I am scheduled to get my tonsils out on January 15th. I am 30 years old. Actually, it is a triple surgery. I am getting my soft palate reshaped and getting a deviated septum corrected as well as having my tonsils removed. My doctor told me that while the first two procedures were moderately painful, having your tonsils out as an adult is a real bitch. She told me that I would be on Oxycontin for at least a week and lose 10 - 15 pounds over two weeks.
Does anyone here have experience with this surgery or the other two? Is it really that painful? How long will it be before I can eat? Can I walk around, drive, or talk for the first few days? Any good suggestions that I can incorporate into a liquid diet?
I had my tonsils, adenoids and some “excess tissue” cauterized when I was about 21. After the drugs wore off that the hospital gave me I was in the worst pain in my life. That’s saying alot. I couldn’t talk but I sure could cry. They had given me Tylenol 3 or some crap that was useless. I indicated strongly to my mother that she go find something else at the pharmacy.
IIRC, the no-talking/pain part lasted about a week. I supposed if I had really needed to drive somewhere I could have, but didn’t feel like it. Also, the standard thing is ice cream and Gatorade but after a few days of trying to force that crap down I realized that grits and soup (i.e. hot liquids) were much easier.
One last funny thing. Since they took off so much tissue I had to relearn to swallow because when I would drink something it would come out my nose.
My mom saved the pad I wrote stuff down on, it’s an interesting read from time to time.
Don’t let me scare you too bad, most of my troubles were from the cauterizing, not the tonsils. But it’s still not going to be fun; Good luck.
I got my tonsils out at 15 and it hurt like a mutha. I mean REALLY hurt. They didn’t have Oxy back in those days, but whatever they gave me, I couldn’t swallow it. Water hurt. Ice cream hurt. Everything REALLY hurt. An IV would be the answer. Good luck. You’ll live, but you’ll be really glad a week or so after the surgery. Not before.
I had my tonsils removed right before I turned 25. While it wasn’t much fun, it was well worth it. It was done on an outpatient basis, and sure it hurt for a while. Don’t plan on much other than watching TV or reading for the first couple of days. If I remember correctly I had my tonisils out on Thursday or Friday and went to school on Monday, walked around campus, etc. No big deal. I found the trick was small drinks and small bites of soft food. Best thing I remember was homemade macaroni and cheese.
Good luck, I hope all goes well.
I had mine out at 25. Room temperature soft foods (pudding, scrambled eggs, etc) and liquids are your friends. Anything hot or cold was uncomfortable.
Because I’m allergic to “caine” drugs mine were cauterized. The smell hung around for about 2 weeks. The little bit of appetite I had left after the pain was instantly cancelled out by the smell. Yuck!
A couple of days and you’ll be fine. Stock up on really good reading material and comfy PJs. Comfy PJs can cure what ails ya.
I had my tonsils out when I was 17. It hurts. I wouldn’t plan on doing anything at all for at least a week, except sitting around feeling sorry for yourself and getting pampered.
At about age 25 for the second time. The first job at age 6 ot 7 was not complete or scar tissue or whatever!
Spent a few days recuperationg on milkshakes, icecream etc. Nothing coarse or rough. No picnic but not too bad either.
Go sparingly on the Oxycontin and other such. Tolerate as much pain and/or uncomfortable feelings as possible. Maybe my pain threshold when I have the control is higher than normal.
I had a root canal and that hurt about the worst of any of the dozen or so sugeries of a lifetime including a thoracotomy. The DDS prescribed 100 of pretty stout pain killers. I tole the pharmiscist to give me 10 to start and if and when I need more I would call him. Used four or five over three days and flushed the rest. Pain killers can be subtle and lead to more rather than less of them.
During my four years of high school, I managed to come down with strep throat 9 times. The summer after I graduated, my doctor strongly advised that I get my tonsils removed. Went ahead and had it done, and haven’t caught strep throat once since then (fourteen years and counting).
Another side benefit was that after the surgery, and for the first time in my adult life, I was able to draw in sufficient oxygen breathing entirely through my nose. Couldn’t do that before, though I have no idea why. Makes trips to the dentist a whole lot easier.
Same here, Kiz. I was sick every couple months for the first two years of high school. Then…nothing. It was a friggin’ miracle. I rarely get sick now, and it’s been 32 years for me.
Had my tonsils out at 23. So VERY glad I did; colds and sore throats are practically nonexistant for me now, whereas before I had them every few weeks.
They cauterized my throat and that was painful. You do have to relearn how to swallow, which can be darkly funny if you’re doped up on codeine and have the right sense of humor. It was about 5 days before I could speak above a whispery croak.
I got Tylenol 3, and after a week they switched me to something else so I wouldn’t get hooked on opiates. My Dr also gave me nose drops. It helps with the swelling (though it runs down your throat and tastes nasty). He recommended chewing gum, too, because it takes care of your icky breath and works jaw and throat muscles, which apparently aids healing.
I lost 13 pounds in two weeks. I would have lost more, but I discovered baby cereal. Rice, wheat, oat, all fortified with vitamins and minerals and easily thinned with water or juice to a drinking consistency. No cooking required, IIRC. Avoid milk, though, because it thickens in your throat and you’ll gag on it. Yuk.
Rest a lot, take it easy, drink fluids! Look forward to years of better health. Good Luck!
I had my tonsils out when I was nine after having strep throat three times in two months. I didn’t have it again until I was in college, (I got mono, twice and then the strep set in) and now I get it every six months or so. My doctors think I’m a carrier, and whenever I get rundown, I reinfect myself.
So, I hope nobody jinxed themselves.
As to the OP, at about 27 my brother had his tonsils, adenoids and excess tissue, including his uvula (that’s an odd sight) removed as well as his deviated septum fixed. He was suffering from sleep apnea and had gotten to the point where he would stop breathing for minutes at a time, scaring the hell out of his fiancee.
He stayed at my parents’ house while recovering, and the pain pills they gave him were so large he physically couldn’t swallow them (they were about twice the size of an average multivitamin, I would have had trouble sucking those down) so he subsisted on ibuprofen, tylenol and aleve.
It took him more than a month to recover fully.
However, he can now scare nurses and doctors. He opens his mouth and invariably they take a step back. The uvula is gone, and there is minor scarring all around his tracheal opening… which is still smaller than a quarter.
I may hold the record here for tonsillectomies - I had three of 'em. The first two were when I was a child, but at 36 I had to go see an ENT (or what my daughter calls an “ornithologist”) for an abcess in my throat (and let me tell you, THAT was the most disgusting thing…) Anyhow, the doc said I could use a tonsillectomy, much to my surprise. I also had some extra tissue removed from inside my nose, and my nose was packed afterward with some horrible, hard gel stuff. The surgeries were outpatient and I was home that afternoon, but I’ve never been so uncomfortable in my life. My sore throat made it painful to swallow anyway, and added to that the fact that my nose was full of packing and it made my ears pop when I tried to swallow… well, I was misery personified. I didn’t sleep a wink. Early the next morning I went back to have the packing removed and literally saw stars when the doc removed that. The inside of my nose hurt so badly for a few days that by the time it went down enough for me to NOTICE I had a sore throat, the sore throat was nearly gone.
My tonsils were taken when I was 36. Very painful, and a very long recovery time. I was out of work for 2 weeks. However, as many have mentioned, my sore throats have been non-existant, colds rare, my snoring ceased completely (makes my wife very happy) and an incessant cough I had for years disappeared overnight.
Best pain I’ve ever endured. Very worth the trouble in my case.
I had my tonsils out at the age of 19. In retrospect, I’m glad I had them out, as it meant the end of strep infections and tonsillitis eight times a year, but believe me, during the recovery period there were times I was really wishing for death.
Part of my problem was that the vicodin they gave me had no discernable effect other than to give me a headache, so I had to make do with OTC painkillers. It was 3 weeks before I stopped being in constant pain, and about a month and a half before I really felt normal again. I tell you, I will never take being able to swallow for granted again.
After having strep throat every 2 months for about 4 years, I had my tonsils out at 21. Honestly the most paid I’ve ever been in. I came out of surgery and it felt like my jaws had been spread open a few feet. I was talking right away. Just a note…if you can talk, don’t. It makes it much worse.
I ended up having an allergic reaction to the codiene in the liquid tylenol 3 and threw up every hour or so, which caused some very bad scarring in my throat. After that, I was off the pain killers, so I had to go it alone.
I found milk based stuff, like ice cream made the pain worse and popsicles became my best friend. I couldn’t speak or eat for 3 weeks and lost almost 20 lbs. In the middle of the second week I was eating Beef Consume…heated and then left to cool.
I had them out at about 21 years old. I spent the entire summer in pain every time I swallowed and I could barely eat for about 3 weeks. Having said that, it was TOTALLY worth it as my health improved dramatically.
My cousin had his tonsils out at about 12 years old. Since then, he has had major heart surgery including putting in essentially a pace maker at age 18. He STILL says his tonsillectomy was way worse.
But we’re not trying to scare you. Honestly, you’ll have them out, ache some (well, a lot) and then recover. It will be awful but not unbearable.
And reading everyone else’s story, I am glad I am not the only one who had a lot of pain. I thought I was just being a wuss.
Funnily enough, I was just thinking about asking my doctor whether I should get my tonsils out. I’m 36 and have suffered from chronic colds, coughs and sinus infections all my life, and yet not once has any doctor suggested this, including the ENT people. I wonder why.
It sounds very unpleasant and painful, but then hacking up a pound of phlegm every morning is pretty damn unpleasant too. Before I head off to talk to my GP about it, are there any long-term downsides anyone wants to mention?
I had mine out at 23 and it was bad. I was out of work for a solid 3 weeks and lost over 15 pounds. I simply couldn’t (or wouldn’t) swallow because it hurt so badly… I remember that warm food was better than cold food.
On a more positive note, my son (11yrs old) just had his out over the summer. It hurt but he was eating real food right away-a cheeseburger in the hospital! I think the pain medicine is better today. He said that day 3 was the worst and then he really started to feel better.
I will be thinking about you… my youngest gets his taken out right after Christmas. Poor little guy.
Gyrate, you and me are in the same boat. Deviated septum or Tonsils out? What’s the difference? What made the most improvement for people? Did anyone get one and then the other? I would like to wake up some morning with a head that is not full of snot. I’m certain my wife wouldn’t miss the snoring.
Sing it, brother! Besides, my wife no longer finds it funny when I say “If I’d have known I was going to cough up so much phlegm every day, I’d have taken up smoking.”