Tonsillectomy. Has anyone had one?

[Usernameinvalid16]

I had an appointment this morning that confirmed i will be getting my tonsils removed due to tonsil stones (finally!) after nearly 2 years of gp visits i am over the moon! I will have to stay overnight incase of complications or blood loss.
Has anyone had them removed?
What was it like to eat/drink afterwards? How quickly were you able to get up and get going? (i'm expecting to feel like shit for a while but dd has nursery in the morning) Will i be able to take her to nursery?
When can i drive again, 5 days?
What about jewellery?
Sorry for all the questions, they will probably go through all of this on the day but i would like to be prepared. Thanks

I had a tonsillectomy 5 years ago, post operation my throat was no more painful than when I'd been suffering from a bad bout of tonsillitis, was able to go home the next day and returned to work the day after that (was totally fine to drive as well). Unfortunately I was admitted to hospital a week after discharge due to a haemorrhage, but was back out a few days later and haven't looked back since. Really love the fact that when I get bunged up with the cold I can still breathe through my mouth, which was very uncomfortable before. Not sure of your question about jewellery...I didn't wear any to hospital but I wasn't advised against wearing it once I was out.

I had mine done about 35 years ago when I was a child! Sore throat for a bit, but again no worse than tonsilitis. I never looked back, it changed my life. :)

So no answers on the specific questions, but just to say that I used to be quite ill with tonsillitis and having the op was very much A Good Thing and worth it.

Good luck.

I had mine out 20 years ago - well, 22 years ago - aged 17. Changed my life, as up until that point I had had permanent tonsilitis with regular quinsy throats and it really compromised my quality of life for about 5 years. I had got to the stage where I was going to the GP on a weekly basis and begging to be put out of my misery!

Getting them out was one of the best things that happened to me. I had a sore throat for about a week afterwards, which was no worse than a bad case of tonsilitis. The thing that helped best was gargling with solpadeine.

In terms of your specific questions...
What was it like to eat/drink afterwards? How quickly were you able to get up and get going? (i'm expecting to feel like shit for a while but dd has nursery in the morning) Will i be able to take her to nursery?

• I would arrange for someone to take her for a day or two after you get home in case you don't feel great - but I was fine apart from sore throat from about 48 hours after the op.
• They made me eat a bread roll in the hospital the morning after - eating normally will weirdly help the healing process apparently. I ended up eating a lot of soup once I got home though!!

When can i drive again, 5 days?

• It's probably down to how you feel - I'd check with your doc.

What about jewellery?

• Do you mean can you wear it? It's not a good idea to wear jewellery to hospital in case it gets lost. You can't wear it for an operation.

I was 2 when I had mine out 37 years ago, i was very poorly and not thriving due to recurrent tonsillitis every 6 weeks since birth. Had them whipped out and never looked back. I just remember having a sore throat for a while and having to eat before I was allowed home.

Yes when I was 26. It does hurt I won't lie and gets a bit worse over the week as your ears ache (it's all tightening and healing) it stopped hurting 2 weeks later. On nurse advice I used soluable paracetamol every 4 hours and ibuprofen every 4 hours in between. Consultant also prescribed OxyContin but I was private. I sipped water straight after - get that out of the way. Eating was ok, not as bad as I thought! I still get sore throats mine just got too big. Don't take or wear any jewellery or nail varnish. It's a quick procedure. Good luck!

Worth noting mine hurt a lot because they got so big. It's not always so bad and it was bearable :)

Sorry will i have to remove my jewellery for the operation? I have 2 piercings that i can't remove by myself (they close up really quickly) i'm looking forward to getting them removed.

I got mine out a few years ago and although I was sore for about a week it's the best thing I've ever done! Barely had a sore throats since! I could drive 2 days later and was discharged 24 hours after the op. I wouldn't wear any jewellery into hospital as they will tell you to take it off anyway and it could go missing. Good luck

Where are the piercings? I had to take my tongue one out but that's obvious! They may be able to cover them if you explain that close quickly

I had mine out aged 19, best thing I ever did!

It was painful from what I remember but not as bad as some of the tonsillitis I had!

Got mine out 8 years ago. Recovery was awful and like pp was taken in back in due to haemorrhage and infection. But after about 10 days I was well on the mend. They gave me loads of pain meds to help, one was a little pink tablet you dissolved in water and it was the shit!!
I am so glad I had the op though, no more sore throats. Hope it goes well for you op.

I have my tragus and rook pierced i heard they can close within hours but it might depend on how long i've had them (6/7 years) but i've never changed them or took them out by myself. They are a bit awkward.

My dm will help with dds nursery if she needs to.

Had mine out 25 years ago as a child. If I remember correctly the best thing to do is eat crunchy food to knock the scabs off. I didn't do this and dr described my throat as ' a cesspit' and I got quite a nasty post op infection. I remember being quite ill.
I still get horrendous throats by the way- the stumps of the tonsils can get their own infections, dr called it 'stumpitis' which is as glamorous as it sounds.....

Has anyones sense of taste changed?

No. But my voice did.

I had mine taken out about 25years ago when I was 17 and recovery took a good 2 weeks. I remember feeling quite poorly so be prepared as it's supposed to hurt more if you're an adult. But things may have changed as it was so long ago. Good luck!

Suppose every hospital is different but I know mine will cover up certain piercings so you can only ask.

I had mine out a couple of years ago, it was soo worth having it done. I would advise avoiding ice cream and opt for ice pops instead. I had a cocktail of drugs, I think cocidamal and another strong pain killer, available over the counter, don't run out of pain killers. I think the older you are the more it hurts afterwards. I was advised to take 2 weeks off work due to chance of infection. Try to rest as much as you can and your recovery will be much quicker

I had mine out when I was 23. It was sore for about a week but then I got infections on both sides and ended up back in hospital on antibiotics. Try and drink little and often to keep them clean and eating helps with the healing too. I had to eat a bowl of cornflakes before I could leave hospital. i can't remember exactly why but it was to do with clearing away any debris 😣 Good luck! Hope all goes well.

I had mine out at 17, I'm 43 now. It was fine, quite painful but they give you soluble aspirin to gargle then swallow.

You can drive as soon as you get home, it doesn't affect your driving.

You can't wear jewellery for any operation in case (very very unlikely) they have to shock you as the metal would burn you. They can cover rings etc with tape if you can't get them off.

It's brilliant once they are out but try and take their advice and start eating normal and hard foods as soon as you can, rather than soft foods as it helps to get rid of the cauterised flesh!!

Oh, and that dangly down bit at the back of your mouth? They cut that shorter too! Mine used to be really long but is much shorter now

Yes!!! Horrible OP, my recovery was horrible. I couldn't eat solid foodfor about two weeks.whenever I tried to take a bite it was like my teeth would shatter, it was very painful !!

Though saying that, I don't suffer from tonsillitis anymore, I hardly get a soar throat and if I do, it clears up within three days. Before, I would have tonsillitis every month, I would be vomiting, I would be in pain for a week, I can't eat. So all that pain from the tonsil operation was worth it.

Oh... I did eat solid food, only toast. But nothing else.

I had mine out 3 weeks ago at 33.

I'm not going to lie, it's been tough

I had infection which led to bleeding and was readmitted. I could eat some food the next day, but couldn't have done any childcare.

Voice was different for the first 2 weeks, but back to normal now. Lost feeling in my tongue, and only just coming back.

I found the pain unbearable for the first week, was waking in the night to take more painkillers.

However, for all these things, I'm so glad I have had it done! My breath is amazing

Thank you for this thread OP; I am having a tonsillectomy soon too. On my 6th bout of tonsillitos this year as we speak.

Does anyone know if you can have the procedure when you have tonsillitos?