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Original poster

Tonsillectomy as an adult - how bad is recovery?

215 replies

HermioneKipper · 17/08/2023 15:42

I’m going to have my tonsils out shortly after lots of horrible episodes of Tonsillitis as an adult. I was hospitalised last time.

Ive been thinking that if I can cope with Tonsillitis then surely I can cope with having them out?! But even the consultant told me that the recovery is awful.

Is it really horrific? Think I need to be prepared for the level of pain 😭

I’m 39

OP posts:
Toddlerteaplease · 17/08/2023 15:44

I work on a paediatric ENT ward. The younger they are, the quicker they recover. Toddlers are bouncing around. Teenagers are dying. Make sure you get Oral morphine to take home!

Original poster
HermioneKipper · 17/08/2023 15:45

Toddlerteaplease · 17/08/2023 15:44

I work on a paediatric ENT ward. The younger they are, the quicker they recover. Toddlers are bouncing around. Teenagers are dying. Make sure you get Oral morphine to take home!

I’m having it done privately and I mentioned about morphine to take home and the consultant told me to just buy some cocodamol.

maybe he thought I was too keen to get my mitts on some morphine?!

OP posts:
LetMeEnfoldYou · 17/08/2023 15:47

It was not bad days 1 and 2. I was able to eat pretty normal stuff in small bites, and as long as it wasn't hot.

Days 3-5 were pretty miserable tbh. Waking up in the middle of the night and trying to swallow was brutal.

But by day 7 I was pretty ok again, and went back to work day 9.

I do remember the GP saying that I'd been lucky because my recovery went smoothly though, no bleeds or anything.

Good luck!

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General health
chatelai · 17/08/2023 15:47

Painful, but not unbearable and doesn't last forever. Definitely better than being hospitalised with tonsillitis. (I've been there, and had them removed.)

DappledOliveGroves · 17/08/2023 15:54

My DD had hers removed aged 18 and it was pretty brutal. She was on morphine in hospital, in a LOT of pain, and then unfortunately haemorrhaged when she got home, so had to go back to hospital for nil by mouth for a week or so (she was on a drip). Having said that, it's made a massive difference to her life since they've come out - she was in and out of hospital with every bout of tonsillitis (she had to have steroid drips as the tonsils obscured her airway, as well as a tonne of antibiotics through the drip as she was developing septicaemia); now she's fine!

Hope yours goes smoothly 🙏

Original poster
HermioneKipper · 17/08/2023 17:00

Thanks all - my husband’s taken the week off to look after the kids but I’m going to have to be up and about to help with the school run the following week although I’ve got two weeks off work.

Going to dose myself right up. I’ve got some leftover diclofenac from when I hurt my back so might keep that ready too!

OP posts:
PinkFootstool · 17/08/2023 17:13

I was 22 I think. I needed every day of the 2wks off to recover.

Do NOT eat fresh tomatoes, salad dressing or salt & vinegar crisps in that period. Bad bad decision making here!

I also had a bleed on day 2 that wouldn't stop for ages and just as I was heading off to hospital, it stopped. I slept almost sitting up for 3 nights. So have an emergency plan on how you'll get there and what you'll do with kids etc if it's in the middle of the night or whatever.

I didn't get given oramorph either, just paracetamol and diclofenac as I couldn't tolerate the nausea I had with codeine back then. That was NOT enough for the first week, so take codeine if you can!

Ellemeg82 · 17/08/2023 17:20

I had mine out age 34 and honestly it was so painful afterwards.
My throat was so swollen I couldn't lay down as it felt closed up. Had to sleep propped up for a week.
Eating and drinking were impossible. They gave me massive codeine tablets that were impossible to swallow I ended up having calpol as it was liquid!
I found fizzy drinks or sparkling water soothing as it felt like it was itching / scratching my throat.
Also my sense of taste was off for quite a few weeks after wards but it did come back.
So whilst the recovery was painful it has been nice not having constant tonsillitis since.
Good luck Daffodil

NeverDropYourMooncup · 17/08/2023 17:25

Soluble co-codamol will be far easier than trying to swallow tablets.

It does depend upon what they actually find on operation and how they proceed; some people can have a fairly uneventful recovery period, but some experiences are pretty tough.

What I remember most, other than the shock of being tipped out to make my own way through London the day before Christmas after being extremely unwell during surgery (I woke up six hours after my '30 minute surgery' with the anaesthetist and surgeon sitting on the bed saying 'you gave us a right scare there - I had to keep on going and going, deeper and deeper' and got kept in overnight) was the tissue I had to cough out over the next fortnight. Oh, and how once it had healed, that my singing voice completely changed for the better.

Toddlerteaplease · 17/08/2023 17:29

If you bleed you must go straight to hospital. Even if it stops!

vipersnest1 · 17/08/2023 17:38

Get some difflam spray. It was the only thing that helped me when my throat was so sore I couldn't swallow the tiny codeine tablets.
I don't regret it for a second, though.

Dramatic · 17/08/2023 17:42

I was 28 and honestly it was a huge amount worse than recovering from major open abdominal surgery. It will be worth it to get rid of the tonsilitis but yeah it's quite brutal. Make sure you keep on top of the pain relief, even in the middle of the night because mornings were torture.

mrsbyers · 17/08/2023 17:48

My husband had his out to try and cure snoring , he was back to work within three days but for a little while he did have a very scabby throat and spent a lot of time making motorbike sounds

WithIcePlease · 17/08/2023 17:51

Painful but better than having recurrent tonsillitis interfering with my life. I had to have injections daily at a clinic in the Canaries once.
I had mine done pre internet so there may be advice about what to eat that's not painful now.
It cured me of ever wanting unnecessary surgery - I'd previously been thinking of a boob job - so saved me some money too!

GrumpyPanda · 17/08/2023 18:02

Early 20s for me. Had several nights in hospital, then recovery home. Pain was manageable but I was incredibly wobbly for at least a week. Eating was tricky for longer with an open wound that food can get caught in. No regrets though. By the time they had them out, my tonsils had basically self-destructed with constant infections so no useful purpose would have been served by keeping them in.

Original poster
HermioneKipper · 17/08/2023 18:11

😩😩 oh hell this is all giving me the fear.

Im being booted out of the private hospital after a mere 4 hours apparently.

Ive started wondering if regular bouts of tonsilitis are actually all that bad 😬😬😬

OP posts:
WorkingItOutAsIGo · 17/08/2023 18:16

You need to insist on proper pain relief: tramadol, dicolfenqc and cocodamol I think for two weeks. Nursed two adults through it and they needed two proper weeeka of pain relief.

Sonolanona · 17/08/2023 18:18

I was 35... and giving birth 4 times was preferable!
I was counting the minutes to the next painkillers. Days 5-7 were the worst.
BUT... no more tonsilitis. It was worth it!
My GP admitted he'd had his out a few months earlier and didn't like to tell me how rough it was Grin

Derrymum123 · 17/08/2023 18:34

Had mine out in 2011. Best decision ever. (3 lots of hospitalization for quinsy previously.) Never had a sore throat since. Day 3-5 definitely the roughest. I had saline sachets to gargle with which the hospital gave me. Also took over the counter painkillers. The pain was nothing like as bad as the tonsillitis or the quinsy. I don't regret it at all. Mine was on the NHS and the waiting list wasn't very long back then.

Nowgimmeagin · 17/08/2023 18:36

It's hard going, really hard, super painful... I had a nasty infection about 5 days after surgery, so this may have compounded it. But that said, given the constant cycle of tonsillitis then antibiotics, which were becoming less and less effective it was totally worth it Second the decent painkillers and difflam spray, made a huge difference to the level of pain

AuthorInTraining · 17/08/2023 18:38

It's completely brutal and I don't think there's any point sugarcoating that for you. But completely agree with several PPs who say it's worth it. No more tonsillitis when it's been dominating your life for years is amazing. Best of luck for a swift recovery.

Luckydog7 · 17/08/2023 18:54

I had it a few weeks ago (age 36) yes its quite rough.

I didnt find it as painful as the lock jaw I got during tonsillitis but it was sore and uncomfortable. I found eating pretty unbearable and so badly ate for 12 days. At that point I was almost back to normal.

I would recommend constantly drinking ice water. I rotated bottles in the freezer and sipped it as it melted, topping up with tap water.

I had quite a scary bleed on day 6, mouthfuls of blood very suddenly. should have called an ambulance really but it was 11pm and so just chugged ice water hoping to stop it and it worked.

Second week was more painful then the first just to warn you. Everything went very stiff and talking was painful on day 8-12. Drug up before bed time to make you sleep.

neverwakeasleepingbaby · 17/08/2023 18:56

Sonolanona · 17/08/2023 18:18

I was 35... and giving birth 4 times was preferable!
I was counting the minutes to the next painkillers. Days 5-7 were the worst.
BUT... no more tonsilitis. It was worth it!
My GP admitted he'd had his out a few months earlier and didn't like to tell me how rough it was Grin

Yes, agree! Had mine out aged 26. Op was on a Monday. The Friday night was possibly the most pain I've ever been in. I was pacing round the house unable to know what to do with myself. I had 2 weeks off work, thought that was insane beforehand, could probably have done with a couple more days.
After I gave birth and had a third degree tear, I said at least it wasn't as bad as having my tonsils out 😬
BUT it's short term and better than the awful tonsillitis and has been life changing since. Good luck!

BananaBender · 17/08/2023 18:58

My DH had his out when he was about 33yo. Constant infections and horrible stinky tonsil stones that gave him awful breath.

Not in the UK. He went private to have it done. I can’t remember if he stayed overnight or not. I think he did.

The recovery was pretty brutal. He was sent home with liquid oxycodone. He had to take a dose half an hour before eating or else he couldn’t bear eating. He ate lots of toast. Toast was recommended to help scrape the wounds and keep them healing.

He had a haemorrhage on about day 9. Night 9 really. I had to call an ambulance in the middle of the night and he was taken back to the private hospital, with cannulas placed during the drive in case they had to intubate him. The surgeon was already on his way to the hospital because another patient had also haemorrhaged. DH was taken to theatre first because his condition was more serious. The surgeon used silver nitrate to stop the bleeding. DH said that healing from that hurt almost as much as the initial surgery healing. He was home via taxi about 4 hours later. The haemorrhage added a week or two on to his recovery time. He had at least two weeks off work.

Definitely stay within the recommended distance/drive of a major hospital for the recommended time in case of haemorrhage. It was scary.

He has no regrets about having it done. His health improved a lot and no more stinky breath from tonsil stones.

Floralnomad · 17/08/2023 18:59

My son had his out a month before he was 18 , was ages in theatre and recovery , discharged at 8 pm and we were back in A&E by 2am with a post op bleed . He was transferred back to the original hospital where he spent the weekend on IV antibiotics . Once we got him home again the recovery was fairly straightforward. Unfortunately they must have left a bit as he still gets tonsillitis just not as frequently and apparently his tonsils have partially regrown - he wouldn’t have it done again as the bleed was pretty scary .