so hard for an adult! I sincerely hope I NEVER have to have it done! Oh and I have a pretty strong stomach but I had to pause my reading of this and finish it AFTER I was done with my breakfast. Haha :)
Oops. Sorry! Kinda… ;-)
It is the worst surgery in the world.
i’d rather experience labour repeatedly than experience this ever again
I had mine out on 3/11/19 and am still on soft foods, the itching in my throat is insane. I had to go back for a second surgery because of bleeding 4 days ago which was an awful experience but way less intense than initially thank god. It seemed to speed things up a bit healing wise too. But at more than 2 weeks post op I expected to be feeling 100% and freakin amazing but I don’t which is depressing and I’m going out of town for a birthday and am terrified to drink (its at a winery). FML. My Dr. said I’d “probably be fine, but he might avoid it because it could burn” UGH. whyyyyy
-jessa
I had mine just last week, recovery is very slow and painful. Still cannot eat and drink well, it stings most of the time, especially waking up. I tried to stop my pain meds because it makes me nauseous and dizzy, but unfortunately I can’t handle the pain and took 1 awhile ago, the pain is upto the ears and back of the wisdom tooth, hopefully we feel better soon. Mine was still red on the sides and still looks inflamed.
Omg. I had my surgery last Friday the 21 and this is the 8. Day recovery and my throat is super itchy is that supposed to be normal.. Makes me want to throw up or I tear up becuase it botheres me I try to drink water. How is the scab process. I’m so over this… Been in pain and can barely it had to get my adenoids out and tonsills. And nose had to be opened up for better breathing .. Any tips.
OMG day 4 of recovery I wanna jump off a bridge I can’t talk eat or really swallow anything and I got the lovely nasal regurgitation FML
Rachel,
I haven’t told you, but I had my tonsils out as a teenager. So I greatly understand the grossness, pain and ice cream.
From the perspective of years, I do remember that it hurt A LOT, but the actual pain memory has decreased! But my best memory is that I lost 10 pounds in the process. For a while after that, I wore the smallest size I have ever worn in my life. I had the cutest little black dress in a size 5! Alas, it didn’t last forever, but that part was fun while it lasted.
Glad you are better and hope that in the future the throat infections do not return. Then it will have been worth it after all!
Pain memories are nice like that – you really can’t remember pain itself. That’s why we have more than one kid, I guess. :-)
I did enjoy a couple of weeks without muffintop. I shall treasure those memories..
This information is so good. And surprisingly, encouraging! I still don’t want to do it… but I feel a tad better about doing it now. What did your doctor say about the infection? And did he say you can continue to expect them?!
He said “Well, you have an immune deficiency, so you’re more prone to get them…”
BUT he sold me on the tonsillectomy by saying this would help my immune deficiency issues!
This was so helpful to read! I had my surgery this morning, so I’m grateful to know what to expect.
I have a thyroid autoimmune disorder, so every cold I got would immediately turn into tonsillitis- almost missed my honeymoon last year!
Thank you again for sharing your experience :)
I had this done as an adult as well and you’ve captured the experience so thoroughly! I had forgotten the taste of carburetor but it came screaming back with a grimace reading your description. I also pushed myself way too soon thinking I was okay (it was probably the day the anesthesia stopped affecting me) and wound up in the hospital. My incision site had started bleeding and I was vomiting blood. You think sneezing with a sore throat is bad, I highly recommend throwing up! I will say – over 10 year later, I would do it again. My throat infections are gone and I hope you’ve had your last one as well!
WOW! He warned me way too much about the horrors of spurting blood out my throat and how awful it’d be to fix it, so I was careful.
Hey im on day 10 of recovery from my tonsils getting removed and i just had some rice and i noticed that felt some fiod kinda stuck in thr back if my throat .i went and checked and it was oretty gross but my whole right side was full if food like that little open cave was full if food amd i gargled amd nothing..question was …can you relate? Did something like this ever happend to you? (My scabs already fell off)
I’m about to lose my s**t….nearly every time I eat this happens. I’m on day 19, the pain is gone but the irritation rules my day and then eating makes it worse…that feeling of something being stuck. Does this end and when?
Hello. I’m almost 4 weeks post op and it feels like something is in my throat also. Did your own improve? If so, how long after?
Just wondering if you happen to see this, when did it end? Day 13 and the pain is mostly gone (still have scabs though) but the back of my throat feels so swollen so I can’t eat anything that won’t melt/turn liquid. I’m so sick of it, I just want to eat (even just mashed potatoes or noodles in soup) and not constantly worry that my breathing is obstructed. My doctor says it’s normal and just caused by irritation from other parts of my throat…but pain I can understand, this though…im ready to feel at least a little normal. (Note that this is at the back of my throat, farther than I can see with a mirror, and not my tonsil-holes…it feels swollen/obstructed and like no matter how much I swallow, stuff just wont go down.)
My 17 year old had hers out on Tuesday August 14th. 30 minutes post surgery she started bleeding. She went bac under and they recauterized. Came out of it fine. Came home and things were fine. Friday she wakes up at 6 a.m. fo her pain meds and she tells me she is spitting uip blood…alot! In the 15 minute drive to the hospital she has filled up a cup also had several large clots. During the wait for the doctor in the ER she spits up or suctioned out about 2 or three more cups. They finally stop the blood and were trying to decide if they could let her go home and boom 2 more cups of blood in a bag. Off she goes to the OR where they recauterize. She is in the hospital for 3 days. Vomits the next day …no blood…cold clammy and shivering. She wants it to end. All I can tell her is she has at least 10 more days…finds out she lost her job because of this.
Oh my gosh your poor baby!! Hope everything healed well. Sooo scary.
I had mine out about 8 years ago at 25. I thought I was going to die going through recovery. A month later, I still had swelling so bad I couldn’t swallow. I’m glad it’s a one time surgery I’ll never have to deal with again and I thanked my mom (sarcastically) for never having done it as a child.
Hello! On the good side, it really is comforting to read these things, so when you’re going through a tonsillectomy recovery you can identify to other people’s recovery journey. I must admit I’m on day 7 after surgery and still haven’t vomit or spit blood (although I probably shouldn’t mention this) and today would be the first day I sneezed, actually that’s how I ended up in this article haha. I’m actually amazed how I had NO idea the recovery would be this bad, nobody tells you anything, not even the Doctor! The worst part for me is not being able to eat anything I want to! I crave daily for a burger, a pizza, french fries, pasta, and the list goes on and hey, the pain is STILL THERE. I’m actually starting to believe this will never end, like I can’t see the day I’ll be digging that burger. Therefore my question, how much after would you say you could actually eat anything? (this is my biggest concern :(
Oh I’m so sorry! It should start to get better really soon. I think I started eating anything I wanted on day ten.
Did you ever experience a squeaking sound when you ate or drank anything?? I heard a small squeaking noise on the 1st day while eating, I didn’t hear it anymore after that but boy did it hurt my throat and it was only on one side.. Now I’m on day 2 and I was fine all thru the morning until lunch time and heard the squeaking noise again, on the same side and oh man it hurt even worse.. Almost made me feel like air was somehow being sucked up into where the doc had cut and then the pain traveled into my left ear.. Haven’t eaten since then but when I drink small amounts of water at a time I still hear it and it worries me..
I don’t remember a squeak! I hope you’re feeling better!
Yes I heard it for the first couple of days so I went to the doctor and she said everything looks fine even tho it didn’t feel it.
This happened to me a little after two weeks from having the surgery. I noticed after looking multiple times that I had a hole in the tissue where my tonsils had been cut that connected to my throat. When I would eat/drink, some would go through that hole and make the grossest squeaking noise. Tomorrow will make 4 weeks since my surgery and the noise is finally gone but I still get the feeling like I have water in my nose? I’m hoping that will go away soon also.
I am on day 11 and cannot stop laughing at the sneezing through your nose thing! I sneezed for the first time yesterday and I was trying to do the same thing as you. All my scabs are gone now, feeling a little more normal. Still can’t eat anything too sweet or spicy as it stings like hell! Good luck to anyone getting it done, it’s a time to make sure you recuperate and take the time to recover – your body needs it! My doc also recommended eating a normal diet, which really helped. I was able to eat toast and solid foods every day.
I’m so glad I came across this article. I googled sneezing differently after tonsillectomy & found this. I had my surgery on October 13, 2015 & haven’t sneezed the same since. I tell everything that my sneezes full forcibly come out of my nose & they’re always messy! I never realized that we sneeze from our mouths before this happened. The sneezing, the spit cups, the timed meds, the coughing & yawning, I remember it all. I also had extreme ear pain! & it would end up worse along with my throat pain when I woke up in the middle of the night since it was dried out. I lived on ice chips and Popsicles. I enjoyed sherbet but it ended up making me produce more saliva which in turn makes you have to swallow more which then made me need my spit cup even more so I started to avoid that and just use it to swallow my pills. After my surgery my ENT had told me not to gargle anything as it would cause the scabs to come off and possibly cause bleeding and more pain so luckily I didn’t do that. I’m sure that wasn’t fun! I also have pictures of my throat during my healing process. I do not have updated pictures though because I for some reason can’t put my tongue down to see the back of my throat anymore. I thought it was from swelling after surgery but it hasn’t changed. One of the only other differences besides the sneezing that I’ve noticed. If you find a sneeze rehab please let me know! I desperately need it!
Forgot to add that I am 24 and was 24 at the time. So jealous of the children that bounce back after 2-3 days.
I’m 24 and just had mine out 6 days ago! I’m miserable!! Reading this comments makes me feel better. Though I will say I had a septoplasty (nasal surgery) with the same surgeon 2 months ago and well I’d much rather have a tonsillectomy than go through that! Please tell me this ends soon!!
I’m quite a bit older but just had my palantine (regular) and lingual tonsils removed on 8/7/19 so I’m three days in to my recovery and miserable! Thing is, I went in for just the lingual tonsillectomy and discovered today when I looked in my throat they’d taken the others out too! To say I was surprised was an understatement but certainly explained the double whammy of pain. This blog made me feel better about my spit cup, avoiding yawning like the plague and many other things. Wishing you a speedy and smooth recovery!!
Hiya!
Just wondering how you got in with the recovery, specifically in regards to the lingua tonsils. Did you ever have any lingering issues post recovery and did anything scary happen during recovery? (Some people report bleeding and hospital visits!).
Any reply would be appreciated, not many posts online from people having lingual tonsils out.
Cheers
I agree with the ear pain!! I’m 27 and I am on day 16. I thank God that I am able to eat anything I want now. But, before day 10, I was stuck to eating soft foods such as mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and soup. The one thing that I hated besides the spit cup, food getting stuck in the holes where my tonsils used to be, and the squeaky noise that occurs while talking because of the removal of my adenoids was the extreme ear pain! It was so annoying and really affected me. The one medication that I used frequently was Ibuprofen. It was a life saver and allowed me to make it through the day and night.
I had my surgery on January 5, 2016. I came across your blog because I haven’t sneezed since the morning of my surgery, & was curious if there was a connection. Yawning is worse than childbirth, so I hope the sneezing holds off for a long time. All I know is the pain meds, special mouthwash, & benadryl are my best friends, & I should’ve bought stock in Wendy’s, because a Frosty is about the only thing that helps! Oh, & Pedialyte has really helped with the dehydration. And, while the numbers on the scale keep dropping rapidly, & I love it, my ENT was right when he said that I’d hate him! Thanks for your insight!
hi my names jessie and i just came across this after typing in google sneezing after having your tonsils out. i had mine out 4 days ago and i have never felt so much pain in my life i sneezed for the first time yesterday and cried my eyes out! i wake up in the middle of the night with the worst ear aches and i havent eaten properly! i cant bear the thought of eating it hurts way to much!! i feel like this has helped me alot and glad you shared your experience!!
I’m so glad it helped and I hope you’re feeling better!!!
Hey!! I actually got my surgery on the 26th of January! Take hot showers for the ear aches and make sure to blow dry your hair!
I have really bad ear aches! And everything including ice cream sets my throat on fire I cannot eat! I’m on day 9
I’m 22 and its day 12. I had major scary painful vomitting literally two days after I came home. I was looking for other people who were hurting with yawning and I actually sneezed while reading this and cried. -_- my word of advice for those who might get this survey done is TAKE OFF TWO WEEKS OF WORK and buy a Sea-Band for the nausea. I didn’t make the right choice with the work and I had to call out the day before I returned because talking was something that I couldn’t do without crying cause of the pain. I’m actually really curious about what your tonsil throat recovery looked like just so I can compare. I have stitches too, did you??
My daughter is 12, and will be getting hers out on March 1st. She’s getting more & more scared. We’ve been asking for and wishing for this since she was maybe 9. Thanks for the heads up about all of this. I’m prepared to spoil her as much as I can during recovery. According to her Dr., it’s the 5-year-olds that bounce back fast.
Sometimes when she’s had throat infections, she would use her text-to-talk app rather than speak. Does anyone advise for or against a topical treatment, like a chloraseptic spray?
I highly recommend the chloraseptic lozenges. They are a lot more powerful and last longer than the spray. I’m on day 3 and they are saving my sanity!
Im scheduled to have mine out april 22nd, this is something ive been hoping to have done since i was 10 or so my parents would just never take me. Ive had a chronic infection of them for about 9 years now. So while i believe you that its extremely painful id rather deal with that pain then choking on them constantly. But only time will tell and as far as carburetor tasting foods goes i could use a weakening to my taste buds mine are overly strong to the point where people cooking things that are spicy effects me by just being in the air.
Good luck I’m on day 6 of recovery and I’m scared the worst is still to come.
Same.
wow thank you guys this really helps a lot.I had my surgery on the 23rd of February so today is like my 9th day and I really ddnt sleep last night because of the dryness of the throat it really really hurts though I can eat almost anything now but only started eating pap yesterday in a small amount though.imagine m not taking any pain medication because the pill that actually helped was tramadol which I was given when I was discharged from hospital by my doctor.those pain medication got finished and I went to the clinic to ask for more of those Tramadol but they wouldn’t give me cuz apparently you can’t continue with an antibiotic after the prescribed period…so they told me to eat some ice or cold stuff to help with the swelling a chewing gum for the ear pain and have some soda more especially coke and have a lollipop this helped with the stiffness of the neck togather with some neck stretching starting slowly though..so till this day I still have pains but dry throat is the worst thing..could this mean I have an infection? I don’t know cuz I don’t even have follow up appointments with the doctor at all
So I came across this after sneezing for the first time ON A TRAIN since getting my tonsils out (19th feb), boy was that awkward and painful and messy haha. I’m on day 15 now and still have some scabs at the back of my throat, not much left now but always notice it more in the mornings. Yawning is also painful. So much you take for granted when you can do it paints free! I went back to university yesterday and heading back to work today. I made sure I took the two weeks off to try and avoid infection as much as possible but I work in retail so germ opportunities are a plenty with the public! Thanks for sharing your tonsilectomy story.
I had surgery on March 8th. I am in my 9th day recovery. It has been very difficult as I am 43 yrs of age. This is the first day I feel like I can tolerate pain with no medication. My doctor prescribed liquid hydrocodone for pain. I hated taking it because it made me nauseous & constipated & made me feel like I was going crazy. I am now completely off the meds. I will take Tylenol now as needed. I’d say day 1 was not bad but after the anesthetic wore off the nightmare began! Days 2-7 are the worst! This is day 9 I am having ear pain off & On & I find myself spitting a lot & feel what I believe are scabs mixed with flem in the back of my throat. I have my spit cup on hand. How do you know if the scabs are completely gone. I know I spit some of it up, but I think I am still feeling it in the back of my throat.
I am on day number two of my Tonsilectomy and tonsil stones removal. Swallowing hurts a lot even with pain pills. I am an adult of 44 years young and nothing really prepared me for what I was going to endure. I would be very interested in your pictures to compare them to mine.
I am 31 years old and I had my tonsils out on 8th of February. First 2 days was okay just a mild pain. First night in the hospital was awful, I had reaction to pain meds and anastetic which made me to throw up all night:/ that was The longest night of my life:( after I was discharged I was Ok on pain level 3/4. Before I went for the tonsilectomy I read many blogs and I thought that people are probably overreacting with that pain….on a day 3 after my anastetic slightly worn off I got hit by the real pain! And from that day it was just getting worse. I wasn’t able to speak at all:/ any a tempt was ending almost with tears. For 10 days I was only drinking water and having jello. I lost half a stone, thats the only good thing so far. My gosh I went from pain level 3/4 to 8/9 in a split seconds. Then on a day 7 I’ve end up back in hospital because I developed thrush in my mouth from antibiotics I’ve been given at the hospital. ENT said that is still very swallen and not hillin so I’ve been offered two nights in the hospital or 3 days of steroids at home and another week off from work to recover. After a day of steroids I could drink without shooting pains:) than slowly even my voice started to come back. My poor husband had to deal with my emotions for all this time.
I didn’t sneezing for a long time after the op but yes when I sneezing now I can’t control it any more which is very frustrating.
The other thing I’ve been struggling is blowing my nose…I am unable to do this now plus if I force it too much I start gagging and gets horrible. On top of that, few days a go I got flue and my throught been on fire and really swallen and it feels like I’m back to day 2 after the operation. I’m planing to see my doctor tomorrow.
This recovery has been taking longer than I was expecting:/ hope is wort it.
Im a 54 yo female. I had my enlarged tonsils removed 41 days ago! Very painful indeed. Sadly im having the same pain as before the surgery, like theres food stuck back there, continues swallowing. The scabs fell off around day 7. Pathology indicates no cancer so now im being referred to a neurologist? Whats up with that?
Hi L. Hill. Im 55 yo female. I was reading these comments because I’m considering getting tonsils out. . I wish people would tell why they are getting them out. I’m not having throat infections but I get a lot of gunk stuck back by tonsils and on left side, kinda out of view, I have had pain for years. I thought it was a toothache but that tooth is gone and pain is still there. ENT thought perhaps Trigeminal nerve. ENT also thought perhaps Eagles syndrome which you can google but is a little “needle like” bone off base of skull, kinda below ear that helps the tongue speak? It’s called a Styloid Process. It’s when the little bone pokes the inside or leans on nerve. The CT scan shows its a little longer than normal on both sides and it’s right behind tonsils, (so they tell me.)The pain is excruciating so I’m on 2-4mg buprinorphine daily to dull the pain. The pain is now only an annoying “buzzing” in my neck/ear area now. Nobody can relate. . Does this sound like what you are having? I really don’t want to have tonsils out. I guess I was hoping pain was from tonsils not nerve or Eagle syndrome. No guarantees. That’s why they call it “practicing medicine!!” I hope you are well. God bless.
I’m 55 and just had mine out. I was having tonsillitis and strep so many times a year I just stopped going to the doctor over it. I was having sore throat pain so bad it would wake me up and I had to take something for pain. My ears and underneath my jawline also hurt. I was also getting concerned over little growths on the tonsils. I’m on day 3 of post op. The doc told my husband that the tonsils were “bad, bad bad”. As he started to remove them one apparently broke open and was filled with more stones than he’d seen before. He also felt if they had stayed in much longer, with the growth thingies, they very likely would have turned cancerous. So, it was good they came out. I’m still waiting for this horrible pain I was told about. The only thing I’ve had trouble with is the swelling. For the first 2 days, they were so very swollen, it was almost impossible to breathe. I’m a retired nurse and if I had had a patient with the problem breathing to this degree, I would have certainly been more concerned than the doctor and his staff were. I’ve been using cold pudding to kind of lay in the back of my mouth as well as crushed ice and a ice pack on the outside of my throat (which made me look like Jabba the Hutt with the excessive swelling) I also have found it is really easy to get choked on snot, water, anything back in that area. The swelling is better today, but the potential for choking is higher. The pain is still around a 2 and I’m not using pain meds as it is too easy to get choked on the liquid. I may wake up on day 7 and be glad for the pain meds, but in relation to kidney stones and the back pain I deal with daily, this is nothing. I hope others are doing well in their recovery and hope my experience may help someone else.
hi Carol, I am going through something similiar. I got my tonsils out yesterday.
email me if u want to compare symptoms. Have you consulted neurologist?
tmalinowski75@yahoo.com
Sweet JESUS I hope they were right! That guessing Drs do is the Worse!!
I am 44 and on day 2.5. I have had tonsillitis and tonsil stones since 4th grade. Yeah, Thanx for nothing mom on getting them out young. I now have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. So getting them out was recommended. They got me with the “loss of air to the heart”. Without those words I would still have those dreadful things.
This pain is like no other. My anxiety is in full effect. I had 2 kids w/o drugs, yet would do that again over this. My stitches are aggravating my gag reflex and I throw up everything. The prickly is driving me Nuts! I am now on the headache and Horrific taste in my mouth. I just wanna sleep these weeks away. I teach, so I’m off for another month. Don’t do it if it’s not necessary.
Hi Myles,
Just wanted to see how everything worked out for you. Today is day 3 post op and like you I have also had 2 babies without drugs and the pain after this surgery is much more extreme! Can you share how long it was before you felt pretty much back to normal?
Thank!
Brit
Hi Im on about day 10 everytime I sallow water or anything I keep gagging and coughing and I don’t know why this is and it’s making it harder to take my medicine. I’m 14 and I’ve had a really hard time with my tonsilectomy. So does anyone have a response? Also I haven’t eaten since The operation
What a horrible surgery. I refused to read anything before for fear of being to nervous. In hind site I should have. Worst pain ever. I am on day 12 not counting surgery day. Still hurts to yawn, still have seen scabs. Just don’t feel good. I have a good half a day then miserable day. The worst for me is the pain meds. I didn’t keep track of them so I would wait till I was in pain to take them. I just didn’t want to take them. The past 4 days I have been just depressed. Depressed with the semi good then bad feeling depressed being home depressed coming off of the meds. Tomorrow I go back to work and I am nervous it is too soon. Feeling about 75% but I need something normal. My mom boyfriend and self referenced this many times. Thanls for sharing!
Hey everyone! I am an 18 (almost 19) year old female and am on day 11 of post-op (including day of surgery). Before surgery I did a lot of research and talked to several people I know who have had the procedure. A lot of people who had the surgery around my age said it was the worst 2 weeks of their life. I’m here to tell you, it’s not if you do the right things. So here are some things that I did throughout recovery that I think saved me a whole lot of pain:
1. Drink A LOT of fluids.
2. Ice your throat.
3. Eat food. For the first few days my diet consisted of Mac & cheese, milkshakes, mashed potatoes, cooked veggies, pudding, & jello.
4. Stay on top of your meds. (I haven’t taken any since the morning of Day 7)
5. If there is a period where you feel better at all, EAT SOLID FOODS.
6. Talk NONSTOP. (You may think I’m crazy but it helped tremendously)
7. Do NOT baby your throat. It will only make the recovery process worse & longer.
I was prescribed hydrocodone and I took it around the clock, every 4 hours for the first 4 days. That is all the pain medication I took. After day 4, I went down to every 6 hours only while I was awake. By the morning of Day 7, I no longer needed any pain medication. Like I said, I am on Day 11 and I still have a little discomfort from time to time but nothing worth medicating. I’m very surprised at how smoothly the whole procedure & recovery went for me and am so thankful that all the above helped me to a speedy recovery. However, I do still have my scabs and that is OKAY. The longer they stay on, the better.
I hope my tips help someone and that those of you have as much luck as I did in the future :)
I feel the same way! People were saying it is worse than child birth, but honestly it feels just like any other case of strep throat I have had. I am on day 4 and I take my pain meds when I am supposed to and I also take children’s ibuprofen every 6 hours and it helps TREMENDOUSLY! Don’t get me wrong, this is not any fun at all, but as long as I do what I am supposed to do, (take meds, drink fluids, eat) it really isn’t as bad as people make it out to be! I just keep my eye on the end of the 2 weeks when I will feel much better and it helps me get through the bad days :)
Thank you for encouraging words.
I am a 46 year old woman who never had issues with my tonsils until 4 years ago when I moved to Honduras to volunteer. The extreme change of constant exposure to new viruses and bacteria have caused me to have frequent tonsillitis. I am currently suffering from another bout with tonsillitis and considering talking to a doctor about options. Big question: After the surgery do you experience more colds and infections? It’s my understanding that the tonsils are meant to filter and reduce illnesses so I’m wondering if more colds are to be expected when the tonsils are no longer there. Seriously debating which is worse: frequent tonsil issues or the consequences of tonsil surgery at my age. I would love your experienced thoughts!
I got mine to end the constant infections I was having. From what I understand, tonsils are great – until they go to the dark side and start making you sick instead of preventing sickness. My tonsils were filled with infection. I had 13 antibiotics in 12 months before my surgery. It’s been 12 months since my surgery, and I’ve had one antibiotic. It definitely worked.
I’m 43 and just had my tonsils removed 7 days ago. My tonsils have always been large making swallowing a challenge from time to time. In last couple years I would cough out a tonsil stone. Just recently I’ve been getting tonsil stones more frequently which were very uncomfortable and annoying causing me to cough and clear my throat often. This has been a rough seven days and I’m hoping the pain starts to ease enough that I can swallow without it hurting.
I’m 12, and I’m almost into the second day of surgery, and I’m gonna be honest, my throat hurts to swallow or talk. I can no longer speaks so whenever my family tries to have a conversation with me I end up just nodding my head yes or no and smiling. Not fun, also, since I’m 12 they make me take liquid pain medicine…. Which tastes horrible, so far, my experience has not been pleasant. We can all hope it will get better though.
Hi Annabelle S. we can do more than hope you get better, we can pray you get better! It’s been over a year I see. I pray you are all recovered and living a beautiful, blessed life in Jesus name. Amen.
I’m 51 and just had my Tonsils/Adnoids removed and Deviated Septum repaired on July 1st. I read tons of blogs and medical advise before the surgery, so I would be prepared. I went to the grocery store the morning of the surgery and bought all the foods that were recommended. I had a friend drive me to the surgery center and back. I prayed a lot the week before and morning of, because I knew from what all I had heard and read it was going to be very bad. I expected it to be like a bad case of Strep. My Dr prescribed liquid Tylenol 3 w/codeine, a 7 day steroid pack, an antibiotic and a mouth swish they refer to as a magic mix. All in all, I’d say my Dr really is thorough! The recovery has been amazing! I even felt no pain when they removed the stents from my nose on day 4. My Dr gave me a Nasal Flush bottle and has me flushing my nose with saline to keep me from sneezing. I purchased a cheap plastic spray bottle, and filled with water; I keep that beside my recliner chair to keep my throat moist. I also bought 5 bags of Sonic Ice to keep in a cup along with a cup of ice water. I don’t want to say there has been no discomfort, but really My C-section was much much worse than this! I think a lot of your recovery has to do with your attitude. If you are a whiner or negative person, you are going to be miserable! I even had my Dr release me to work on day six, so I could work from home. My best advise is to find a really great ENT! Do your research! Refuse to listen to the negatives and trust the positives. Be prepared for the worse, but expect the best! Then, when it turns out better than expected, you will be less miserable.
Thanks Joy! I loved these tips, Did you have a humidifier too? Any other tips?
My ENT refused to do both surgeries at the same time!! I’ve had both now! I’d rather have the tonsils out then the nasal surgery hands down! My doctor told me to hold my nasal rinse while I was recovering from the tonsillectomy so I couldn’t imagine doing it! Bless you for doing both! I’m so thankful my surgeon refused to do both! He said I’d hate him after the tonsils (he’s not my favorite person right now yes but he is amazing and I’m so thankful for him)!
I have more issues with hot and cold I am 35 on day 9, day of surgery I was fine. But seems like it has gotten progressively worse. Day of surgery I ate some soup from panara bread. Warmth felt great, cold felt great. But now popsicles and ice cream (which milk products are huge no-no because they make the mucus thicker and more prominent) even cold drinks feel like a brain freeze in my throat but ten time worse. It makes my whole lower jaw hurt too. Any advice? I am out of the liquid gold (hydrocodone liquid) ibprofin advil alive?
Hey friends. This seems like a pleasant forum.
I’m on day 6 if we include surgery day. It’s definitely gotten more difficult compared to the first few days, but still hasn’t been overbearingly awful. Days 1 and 2 were practically a cakewalk, with some light soreness of throat and fatigue from surgery, but all in all, I was humming along just fine.
Sleep is pretty much the worst. I do not like needing to sleep. Even though I’m alternating Percocet and Motrin every three hours, I really need the constant hydration from being awake to keep my throat reasonably happy. Nodding off for even an hour results in my throat drying out and having to suck on ice cubes for about 30 minutes before I feel functional.
Still, if I have a recommendation for anyone, it is to stay on top of pain meds and use them liberally. (Just be careful if you have an addictive tendencies when dealing with opioids.) And seriously—I cannot say this enough—HYDRATE! Sure, you might wind up peeing every 15 minutes, but the trade off for having a moist, reasonably bearable situation is worth it. I drink ice water constantly throughout the day and I think it’s made a huge difference both for bringing some slight numbness to my affected area as well as keeping my wounds moist. If the scabs dry out, they will fall off prematurely and your road to recovery will be longer and more painful.
Of course, I say all that right as I’m on the cusp of hitting some potentially difficult territory!
Did you ever relearn how to sneeze? Im having the same problem with snot flying every where and its like a spasm I cant control. I Have no idea how to sneeze normally again and its quite annoying!
Surgery scheduled for the 19th of September. My sister in law is trying to convince me to try homeopathy instead. She believes that since they are taking an organ away the problem will be solved but another one will come up as a result of the surgery, at least in the long term. Are you guys living a normal life? How is your immunity now
How is life after recovery from a tonsillectomy?
Hi there, I had the same issue as your sister I was very concerned with the removal. I tried natural therapies for 6 months but still found that I was having issues with tonsil infections so I decided it was just best to get them out. I had them out last week and recovery is going okay, obvious it’s sore but I think this is the only way to truely get rid of this problem.
Tonsilectomy postoperative day 9. Day 1, 2 and most of 3 were bearable with pain meds. Days 3-7 were extremely painful even with pain medicine (Hydrocodone and Phenergan for the nausea Hydrocodone gives me). My scabs formed quickly and by day 4, I was eating very soft macaroni and cheese once a day then gargling with salt water afterwards and his helped my scabs come off in small amounts. My scabs were very thick and white. By day 7 most of my scabbing was gone except for a very white, thin, somewhat translucent layer.
Once the thick scabbing was gone my pain improved on day 8 so I was able to wean off the Hydrocodone liquid and Phenergan liquid and just take Advil. I don’t like how narcotics make me feel and I have to wean off of them for a day because I swear in the few days I’ve been on them my body developed a dependency and coming off them makes me feel like I have the flu! I was able to sleep a full 6 hours at a time last night. When I woke up to take Advil my throat felt like it was on fire but ice chips help tremendously. I’ve lived off of ice chips, unflavored Pedialyte (electrolytes) with a splash of apple juice or Gatorade, vanilla pudding, Amy’s Macaroni and Cheese (high fat and protein), beef bone broth (high protein and healing glutathione). Besides a lot of ice chips an long gel bead hot/cold pack (normally meant for a back) has also brought amazing cold relief which are must haves. I’ve only lost 3 or 4 pounds so far which is pretty good, I don’t want to lose weight.
The worst? No one warned me that my throat would spasm in the beginning if I took to big of a drink, especially if the nasty liquid pain medicine. No one told me it would be very hard to swallow water, not because of the pain but because of difficulty detecting the sensation of water in the back of my throat. Therefore it is very easy to gag and cough on water the first two days after surgery. Be aware of these two things.
Hello guys , so I’m on day ten of septoplasty & tonsils/adenoids removal. I’m 37 and my ENT suggested this for continuous nasil pressure deviated septum and ears popping. Before surgery I read other blogs about the importance of ice packs and staying hydrated getting soft food ect. Let me just say I’m glad I did!! My Doctor never really told me much about the procedure itself and other than saying I might feel like I have ear aches and need soft food I was on my own. After reading other blogs I’m starting to think the docs do it on purpose because if we really knew the truth we might not have it done. Day of surgery I was still very drugged and nose was packed inside and had an outer cover . Bleed some and was sent home with a scrip for amoxicillin and Tylenol 3 with codine. I rested not slept during the evening with ice packs on neck and face and by the evening I tried to take 2 pills broken up of course cuz it’s ridiculous Trying to swallow. I sipped water with a straw cuz normal drinks seemed to much and eventually lightly slept. By 3 am when all my meds from the day had worn off I woke to pain that made me try to cry but was no use because it just made my nose more stopped up and hurt . Ear pain ,throat pain, head throbbing. That was my one moment we’re I questioned why I payed to have this done to myself. I took more meds had a Popsicle and applied more ice till morning. Had a Follow up appt the next day to remove the packing and told my ENT about the pain. The removal of packing was an uncomfortable event but having the pressure out of my nose was a relief and I was able to feel some air movement out my nose which helped. He prescribed Hydroc 10/325 . By that evening the pain was still strong but was more manageable. I continued to drink only water nonstop, applied Ice packs and alternated one T3 every 3 hour and 1hydro every4 Hours. I had applesauce and Popsicles for the first two days , slept lightly on and off sitting up and found that my new best friend was chloraseptic spray and Chapstick cuz my lips were so dry. I forgot to say that my tongue is so swollen and cut with blisters on the sides from day one that I had trouble keeping my mouth moist. I asked my doc why and he said it was from the ventilator tube that was used when I was under. Day 3 I was able to eat soup room temp and have jello. This is my pattern till day 5 .Now I’m going to tell you a secret no one told me before and that I had not seen on any sites was that with all the meds that you have to take for pain this causes severe constipation . It’s ok go ahead laugh out loud but let me tell you I was begging for some relief so I purchased some Dulcolax and drank half a bottle of magnesium citrate ! Then it took another whole day to work. So if your in the first few days or just planning ahead I would advise that this little helper med be on your list.. Everyday I have focused on trying to find a positive like less pain or less pressure and tried just to stay on top of hydration and meds, just lay down and rest !! Netflix is a must !!! You can always start out with your one month free trial if you don’t already have it. This is a bonus considering you will have moments were the meds zone you out or nod off so the rewind feature is awesome! Also may I suggest spoiling yourself before surgery and buying some comfy PJs because this has been my wardrobe ever since day one and I’m on day 10. Lol. May I suggest Vera wang PJs from Kohls – you will be wrapped in heaven and look fashion forward on your way to the potty! Lol. I’m starting to feel more like myself today and actually did have more substantial food refried beans ,rice and queso . It was fantastic! As of now I still have my scabs on my throat and pain is equal to a regular sore throat, and my ears are still aching slightly. Read some other posts And seems everyones on a slightly different timeline for the scabs to start coming off . so I guess I will keep them moist / sipping water often so that they don’t come off to early and cause more pain or bleeding. I also read that I should start really feeling better by day 10-12 and in about or around a full year for all the nose work to be completely healed . Only time will tell and as of now I’m glad I had this done but would never do it again !!!! looking forward to the future with out pressure and popping. FYI I still have some pressure but think it is somewhat better. My ears still pop for now and that must take time for the fluids to equalize . My tongue has started to heal by swishing Peroxide around my mouth NOT THROAT than rinsing my mouth out with water . Hold head down to avoid throat contact. This little trick I learned from Pinterest for the blistering. Hope sharing my experience helps someone and thanks for actually reading down this far. If you knew me in real time you would know I’m a talker and suck at punctuation !!! Sorry grammar freaks Lol. I wish you all the best and send you positive vibes for a speedy recovery!
Happy Friday all. I am 35yrs old and I am on Day 10 of my tonsillectomy. I found this forum when I was looking into information regarding yawning after surger . I can only drink through a straw. Yawning It is my least favorite thing. For me the right side seems to be a bit more problematic than the left. My biggest problem is my tongue is raw. Not from the clamps during surgery but the top of my tongue feels like a whole layer was eviscerated. Certain things I eat will burn my tongue. I cannot wait to eat and drink normal again. Only my right ear hurts never my left. I eagerly await the other side of the tunnel when this will be a distant memory.
Best of luck to everyone!!!
This has been the most “comforting” article I’ve read about adult tonsillectomy recovery. My fiance is currently getting ready for his tonsillectomy this morning, and everything I’ve read over the past month that this has been scheduled has been the scariest thing I’ve ever read. My nerves have been completely shot because I, like many others I’m sure, don’t like seeing my significant other in pain. He tends to have an extremely high pain tolerance, so I’m hoping that that helps his experience. Again, thank you for sharing your semi-okay experience with your tonsillectomy! :)
I am a 46 year old woman on day 13 after tonsillectomy and removal of my uvula. So many times, I have had to remind myself what the benificial reasons were for me to have had this surgery. I rate this recovery worse than giving natural childbirth, which I did 5 times. Thank you for your recap of the recovery day by day, for I can kind of giggle about it now. …When I was crying just a couple days ago. Sure will be glad when I can yawn. ;-)
Im on day 9 and i have to say day 4-7 was the worst. I have been out of work and was told not to return to work until my scabs fall off. This article and symptoms was spot on from everyone. Hardest things ive had to deal with. After reading this i will just suffer through my sneezing pain. Thanks again.
im 10 months post-tonsillectomy.Still some pain remains.What a horror ! I wish i knew, i wouldn’t have made such blunder decision ¿¿¿
Are you better now?
I am 20 year old female and got my tonsils removed on October 13th. I had quite the tramatic experience and I’m still healing so I will explain it day by day.
Day 1&2: I didn’t have much pain and when I did my pain meds took it away instantly, I was able to eat banana popsicles but that was it. At night I had 0 sleep.
Day 3&4: my pain increased a little bit but was still manageable, was able to drink some water but nothing else. Milk coated my throats and anything with flavour started to sting.
Day 5: I was in so much pain I couldn’t even take my medication which made it worse. I tried eating popsicles but it hurt so much I would cry. The scabs were somewhat formed but around 9pm at night after taking my pills one fell off.
Day 6: I was awake all night and at 1am my tonsil site started bleeding. I drank cold water and ate a popsicle which helped stop the bleeding. At 8am I started bleeding again but a lot more and I started to throw up blood and blood clots, my mom being a nurse rushed me to the hospital where they had to call the ENT to come in. The ENT removed a large clot from my tonsil site and recauterized it. Stayed the night in hospital with 2 hours of sleep the whole night.
Day 7: much better day I came home from the hospital and didn’t have any pain but was tired. Got a full nights sleep finally.
Day 8: Today my scabs are forming but I have a horrible tickle in my throat and can’t stop coughing. Hopefully I’ll recover soon.
I know this is old but I really hope you see it and reply! The same thing happened to me with the bleeding but at day 12 which freakin sucked because I had thought the end was near. I am now day 15 and still eating soft foods :( My Dr. said to continue with soft foods for another week because of the re bleeding! I am having that “tickle” in my throat you spoke about and it is so annoying. It is extremely itchy and strong perfume-y scents irritate it a lot. How long after the re- cauterization did it take you to feel 100% normal again, I am beginning to feel distraught. I also am going out of town for a birthday where drinking will take place and thought that at nearly 18 days out it would be fine as most recommend two weeks without (clearly). But damn I really could care less I just really dont wanna bleed again it was awful, gagging on blood pouring out my throat was a low for me.
-Jessa
I’m 26 years old and on day 8 of recovery from Tonsillectomy recovery. I am asthmatic, have bad and painful acid reflux, got a tooth knocked out when i was 9 by runninv into equipment at school, have permanent eye damag by getting hit by a baseball at age 12. Have an pneumonia numerous times as well as bronchitis and lung infections. But i can honestly say, this has been the worse experience of my life. It is comforting reading everyones ecperiences. I had it done last Thursday, i went home Friday. From days 1-4, i suffered from fevers and had a hard time swallowing. I was in excruciating pain, tokk Morphine every 4 hours. By the end of day 4, i started to feel slightly better and tried a pudding, but it hurt to swallow and i couldn’t really taste it and it gave a terrible aftertaste. Then on day 5, the pain got even worse. Not to mention, i couldn’t taste anything i drank or tried to eat. Had a bad constant taste in my mouth. An earache also started on day 5. On day 6, for the most part i felt better than day 5. my mom made mashed potatoes and gave me some to try. I managed to swallow some of it. I couldn’t taste it, could only feel the texture of it. That evening, i coughed. I’ve besn coughing a bit throughout, but not like that. Out of nowhere, i coughed and it felt like my throat and ears were being torn apart. I was in tears. I managed to calm my ears a bit with a warm face cloth, my mom gave me a popsicle and i tried a couple sips of a drink. It helped a bit then took Morphine before bed. When i coughed and had that surge of pain, it was too early to take my Morphine. On day 7, the pain was still quite bad, but a bit more manageable and today is very similar to yesterday. I just hope, i’m on the road to recovery now. It does help read all your experiences so i know i’m not alone in this.
Oh yeah and for the past few days, i keep getting the tendency to yawn which causes the pain to become excruciating. I’ve been feeling depressed lately because of my loss of taste and painful yawns. Can’t wait for the pain to be over.
I’m having my lingual tonsils out tomorrow. Already had my regular tonsils out 7 years ago and keep getting infections and found out why. Never knew we had more than one set of tonsils so doing this painful process again :)
Vanessa, I know this is an old post- so I am hoping you will see this. How did it go? I had my palatine and lingual tonsils removed 14 years ago. Once I got through the recovery, it was like a miracle. Fast forward 14 years- started having problems again and learned my lingual tonsils had grown back. They are swollen and causing the same pain as previous despite 4 rounds of antibiotics and steroids. Surgery is scheduled to remove them again next week. I am really scared. I am of course 14 years older and the older you are the worse the recovery is for tonsillectomy for some reason. Anyway, just curious how your surgery went. Lingual tonsillectomy is uncommon and most haven’t even heard of lingual tonsils. So I kind of feel like a weirdo with this issue.
I’m getting mine out soon..would love to see the photos!
I am 42 and had tonsil issues my whole life ! I was never forced or told to get them out I was just giving antibotics and every year till in 20s then it was like steroids and antibotics every four months then in my 30s it was like ever couple months I had tonsillitis and tonsil stones ! Well I hit 40 and boom every month I was on antibotics I wouldn’t get better my tonsils almost touched and I was done ! I never thought in my wildest dreams it would be like this !! Maybe cause I’m older or diabetic ? But this wasn’t worse than childbirth and I had 3 natural and 1 c section but it’s completely different!
It’s a chocking sensation a helplessness cause u can’t eat or talk or put ur hand over the pain and rub it ! It’s your throat !!! It’s how we eat how we breathe how we communicate !! I will say I was on top of the meds so the pain was like 8 maybe 9 sometimes ! The scabs are crazy they taste sick and u want to pull them off so bad ! And my uvula is so big and long and that scares me I see people with little bells and mine is pass my tongue it seems like ! I am on day 15 and I have lost 20 pounds ! I ate pop cycles and soup broth and jello that’s it and water like a fish ! Tomorrow I am going to the dr just concerned I can’t sleep because I feel like I gag on something in my throat also I want him to see my uvula and tell me will it shrink? It’s been 15 days !!! Also when will all the scabs come off the white stuff kind of hanging around and the coughing they say not to but sometimes u can’t help it ! So many questions and I hope I get answers ! I mean I made it I’m alive thank Jesus ! I was told 2 weeks and ur good to go week no not for me ! Would I do this again ? I can’t answer that now maybe when I’m completely healed ! I hope soon ! I have faith I will be and I know I serve an awesome God and he will heal me! I just am concerned about the anxiety does it go away ???
Thanks for listening any advice or comments ? Feel free God Bless you all and my the Lord heal you fast and this surgery be the best choice we made Amen
I’m 52 n 3 months ago I had Tonsillectomy. Went back to my Dr twice. He put the scope down my nose n he said it’s stil a Lil tight n some scar tissue. He said his got better about 4 months later but he was 29. I’m upset n I asked him am I’m gonna have to live like this. Swollen throat n sore, tightness, feels like I’m living with a bad sore throat EVEYDAY. Yes, I have Reflux n allergies. Does anyone know another kind of a Dr that can help me. I NEVER would have got my Tonsils out if I’d known I was gonna have to live like this. PLEASE Any Information I Would be Helpful.
Curious to know how you are doing! I am 45 and had my tonsils out January 4 2017. The pain was bad and I had the radiating ear pain. I’m over 2 months out and food tastes horrible and I am always sick to my stomach. Any thoughts?
How are you feeling now? I’m almost five months post tonsillectomy and still have same issues?
Debbie, how are you doing now? I have the same issues, and I think it’s because of the surgeon being too aggressive with the cautery tool and taking out too much of the flesh. Throat is tight, nasal regurgitation, nasally voice, tight throat, speech diffent –difficult to say words like cold, bowl, because there’s just not enough room in the back of my throat. The palate healed too tightly, and I’m pretty sure I saw stitches in the back of my throat. Does it get better? I’m afraid I’m one of those few people who will have to go back under to get my palate fixed if this doesn’t improve.
Did it get better Emi? My tonsils were removed 2.5 months ago and I have a constant dry throat and can’t taste food.
Dear Paddy,
I am Dardan and I am suffering the same issues after my tonsillectomy. I was wondering for how long did your problems last and did you find any home remedies that helped or any medication.
Best,
Dardan
I’m on day 9 and I see no light! My scabs are just starting to flake. I can still hardly swallow water! And my taste buds are swollen and my tongue is cracked
Stumbled across this article whilst looking at the recovery for adults after a tonsillectomy! I’m currently on day 3 of recovery, I had them out Wednesday afternoon and it’s Friday night, so night 3.. I researched A LOT! before my surgery; which if anything made me more scared. When I woke up from surgery, I felt a little pain but not much, but I read that the worst pain is from day 3-7 and my god they were right. Im only now going into day 4 and I have spent most of my day crying and sleeping. Sleeping is the only time I’m not in pain, and when I wake up from sleeping it all hurts from my throat being so dry. I have been keeping up with my pain meds and they help to some degree! The biggest problem I’m having is that not just my throats but the entire back of my mouth is sore and swollen and trying to eat is so hard because it all gets stuck at the back of my throat :( I’m trying to eat as normal as possible as they say it aids the healing process but I am in agony and eating makes me feel 10000x worse. I’m really hoping these next few days the pain will ease and won’t be so difficult! I’ve seen so many articles/blogs where people say they never fully gain back their taste buds, feeling etc in their mouth, is this true? So far I’m regretting my decision to have them out, and will continue to until the pain is gone :(
Hi..i had my tonsils removed when i was 18..i am 48 now but when i get a cold or flu it feels like i just had them removed..it is painful to swallow..is this normal
My tonsillectomy right now feels like i’ve got a really heavy flu. I think this is normal.
Im on day 12 and the yawning hurts so much. I get tingling in my tongue and cannot yawn properly but cant stop at the same time. During the first week post op i regretted ever havin it done but once it is healed i will be happy to have no more tonsil stones ever again
So glad I found this post! I get mine on July 10 and counting the days till no more tonsil stones and enlarged tonsils. I have to say reading all this makes me think twice, but I’m sure no one regrets getting them out if they’ve dealt with crappy tonsils most of their life!
I’m a little late reading this but I do very much appreciate the fact that I can now rest easy in finding that it is very much torture and it’s awful. I am at 5 days since surgery. I had a tonsillectomy and adendectomy. I actually hadn’t thought about corned beef hash, but I found smashed up ramen was absolutely amazing and so was frozen cheesecake, which I actually had 2 days after my surgery because ice pops were not cutting it. Anyway, thank you for sharing this because it’s nice knowing I’m not the only one experiencing this.
I got mine done June 7th and trust me, it sucks. I wish you the best of luck in your surgery and healing. Also, if you dont want boring old soup, crush up ramen, and throw in an ice cube or two, it’ll be one of the easiest things you eat as the heat temporarily soothes the pain. Also, ice cream is always amazing ;) good luck!!!
Whoops. I’m an idiot Lol didn’t mean to comment on mine.
I am recovering from my tonsillectomy at 33 years old. It was awful… and the worst part was when I got the hiccups on Day 10. The deep, painful, loud hiccups. It made me cry! It still hurts to yawn, but I’m okay overall now. I’m just starting to eat crunchy foods. The most frustrating thing for me has been re-learning how to swallow. It’s different now– it’s like that valve that prevents liquid from shooting straight down your throat and up your nose when you drink isn’t working for me. I have to take one sip at a time or I’ll drown myself just drinking water right now lol. I really hope that gets better, because it’s annoying!
i wish i had stronger pain medication in england all you get is advil and tylanol (and i had to go to the doctor for advil because they said it may make my mouth bleed) i am day 5 post tonsilectomy and i have been in nothing but pain since day one. i found thought that putting ice in a bag and then on your neck (or ice pack) works amazingly well for dulling the pain a litle.
ps how were you able to eat soup i tried and it set my mouth on fire even when it was not hot also were you on soild foods by day 5?
Did you voice go back to normal?
I’m a 28 year old female who just had my tonsils and adenoids removed today. My stepmom has been fighting for me to get this procedure since I was like 11. They said it wasn’t life threatening, despite me having strep and bronchitis constantly through out the year. I even started getting pharyngitis and laryngitis. The worse was when strep turned to pnemonia and cause a severe lung infection that caused me to be discharged from the air Force. I eventually developed sleep apnea, severe anxiety and weight gain that was near impossible to get rid of. It finally took a dentist who saw the back of my throat and noticed it was over 75% way closed. He and my therapist told me they have had patients with anxiety that was the result of a partial closed throat that had surgery and the NEXT day their anxiety was gone. Also the sleep apnea went away. I was so ecstatic to finally get this surgery, hoping I could go back to being normal instead of being stuck in the house due to my anxiety and that I could start singing again!
Lol, I totally had a panic attack when I awoke from the surgery, thinking I wasn’t breathing. The nurse was nice but kinda condensending when I was trying to explain I have an anxiety disorder and was having a panic attack.. she kept claiming I wasn’t having a panic attack. Which actually is one of my major struggles with doctors. It took me nearly 5 years before I even talked to a Dr about my anxiety cuz I thought they wouldn’t believe me. But other than that she was really sweet. But oh my Atlanta, this pain is unbearable!!!! I have really high pain tolerance and have had worse issues, but this not being able to swallow or eat is horrible. The pain meds they gave me before I left didn’t do anything and I had to wait 4 hours crying from the pain before I could take the Percocet. I tried eating some broth later in the day, but despite being hungry, the pain was too unbearable. Not to mention I suffer from over active mucous, which just became even worse. Any ideas on how to lessen the mucous? It’s causing me to choke a lot and cough…I was able to blow my nose right away gently, but now I can’t anymore. Though it needs it majorly. I start my new job Friday, which thankfully it’s just a few hours at a computer doing E-learning. But I’d like to have SOME food in my tummy before then, lol.
I am 28 and on day 12. I wish I had never done this. This has been nothing short of a nightmare. The ear pain was agony. The throat pain… I can’t deal. I am a specials education teacher and start school on Monday. I don’t know how I will ever do it. I didn’t have ice cream until day 11. Sometimes I felt warm broth or tea helped. Cold seemeded to make everything worse. I started sneezing a lot today and I was trying to see if anyone else did too? I can’t possibly be getting sick. I’m weak. I am having a hard time getting anything down. The protein shakes/milk are supposed to help but it’s not ideal. I don’t want anything. Finally had a Popsicle yesterday and that felt good. I don’t know if I have scanned yet? That sounds horrible. I ended up at patient first twice for dehydration already and needed IV fluids. I need some serious encouragement!!
Thanks for the update. I am 36 years old, and 5 days post tonsillectomy. I experimented with protein shakes that kept me pretty satiated and stopped taking the codene because It was making my soooo nauseous and gave me a ginormous headache. Ibprofin and academedifin are serving me just fine.
I am irritated by this dry pinching on my uvula– I guess a stitch? I gargle coconut oil to lube it. That’s my biggest complaint. I am mom to two young kids and I hate to say it but this surgery has been a much needed vacay. Arg!!!
Waaayyy too much about me.
Questions for you:
1. Why did you get that infection? What did the sr say?
2. Did your voice return to normal?
Best of luck to you and all of your readers!
Stacie
This was very nice to read, very nice to know that other people are going through this exact pain. I am currently on my 5th day after my tonsillectomy and by far yawning, hiccuping, burping, and sneezing are the worst things ever.
This is the most relatable post for recovery.
I had an adenotonsillectomy on 2.12.17 due to severe sleep apnoea.
I ctually laughed at your comment about cyber stalking your ENT. In my review i said “you are so lucky i didnt have your number on day 6, was by far the worst pain!” I cried on day 6, was in absolute tears whilst holding my icepack to my neck & people think its only a small procedure, better think again.
Yawning was like electric shocks along my jaw. Swallowing was awful & sneezing was next level pain. Stock up on endone/other pain meds….
DO NOT miss a dose. Its regretful to miss it!
However, My sleeps have been amazing, i cannot explain how ive put up with this for so long but did not realise it until my sleep study.
Glad you’re on the mend & Thankyou for sharing.
I’m 16 years old and got my tonsils out 1/02/18 ( great way to start the new year) the day of surgery was a dramatic one at that, the nurse did not put the iv in correctly ( so I landed up having a muscle spasms and cry that I didn’t want to have surgery anymore) what makes matters worse is that I have a chronic illness (fibromyalgia) so pain so more is more intensified than the usual human, but as I continued to cry the nurses rolled me off into another room where the last thing I remember is the anesthetics bright blue eyes telling me to have sweet dreams. Anyways I woke up and it didn’t hurt as much as the disconforfort to swallow, but as soon as I got home I’d take that statement back because I was on the floor throwing up an nearly passed out, so my dad carried me to his room where I would spend most of my time. Day 2 wasn’t that bad, I was eating popsicles and applesauce and everything was dandy, then day 3 hit and it was TERRIBLE! My throat hurt so bad that I couldn’t eat anything, yet I wa throwing up everytime I took a sip of water ( me being dramatic accepted death at this point) I managed to drink some water and eat one popsicle but my stomach was all kinds of messed up ( did I mention I have gastritis) yeah so not being able to take that medicine and the little food, not a good combination. Day 4 there was so vomiting, just a very sore throat and I have still yet to give this feeling in my stomach to go away, I can sit up for more than an hour without the feeling of throwing up, it’s terrible. I’m now on day 5 and everything burns to eat and I am so hungry. I’m currently laying on the sofa crying because I want to eat pizza but I can’t, but reading everyone’s posts has me excited for the days to pass so I can finally start to feel better. I am not excited for the sneezing though.
I’m 32 years old and on day 12 of recovery. When does this horrible taste in your mouth go away? I can’t taste food at all. I still do have some scabs in the back of my throat but it’s getting better every day. Here is my biggest question, when does the dry throat go away? I’m reaching through my nose, not my mouth and even drinking water often doesn’t help. I can barely sleep at night because my throat gets so dry and hurts. Any advice?!
I am wondering this rn :( I am 15 days post op with an itchy dry throat no matter how much water I drink :(
I had mine out when I was ten and where I don’t really remember much, I will say what I did.
This is when we found out I was allergic to codeine sonce they prescribed me Tylenol 3 (Tylenol with codeine) my throat swelled up and I sat by the bathroom door waiting for my brother to save me since he worked graves at the time and I couldn’t yell nor had the air capacity to walk anywhere else. Terrifying.
I remember the sorbet. I was very grateful for sorbet.
I don’t remember the pain, but like sneezing has changed for you puking has changed for me. I forced t all nasal and it hurts, so much. Morning sickness always had me bawling on the floor as I tried to swallow it down so I didn’t have to nose vomit. My gag reflux is iron clad, except when it’s not.
I swallowed a blueberry muffin at 14 days post-op that shaved all my scabs. I sat motionless in my seat with the same horrified expression on my face for twenty minutes as I gapped outside waiting for the pain to subside. My mother hovered not sure if she should placate me or be concerned.
What an experience it was for me as a child. I can’t imagine actually remembering the pain vividly like every adult. Wow. Just wow.
My husband had constant problems with sore throats and sinus infections for the last several years, but this past October developed into a horrible infection that would not heal. The ENT took out the tonsil and found a 5 cm tumor growing behind it. So he took out way more tissue than my husband had been expecting. The first week of recovery was hard and just when it started to get better, the swelling would come back and he’d be in total pain again. He had a feeding tube put in because the radiation and chemo was due to being in mid-December, and we were told this would make eating impossible, but they couldn’t start the therapy until the infection went away, It took another three weeks of my husband living on Hydrocodone and other assorted pain meds to get this far. He only had one tonsil removed.
The surgery was in late November and it is late January 2018 as I write this. First week of chemo and rads is done, 5 more to go. This week the scab that was on the roof of his mouth since the surgery finally came off. While it freaked him out, I looked at it with the flashlight and there was clean, healthy skin there for the first time in months. The Chemo and rads are working! Still 5 more weeks of pain for him ad he has to go to a doctor to teach him how to swallow food once more. He is a singer/musician and this whole experience has been devastating to him. We’re just praying that his voice comes back one day.
Moral to the story, kids, don’t smoke. If you smoke, stop it. The pain is not worth it.
I have tears in my eyes reading your post. Your poor husband – I can’t even imagine. Is he okay now? Is he back to singing?
I just had my adult tonsilectomy a week before I turned 27. I didnt take pictures but my husband looked at my scabs a lot. Lol. I am on day 12 though and my scabs are still fully in tact. :-( i feel like I’m constantly choking bc of a mucus or something running down my throat. That’s what I want to be gone the most. I never lost all taste though. Things need a bit more flavor but i can still taste. My husband started feeding me real food by day 5. He probably shouldn’t have but I was starving a tired of raspberry sherbet. Your words really did match a lot of what im dealing with. I didn’t take so many pain pills though. I only took them every 6-8 hours and stopped 3 days ago.
I can relate to you about the mucus it’s horrible! Next day after surgery I had thick mucus stuck in my throat and I couldn’t swallow or cough it up so I was panicking which makes it worse but after 40 mins I finally managed to get rid of it but that was the reason I had to get my tonsils took out because I was just choking all the time and having block noses every time I woke up
Hi, I’m on the 3rd week of recovery period, post bilateral complete tonsillectomy due to recurrent stone formation. pain is almost gone, I feel tightness at the back of the throat while yawning, and can’t speak with my previous normal voice for long, it feels dry and tightening on both sides, the only and the most worrisome part is “my taste”.. I just can’t taste the food like I used to, little bit of sweetness and salt at the tip of the tongue.. rest everything is bland.. i need to know if anybody had similar issues, and whether the taste came back 100% or no.
The taste hasn’t come back.
Exact one month post op today.
Current status: dryness of throat, tightening of the palate, un quenchable thirst.
Somebody give a feedback on the “TASTE”
Hi, just want to know, when your taste returned
Hello Kinchuk. I want to know if your taste is back.
I got my tonsils removed 2.5 months ago, my throat is constantly dry and can barely taste food.
Rachel did you get your voice back properly? I had mine our just over 8 weeks ago and my voice still struggles . Sometimes it;s OK, sometimes its not. When it;s not to me it sounds like it should be one of the sexy husky voices but it doesn’t come out like that, It either totally disappears mid way through the sentence or goes up my noise. Its much better than it was but now js annoying. The back of my tongue is still an issue for acidic foods and I have developed a cough in the last few days. I am presuming the cough relates to the damage the tube did to my throat. and there are still scabs on that which i can’t see. Thanks for your account. It helps.
Your tonsils CAN grow back. I am 47 years old and have had all of them removed 4 times by different doctors. All the tonsils grow back…even the lingual ones. I have heard that it is very rare and they joke that I am like a starfish but it keeps happening. I am going in to have them removed again soon for the FIFTH time.
You are probably then a candidate for a holistic remedy. I was able to stave off the tonsil issues for my little guy by spraying silver on his tonsils, until he got an actual cold. A lot of his problem was that it was exacerbated by food sensitivities, so you might want to have that checked out. Our immune systems are so out of whack because of the crazy things we are exposed to in food, water, and environment. Good luck, Starfish!
46yr old female post tonsillectomy. Was due to life threatening peritonsillar abscess aka quinsy as well as constant tonsil stones. Day 13 post op today. Helpful hints:
– Stock up on ice cold water bottles and cold icepacks for your neck to get you through week 1.
– Frequent small sips of ice cold water and icepops to keep throat moist. Get used to frequent trips to the toilet because of increased fluid intake. Aim for 4-6 litres per day the first 5-10 days. Seriously!
– Avoid tilting your head up/down too much when eating or drinking first week
– Get your nausea under control quickly with meds. Ask doc for antinausea meds before discharge so you have it on hand in case. Trust me!
– Warm fresh shower each night to keep throat and nostrils moist
– Sleep either on a recliner or elevated head position and be conscious not to sleep with mouth open or you will awake in so much pain from a dry throat which is bad for healing.
– Avoid gargling. Better to drink fluids and cooled soups. Gargling can cause scabs to fall off too soon which can increase your chance of a bleed. Leave the scabs alone!!!
– Get used to Godzilla breath during 1st week post op. It doesnt last. Drinking frequent ice water helps.
– If you suffer from hayfever, make sure you take your allergy meds to avoid sneezing.
– Take pain meds religiously the first week. Drinking ice cold water numbs your throat and makes it easier to swallow meds BUT NEVER take pain meds only when you start to feel pain again. They work the best when taken exactly at the right time the same time each day.
– Except for the icepops, sugary food and drinks are a no no. Bacteria thrive on sugar. The last thing you need is an infected throat while scabs are healing. Suck on ice cold water after an icepop.
– Spicy, citrus and very salty foods or soups can sting like crazy!
– Listen to your body. Rest frequently. Pain meds can make us off balance and drowsy. Your body has just been traumatised and the cells regenerate the most during rest and adequate fluids.
– Most of the pain is normally felt between day 5 to 10 so don’t worry if you start to feel worse around this time unless there is bleeding, increased redness or swelling or fever. Keep up with fluids at all times.
– Post op recovery can vary deoending on technique but best advice is keep drinking ice cold water. This helps reduce the swelling significantly. Light liquids to soft bland food and gradually moving to soft solids got me through.
– Do light and quiet things you enjoy and avoid stress at all cost
– Avoid public places while healing. Last thing you want is to catch a nasty cold.
– Lastly, look forward to brighter days ahead and if you are happy to have lost some weight during the process, now might be a good time to plan ongoing weight management and change to healthier lifestyle before you get yoyr taste buds back. All the best and hope this info helps. Cheers!
I am on day 4 of recovery from a cold steel tonsillectomy. Here is my tip:
EAT POTATO SALAD.
It’s the nicest thing ever, sugary things are nice, but fruit is not. Be careful some things burn. Chocolate is mostly okay, but chocolate containing coconut isn’t okay. Toast hurts less than tomatos, don’t attempt to eat tomato soup – this is something you’re going to regret.
The pain wasn’t bad at first, but this morning, the pain was overwelming, my throat was cramped up, the pain was in all my teeth, my ears etc. I had to have a glass of rum to blur the pain enough in my throat so I could swallow painkillers, once you’ve had 2 opiates, you’ll be able to function.
Plain food is the answer here. Avoid fruit, it’s not worth it. Eat cooked ham or fish or salami on its own for meat.
This has been a great forum to read. I am 56 and had my tonsils out yesterday because I constantly get tonsil stones. Day of surgery was not bad but I feel pretty bad today. I just had a bout of nausea and was terrified of vomiting. My doc gave me Zofran pills that dissolve on the tongue and that stopped it. I came to this forum trying to find something else to prevent nausea as the pills were $14 for only four pills. My husband had Phenegran but I don’t want to try to swallow them. I’d read somewhere that you can use pills vaginally if you can’t swallowed them but wasn’t sure if that was true. Someone on here mentioned Sea Band so I think I’ll look for that. My doc did tell me that the pain would get worse from days 6-8 so I’m prepared for that. It’s really helped reading other people’s experiences. I am sipping lots of Gatorade but the thought of anything else right now does not sound good. Looking forward to wanting to eat something of substance. Thanks to all for sharing your stories.
Drink lots of ice water and have popsicles. Have your husband call different pharmacies like Walmart to see what their cost is. Otherwise get Canada dry ginger ale and try to sip that. I found it best to let it get closer to room temp (less bubbles) but it really helped. I don’t have health insurance so I am on a poor girls budget.
Your voice will also change and you will feel like your speaking as if you were deaf, that will pass in a couple weeks.
Best of luck for a speedy recovery <3
Unfortunately I’m reading your post too late to help you, but maybe other readers would like to know that phenergan is available in liquid form. And to answer your question about being unable to swallow pain meds, there are rectal suppositories available. My brother-in-law said they work better but I think I’d prefer to swallow a liquid medication lol.
I had my tonsils removed on 3.15.18 and turned 50 on 4.12.18. Day one wasn’t so bad. Lots of crushed ice water and popsicle’s. I continued this for the first 3 days and added ice cream to the mix. Since day one I forced myself to swallow. By day 5 I was able to eat yogurt, eggs and mashed potatoes. The biggest pain came with the scabs on the back of your throat and the ear drum pain which they call referred pain. On day 14 I started choking and was in a panic. I finally coughed up what was choking me. It was the last scab. It was disgusting to say the least. Once the scabs go away you should start feeling better. I didn’t because my throat was inflamed and I was put on an antibiotic along with Dukes Magic Mouthwash. It is now 4.28.18 and I can tell you this still sucks for me.
The issue I am having is the sore scratchy throat, hard to swallow, dry mouth and mucus that gets caught in my throat. The mornings and nights are the worst. During the day after coffee I am good and at night I am still having ice cream. From what I read the issue with swallowing is scar tissue. The issue with the mucus is unknown yet until I see my ENT. He did tell me to use nasal spray. I also have a deviated septum which probably isn’t helping the situation. So for me it is a little different.
At the end of the day, all of you will heal eventually and get back to living normally. The greatest benefit I got from having the Mountain Monsters in my throat removed is that I can finally smell. Best of luck to you all and if you need to get them done per your doctor – DO IT. The longer you wait the harder your recovery. I envy the children who get it done. Within a week they are back to normal. God Bless you all – Heather
Hi,
I am about 7 weeks out and still having pain. Just like you said, the mornings and nights are worse. After coffee I am “ok” and still have ice cream at night because the cold soothes it so much. At what point did you feel no pain??
Also, why did your ENT put you on antibiotics? I am taking Dukes Mouthwash, but have not been prescribed antibiotics yet.
Wish I had read this 3 weeks ago before my tonsillectomy. I also had my uvula and part of my soft palate removed for extra fun. Your description of the recovery process is spot on. I am still recovering, but I too, am an adult tonsillectomy survivor!
Thanks for this. I’m on day one, and so far my only complaint is that swallowing is agony. I can already feel myself getting cocky about my recovery, so I will do my best to temper expectations and expect setbacks.
Ok, I’m 48 & due to have tonsillectomy end June and I was scared before but even more scared now. I’m nauseous just reading about your experience (I have such a weak stomach!). I’m hoping this page will have prepared me.. I always throw up after anaesthetic and really not looking forward to that happening again! I’m now worrying about brushing teeth, any advice welcome. I’m in the UK and not sure they give opiates for pain.
What I am looking forward to is the weight loss and no longer having tonsillitis.
Any further advice, encouragement welcome.
Thanks.
Hi I don’t know if you will see this, but I would really appreciate a reply. You said “So every time a sneeze catches me off guard (at least twice a day), I end up covered in snot and horrified at my own existence.”
I got my surgery done when I was 15. I am 19 now. Ever since then, II sneeze ALL THE TIME.(More than 10 times a day) My family calls me Sneezy from Snow White. Even worse than just sneezing, when I sneeze, mucous comes shooting out and I get covered in it, and people are disgusted.
After your surgery did your snotty sneezes eventually stop? or are you still struggling with that?
I am kinda concerned, because it has been affecting my daily living for a long time.
Im a 25 yrs old male. I have had my tonsils removed on the 2nd of july 2018.
Day1. Everything is normal throat is itchy a bit but i could eat and drink. Took pain medications regularly and everything was fine
Day2. I wake up next day after surgery. Uvulva is getting back to normal siE and seems like i am recoverig well. When suddenly swallowing my own saliva is extremely oainful and uvulva is mega swollen again
Day3. Ive been here on this page reading since last night as i cannot sleep. My problem is mot the pain. I can handle that. The problem is that whenever i try to swallow even the tiniest sip of water it comes out of my nose. This is the worst part. I think the worst part is that i tried to pamper my throat and ate only jello and pusding to not hurt it. I think trying to go back to normal diet right after surgery would have been better and would have helped the throat toughen up and get tidnof the burns in the back. If anyine managed toadjust his seallowing techniques so that water doesnt end up his nose please tell me how u did it
hi, i’m 15 and i had a tonsillectomy on the 29th of June, so I’m currently on day 8. Going into this i was convinced that the experience wouldn’t be so bad but it is A LIVING HELL! at least with tonsillitis i felt sick and didn’t want to eat. it’s like my body is teasing me with hunger pain, except it knows i physically cannot eat! it’s cureently 2:00am and i can’t sleep due to the discomfort, and you know what that means… yawning every 30 seconds!! that’s how i came across this article, i wanted to see if anyone else has felt my pain. i don’t know if it’s just me, but i’ve been feeling really unlike my happy, bubbly self and would describe my new self as a pessimist, it’s not fun. reading this article, i couldn’t believe the similarities to myself! it’s weird because my pain has always been on one side and i have no idea why! i’m not game enough to check my weight because i’m generally a pretty slim person and i feel overly unhealthy. hopefully one day i’ll be able to say this experience was worth it, but that day is definitiely not today, nor the close future! sleepless nights, angry hunger, being bed ridden and in unimaginable pain isn’t my ideal way of spending my school holidays.
Oh sorry to hear about that. Infection after 28 days of surgery is not normal. you should have consult with your doctor about this.
How long did it take for the holes to close up? And how did you flush the food out? I’m on day 11 and just noticed these massive holes!
I’m week out out now and for some reason I’m
Coughing and feel like something is scratched in my throat I have no clue
Hi Everyone, had mine removed 20/08/2018. Day 7 was the most painful for me. Pain was not so bad for the greater part. I threw up for the first 3 days which was the worst part of my recovery. I took 2 weeks off and got a lot of rest. 21 Days later, I’m mostly recovered only a hint when I swallow it’s like a reminder. My experience was not bad. I have one strange observation, I cannot thouch my wisdom teeth with my tongue. I have to really concentrate to touch it.
Previously I could touch my nose with my tongue and now I can only touch my upper lip.
Im 37ytrs old and had my tonsilectomy on August 29th. I am currently still off work , due back om Wednesday after already habing 3 weeks off bit I am still not fully recovered. Still have painful earache and swallowing is still uncomfortable amd food j7st doesnt taste right, plus I just feel tired all of the time. Anyone else had anything similar? Would really appreciate some advice x
Hello, not sure if you’ll get this,but it’s worth a shot. I am 36 and had my tonsils out on Feb 28th. I still have ear and head pain. I am also really tired still. Just wondering how long it took you to recover?
I’m 34 and just had my tonsils and adenoids removed last Thursday so I am on day 7 post op! My right tonsil has been swollen for almost 4 years and I get tonsillitis several times a year. The evening of surgery and the day after went really well! Day 3 was rough pain wise and so was day 5 and 6. I had facial pain day 5 as well as pain with swallowing on day 5 and 6. The ear pain is no joke and made me feel awful. I’ve kept on top of my pain meds every4-5 hours and I’ve been taking ibuprofen every 6 hours between. My ENT said my tonsils were huge and so were my aden, which is rare. He said the adenoids usually shrink when you are an adult so he said I really needed to have this surgery done. My uvula is still a little swollen and I have huge scabs in the back of my throat. Hoping the worst of my pain is over! I’ve been so hungry and haven’t eaten much his week! Mornings are rough for me and I seem to feel better in the evenings. Day 4 I was able to eat a little bit of chicken and green beans and day 6 I ate some vegetable soup! Can’t wait to eat normally again because my stomach has been growling like crazy!
How are you doing now? Would love to hear an update. I’m 35 years old on day 19 post op. I related to your post. Hope to hear from you.
This was really helpful information, I’m a 60 year old female, I had mine out Sept 21. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected, but then I had really terrible expectations. I went to an ENT who uses the “tissue welding” technique. She said the tonsils were filled with pus and debris, and were swollen and inflamed.
Having a helpful caretaker was key. He got up at all hours of the night to help me. Water, meds, food, refill humidifier, let the dog out, trips to the store. It was more work than he expected.
I only took the Oxycodone at night, but I’m not sure I even needed it. The pain was never unbearable, more like bad strep throat, and it was well controlled by alternating ibuprofen and Tylenol. I stopped the oxy after post op day 7.
Day 10 I was still a little sore, but I felt okay going back to my desk job on day 11.
Best foods – mashed potatoes, mashed lentil stew. ENT said to try to focus on protein, because you body needs protein to build new tissue. I had a couple.
My voice was gone from day of surgery until post op day 7. Even whispering hurt. Create a communication system with your caretaker prior to the surgery. I used google translate and translated from English to English, so that my words would just be read.
The constipation from the oxy was so bad (10 days without pooping!) I had to get a dulcolax suppository because I was in pain. I had been taking 200 mg of colace per day, but apparently I should have taken 400 per day.
I would definitely choose this surgery over being sick all the time and wish I hadn’t put it off for so many years, solely because of the stories I have read. The recovery time went by quickly and now the suffering is done!!
Thanks for all your helpful tips. It was so much easier to get through it!
Hi my name is Rebekah and I am on day 6 (almost 7) of tonsillectomy recovery. I am having the same problems you explained with the food getting in the big holes where the tonsils used to be. And I know it’s been a couple years since you posted this article, but if you can answer a question for me I’d be very grateful. How exactly did you flush out these food particles out of the holes? Because I’ve tried swishing water in there and that doesn’t work. Please help me. Thank you
Hi,
I came across your blog in my random googling. I’m on day 7 post tonsillectomy. I think my scans are starting to fall off because I’m catching my myself gagging randomly because something is in my throat and I can’t reach it. I also have really thick and slimy saliva…to the point where I have to wipe it off when I spit because it’s like a spider web or something. I would love to see your scab fall off pictures to see if I’m crazy or if the process has started for me.
I never had scabs that feel off. But I am almost a month out of surgery and there is a funny coating where my tonsils were. I don’t know if this is new skin or what. My voice has changed and I am still hoarse. Does anyone else have this funny layer in their throat this far out of surgery?
I’m 23 and had a Tonsillectomy / Adenoidectomy / Turbinate Reduction on Oct, 30th (I am writing this on midnight going into the 7th day if you include the day of surgery. I got this surgery because of constant tonsil stones, tonsillitis, and general sinus/throat discomfort and poor sleeping (I snore and have sleep apnea occasionally). My tonsillectomy was done via cauterization. I was released from the outpatient facility by about 10am on day of surgery, and my girlfriend drove me home. She proceeded to go to 5 pharmacies (yes FIVE) to try to get the liquid Vicodin (hydro) + acetaminophen prescription – for some reason, the first 4 didn’t this in stock despite my doc signing that generic alternatives were OK. So this was the most frustrating part as I was in a ton of pain, didn’t have meds, and was trying to communicate with the doc’s office that was having a hard time finding meds – very frustrating the morning of surgery when your throat hurts like hell! Long story short, I got ahold of the prescription but that pain med wasn’t cutting it so by the next day I had a prescription for oxy. Rewind to the first night: couldn’t sleep unless I was sitting exactly upright, and would wake up from pain if I dozed off for a few minutes.
The mucus production has been unbearable since night 1, but my uvula swelling went down around day 3/4 so I have been able to breathe much better regardless of the mucus/sticky saliva. I have jumped in the shower frequently to just inhale steam because this seems to help (I also have a humidifier running in my room 24/7). I have stayed away from dairy/sugar as I have been afraid this would make the mucus problem much worse. The only sugar I have is in smoothies — I live off this, soups (I get the chunky ones with more calories and blend them), mashed potatoes, and a TON of ice from Sonic. $2 for 10 lbs of ice is probably the best thing I’ve been purchasing, as I can suck/chew on this for the 2 hours that I am in pain when my meds wear off and it helps me stay hydrated. My doc told me to not have any NSAIDs, so only Tylenol/Oxy for me, and I can’t exceed about 3,500 mg acetaminophen daily for my weight so the best I can do to manage the throat pain is cold water/ice.
My ear pain has been the absolute worst the past few days, and hot water bottles have really helped me with this. My sinuses/nose has also been bad post surgery, so a saline nasal rinse has really helped me (although I think it is really irritating/causing pressure in my ears now that they are so sensitive).
My taste is gone (tastes like bitter nastiness and that’s about it), my throat and ears are killing me, and I so badly just want to be healed up…I’m hanging in there. If you have this surgery and read this, just know it will be very rough but you can get through it. AND – it might not be as rough for you as it was for me or others. Some people respond differently to the meds, some people’s bodies respond faster, others are able to get more food/sleep and therefore can heal faster – with so many different factors, don’t stress, just power through it!
I am on day 2 of my tonsillectomy recovery and I am so grateful I found your blog post. Some of the things you talk about have already crossed my mind. The exra saliva makes me want to cough and I am so fearful of coughing, can’t imagine sneezing. Again, thank you for writing this and for giving us hope through recovery!
I’m on day 10 of my recovery. My recovery was brutal. I couldn’t eat surbert nor could I eat had cream. In fact I could only eat jello and applesauce and that was on a good day. I was prescribed liquid hydrocodone and even after taking that I could barely open my mouth . It hurt so bad to talk and eat and sometimes drink. So everyone’s experience is different. Mine like I said was the worst pain ever and I even told my husband it was worse than giving birth. So to each their own! Day 10 and I can some what eat. The right side of my throat is the worst. If any thing gets by it it stings into my ear and it is the worst pain. I literally sit here crying sipping my water until the said dies away.
I agree with you the most I’m 22 ending day 7. Everyone keeps telling me to eat I’ve chips or ice cream or popsicles. But none if that has worked. My mouth tastes awful. I get shooting pain in my back molars up into my ears. It’s awful. I was so excited to get my tonsils out but was completely unprepared for all the pain. And your right about the drinking I’ve just been baby sipping about 4times a day. Luckily no signs of dehydration yet. I miss food so bad. I dream about bitting into a fresh juicy peach or watermelon. Makes my mouth water
I’m on day 10 of my recovery. My recovery was brutal. I couldn’t eat surbert nor could I eat ice cream. In fact I could only eat jello and applesauce and that was on a good day. I was prescribed liquid hydrocodone and even after taking that I could barely open my mouth. It also burned going down.It hurt so bad to talk and eat and sometimes drink. So everyone’s experience is different. Mine like I said was the worst pain ever and I even told my husband it was worse than giving birth. So to each their own! Day 10 and I can some what eat. The right side of my throat is the worst. If any thing gets by it it stings into my ear and it is the worst pain. I literally sit here crying sipping my water until the pain dies away.
This has been the best read I have found! Real people, not Dr. blah! I am 34 and on day 7.5 of recovery. This has been the most difficult process to ever endure. I’m hypoglycemic, so I’ve been fighting my sugar levels with not being able to eat! The pain today has been unbearable. I believe my scabs are starting to fall off, as white is starting to disappear. I have also had my glands under my tongue swelling so badly that I think the ducts are getting blocked. When they release there is this horrific salty taste in my mouth. Ear pain has been non-sto as if someone is twisting knives in them. Hot showers is about the only time I ever have relief. I’m praying that I soon see the upswing! Can’t wait to be able to eat! For all I have had is water, chicken broth and more water!
Best of luck to anyone brave enough to endure this!
I am now 71 and had a radical tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy on July 24, 2018. I have tonsil cancer and so some of my soft palate and cheek had to come out too. The doctor stitched the cancer area but the stitches tore a few days after the surgery. The tongue swelling was so bad I could not articulate words for several days. My speech is still nasal. The worst outcome for me is that my cheek and one side of my tongue healed attached to each other and now I have a string of tissue growing from my cheek to my tongue. My surgeon does not really address this but it does interfere with several functions and I worry will it continue and can it be fixed. No real answers yet.
My experiences will not necessarily be the same as yours, but while the first couple weeks were hard for eating and drinking, I alternated ibuprofen and Tylenol only for pain, being careful to note times and dosages. I also iced inside and outside and that helped a lot. The pain was never intolerable. I used a coolmist humidifier to help keep from drying out too much.
For a long time I could take no more than 1/4 tsp. of liquid at a time. My meds were liquid. It would go up my nose. As my uvula moved my ability to swallow changed. Gradually I was able to graduate to a half tsp. I used a snow cone maker to grind ice and frozen Gatorade and got slushee type drinks from the store. I tried to track liquid intake because it is critical to stay hydrated. My recovery took longer because of the torn stitches. I was on soft foods for several weeks.
And I just completed radiation two weeks ago and that messed with my mouth healing again. I read recovery from a tonsillectomy can take up to a year. My uvula and soft palate rest on my tongue and there is only a tiny opening where the cancer was, but sadly my tongue humps up there because of tohe adhesion/tethering. I can’t see the back of my throat at all.
One interesting thing is that I have had trouble clearing my nose at the back of my throat. I wonder if it has to with getting the adenoids out.
There are many wonderful suggestions in this thread from over several years. I am not sure what else I can add. But I want to encourage people that this surgery and recovery are generally tolerable, even for a senior citizen.
Hi there everyone, this thread is really helpful. I’m on day 19 post op for bilateral tonsillectomy. I’m in the UK and had tonsillitis every month for 2 years and couldn’t wait to get them out. However nothing prepared me for the pain, days 4-7 were excruciating. I nearly passed out from the pain and my husband was in frequent contact with the hospital and I was prescribed oramorph. The tongue pain and ear pain was agony. Felt like a hot poker was being shoved in one ear and coming out the other, I was out of it for a week and half, and my poor husband really had to nurse me and said it was so difficult for him to see me in so much pain and unable to help apart from feeding me morphine. I’ve had my appendix out and that was a luxury spa break compared to this. Finally around day 11 the fog began to clear but still so sore and wiped out . I had to take another week off work so total 3 weeks off. I’ve just started getting out of the house but it so knackering but getting there. Can I ask about taste? My taste buds are horrific everything is bitter, I’m worried I’ll never enjoy food again, I can’t even eat chocolate, it tastes foul. I don’t have thrush or anything but worries taste nerves was really damaged by the op. Also yawning is painful still. I know for many who have posted they have hopefully healed and moved on but would love to hear some updates to give me hope!! My advice, drink loads of fluid, don’t push it with food, chew slowly, avoid dairy – makes
more mucus and makes you queasy. Drink only like warm drinks for first 2 weeks at least. Hot drinks increase risk of bleeding. Go back to your doctors if pain is too much and get stronger painkillers, don’t just beat it. I was on paracetamol, ibuprofen, dihydrocodeine and when it was really bad promotion. Set alarms to take your meds through the night otherwise you will wake up in pain. It will get better but I’m only on day 19 and hope this will all be worth it! Xxx
Hi, just want to know, when your taste returned
I am week 8 post tonsillectomy, no pain anymore, just a feeling that throat is swollen, like ball of mucus is stuck, only one side, and then my taste still weird… Any feedback
Hey I’m 6 weeks post op and the pain is gone. I can yawn without hurting now. Only thing is my mouth gets very dry, my throat at night when I wake in morning worried I have sore throat but it just dries out so lots of hydration needed still and carry a water bottle around with me. The main issue is my taste is still not back – this Christmas has been pretty depressing when it comes to food. Either food tastes bitter and horrible- tomato based food, chocolate, sweets and cake taste vile. Fresh bread even tastes horrible I have to toast it. Steak horrendous and curry horrendous. I’m having to eat quite plain food, if food doesn’t taste vile it just tastes of nothing. I am just tolerating food and eating to just fuel my body. I’m finding it really hard to cope with this loss of taste. I get absolutely no pleasure from my food and I can’t go out and eat at restaurants as I don’t know if what I get will taste ok or not. Before this I could eat anything, I wasn’t fussy and I love flavour and am a foodie. I’m going to speak to GP and ENT again because it’s really affecting me. I’m worried they are not going to understand how big an impact it is having on my life. Does anyone have any advice or good news or experience on this? I would be eternally grateful because it is really upsetting. Thanks
I’m a month post op and I’m experiencing this too. My doctor recommended zinc supplements but it’s not helping. I’m not enjoying any food sweet, salty, savory. I have a constant metallic taste. It’s depressing
MY SAVOURY TASTE IS BACK 7 weeks after Tonsillectomy ! It took 7-8 weeks but my savoury taste is back and savoury food tastes great again.
Some things still a little off but nothing substantial. However sweet stuff – I mean Chocolate, sweets, cakes, milkshake do not taste right and are sickly or bitter still. Fruits are fine. It seems to be artificial sweet things are an issue. I cant taste the sweetness properly or it tastes bitter. It was the bitter taste with all everything after tonsillectomy that was the worst but seems to be subsiding.
I am SO happy my taste is back and hope my sweet taste gets on board soon. I was very worried and Christmas dinner tasted awful. So I’m eating like it’s christmas now. :) I hope this helps some people cos I was scanning the internet for ages for any experiences of this. If it had gone on much longer I would have spoken to the ENT again. I may still go back if sweet stuff doesn’t return cos I miss chocolate and ice cream!
On a separate note I have my first sore throat after tonsillectomy. Things it’s just a cold but I do not have the same fear I had that it will turn into horrific tonsillitis so I think despite all the pain of the op and taste issues I think it is worth it. I hope! I hope others reading this are ok cos I really understand the frustration. And hope your taste comes back ASAP! I wasn’t warned at all ans it is not spoken about much. Let me know how you get on.
Forgot to say – dark chocolate seems to be ok. I got through Xmas only eating after eights and orange matchmakers. Might be worth a try. Milk choc is a no.
Thanks for sharing!
It’s been 11 weeks post tonsil removal and anything sweet tastes like saw dust in my mouth.
Xmas was also quite depressing for me because I am a foodie and couldn’t enjoy food.
I taste hints of garlic,ginger and chilies. Doctor gave me a selenium supplement about 6 weeks ago but it doesn’t seem to have helped.
Can you now fully enjoy all sorts of chocolate? Including milk?
I’m having this same issue! On my right side of my throat it feels like something is stuck back there
This has been so helpful to read. I’m 24 and I’m on day 7!!92, this has been an awful experience. I noticed you mentioned excess saliva…im having TERRIBLE saliva and congestion. That’s normal?? It’s so bad my esophagus hurts lol probably from all the clearing of my throat
I’m 35 and am 18 days post tonsillectomy. Day 8 I had a bleed that stopped when I got to the ER and then started after I got home and never stopped so I spit clots for hours and then had to go back to the OR to have it cauterized. Then had a bleed every two days after that for almost a week but they always stopped at the ER. Today I finally feel like I turned the corner and will be ok. This will be day three with no bleed. Pain the first 4 days wasn’t bad- had pancakes and soup and some fires. Day 4-7 sucked but pain was never over a 7 – was on pain pills every 4 hrs for 13 days because of the second surgery but I quit all pain meds cold turkey and have been slightly sore but nothing over a 2 or 3. Everything tasted weird for the first week but slowly got better and now it’s just about the same as before. I’m still cautious and eating soup and cream of wheat and Ensure shakes. ENT told me I was one of the 3% with a hemorrhage and in 3% of those people with a second hemorrhage. Not sure if I would have ever done this if I knew I would have so many bleeds and complications. I did sneeze for the first time today and it sounded crazy but I didn’t die, which led me to this blog. Hang in there. Most of these complaints will slowly fade and you will be fine. Waking up choking on blood I would say is the only thing that is truly terrifying.
The extra pain on days 7-8 were definitely from you taking the scabs off yourself. Everywhere online and the post op care papers say to let let them fall off on their own. DYs 7-8 were the first two bareable days for me. I moved to regular Tylenol.
Am 33 on day 3 of tonsil removal. Am having issues with hiccups and heartburn. Can anyone else relate and if so what did you do to get rid of????
I had my first surgery on January 9,2019 and had to be rushed back on the 14th because my throat scabs came off and even though they say 5-10days after surgery is safe well let’s just say that was the scariest event I’ve ever had in my life and thank good my son was on the bus off to school before it started. It was a fountain of nonstop blood and my mind and body fighting with the urge to puke from the blood and making sure I stayed over the sink and continued to gag it up so I didn’t choke to death(yes that’s what your brain thinks) after 10 minutes of the fountain I started to spit clots when the EMT arrived they realized the amount of clots that were coming out had actually built up over the last few days! Needless to say I was rushed back into surgery and started back at square one. I have a great ENT but he forgot to tell me about that tiny percentage of people this can happen to. But this post made me giggle and oh yes this is all very true!! And she’s right PAIN MEDS ARE LIFE! At least the first 2 weeks then IBUPROFEN seems to work well
Thank you sharing this information and if you can share your photos, would be really helpful.
I was just awakened by a horrible coughing fit Pot Op Day 4!!!!! After I cried like a baby and literally drank chloraseptic, I came across this article. It was so refreshing to know that my suffering was common after this brutal surgery! Thanks so much for the comic relief.
I’m currently on day 13, I’ve finished all my oxycodone and only have a couple days worth of tramadol left. This is the best ive felt, but the yawning and sneezing are a killer… i saw a little blood today but assume it’s only from the scabs falling off. I didn’t do any salt water gargling as im terrible at doing that. Day one i was like, ” yeah this tonsillectomy stuff is cake walk”. How wrong i was, days 2-8 were a nightmare with trying to eat. I was pretty religous with my pain meds too, taking them every 4 hours, i had to ask for another script for the oxycodone because im such a fiend. I could gobble that hillbilly heroin all day if i let myself. ($hits addictive y’all)
This was super helpful. I’m 22 ending my 7th day including surgery. I’ve been wearing a diy Ice collar and that’s really been helping. I got my tonsils and adenoids out so whenever I drank it felt like the drink was rushing into my nose then would get stuck. So painful. My mouth smells and taste disgusting. Whenever I would try to eat or drink it would taste just burnt and gross. So I haven’t ate in a week. I can’t do it. My current problem is that I’ve been spitting a TON of mucus or worse I can feel it when I swallow. The whole “swallowing the scabs” part is to much for me and just makes my stomach turn.
I love how you broke it down and really gave a play by play. I know my family and friends are tired of hearing me day how thirsty and hungry I am. But I am SO THIRSTY and HUNGRY. After what day would you say you felt way better 10?14? I don’t take my pain pills as much I try to limit it to 1 maybe 2 a day if needed. On day 6 I ended up taking 4 by the time the night was over. Today was only 2. Thanks for putting your story out for everyone. I definitely don’t feel as alone.
Thank you all for honest stories. The initial post made me laugh with tears – isn’t it amazing to realise other humans have had the same fairly rare (as an adult) experience as you? So many descriptions had me cry laughing! I’m on day 13 of recovery. I found the post googling ‘hurts to yawn after tonsillectomy’ – which it will for a while longer I guess. Mine has been an amazingly easy recovery – which I totally appreciate is not the norm on this blog, but believe me it can be non-awful. I also kept well hydrated and well medicated for the first 10 days, and took myself off for short local walks to stop going crazy with the quarantine. My two times of near agony were entirely self inflicted – a word of advice, do not forget to avoid spicy food. Why oh why did I decide on day 6 to eat a home made chilli?! That was the only time I cried with pain (and binned said chilli – which was frustratingly delicious – insult to self inflicted injury!) The other time was home made soup. From my freezer. Also liberally chilli-fied. My love of chilli has been temporarily replaced with mashed potato and custard. No, not usually together. Hang on in there if you are recovering or awaiting the op. Be very kind to yourself as you recover and don’t fear – this too really will pass.
Ok I realize that I am a few years late on commenting on this but I am hoping anyone can tell me anything. I AM 38 years old I had my tonsils and adenoids out about 6 weeks ago and my throat is fine either then swelling… I keep feeling it swell up but then all of a sudden it will go down but within a few hours swells back up again… You can tell when I talk that it swells… I still havent really eaten anything but soup, mac and cheese, and drinking slim fast… I tried chicken in cream of chicken soup and got a little down. My taste is still off but my concern is the swelling I want to know if anyone has experienced t ghb is and how long it took for it to stop. The dr said my tonsils were so big and bad he had to really dig in there so just to give it time. I had been sick since Christmas and finally got them out March 20th… If someone can please tell me their experience with the swelling… I just feel like I am crazy and that this shouldn’t be happening. Like I said the dr keeps saying give it time… But i want to know a round about how much time weeks months years… I dont want to feel so alone in this. Thank you in advance…
Hi I am 38 years old and I had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy on March 20th. I JUST TRIED TO POST THIS AND IT DIDNT WORK NOT SURE WHY. I am still having swelling on and off but mostly on… the only things I eat are mac and cheese and soup and I drink slim fast… If I eat talk or drink ice caps I feel that my throat swells… Has anyone else had this issue? If so how long did it take for it to stop? My tastebuds are still off. The dr told me it would be a long recovery that he had to really dig in there because my tonsils were so infected and swollen. I just dont want to feel so alone and the posts that I read didnt mention anything about the swelling. The dr said give it time. I have been sick since Christmas and I am over it. I just want to know a few more weeks months years what should I expect? Thank you in advance… again this is the second time I am trying to post this so if it already went through once I apologize. Thank you..
Hello Laura. Are you taste buds back?
I had my tonsils removed 2.5 months ago. My throat is constantly dry and I can’t taste food.
When did you stop taking pain meds? I’m on day 6 and am almost out… Kinda worried about how I’ll be without haha
Anyone else’s tongue keep swelling after the surgery, and thick saliva.. if so what did you do?
I’m taking the 6 day ween off steroids that help, However once they are done helping the swelling comes back.. all the while the pills are diminishing!
I had my tonsils removed May 3rd after have strep 6times in 4 months. Today is day 3. Im having ear pain and has pain. The frustrating part of recovery is how tired I am. I am taking Motrin and tylenol for pain. Had pot roast with carrots and mashed potatoes last night and handled it well. I even attended church yesterday. I am a firm believer in mind over matter. I am do grateful my pain isn’t worse. Thank you all for sharing.
So happy to have read this! Found it by Googling whether the holes in my throat that capture food will heal (I am 26 y/o on day 15 post-surgery and mostly back on solid food, but it keeps getting stuck back there). Thanks for the reassurance that they will!
I really wish I’d have known before the surgery that there would be a regression after a week; days 6 and 7–when the scabs started falling off–were by far my worst. I, like many others I’m sure, thought “Do I really need two weeks to recover from a tonsillectomy? No, it can’t be that bad. I don’t talk that much at my office job.” NOPE. 13 days of recovery (mostly pain management) before I could go anywhere. And the sneezing–OMG! I still wail and cry every time!
For those preparing for surgery or starting recovery, I highly recommend eliminating dairy for a while. My doctor and nurses recommended avoiding it, and advised me that dairy increases mucous production. So although sorbet and ice cream feel really good going down (yes, I cheated and had a couple of spoonfuls on day 2), it makes it really tough to swallow your thick, mucous-y spit! Much better for my recovery was sticking with water/liquids, and when I was ready, upgrading to baby food for babies under 6mths. It sounds gross, but you can find some much needed variety in your diet that way, and thin/watery spit is much easier to manage! As of day 15, my primary food pleasure is gummies (fruit snacks, gummy bears, gummy worms, whatever). It isn’t nourishing but they fill me up and feel good going down.
Hi everyone! im 19 and I had my tonsils operation on Monday and it’s wednesday night now .. I keep getting mucus up my throat and have to spit it out every second, it’s really irritating cause even when I drink water, I have mucus straight away and can feel it in my sleep which ruins my sleep, anyone else faced this problem and does anyone know how it can stop or when it does? I had this mucus problem and ears cracking problem before taking my tonsils out and the doctor had said after the operation the ears cracking problem and mucus problem will go as it could’ve been due to my oversized tonsils. ALso, around what day did everyone start getting better? I’m currently on day 2 (not counting the operation day) .. also I’m going Thailand and Dubai in 22 days and has my operation just 2 days ago so basically 24 days after I had my operation, should my problem be gone by then? I thought it would take me 7-12 days to recover but after seeing the feedback here I’m getting a bit worried now and thinking what if I’m not better in 22 days when I go on my holiday, I’m so worried now and I’m sick of this recovery, horrible experience so far and I’m expecting the worst!
I’m at the end of day 8 this is the worst surgery I have ever experience I have had 6 surgeries total and this is by far the worst one I have been crying at least once and hour and I found that I have had more mental breakdowns in a weak then I have had in my whole life. This is a very painful surgery and I’m still in so much pain I’m struggling to dr k water and I have lost 16 pounds in 8 days super unhealthy I’m praying that the pain is over soon. If you are getting this procedure I wish you the best of luck!
Hi there, I’m 36 and am on day 17 of my tonsils/adenoids removed, and I am still having trouble swallowing and food sometimes goes up my nose, my uvula is still swollen, has anyone else had this problem? You would think 17 days out, would get better. It’s giving me anxiety. I am following up with the surgeon soon, just curious. Thank you
Im 23 days post op and I have been scouring the internet about issues swallowing but i havent been able to find anything! I felt like maybe i was alone in this. Anything slightly carbonated is pure hell but even water is almost impossible. Its so frustrating and it has been freaking me out a bunch. I have my follow up soon too so im hoping my surgeon can put some of my fears at ease. I hope everything returns to normal for you!!! Good luck.
I’m 35, and on POD 8. I’ve had a rough time. No bleeding but could not for the life of me get fluids down. Ended up in urgent care on Day 3 to get a bag of IV fluids because I was vomiting everything up. On Day 5, constant vomiting for 4 hours. I had to stop the pain meds (liquid oxy, which I was using very very sparingly) and that did help some. Children’s liquid Tylenol, bubblegum flavor, is what is working for me now. I was told ibuprofen was not allowed. All the juice, Gatorade, etc. that I bought in preparation for this is all terrible. It feels like I have chemical burns in my mouth whenever I try anything but water. I was able to eat some KFC mashed potatoes and ground beef crumbles the other day. Mornings are the worst for the pain. I didn’t seem to need a spit cup. None of my scabs have come off yet. One half of my tongue is numb. I’ve read this can take weeks to resolve. I am hungry!
Hey. I had a tonsillectomy in Dec. 2017 at 38 yrs old. The pain was horrible and recovery almost as bad as everyone has said. I am curious though has anyone had a lot g term problem with excessive thick mucus, saliva and horrid cough long term? I am miserable and doctors say it’s “just sinuses” yet nothing I have found has helped at all. I am 18 months post of and this is ridiculous. Thanks
Hello, I have the same problem, I had a tonsillectomy 10 months ago but i still have a bitter-sour taste in mouth and constantly sour phlegm in my throat.
Hi, I recently had surgery and have the same issue, did that mucus issue get better?
Hi, I recently had surgery, did that mucus issue get better?
I’m on day 12 and I still have a few scabs. Feels like I have a lump in my throat when I swallow. All I can think is that it’s mucous. I’m glad I did it but never expected how horrible it was. I only took one pain pain. Made me sleepy so I just took my steroid and antibiotic. I’ve been swishing since day 6 to get the scabs off. Started falling off day 9. I can still feel a few and it feels disgusting plus whatever is in my throat! I just want to eat!
I had mine out the 31st of May…I am still talking in weird hoarse whispers and sounding like that old smoker lady who had her voice box removed. Everything is still swollen and I still cant open my mouth to see the back of my throat. Yawning also hurts like my throat is being ripped open and while i haven’t gone nose with my sneezing i have gone wide open mouth. (One of the most ungraceful disgusting things i have ever done.) My ears are still sore and i can’t swallow more than a small amount at a time or i run the risk of it going up my nose. Im hoping it gets better but like you i was up every 3hrs for the first two weeks. You’ve healed faster than me i think which makes it a little more frustrating to me because i want to be normal again. Thank you for sharing your candid opinion though. Its really nice knowing I’m not alone.
I know this is older, but curious to see your pictures. I’m on day 5 and it’s like I’m coughing up old hamburger meat. just wanted to compare pictures.
I had my tonsils out when I was 15 years old and I can still remember the pain. I have had several different types of surgery since then (including a C-Section and giving birth to twins) and I would do those over again in a heartbeat before having a tonsillectomy. That being said….I am now 50 years old and my ENT found a mass where my right tonsil used to be. He says it needs to be removed ASAP! Sooooo, I’m scheduled for a right tonsillectomy tomorrow. I am terrified!
Such a useful read. I am on day 5 of recovery. Drinkable lol pain destroyer is gone, (I’m not sure if it should be yet or not).
I realized two days ago and still today I haven’t pooped, I realized today that I haven’t sneezed or yawned, (which led me to TST). Swallowing still hurts, but the ear pain has been the worst part.
I’m 48 and have heard several times that tonsillectomies are not recommended for *aged* people, but when a tonsil irritation comes on that starts a chain of events ending with either vomiting or peeing, (or both), on yourself then it’s time to take drastic measures. (I had to keep a carbonated drink on hand because the fizziness seemed to help calm the disaster that was about to happen).
Anyway (Left tonsil) It started with an itch, then the eye watering profusely, the back of the throat flooding, then violent coughing which turned into choking and then…well, ya know… And this tonsil thing didn’t care where you were or what you were doing when it decided to make an appearance…at home, in the car, during prayer at church, aisle 23 or check-out lane 11 at Walmart. The only place it never occurred…take a guess… Exactly… the doctor’s office!!
I guess I finally saw my PCP enough about it that a referral was made and here I am, tonsilless lol.
This brief period of pain will have been so worth it if it means changing clothes less often and enjoying life a little more.
I think I’m gonna have spaghetti when I can finally eat food!!
Hi I’m on day 7 after,unfortunately I did not keep notes (i wish i had) for years I suffered sore throat,tonsillitis,strep throat.atleast once a month I had a sore throat that lasted a day to weeks.i couldn’t take it anymore it was really bringing me down.so I took this BIG step to try to feel better.so far I have felt the worst I have never felt i havent slept well since,I will fall of from the meds that I stopped on day 3 bc I was feeling dizzy,im so weak doing something simple makes my heart race and I got to laydown.im hoping I get better soon got to go back to work in 2 more weeks need to be back to100%.the only advice I can give someone going through recovery is take your meds on time,drink lots of fluids,I had frozen frostys from wendys,very cold yoohoos,and do not try to eat o soon I started yesterday big mistake way to soon.and be patient this is going to be a long healing process.
Best tips to get through it: 1. Buy a slushy maker and humidifier. (If you plan ahead, they might be at a thrift shop, but sterilize the humidifier REALLY good!!!) 2. Mail order Difflam plus lozenges and spray (Amazon ships this overnight) – you’ll love it! It totally numbs and has an antibiotic 3. Ask the doctor for a prescription for five suckers made of numbing tetracaine 4. Before you go to the hospital, get some liquid acetaminophen and liquid ibuprofen and take it with you – in case the pharmacy has you waiting in pain 5. Use the oxycodone prescription sparingly – it works better if you’re not acclimated to it and it’s your strongest pain killer – too much without a break causes bad constipation 6. Use Children’s liquid Benadryl for nausea, headaches, itching, and to sleep better – even a half dose works 7. Use ice packs on the outer neck 8. A very soothing tea of Slippery Elm Bark (such as Traditional Medicinals: Throat Coat) is perfect for coating the throat before bed 9. Research says that honey is especially helpful to prevent infection and bleeding in the first five days – try mixing RAW honey with cold water and ice 10. Drink colloidal silver water – maybe 1/2 cup morning and night at 9 parts per million 11. On day 5 and beyond, load up on numbing potions and painkillers and take it easy to prevent scabs tearing off from coughing or eating 12. Use orange TicTacs for bad taste 13. Have cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil in a small jar with a lid. Use to counteract the awful smells coming out of surgery – this will also help with nausea and to stop a sneeze in days to come. Can also use Vick’s medicated vapor – don’t put on skin though. 14. Buy drinks, sorbet, lollipops, and jello in colors other than red so they’re not confused with blood 15. Use a firm traveller’s neck pillow to sleep face down 16. Set your phone’s alarm to take pills on time – or there will be agony 17. Use a numbing sucker just before drinking water or taking medicine 18. When you can take pills instead of sickly sweet liquid medication, buy brand name coated extra stength Tylenol and the coated Advil – these can probably be swallowed on Day 5 19. Cover the couch with layers of easy-to-wash blankets – there will be days of fever sweats 20. Steamy showers help with moisture. Also mop the floors, spray squirt bottle, boil big pots of water (use back burner and tilt lid to aim the steam), keep your hair or a neck scarf wet, hang wet blankets in front of fan, set a tea kettle on a wood stove, or buy a clean humidifier and sterilize it 21. Instant mashed potatoes can be made with or without dairy (Bob’s Red Mill brand has plain potato flakes) premade and chilled is easy to eat with Smoked Paprika powder or cold gravy. Make extra runny to be easier. 22. Ramen noodles can be eaten after breaking into small pieces and cooled 23. To make rice soup, rinse half-cooked rice, then boil until crumbling, then add bits of flavoring like cilantro 24. Kheer is also good – a sweet rice pudding cooked in coconut milk and cardamom. 25. Cream of Wheat or CousCous is also good 26. Run a rotating fan for the rhythmic noise 27. Warm bath or foot bath can relax nerves that carry pain signals 28. Sleep in saucer chair or on the couch to stay upright 29. Don’t gargle! 30. Swish with oil to moisturize – swallow a little too – coconut or olive oil taste best 31. carry tissues for spitting and crying 32. Watch good reruns that are entertaining but easy to drift to sleep with 33. Brush teeth with water only 34. Line up your already measured and time-labeled meds for nighttime so you don’t have to think too much.
Im 12 days out my scabs have come off. But on my left side on the bottom i still have part of a scab. But i feel like something is hing in my throat and i cant get it out and when i swollow it hurts so bad.
I’m on day three of recovery I had my surgery on August 6,2019. I’m 21 and this is by far the worst pain I have ever experienced at first the pain medicine was making me comfortable but now it isn’t really helping. I have a spit bottle because I didn’t realize that eating to much diary such as ice cream can cause the saliva to become so thick that it makes it hard to swallow. Then the ear pain doesn’t make it any better but Ik I’m only three days post surgery and that it will get better but Trying to stay hydrated is nearly impossible because it hurts like hell to swallow. Finding your blog has made me feel a little better I appreciate you for being raw and honest because for the most part everything is sugar coated.
I am four Months post tonsillectomy and i still can feel the scar tissue that has been in my throat since my surgery. Doctor said it will soften over time but i really can’t find much online about this being a complication. It is extremely annoying and always there. Anyone else experience this? If so, any tips on how to soften the scar tissue or how long it will last?
I had mine removed 9-6-19 ani I been wondering on my 8th day why was I feeling this burn sensation in the throat. This is very painful. When I take my pain medication it burns the worse.i still cant eat. Even mashed potatoes seem to get stuck n throat. I need a lil feed back on what to do cause I been back n forth to the emergency room.
Im 29 and had mine 15 days ago… literally swallowing and waking up after sleeping longer than the meds WILL MAKE YOU CRY! Just don’t be too anxious to eat.. everything sucks to swallow, but “hard food” peels the scab. And I felt the worst on days 5-9 bcuz i didn’t really want the pain refills..(embrace the meds)! I still haven’t coughed, i def switched the sneezing style, and my body cancels any yawn I attempt
M going to get a T & A surgery on 22 of October. I’m gonna be honest this post scred me a bit but I had tonsil stones starting at 2015 and they got worse no matter what I tried. So I’m greatful for your post. At least now I know what to expect. Thank you.
I had a tonsillectomy 10 months ago but i still have a bitter-sour taste in mouth and constantly sour phlegm in my throat. I don’t know is this normal part of recovery or i have a acid reflux. Is someone had a similar problem.This is very annoying.
Hi there,
Just curious how you flushed the food out of your throat caverns? I am dealing with this now too and the doctor’s office provided me with zero instructions. Do you use a syringe? gargle? I’m scared to do anything lest it trigger the dreaded bleeding, as I’m still om day 9 and this morning woke up with quite a bit of blood in my phlegm/spit.
Thanks!
I am 9 days post-op haven’t been able to eat these entire 9 days. With each attempt something gets stuck and I feel like I’m going to come to death. Question for anyone I have the scabs where my tonsils were but I also have scabs on my uvula, was this normal for anyone else? Also I’m finally able to swallow without the feeling of death but I just finally was able to hold down liquids because no matter what I tried to drink my entire month burner horribly. Just a sip of water was terrible about not even talking about swallowing.
I have had a constant ear popping since my surgery. My surgery was on the 16th of Oct and it’s the 30th now. I didn’t know if this happened to you or if you knew if this was normal?? It is driving me crazy!!!
I had my tonsillectomy 10 days ago now. I only got them out because I ended up with chronic tonsillitis, so basically i got tonsillitis one too many times and it just wouldn’t go away. My surgeon told me it was painful but my god I didn’t think it would be this bad.
day 1- 2 i just felt bruised and had very sore ears which both begun bleeding. I got discharged from the hospital the day after my surgery with 7 packets of all different painkillers. YEP 7 PACKETS! on day 3 i wasn’t able to swallow any pain killers let alone water or food.
day 3- I was so dehydrated i went to my local hospital which is in a small town and they put me on a drip and rehydrated me and gave me antibiotics as an infection had set in. They also swapped out my 7 packets of pills for one liquid painkiller but it was very sour and this was when scabs started coming off so it was pretty much impossible to swallow so I gave up as the pain was unbearable
day 4-9 I managed to take my painkillers for one day and then on days 5 and 6 I was producing so much saliva but I couldn’t swallow so I pulled a chair into the bathroom and sat there infant of the sink for the entire day spitting every thirty seconds. Night time was the worst because i began having bad reflux from the lack of food i was consuming so I was gagging and trying to stop myself from throwing up. I did not eat a single thing i went for a chew and spit on some watermelon and that’s all. Same with water i was just rinsing my mouth and spitting it out as i couldn’t swallow. For the next 4 days i didn’t consume any food. On the night of day 9 my mum took me to a different hospital
I was admitted straight away and given an injection of steroids mixed with painkillers and fluids. I stayed overnight and got 3L of fluid put into me along with may doses of endone. The endone wasn’t working on its own but as soon as the steroids were added to it i had minimal pain. Still wasn’t able to eat food in the hospital but today on discharge they prescribed me mouth numbing spray along with oral steroids and more endone. These mixed together are amazing I am now able to eat like a normal person and I have no pain swallowing anymore I feel a lot better but my appetite is not the same yet but I’m sure with time it will slowly come back to me.
I’ll share my horror story. I am four months past having my tonsils removed and still having problems. It feels as though there is a giant cotton swab stuck in my throat. It causes my throat to feel very dry and my voice cracks when speaking. Plus I have constant sinus drainage. Doctor can’t explain why and I’m wishing I never had the surgery. has anyone experienced this post-surgery and if so what helped or how long did it take to go away?
Wish I would have seen this thread before eating steak after surgery. Pain is not super bad, however any large, solid food is not a good idea. Pretty much have stuff stuck in the throat and only flushed maybe 50% down with water. Talk about uncomfortable. Glad I found this site to gain some solid info. Soup and sorbet it is for the next week at least.
I am on day 7 post-tonsillectomy. Scabs are starting to fall off. It has been a constant pain from day 3 and it still is.
The last two days, I haven’t been able to eat at all (since the pain from the scabs are so extreme).
My biggest concern is the wounds that have formed on my left side. Most of my scabs on both sides are white-yellow. Some say that yellow can be an indication of infection. But other websites and articles claim that white, yellow, brown and black is normal. In addition, my left side is full of sores (ulcers?) and blood crusts.
I was bleeding somewhat on day 4, but it stopped within a minute. Since then, it has just appeared more and more blood crusts in that area. It looks like a combo of blood crusts and ulcers. I can’t see exactly what is going on. And the pain ain’t helping me since there will be pain anyway. I think it’s a bit weird having it only on the one side. It worries me. Is it an infection? Is it ulcers? I can’t tell! I don’t have fever, so that’s probably a good sign?!
Has anyone experienced a lot of blood crusts/sores/wounds/ulcers in the scab area?
Thank you! I’m so glad I found you. My 3yo son had his op last Wednesday. Other post-op parents were all like “oh he’ll be fine after 3 days or so.” I think they have amnesia. Things are worse just like they said they would be at the hospital. He spills his drinks a lot, food gets stuck in his mouth, he’s sick and tired of baby cereals and everything he likes gets stuck somewhere inside his mouth. I’m not even talking about the constant drooling that he also hates. I thought I would request to have the surgery at the first sign of an infection, but now I’m not too sure if I still want it. I have permanent dental paresthesia from 10 years back. What if your symptoms will be worse at my age…
Okay, first off, and this can be said for everybody. Everyone will have a different experience. I had worsening apnea that lead to my tonsillectomy and soft pallet reduction (losing my uvula). I was on a cherry cough syrup flavored pain med and a full week of steroids… and I’ve lived through what those little pills can do to your stomach without food. So I ate. The Ninja blender was my best friend. Cold by the way… not your friend. It hurts! And yes the food flavor was dulled for me, but didn’t taste bad, and my pain meds actually stunted my appetite considerably, which helped. I am about two and a half weeks into recovery and in my 50s. Still feel tired, weak and a little under the weather at times… But hoping it gets better. I am eating regularly again, but my appetite is still less, which I welcome!
Thank you for sharing. It’s so elucidating,
I wish it was about my upcoming back surgery (lumbar laminectomy) tho… So glad it helped you.
I am on my 3rd day and pain meds help but ibuprofen is the best for it. My biggest problem right is that I can barely eat or drink anything because it feels as everything is stuck behind my uvula. Is that common? Does it go away???
I had my tonsils removed Oct 30 2019.
Since then my taste buds have been off. Sweet food such as cake or any starchy food like bread or potatoes taste vile.
I feel quite sad when having a meal because I do not enjoy eating.
I can taste hints of garlic , ginger and chilies in food. I have to over salt food to taste any and I recently just gave it up because I know it’s unhealthy.
My ENT gave me a selenium supplement 6 weeks ago but it isn’t helping. I also started taking a zinc supplement after reading about deficiencies post tonsillectomy associated to loss of taste.
Has anyone experienced this? Any help?
Thank you for sharing your experience, it Is very comforting knowing some one else understands your post tonsilectomy situation. I am 3 weeks into my post tonsilectomy and i feel my taste buds are absolutely messed up and i can hardly taste any flavour, which I am finding frustrating and wanted to understand if this was normal?
Hi,
I am about 4 weeks post op and I cannot tastes anything sweet, salty, sour or bitter. You mentioned everything tasted like carburator. Were these the same tasting senses that were gone for you too? Im also having trouble with water coming out of my nose when I drink. Dr says I still need time to heal is all.
Thanks for sharing. I’m on day 6 of recovery from a UPPP which is very similar and I relate to most of what you’ve said. Especially the painkillers. Initially I was trying to tough it out and not use them unless needed but on about day 2 I just went nup…. take them every 6-8 hours no matter what. Waking up from sleep is still the most painful time.
It’s been the most horrendous experience of my life so far. The scab has just started to come off though and I am really looking forward to being healed up and eating normal food again.
I’m glad I didn’t find this site before I had my tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy! Even though this came as a last min/emergency surgery (I could no longer swallow and breathe properly), I’m sure I would have been much more nervous about the surgery than I already was.
I am a 45 year old Male currently 9 days (including surgery day) into the healing process and it has been nothing like I expected. It has been TOUGH. I am a 5 time Ironman athlete, so I normally have a very, very high pain tolerance, but this whooped my butt!
Friday morning (6am) I was in for the surgery and was discharged and home by 11am. I felt sore, but OK until about 1:30 when suddenly I wasn’t having problems breathing. I had to look straight up, extend my neck and my jaw to keep an airway open to breathe. A ambulance was called and I was transported to the ER for evaluation.
A quick CT scan showed my uvula was so massive, it was blocking my airway. After some steroids and some hacking of crap out of my throat, they sent me home around 4pm. By 5pm at home, it happened it again and I went back to the ER. This time the Dr. tried to look in my throat and I started choking and couldn’t breathe at all. They had the intubation crash cart ready to intubate me when I was finally able to recover and catch a breath. At this point, they didn’t have an ENT on staff at this hospital, so they transferred me via ambulance to a larger hospital (where the ENT who did my surgery also happened to have rights to see patients).
All Friday night I suffered trying to keep an airway open and all the hospital staff were scared to help me since they wanted the ENT to do a review in the morning. There were times where I (and my friends who were watching me in the hospital overnight) just wanted to be intubated, put to sleep, and wake up 3 days later when everything was better!
Saturday morning the ENT showed up, did a a couple of things I wanted the hospital Dr. to do (suction all the thick crap in my mouth that was choking me and making it where I couldn’t swallow) and he was able to get me to hack a black chunk of crap out of my throat. He also showed me a better body position to keep the uvula from blocking my airway. What a relief!
Because of all the issues, they kept me in the hospital on steroids, antibiotics, anti-inflamatories, and painkillers until Sunday afternoon to make sure I didn’t have a relapse.
Monday-Friday. Hydrocodone liquid pain killers (every 4 hours), steroids, antibiotics, and throat numbing spray. No solid food (Jello and Applesauce only) and I have already lost 10 pounds. Very little sleep.
Saturday & Sunday. No pain meds, except for the throat numbing spray. Very, very soft solid food (Mac and cheese, string cheese, the inside of a bean burrito, etc). Sleep is getting better, since I don’t have to be as much in a sitting position as much anymore.
Still can barely talk and the swallowing feels like when you have strep throat. Waking up is super tough, since the throat is dry and that is when it is as its most painful.
So, the net-net is that this surgery is not for the faint of heart and I would make sure you have the ability to really reach your Dr. (and find out what hospital they prefer you go to in an emergency) after hours. I would for sure schedule 2 weeks off of work and realize that you will be a useless mess and will need help to survive for the first 7 days after surgery.
I am in day 7 with the regression and excruciating pain post scabs falling off and can definitely relate to everything so far!
Look forward to this being over, fantastic to be able to read someone else’s experience. xx
Day 2 for me, still 24 hours outta surgery…
Yesterday, I was an eating fool.. that night, I was ready to cry…
I’ve been drinking boosts to help keep myself fed because nurses and my doc told me, food helps heal! Well, boost makes everything thick, so yay!
I’m staying as hydrated as I can, yet still swollen and still stuffy in my throat. Waking myself up snoring like I did when I had my sinus worked on, sleeping on and off like then, and overall, just uncomfortable with anything and trying to still go outside for some sun in my life to keep depression away. I’ve still got my 2 weeks. Still have a doctor follow up call today…
Kind of wanna ask why he only gave me 12 pain pills… He said most ppl do Tylenol and ibp mixed all day and the pain at night .. but that hurts like a trucker for me. Kinda wish that I could be knocked out totally till I’m able to eat again…. Because I’m still super hungry!
Great information and looking at the comments definitely is very helpful to see other people’s experiences. I had my tonsillectomy on August 19th so tomorrow will be day 14 since the surgery. Definitely has been the worst procedure I have gone through. I drank a lot of water from day 1, which I believe has been really helpful in my recovery. I didn’t eat anything solid until after day 10. Even mac and cheese hurt my throat. The pain was much worse than I expected. I am from Alberta, Canada and it seems they are getting stricter with medications, as all I received was Tramadol, which only quelled my pain for about half an hour at a time and even going to ER they wouldn’t give me anything stronger. I had to rely on chloraseptic and other over the counter medicines that would numb my throat enough to be able to function. The worst pain for me was on the 8th day and the ear aches during that time were really bad.
Coming up on day 14 I have not experienced any blood with the scabs falling off and I am starting to be able to eat better food. I cannot wait to be able to eat a cheeseburger with bacon again lol. When did you start eating less softer foods?
I am 36 years old, and my tonsils were pretty big, so the hole it left is pretty considerable.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I’m 57 and on day 8 – and most of my painkillers are gone. I was eating okay initially but can barely swallow for the last few days. All I can manage is nearly melted ice cream. But at least I know it’s normal now
I am a 28 year old female. I had my tonsils and adenoids removed last week and am on day 9 (including surgery day). I’ve dealt with tonsil stones for years and they got to the point where a tonsillectomy surgery sounded better than having to deal with those the rest of my life. I also have bad allergies that cause my tonsils to hurt/itch often. I’m not sure why she removed my adenoids. I think I had them removed when I was younger and she said there was some stuff still remaining that she removed. I’ve read through everyone’s comments multiple times to compare experiences and it has helped so much! so I wanted to document my time while it’s still fresh in my mind and can hopefully help others.
Day 1 (surgery day) – Surgery itself went smooth. Once I woke up it felt like there was something stuck in my throat but at that point still out of it so no pain. The nurses gave me a small gatorade as I was leaving and I ended up finishing it on the car ride home.. I took my first pain med dose at 2:30pm that afternoon and started my antibiotics. I really think drinking that gatorade as soon as I woke up helped me get used to swallowing liquids so once I got home I continued to drink a lot. It hurt but just like a sore throat. I really recommend taking advantage of the anesthesia and getting used to swallowing as soon as possible while the pain is not so bad so it’s already a habit. I only ate a little bit of yogurt and mashed potatoes at this point. Later that night before bed I ate a small cup of yogurt before taking my meds and drank a lot water. Immediately following this I got up to go to the bathroom and I think it was too much at once so I ended up throwing up everything. It was mostly water. The doctor said it’s very common to throw up on day 1 because of the stuff ingested during surgery. The good news is it didn’t really hurt which i was surprised but I guess the anestesia was still in my system. But after that I made sure to go to the bathroom or do whatever before I had the pain meds.. that way I could just stay in bed right after taking it to avoid another upset stomach. I didn’t sleep much this night. Not sure if it was the pain or just the anxiety from the surgery/recovery.
Day 2 – 3 – Continued to lots drink water and some apple juice/pedialyte and ate the same items plus some apple sauce. At this point I was still taking the strong pain meds but they started to make me dizzy/cloudy and overall was feeling good so the afternoon of day 3 I took the last dose of pain mains and switched to children’s tylenol. I could still feel the pain every time I swallowed but the time between swallowing was fine. I was expecting to just be sitting there in constant pain so at this point it was not as bad as I was expecting. I was able to prepare myself for pain/expect pain each time I swallowed which helped being able to anticipate it. I did start to run a slight fever of around 100.00 on day 3 although it was hard to tell how high the fever was. I had a mouth thermometer and was drinking cold water so often I’m not sure if I ever was able to get an accurate temp. But they say fever below 101 is common.
Day 4 – 7 – Being off the stronger pain meds did mean there was more pain but honestly I didn’t see a huge difference and everyone says the pain is worse during these days anyway. I continued to take the children’s tylenol but I’m still not sure how much that was helping. On day 4 I started to get a little tickle in my throat that forced me to do a small cough. That was more frustrating to me than the pain because I didn’t want to cough the scabs off but if I didn’t do some sort of cough then my eyes would water and I’d gag. On night 5 I could barely sleep. This was the worst part of the past 9 days. My ear aches were sooo bad. Even sleeping propped up was not helping. This was the kind of pain I was anticipating… a constant pain that you can’t escape. Luckily the next day the ears were better. I continued to drink as much water as possible and also ate scrambled eggs, protein drinks, and was even able to eat a couple of pieces of toast. I think day 5 i was able to open up my mouth wide enough to see the scabs. All i could see was white back there. a good sign!
Day 8 (a week post surgery day!) – I got off the children’s tylenol and the pain has leveled out. There was still some pain when I swallow but it’s very bearable. I was even able to eat some canes chicken fingers, fries, and toast. Finally a meal of substance! It hurt going down but not much more than anything else I had been swallowing. I did have to take big sips of water after each of my bites as the food would get stuck back there. This was the first day I was really feeling myself. I was wanting to get up and do stuff around the house and started checking work emails. I felt a few small pieces of things in my mouth and am thinking it’s some of the scabs coming off although when I look back there it’s still all white. Talking still hurts.
Day 9 – Not every swallow hurts! It doesn’t feel totally normal but I am able to drink water and not wince every time. It’s a great feeling and has helped with my spirits… I (hope I) am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and on my way to feeling 100%. Even though I feel much better I plan to still take it easy… from reading everyone’s posts I see some people still had some complications well after Day 9 so I’m not taking any chances. Last night was the first night I slept on just one pillow. Before then I was trying to sleep very elevated. There was still a slight ear pain when I did this but nothing like night 5. It looks like all the scabs are still there. Part of me wants them gone because that means another big step closer to being done with all of this but I am not rushing them at all so I’ll let them take as long as they need to.
A few other things:- It’s interesting how every doctor has different rules/tips. My doctor did not want me taking any ibuprofen which is why tylenol was my only option after the strong pain meds. She also recommended I not take my zyrtec as this can cause you to dry out. I normally take zyrtec religiously so I was worried I would have sneezing attacks but that has not happened… at least not yet. And after reading everyone’s posts I’m really hoping it stays that way! I am not ready for a sneeze. I’ve had the feeling of a sneeze coming on and i’ve just used my finger to put pressure on the space between my nose and my upper lip and this has stopped all the sneeze so far!- I saw some other posts saying to chew gum. I tried to chew a couple of pieces a day from days 2-6. I’m not sure if it did any good but it did seem to kind of work out the throat/tongue muscles. and also helped on the early days when I wasn’t able to open my mouth up to brush my teeth – I still have a weird taste in my mouth from the scabs but on day 7 i was able to actually floss and really brush my teeth. I saw some things online say not to use toothpaste but I had to use a little bit eventually and just made sure it didnt get too far back.- My uluva and part of my soft palate is still pretty swollen. It has been swollen since day 1 which caused a little breathing scare. If I lay straight back I’m able to breathe in through my nose but not out because the uluva gets in the way. If i turn my head to either side slightly I’m totally fine breathing out my nose. I’m surprised it’s still this swollen but I’ll see how it is when I have my check up next week. My tongue is still sore. I’ve had food stuff in the back of my teeth and normally I’d use my tongue to get it but my tongue is not able to go that far back yet-The surgery center gave me an ice pack for my neck so I tried to use this a few times a day in the beginning. I think this helped slightly with the pain. I also tried to suck on ice on days 4 & 5 to help with pain – After reading everyone’s tips about the diary I tried to eat less of this and I think it helped. I have not had to spit at all and this may have helped. The nurse told me not to spit so If i feel the need to spit I’ve tried to just drink more water. – It’s interesting to see people having trouble with their taste. I guess if I lose my taste of the next few months I will have to wonder if it’s covid or if it’s from the tonsillectomy! – I’m very lucky to have family members that were able to care for me, get food/water, and just keep me company. That helped with my sanity! Even just having friends texting me to keep me company helped me get out of the netflix funk.
Overall, this experience was not as bad as I was anticipating. I was expecting to be in constant pain for a week and was pleasantly surprised that the pain was only bad when I swallowed. Don’t get me wrong… the night of day 5 when I had the terrible ear pain I thought it was the worst night of my life but again, it was only one night and not the entire week. Aside from the pain the whole process seems never ending and that can be frustrating. Just drink lots of water and power through it and be proud of yourself for making it through this! It’s not easy!
I’m still anticipating the scabs coming off because I know people say that is painful but I’m wondering if that’s because their scabs came off too early? Maybe the positive attitude I have right now will change when that happens. I will report back if it gets worse again.
Hi, i had just undergone tonsillectomy and on post op Day 8. Would like to see your photos that you mentioned including the scab that you gargled out. i spit out saliva with some yellowish thing. im not very sure is pus or the scabs. im a bit worry about it as yesterday my ENT specialist told me if the scab not going to fall off, it may lead to secondary infection. i wonder is the scab soft or hard type. can it be dissolve away naturally?
Oh my gosh!!! I just googled sneezing after tonsillectomy and this came up! Y’all! I am 3 years out and still have no control over my dang sneezes!!! NONE! When they come, it’s awful and so loud! Ugh
Hi!
It’s been a while since you’ve posted but I am in my 5th-week post off and honestly, I am worried. I constantly feel like there’s phlegm stuck at the back of my throat and that there’s something irritating my throat. Most concerning is my difficulty to say words starting with ‘h’, ‘cl’, ‘ca’ ‘gh’, etc. Speaking itself has been tiresome and requires extra effort. I have to constantly swallow and I’ve found swelling has been difficult. Would appreciate any support or feedback – are these permanent issues or do they go away with time? And if the latter, how long till I am ‘back to normal’? Thank you in advance
Update on my last post above – I am in my 6th-week post op!
I am here trying to find anyone mention about not pooping after tonsillectomy. I was with my friend came to visit on day 6 and she asked me if I have pooped. And I was like oh My God I haven’t I have been such keen on my pain I forgot o was supposed to look out for that. Me a I barely eat its worse for me I try to eat but the pin makes my face jaw and mouth shiver in pain it hurts all the way to my ears and wisdom teeth.
I should call my doctor about it . Did any one experience constipation
I am in day 9 on recovery and I am in stitches of laughter at your comedic approach to this whole scenario. Thank you for making this process a shared one and one to make me laugh (painfully).
Here’s to a speedy recovery to all us tonsillectomy victims!
Thank you so much for this blog! My tonsillectomy was on 12 August, I’m 5 days post op. It has taken me 90 minutes to eat my dinner this evening because I kept having to pause and sob because the pain was so bad.
Your blog has reminded me that the pain is transient, it will pass! Thank you for reminding me to stay positive. We got this!
I found this really interesting to read. I am on day 7 after having mine out and most of the white has gone as well as 75% of the pain.
I have stopped taking strong painkillers at just in paracetamol and an anti-inflammatory morning and night.
What I found interesting was here in aus where I had it done I was made to eat normal solid food within hours of having my surgery and I have had the same every day since. I’ve also had ice cream but only when the pain is really bad.
They say that this means there is less likely to be a bleed and the scabbing is less full on and just goes with the food. I have only spat out two tiny bits of it.
I think I’ll be pretty fine by mid next week as one side is almost completely healed.
Weird how different methods are used.