Tonsillectomy Recovery

This is a pretty standard procedure so all should go well. My nephews have had this done and all were fine. One of the three had a tougher time (but some of that was his mother over-reacting to EVERYTHING) but the others were fine. In fact, one was eating bacon and anything in site by the end of the week.

Just be warned that having the tonsils removed does not guarantee that she will not get strep. It does reduce the chances but the only thing it GUARANTEES is that she won't get tonsilitis (can still get pharangitis...same but when you don't have tonsils that is what they call it).

My son had his tonsils and adenoids removed 6 months ago. He was 3 yrs old. The actual surgery lasted about 15 mins and we were able to see him 30 mins after he went in. Most children recover very quickly. The first hour will be pretty rough because she'll be coming off the anesthesia and that's a very scary feeling for the little ones. Days 3-4 are usually the worst for pain, so keep that in mind. I know you want to try to wean the kids off of the pain meds as quickly as possible, but the recovery will be so much easier and quicker as long as you stay on top of her doses and do not wait too long in between. My son was feeling really great by the 5th day!
We had a "no rules for food" week in our house. Every meal was his decision and that included ice cream for breakfast! :) Lots of ice chips worked really well for us too!
Best wishes for a super quick recovery!

You have had some great answers that I echo,but I wanted to add a few things. I had my tonsils out as a teenager and then had my DD taken out a few years ago. I would recommend staying away from things that have red dye in them. If your daughter started to bleed (that is a possiblity) then it would be hard to tell if it were blood or just the red dye that she ate. While she is still healthy stock up on things like juice, popsicles, ramen noodles, mashed potatoes.....things that are soft and easy to fix in a hurry for her. Then when she is home, you won't have to stress about what to feed her, you will already have it on hand. Good luck
J.--SAHM of 7

I had my tonsils out one year ago last week. I'm an adult but in my experience it wasn't THAT bad. Yes, my throat hurt, but as long as I kept it moist by drinking (popsicles, italian ice, sherbet, ice water by means of a straw were all great) I was ok. MAKE SURE SHE TAKES HER PAIN MEDS ON TIME! Never skip one even if she seems to be feeling better, give them on time around the clock without missing. I skipped one when I thought I was feeling good but boy I paid for it the entire day because the pain meds had to catch back up to make me more pain free. I slept for 2 days straight only waking to take meds, eat/drink something, and use the bathroom.

I won't lie, it was pretty rough for my 6 year old daughter. My advice would be to just make sure to be able to keep her hydrated and be sure to keep enough food in her to be able to tolerate her pain meds so she is able to eat and drink. Those were the two issues we had. And, don't let the pain get ahead of her. By that I mean, give her pain meds as prescribed. Don't wait until she says it hurts or it will be too late and take way longer to get the pain under control. Then she will have problems eating and drinking which can lead to dehydration then trouble stomaching her meds because she has no food in her stomach. Just be prepared and have all the soft foods and drinks that she likes. Be sure to have her drink even if she isn't thirsty. This was the first surgery anyone in my family had and I didn't know all these things so it got bad. But, these really are the most important things so keep them in mind and she will be fine. Good luck.

can u please keep me updated on this subject...my five year old is getting her tonsils out really soon too and I'm a nervous wreck!! I keep hyping her up about it in a good way but secretly Im really scared. My daughter has sleep apnea and constant sore throats and a nasally speech. Good luck and keep me posted please.