Last Thursday, I got a tonsillectomy after years of chronic tonsillitis and tonsilloliths. I’m at home recovering now. (It was outpatient surgery, but today is the first day I’m up to posting.) If you have any questions, ask away–responses may be a bit delayed, though, as I’m not on the computer all the time.
how terrible is the recovery relative to the chronic tonsillitis? aka, is the pain/recovery worth it?
I’m considering this procedure, along with a uvula-ectomy and soft palatte repair for sleep Apnea, how is the recovery going? I’ve heard its worse for adults than kids, but how “worse” is it actually?
Thanks for doing this!
I’m not fully recovered yet, so I can’t give a great answer to that at this point–apparently the cycle is “bad as you’re just coming out of the surgery”; “okay as scabs form”; “bad as scabs release”; “okay as healing occurs after scabs release”, “recovered”. Right now I’m in the “okay as scabs form” period.
They gave me oxycodone to take for pain; my “babysitter” was giving me the maximum recommended dose the first night. In the wee hours of the morning we discovered that that level makes me barf. I then switched to OTC Tylenol and have been OK with that since, never exceeding the max recommended daily dosage. The pain is roughly equivalent to that of a very bad sore throat. However, I do understand why they tell you to stay home from work for a week or two, and plan to do so. We’ll see what happens when the scabs start to release.
I haven’t been around kids who have had tonsillectomies as they were going through the recovery period, so I can’t give a good comparison. For my procedure, the doctor said to plan to be out of work for 1-2 weeks, which I think is a bit over twice the recovery period for kids. Your procedure would be more significant than mine, so add some buffer on top of that.
I had all those three years ago. Those surgeries are major ones for an adult and many times worse than a tonsilectomy for a child. You have to be out of work for at least 10 calendar days and maybe more and you can expect to lose 10 - 15 pounds and you need around the clock care for a few days even if it is outpatient. Doctors tend to give the strongest pain meds available after the procedure.
However, my surgeon scared me so badly beforehand that I didn’t think it was “that” bad. I have experienced worse pain like the time I impaled me left knee with a nail and had to have surgery for that. I could eat some things again by day 3 and I was fully mobile between days 4 and 5. I didn’t fully cure my sleep apnea but I would do it again because it did have some lasting benefits.
That is a procedure you have to take very, very seriously but I didn’t think it was the worst thing ever either. You have to know going in that you will be almost completely immobile afterwards for some days and that friends, family, and coworkers have to know just how seriously they need to take it and how to accommodate you. If you have kids, they will need replacement care for a while.
You mention tonsillectomy as an adult: a young adult, or an older one? I ask because I had one at age 20 and my recovery seems to have been shorter.
4-year-olds who were operated on the same day as me were out of the hospital as soon as they’d recovered from the anesthesia. I was hospitalized for 3 days.
I’m in my late 30s and I definitely don’t heal as quickly as I used to.
I left the hospital the same day I had the surgery. I required a babysitter for the remainder of the day and that night. I also had a babysitter the second night, though I could have done without if really necessary. I had one brief visit after that but otherwise have been OK on my own. (So far–keeping fingers crossed and hoping that nothing goes wrong.)
I learned what tonsil stones are right here on the SDMB, which cleared up a lifelong minor mystery.
I really just have one question: do you really get to eat all the ice cream you want after a tonsillectomy? As a child, I found that to be an enchanting idea, and I was always a bit disappointed that it never happened for me. As an adult, I’ve gotten better at cost/benefit analyses.
I hope your recovery proceeds apace and as comfortably as possible!
I’ve become lactose-intolerant, so no 
But I did make sure to stock up on sorbet, Jello, and soy pudding. I didn’t want to eat anything, though, until the third day after surgery. I’m still feeling cruddy and kind of nauseous, so even if I were able to eat ice cream I’d be reluctant to ingest too much. Also, putting a bunch of fat into your digestive system after a few days of fasting probably wouldn’t be such a good idea in terms of the effect it might have.
In terms of soothing my throat, cold water and Gatorade seem to be more effective.
So I think it comes out to one of those “deal with the devil” tradeoffs: Yes, you really can eat all the ice cream you want…except you won’t want to eat much of it at all.
Thanks for the good wishes. I’ve just graduated to eating applesauce, and am trying to work up the courage to tackle a bowl of soup.
I had my tonsils out at age 9, and had the typical “better in a few days, very minor sore throat for two weeks” recovery.
My brother had his out in his early 20s and was unable to eat or drink for three days, then unable to eat for another week or so. He could take some things, like orange juice and milkshakes. He lost something like 30 pounds. (he had it to lose, so no worries there).
Orange juice? Over tonsil scabs!!! Owie!!!
Hunter, what is tonsilitis, exactly? I have my tonsils and they are huge. When they get a little bit inflamed (especially after I swallow something the wrong way) they get in the way of my breathing and swallowing. I get those tonsil stones from time to time too.
I don’t get too many full-blown sore throats anymore, tho. I know of sore throats because I used to get strep twice a year, so I’m very careful to rush to the doctor any time I feel like I may possibly have it. But I haven’t felt like that in so long. I don’t think I’m a candidate for removal - even though from time to time I fear my tonsils are going to choke me in my sleep.
Is tonsilitis painful like strep or is it more subtle than that?
I’ll jump in here too, if it’s okay with the OP…
Had my tonsils out at 33, after a lifetime of strep, tonsil stones, tonsillitis, lather, rinse, repeat. My tonsils were so swollen on a “normal” basis that I could open my mouth for docs to look at them and the back of my throat would be totally closed off. The ENT was very informative and upfront about the risks, lengthy recovery period, and pain, which I appreciated. Her biggest concern was that, as a redhead, I would be more likely to be a “bleeder.”
I still say, two and a half years later, that it was the best three weeks of my life (I got an extra week off work because my job is extremely physically demanding and I wasn’t fully healed). Book in one hand, TV remote in the other, drugs on the table… bliss! I couldn’t talk that entire time, which made DH quite happy as well.
The surgery wasn’t too bad; I stayed pretty medicated for the first two days, so I don’t have much of a recollection of that time. Days 4 and 5 were awful (scab-related), 6-7 were better, 8 and 9 were nightmarish (ears this time), then the rest of the time wasn’t any worse than a bad case of tonsillitis.
They tell you to stay flat on your back for at least a week- definitely good advice. You want the scabs to stay in place as long as possible.
No ice cream- it causes you to produce mucous, which you want to avoid at all costs because coughing is BAD. But mashed potatoes, sorbet, pudding, jell-o, popsicles, apple sauce- all okay.
A coworker got hers out around 20, and her recovery was more similar to a child’s; I wonder what the “cutoff” is before it becomes a more serious issue.
The only thing I didn’t anticipate was the effect of not having that built-in choking prevention system; previously, if I started to swallow something the wrong way, or had too big of a bite of something, I could just close off the back of my throat. Now, not so much- I sort of had to re-learn how to eat. But it’s still a good payoff.
Does anyone know why is the surgery so much riskier for an adult than a child?
I had mine out when I was 6, my daughter had hers out at 8. My two other children (18 and 22, so I guess not so much children anymore)still have theirs.
IANAD, but it’s kind of a generic term for an infection of the tonsils. More info is available through medical professionals, etc., etc.
I’m not sure I’ve ever had real strep throat, so I can’t comment on that. My tonsils generally tended not to be too swollen, though they would swell up every so often. A common comment from doctors was, “Well, they’re not too swollen, but wow, they’re pretty red…” My tonsils had significant crypts, though, and I had tonsil stones continuously.
You might want to check with your doctor about whether you may be a candidate for removal. I think there’s an algorithm they put you through, like “IF cryptic=TRUE AND swelling occurs more often than <threshold> THEN…”
Hunh. They told me to stay upright, including sleeping propped up in bed.
:eek: Oh wow, that’s gonna be weird. I totally know what you’re talking about with respect to closing off your throat. Any recommendations on how to approach this difference?
I think one factor may be that the tonsils are larger and have had more time to…I dunno if “develop scarification” is the right term, but the impression I get is that there’s simply more cutting involved. (IANAD, etc.)
Also, kids just tend to heal faster.
I had both my tonsils and my uvuila removed at separate times. Tonsils in my early teens. Easy surgery and recovery until the scabes came off and they started to bleed. I ended up in the er having to be burned to stop the bleeding. My uvuila was much easier had it done right in the dr office. The worst part was the smell of the burning flesh (he said I had bigger balls then he did he would have opted to be put out). No real pain just irritation and I was back at work the next day. But a stitch slipped and started to make e cough, not the best thing to do. Had it snipped and then healed just fine.
Hope you feel better soon.
One of the unfortunate side effects of my job (and the one I held previously, actually) is having to get any meal down really, really quickly. That was the first thing that had to change- slow down while eating, take smaller bites, chew.
Also, until I got the “eat SLOWLY” thing down, I couldn’t eat in a reclined position. I never ate totally prone, but would “sack out” on the couch sometimes, propped up with a few pillows to enjoy a bowl of popcorn, or an orange or something. Didn’t do that for a long time, and the first couple of months after I picked the habit back up there were a couple of pretty close calls.
I just had to keep reminding myself that folks who didn’t have huge tonsils were able to eat without killing themselves, so there was no reason I couldn’t learn to do it too. 
Things I have learned recently:
-Three percent of people who have tonsillectomies have to return to the hospital due to post-op bleeding.
-Technology transfer programs have enabled civilian hospitals to use coagulants that were originally developed for the military.
-Dickies makes hospital work clothes that look good on hawt nurses.
-Doctors are very impressed when you inform them that you stopped using the Oxycodone after the first day after the original operation.
-A liberal application of silver nitrate chemical cauterization can result in one’s uvula slanting gently to one side.
I had my tonsils out at 19, two years ago. Can someone explain this scabbing process? Are you referring to the white mucous-y coating that appeared in the area or is it something worse than that? I was out of action for nine days. The worst part was vomiting from the anaesthetic and my swollen throat coming forward into my mouth. Also my jaw was extremely sore for two days, I’m guessing they had it clamped open or something during the op?
Hope your recovery is going well Hunter Hawk.