OT: Having my tonsils out as an adult

[mandypandy818]

I just found out yesterday that I have to have my tonsils taken out. The surgery will be in a few weeks. I'm wondering if any other adults here have had to do this? (I'm 29) My doctor and his nurse did a good preparing me for the pain levels I will experience and the restrictions I will have. I'm just looking for help from anyone that has gone through this as an adult. What was your diet like and what did you choose to drink? Was there anything you ate that you thought would be ok and turned out not to be? I'm just trying to prepare myself and get ideas for things I should be buying for my recovery time. According to my doctor, the recovery will be about 10-14 days. Any help or ideas will be much appreciated.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

I've never had my tonsils out so I can't give you any advice. Just wanted to say good luck and I hope you have a fast & easy recovery.

One of my co-workers had his tonsils out as an adult and he was out for 2 weeks so the 10-14 day recovery time sounds right.

 

[Coll0610]

DH had his tonsils out in his early 20s. The first evening, the anesthesia hadn't worn off yet and he was able to eat a little and even speak a little but the next few days after that, he was in a lot of pain. I seem to remember a lot of popsicles. My sister also had hers out when she was 20 and her doctor told her no dairy products for the first week. I don't remember why, but DH's doctor did not say that. So you might want to check before you stock up on ice cream.

Both of them are glad they had it done because they get much fewer sore throats now. DH used to get strep a couple times a year before and has only had it once in the last 20 years.

 

[stsomewhere]

My MIL had hers out just before Christmas. She was out for about 3 weeks.

My uncle had his out. It took him about a month to recovery.

 

[dex08]

I had mine out in my 20s and I hate to frighten you but I was it was very painful. I had to sleep elevated almost sitting up for about a week due to the drainage. My ears were in excruciating pain similar to that of the pressurization and inability to 'normalize' it when you fly. I told people it was like having ice picks jabbed into both ears at one time.

I ate mostly jello (melt in mouth before swallowing), pudding, no fruity lump yogurts and of course ice cream. I returned to work about 3 days later. I could talk but it was more like whispering for the first few days.

GL!

 

[Judique]

I just found out yesterday that I have to have my tonsils taken out. The surgery will be in a few weeks. I'm wondering if any other adults here have had to do this? (I'm 29) My doctor and his nurse did a good preparing me for the pain levels I will experience and the restrictions I will have. I'm just looking for help from anyone that has gone through this as an adult. What was your diet like and what did you choose to drink? Was there anything you ate that you thought would be ok and turned out not to be? I'm just trying to prepare myself and get ideas for things I should be buying for my recovery time. According to my doctor, the recovery will be about 10-14 days. Any help or ideas will be much appreciated.

I had mine out at age 46. It wasn't that bad for me, but I know everyone isn't going to have the same experience. I couldn't tolerate the pain killer, so I went without after trying to keep it down several times-as soon as I swallowed the med it was projectile. (No such problem with the ice cream or popsicles!) The relief from constant infections and strep was more then worth it. I was eating solid food in about a week.

 

[sunshine1178]

My husband had his tonsils out last Thursday (9 days ago.). He has been through a ton of Popsicles and several cartons of sorbet. He only wants to drink ice water packed full of ice, or fruit smoothies. He tried an orange pop on day 7, and said it was an awful idea (the carbonation, I think.). Since day 4, he's been into soup. French Onion, creamy Chicken with Rice, cheese Soup, and Egg Drop Soup have been successful.

He is still taking his pain meds every six hours. He did go back to work yesterday, and was in a lot of pain last night from trying to talk.

Good luck!

 

[tinkerbear]

While everyone has a different experience, I had my tonsils out at 28, and had no trouble at all. In recovery I was eating icees, maybe took pain med's one time and within a day had my voice back. I had no difficulty at all, much less sore throats, and even stopped snoring after I had them removed. It was the best decision I ever made, I am just sorry I didn't do it earlier. For me, it was no problem at all!!

 

[Tinkerbelle9980]

Please make sure you have this done at a wonderful hospital that knows how to handle just about anything. I say this because I know someone that passed away six months ago from complications of a tonsillectomy. I don't mean to frighten you, I just think that the hospital matters. Good luck I'm sure you will be fine!

 

[stacie_d]

Had mine taken out when I was 18. Also has my adenoids taken out. I agree with a pp that it was bad but necessary. I was down for a couple weeks. I didn't eat anything solid for nearly a week. Then my mom decided I should eat something and that was a bad idea. I almost ended up back in the hospital. (I think that was in part due to the pain meds they had me on. It was something liquid but contained a narcotic and I'd never had any medicine like that before.) I've had two children, and a couple surgeries since then, but having my tonsils was one of the worst as far as recovery. Wow, that was about 15 years ago.

 

[vettechick99]

It really wasn't as bad as people told me. In fact, don't listen to anyone who had it done more than 10 or so years ago. They now cauterize so I had no bleeding. The surgery itself was pretty easy - in and out in an hour I think. Stayed til that afternoon in my own room. Then I was on some heavy painkillers for at least a week. I had liquid Hydrocodone and you have to keep taking it as prescribed. Don't let yourself feel pain...just keep taking it. For at least a week or two.

I ate mostly liquids and soft foods for the first few days. Jello, pudding, Ensure, etc. I actually tried to eat a soft sandwich my first day and it got stuck in the pockets in the back of my throat. They don't tell you there are huge holes back there! Ask them for something to wash that out with. You can probably find it at any pharmacy.

Take it easy for a week. In fact, you will need to take a week off because you are tired, sore, and doped up on drugs. Hard to work when you're drugged out!

Good luck. It was a pretty easy surgery and I've had several major ones over the last few years.

BTW, I'm so glad I had it done! I was getting colds and tonsilitis at least 3 or 4 times a year. The final straw was an abcessed tonsil that was misdiagnosed and ended in surgery. Yikes! But since having mine out last summer, I haven't had one throat-related illness!

 

[quentina]

I had mine out at 20.....I will say, it was no where near as bad as I was told. 4 days later, I was out cruising with my friends. Just be careful of what you eat (soft, easy to swallow foods).

 

[brekin67]

I had mine out 2 years ago at age 40. Make sure you have a refill on whatever you plan to use for pain management. NO MILK products. I had stumbled upon a tonsillectomy recovery group online and that was very helpful to know what to xpect each day. Sherbert, koolaid, and popsicles were nice. Frozen bags of corn felt good to put on my neck and side of my face. I had mine out about 3 weeks befor Disney and was healed in time to eat what I wanted on vacation. I have not had any ear aches, or strep throat since the surgery. Good Luck.

 

[Maddie2]

I had mine out 4 years ago at age 40. Along with the tonsillectomy, I had my adenoids out and a partial turbinate reduction. Long story short, it was a rough recovery. That being said, there are different techniques and perhaps your doctor will do something different than mine did. I had a great surgeon, but I had multiple issues too, including allergies to most of the pain meds. Not good.

Foods -- instant mashed potatoes and chicken broth for the first week. To get more nutrition, I then progressed to baby food fruits and vegetables. It was over a month before I had real food again.

As horrible as it turned out to be, I can fully say that I am glad that I did it as I feel so much better now. No more strep throat or sinus infections. Be sure to ask your ENT about nasal irrigation afterward. Probably not a good idea the first few days - but after that it can really help.

I found this message board to be very helpful ... the guy who started it had his tonsils out years ago. FYI, activity is sporadic at times.
http://www.erikburrows.com/index.php?node=Tonsillectomy,+Uvulaectomy+and+Turbinite+Reduction

Good Luck!

 

[estherhead]

I had mine out at 29. It was very painful & the first pain meds I was on made me vomit continuously. I went without pain meds on day 3 and that was a huge mistake also. Give me labor and delivery any day over tonsilectomy pain. And yes, I have three kids all without drugs. ;-) Once we got that straightened out & I was able to switch it was more live-able. My doctor recommended Pringles & orange PediaSure icy cold. I thought he was crazy, Pringles? But surprisingly these were the things that ended up being best for me. The Pringles soften in your mouth & the salt helps & the roughness keeps the scabs correct. And the orange PediaSure just went down so smooth.

Not to frighten you but on day 10 I had a bleed out & had to go to the emergency room. They said it should be ok & to go home. That night I got a clot & went back to the E.R. and nearly died. People do die from tonsilectomies all the time, and not just from doctor or hospital error. It's just so close to important arteries. Anyway, my tip would be if your mouth tastes AT ALL like iron spit in the sink. If it's streaked with blood call the doctor. If it's still streaked with blood 10 minutes later go to the e.r. My fast actions saved my life. Because almost no one dies on the table, my dr. told me he had never had a bleed out in surgery. It happens between day 10-14 when the scabs come off & cause bleed outs & clots. So when they tell you 10 days to 3 weeks they MEAN IT! And don't lift ANYTHING! Not even 2-3 lbs, not a gallon of milk. You'll feel it pull in your throat. I went to the grocery store on day 9 and I still wonder if that was my big mistake or if it would have happened no matter what.

I don't regret it, though. I was on antibiotics for a year & the moment I would go off them for a few days (they were ripping my tummy to shreds so I tried to go off) the strep would take over. I had no life whatsoever before my tonsilectomy so I don't regret it. But I do wish someone had told me the risks. I would have taken the doctors instructions more seriously.

 

[Micday]

I had my out about 5 years ago. When I woke up I throw up blood but after that I was fine. I was talking to the Dr the next day on the phone. He was shocked, he did not even realize it was me. I took some Advil and was never uncomfortable.

I did eat oatmeal the next day and that hurt, it stuck to my thoart. So I ate things that scratched it and it was fine. Maybe I just lucked out but I never had a problem with my wisdom teeth either and I've heard bad things about them too??

 

[cm8]

my friend has her's taken out and she is 33, she had problems with the pockets in her throat after the surgery. She also had bleed outs and had to be hospitalized again. She was in the hospital for 2 months. She had just had a baby 3 months prior, and they were not sure she was going to make it. She had her surgery last year and she said she was not prepared for the outcome she received, it took her 5 months to eat solid food again, and she said she was starving!!!!!

 

[iwrbnd]

I had mine out when I was a teenager. I'm now 42 years old and I can still remember the pain when I woke up and my first thought was "What did I just do?" I thought I had made the worlds's worst mistake but I made it through and am soooo glad I had the surgery! Good luck!

 

[ckoncurat]

My husband just did this, and it was AWFUL- he has definitely out of commission for at least two weeks. First couple of days anything thicker than water or gaterade made him vomit, even talking made him sick. He feels it was worth it, but it was definitely ROUGH!!

 

[fkj2]

I was 33 when I had my tonsils removed. Turns out they were chronically infected, thus the frequent upper respiratory infections. The frequency decreased significantly over the course of a year.

Now please don't freak out over this suggestion, but I had mine removed under local anesthesia. Not many are trained to perform tonsillectomies under local but this surgeon had done them in the Air Force. I had received significant sedation and the surgeon injected the area with lidocaine and epinephrine. The real benefit--aside from me not recovering from general anesthesia--was that as soon as the tonsils were snipped (or snared), the tissue retracted and the blood vessels clamped themselves down. I had very little cautery to the back of my throat.

I had a rough first week, because my niece and nephew, who had colds, came to my mom's house where I was recovering, and I got sick from them.

Make sure you stay up on pain meds and keep swallowing. Because of the discomfort, patients don't want to swallow. The op site heals over on the outside but remains raw on the inside unless you work those muscles.

For whatever discomfort we've all described, I would think you'll feel much better after they're out.