Need Advice About Having a Tonsilectomy

I had my tonsils out when I was about 24. Having a tonsilectomy as an adult is very painful. I hate to put it like that but I have two little ones and I would want to know too what I was getting into. I would definately get help the first week. After that you should be okay... but I would make temporary arragements just incase you need a few extra days. On the bright side... Having them out was wonderful. I've never had strep or tonsilitis and I seem to just stay healthier. Good luck. L.

I, like many of the other posters, would say prepare for the worst and be grateful if your experience is better than that.

I had my tonsils out when I was 19, and it was awful. It is the only time in my life I've had general anesthetic, and it made me vomit for about 24 hours after the operation. (Very painful, needless to say.) That, combined with the bleeding, made it very difficult for me to take anything orally. I ended up with suppositories for the pain, and managed to choke down enough water to stay out of the hospital. I was eating again in about a week, and felt much better in about 2 and 1/2 weeks. My overall health was much improved by the operation, so in the long run it was worth it. I would say that with small kids, it would be about a week before you are ready to care for them.

Maybe you can get some family out to help you, or line up a short term nanny or temp. daycare while you are recovering. Your husband may be eligable for leave under FMLA, if he doesn't want to use his vacation time.

If you are still breastfeeding, you might want to talk to your doctor in advance about the medications. Some antibiotics can lead to thrush, and others are not approved for nursing moms. Good luck, and hopefully you will be one of the lucky ones with a quick and low pain recovery.

Ok, I don't want to freak you out or anything, but you need to be prepared for sure since you have two kids. My good friend had his tonsils out when he was in his early 30's. It was a necessity for him too. The bad part is that he was sick for an entire month afterward. It's just so much harder for adults to recover after this particular surgery. So my advice is to plan like you'll be that sick and do all you can to boost your immune system and you kids' before you have the surgery. Good luck!

My little girl had hers out when she was 4, 3 days later she was ready to go to McDonalds and eat solid food. One month later I had mine out(at 27) and it took a full week before I was eating solids. Lots of yougurt, pudding, jello, mashed potatoes and icees! You will need your husband home at least 4 days. Good luck, if you have any questions feel free to write.

The recovery is different for everyone, really. I had mine (and my adenoids) taken out when I was about six, and it was no big deal. I had to live on soup and ice cream for a few days (joy for a young kid!), and I had to keep quiet because my throat was sore, but otherwise I felt fine. Drink lots of liquids to help recovery -- especially water. Listen to what your doctor advises. Most people don't require more than one night's stay. How long you want your husband at home will be up to you. Other than having to stay quiet, you shouldn't have any problem getting around and carrying on as usual. My husband had his thyroid removed a couple of months ago (they actually cut open your neck for that surgery) -- he stayed in the hospital for standard post-op observation that night, came home the next day, and was back to work the day after that (with some pain medication, of course, for the soreness).
Personally, I think what dictates your recovery is how well your body takes pain medication, more so than the surgery itself. If lortab or vicodin or whatever you get make you queasy, that's what will slow you down.

Hey,

I had my tonsils, adenoids and a deviated septum done when I was 18 – and took a week for it all to heal. I would say have it done late Wednesday or first thing Thursday morning and your husband would only have to take a couple of days off of work to talk for you! I had energy after a day or two I just could not talk for a few days. Hope this helps!

K.

Well, you don't mention your age, so it may be different for you than it was me. I had my tonsils removed at 18 when my twins were about 3-4 months old. I went in in the morning, had my tonsils removed, stayed the nite for recovery, and was released by noon the next day. It's been 12 years since I've had it done, and other that my doc telling me not to sneeze or cough real hard, I can't say as I wasn't supposed to lift anything. I do know that if you aren't supposed to cough or sneeze then you don't want to be moving your fridge or anything extremely heavy for about 2 weeks.
What I do remember clearly still is the unpleasantness after the surgery. They need to run a tube through your nose (so you can breathe during the surgery) while they operate so you feel like you sinuses are filled with sponges for a a couple of weeks. Your throat will be fairly sore and sticky (remember, you just had 2 meaty lumps cut out of there) for a while, but you should be able to talk fairly well, although a little hoarsely.
If yours aren't working then you may have an easier time than I did, my tonsil were so chronically infected that they were the size of golf balls. Your husband may not need to take any time from work to be with you for recovery, unless your day consists of a lot of lifting hefty things. Picking up your baby can be done by sitting on the couch/chair, and getting him in your lap before standing up. Other than that, unless yoiu end up having complications (extremely rare) during surgery, once you get home from the hospital you realistically should be able to start right back where you were the day before you had your tonsils removed.
Good Luck, and I hope that your recovery is sweetly short. Although, if you are needing a bit of a break you can use this as an excuse to get some time to yourself, and extend your recovery to 2 or 3 days. LOL
Most importantly, you will need to stay away from dairy foods for a while. Your throat will have some stitches and will already be coated with blood and mucus from the surgery. Dairy products increase the mucus production which you need to minimize during healing. Lots of Ice water, clear broths, nothing milky or fatty.

I had to have my tonsils removed a few years ago in my mid 30's. My doctor warned me that it would be the worst 10 days of my life. He was right! My mom came and forced me to suck on blended ice otherwise I would have collapsed. When I did eat food/liquids, they actually came out my nose! It was horrible. I lost 12lbs in a week. You have to be prepared for the worst and be thankful if it is better. My brother's experience was totally the opposite! Maybe your surgeon can guide you as to the expectations of recovery with your particular situation.

At nine days after the surgery, I was starting to feel hopeless, like I would never get better. The very next day was MUCH better.

I hope you have a recovery like my brother's. One thing to be aware of though, is that I was told not to bend over or lift anything for at least 10 days. This is very important as the risk of bleeding is very high. I have a friend that almost died because of this!

Somebody gave you good advice to get your prescriptions filled ahead of time. Also, if you are at a good hospital, don't be in a hurry to go home. When the pain meds are by IV they work fast and don't make you queasy. As you can imagine, getting sick is very dangerous afterward. I know I was not able to tolerate the liquid antibiotic I was prescribed because it smelled and tasted foul! I was able to swallow the pill with less aftershock.

You will be happy in the end, once you have recovered. It can be a long ordeal, but you may be one of the lucky ones!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

I don't want to alarm you, but I would like to share my story. I was 25 when I had my tonsils removed. Chronic tonsilitis and sinus infections left scar tissue that was causing trouble with fighting infection, eating, and sleeping. It was a simple outpatient procedure (or so I thought) but the pain was unbearble! I was out of work for two full weeks, unable to eat anything for 10 days. I subsisted on room temperature water, warm tea, and whatever pain killers I could swallow. After two weeks on my back, I awoke to my tonsil beds RUPTURING, resulting in an emergency coterization, loss and subsequent transfusion of almost 4 liters of blood. Long story short, I almost died.
After another week of recovery in the hospital, I returned to work about 25 days after surgery. It was two more weeks until my strength and color returned, and at least two months before my sense of taste was back to normal.
I know this is not a pleasant story, but it is real. Make sure your doctor gives you all the pros and cons of what you are about to experience. Take all the bed rest you can, no lifting, irritating foods, over medicating etc....any risky behaviors could be disasterous. Best of luck to you.

S.-
I hate to tell you this, but I had mine out when I was 20 and it was terrible, and I am very pain tolerant. If your husband could take off a week and 1/2 I would say that's probably pretty accurate, although everyone's recovery may be different. I stayed with my parents and was grateful for their help. On a positive note, I have been so much healthier since I got them out. Take care and good luck!

I had my tonsils out after my daughter was born and she was maybe a year old. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have been much healthier and the recoup time was minimal.
I am trying to remember but I think my husband took 3-4 days off but a week would be plenty. All the new things that they have to work with during surgery makes it much easier and safer than ever before.
You will be so happy once you have it done and have healed.
Good luck!

I had my tonsils removed a couple of years ago when I was 27. Was it painful? Only when I tried to talk. :) That was partly because I was dehydrated. The more hydrated you are the less it hurts. I know cause I had to go in for emergency cauterization when my scabs fell off at 7 days post surgery. They gave my fluid in an IV and the pain was drastically lessened. So, drink lots of water even before you go in, and then especially while recovering. You won't want to, it does hurt, but it also is the best thing to make it hurt less. One tip, don't use straws or do anything that will create suction in your mouth, it can make the scabs pull away. Nobody told me this and I'm convinced it's what led to my scabs coming off prematurely.
I've also heard that chewing gum helps speed the healing process. Using those muscles increases blood flow to the area which is supposed to aid in healing.
Where your tonsil are will look awful at first, and then will get even worse. :) It'll be covered with this white gunk that will then "grow" and cover quite a bit of the back of your mouth. This is apparently normal and to be expected.
I would recommend getting the tonsilectomy done sooner rather than later. Apparently the older you are the worse it is. Lovely thought, huh? Best of luck to you. It is nasty and painful, but like probably everyone else whose had it done, worth it in the end.

I had mine out when I was 16 and it wasn't fun. It does take some people longer and others not so long. I will say that you will feel much better in the long run with them out. I would have help for that first week and then see from there. I agree with the other post to have softer foods before surgery so you don't have to go get them, but don't get anything that has the red dye in it. I was told to stay away from the foods that are red or have red dye in them because if there is the complication of bleeding after and you have eaten these foods, it is hard to tell if it really is bleeding or if it is just the food that you have eaten. I will say that because your throat hurts you will be losing weight because you don't want to get, but just make sure that you drink lots of fluids and rest. Good luck.
J.

I agree with several of the other posts. It is very different to have your tonsils out as an adult. I had mine out at 25. Definitely a good choice for me as my health has greatly improved. My number one recommendation would be to see if your doctor will give you your prescriptions before the surgery so you can get them filled ahead of time. They will likely give you a liquid antibiotic and liquid pain medicine. I found that not all pharmacies had those on hand so it took us several stops and a couple of hours to track them down. I was in a lot of pain by that time. Just realize that it is a more major surgery for adults and it will take you several weeks to totaly recover. But it will all be worth it in the end. Good luck!!

Can I say I am not sure nowadays, but I had them out when I was 19 and it was not fun!!! Adults have a healing time that is a lot longer. Nowadays they do things differently then back in 84' though.
I would say the first week is the hardest.
My daughter had hers out at 2 1/2 and was fine in four days.
When I had them out at 19 it took two weeks for me to feel better and three to really function fully.
Like I said, things are different now, lasers and minimal evasiveness in the surgery so not sure.
I would say plan to have him home that first week, get lots of things you can have that are mild in temp, jello, gatorade, popsicles, yogurt. No acid juices!
I didn't want to eat much at all and almost had to be put back in the hospital because of dehydration. The meds these days I am sure are better too!! :)
Don't want to scare you but it is a different recovery for grown ups due to the size of your tonsils and the hole it leaves open. Make sure you don't talk much, cough or anything major in that 48 hours afterwards.
You will feel so much better with them out. I have rarely been sick since and it is so nice. My daughters health improved tons too when we got hers out!
HUGS! Ask your Dr this stuff from the prospective of it being a grown up going through it. Like I said, I had a awful experience, lost 18lbs in three weeks, but times have changed a lot since I had them out!
Good luck

I had my tonsils removed at age 22. It was very painful!
Buy a lot of liquid Ibprofin/Tylenol. It's easier to swallow. I of course at the time my so wasn't born yet so I was able to do the tonsilectomy over my Spring Break from college. I hope your husband is helpful because you're going to need a lot of rest. To much activity too fast can cause your throat to bleed. The day after your surgery you might feel better and have some energy and you might be able to whisper or talk quietly but restrain yourself-your energy will deplete very quickly and you'll have a relaps on energy drain. Relax, take care of yourself, eat ice cream or soup which ever feels better at eh time. You might also get constipated from the surgery and might need to buy an over the counter bowel relaxer. It helped me to go to the bathroom and I felt better immidiately.
Good luck to you with your surgery. It is going to be very painful for at least 3 to 7 days.
Hang in there:)

It was the best thing I ever did. Every morning I woke up with a sore throat. The surgery wasn't too bad, in fact it felt like waking up with a sore throat. I didn't have little ones at the time so I can't really help there. Days 4-6 are surprisingly the worst because your scabs come off and then your throat is raw but if you can get through, it is wonderful. No problems since. I have heard that the older you are the more difficult the recovery. Good luck!

I hope you have a TON of help after the surgery. I had mine out when I was 16 and was flat in bed for two weeks. I could not talk for at least a week and could not eat chips or popcorn for probably 3 or 4 weeks. My throat hurt for about 6 months after, but since then I haven never had strept throat or any other infections and before the surgery I was at the doctor pretty much monthly for infection after infection.

But on the other hand, my sister had hers out when she was 19 and felt better within a few days... I guess it just depends on how fast your body heals and stuff. Good Luck:)

Hi,
Best advice I can give you is live with the ice pack around your neck literaly(even whe sleeping) If you can keep the swelling down it'll make the a huge difference.We bought a couple so we could rotate them. I'm a mother of 6,and 4 have had tonsils out,two of them teenagers. The older you are the worse they say it is. Day 3 and 4 are the worst because your throat scabs. I would try and scheule it for a Fri if your husband has weekends off. Ask DR how long hubby should be home with you. Also we bought slimfast to drink because of lack of appetite with sore throats. We kept them in a ice chest to be super cold, but not slushie. We did this because it is not gritty like ensure, and with no substanial food intake, and the pain meds causing nausea... not somethinng you want after surgery . Best of luck :)

My brother just had his removed and the first day he was fine, but the pain got progressively worse each day. He said it's like the worst sore throat ever and he is terribly swollen. He was told to plan on two weeks off of work and the first week to have help. My sister-in-law had to return to work, so my mom came to help out with the kids. But he said the worst part is not being able to eat "real" food. Everything has to be very soft and he's ate a LOT of soup. I would tell your husband that two weeks is ideal, but no less than one week.

I had my tonsils out when my son was pretty little ( I think 1 yr about), and to say the least it was not fun. the first week was the worst, and I had my husband stay home that whole week. I was in college at the time and I had to start back to school the next week, but I was very out of it and still on pain meds, so you are supposed to drive, etc. As long as you can stay at home and not go out ( have a friend run errands or pick up groceries) I felt good enough to care for my son on my own, but it will still hurt to talk, so start teaching your kids some sign right now, atleast your older son. and just talk to them about it, they might get scared if mommy all of a sudden can't talk. I wish I could remeber more specifics, but it's been 5 years!