Does ANYONE have a positive tonsillotomy/tonsillectomy experience?!

[imgettingmyknickersinatwist]

Hi all,

NC for this (as will be outing for my other posts) and posting here for traffic.

I am having a tonsillotomy this week (so 95% of the tonsils removed by laser, as opposed to 100% removed in a tonsillectomy which exposes the muscles benetah etc.) and am absolutely terrified.

I have been trying to prepare myself as every single recovery story I have read is actually horrific. I haven't read a single good experience which I guess is therefore a measure of how painful the recovery actually is (it's supposed to be agonising for adults despite being relatively less so for kids). Does ANYONE have anything even minutely positive to say about it?! Or any advice as to how I can make it as comfortable as possible?

I'm having the op due to tonsil stones, and not due to recurrent tonsilitis etc so I'm not having it on the basis of ongoing pain etc, so again, I'm terrified what I'm doing is not worth the pay off. I am a WIMP of epic proportions, my pain threshold is pitiful, and I'm just pathetic.

I can't decide if I'm making a big mistake and going ahead with this for what would be considered a minor irritation (constant feeling of something stuck in my throat, daily dislodging attempts etc, worries about breath etc) but then again I'm in a position to have the procedure done now, and I may not be in the future when I'm assured this issue only gets progressively worse and that this is the only 'cure'.

For those of you who've had a tonsillectomy/tonsillotomy, does anyone have any advice? what can I try and do to ease it/make it as comfortable as possible? I have two young DCs but my husband has a week's leave owing so I'll have help at home.

Sorry for the self-pitying post but I am freaking out. I've already delayed it once and regretted it so this time it's happening, but I'm totally terrified and wondering why the hell I'm doing it........

Any wise words? HELP!

As everyone says the recovery is awful. Please don’t underestimate how much time you might need to recover but on the plus side - lost a few kg and throat issues pretty much gone.

I had mine out 13 years ago. It was fine!

Left hospital the next morning, and felt fine for a day or two. Days 3-5 were not the most fun I'd ever had, it was really quite painful, but I got extra painkillers from the GP. By day 10, I was back to normal.

Yes i had mine out in 2010 when i was in my early 30's .I won't lie it wasn't a pleasant operation and i sounded like miss piggy i lived on mash and gravy and all soft food for a month afterwards .But it was the best thing i ever did .I had tonsillitis literally every 6wks before i had the operation, luckily at the time had a very sympathetic boss . I actually had tonsillitis the day of my appt with consultant who said it was impacting my life so he was more than happy to remove them .
I rarely get a sore throat now and if i do it is if i get a cold so it will be a mild one probably last a day .Just remember to keep up the pain relief.And it's perfectly normal to be worrying ,not self pitying all .I have a a few ops , couple major ones and honestly i am the biggest nervous wreck before hand .Just tell the anaesthetist (sp) and they will happily put your mind at rest .I have had some truly lovely ones .Good luck .

I had mine out aged 48 and I was expecting it to be hell from what I read. It was painful but I was fine. I'm a lone parent so I had to get on with things, and I cooked Christmas dinner on about day 12 for the family. I would say though that 3 weeks is more realistic to feel up to working again.

I was told to eat hard / rough food but I found that unrealistic and ate mostly soft stuff. I did lose a bit of weight, I wasn't eating normally until about day 9 or 10. Keeping up with the pain killers was also important.

I wasn't prepared for how it looked, all white and green at the back of my throat, though that became quite entertaining really!

I would do it again to get 2 weeks off work!

Good luck!

Estrella I have a little bit of one left too, though I'm not sure whether it grew back or was just not removed entirely.

We've just started doing Tonsillotomy's at work. There is only one consultant that does them. The difference in the recovery is remarkable!

I had mine out about 5 years ago, wasn't fun at all but was worthwhile having it done. Keep up with pain relief, I had diclofenac and cocodamal, both purchased over the counter. Avoid things like ice cream and eat scratchy foods. I had to stay away from groups of people for 2 weeks during to the risk of infection, took 3 weeks for me to fully recover

@TabbyStar I was told that they must have left some tissue behind so they'd regrown. Fairly common apparently, if disgusting

My son had them out 5 years ago when he was 17. No further problems.

Painful for a week but that was all.

I had mine out at 18, painful yes but managed with paracetamol and ibuprofen only. After a week I was back drinking down the pub

Had mine out when I was 18. Best thing I could have done. OK, it was sore afterwards but if you follow the rules it is manageable. NOTE: don't stick to just soft "friendly" foods - it will not do you any favours in the long run. I ate toast, crisps etc and I never looked back. The only mistake we did make was my mum gave me a tea of tinned spaghetti on toast and we didn't realise the spaghetti sauce had spices in it (that stung a bit). Otherwise, I had mine done 2 weeks before Christmas and was able to eat my Christmas dinner with no issues (OK, very slowly but I did it!).

L

@imgettingmyknickersinatwist I had this op done during 2019.

I had it Friday and went back to work FT Tuesday. I felt pretty woozy from the GA and slept most of the weekend so DH did most of the parenting. I would say it hurt for the first week and for another 4-5 days when I ate. Then for another 4 days (having stopped all painkillers) it felt a bit like I had a slightly sore throat and wanted to cough. Throat back to normal after 2 weeks although 3 weeks for all scarring to have gone.

I had naproxen and cocodamol. I recommend writing down what you take and when so you’re clear as can be hard to remember. If you run out of naproxen you can buy it OTC as Feminax ultra.

Don’t eat anything acidic like orange juice or tomato based sauces it will really sting.

One small but odd thing is I didn’t realise what it would look like. It looks all burnt in white/grey like charcoal when burnt out on a BBQ. For the first day or two I had quite an unpleasant smell of burning in my mouth which nobody earned me about but logically you could expect.

I went from diagnosis to op quite quickly and that was partly so I didn’t linger in it too much and risk backing out.

If you had it done privately in London we may be using the same guy so pm me if you want to see if it is and if so I can give you some more tips of hospital etc.

I had a tonsillectomy in my mid 20s.

It was painful and I did need 3 full weeks off work but since then I’ve never had a sore throat or issue since so it was worth it for me.

Don’t drink orange juice though learnt that the hard way

I had mine out 9 years ago today! They were really infected and so swollen I could barely breathe, never mind eat or drink. My mouth and tongue were covered in ulcers afterwards but that was because I was so run down. Corsodyl was really good to gargle with, gives temporary relief and aids healing by keeping everything clean. The only painkiller that was useless in my opinion was my injection of pethidine. The pain was still as bad but I was so out of it, horrible experience.
It took about 3 weeks to feel normal but I wouldn’t hesitate to have it done again. Life changer. I suffered from tonsil stones and tonsillitis.
Soluble paracetamol is great. If you are offered paracetamol in a drip, take it. It works really well and not the horrible side effects of morphine. Good luck!

Oh and dairy is probably not a good idea afterwards either. It creates mucus, which you don’t want to be hacking up!

@pumpastrotter I paid £2800 for the operation plus about £400 for appointment and test pre op. This was in London. I can pm you the details of who I used if you want.

@BinaryStar Thanks, was that with laser? Unfortunately I'm not based near London and it's out my range for the foreseeable but thank you

@pumpastrotter it was laser and diotherm I think. It’s unfortunate but the Nhs rarely seems willing to do this for adults. May be worth exploring further with your GP as to whether your local commissioning body will ever find removal and if so what the criteria are. I would note though that nhs removal is likely to be via “cold steel” ie scissors/scalpel which leads to ulceration of the muscles underneath and generally has longer recovery times than laser.

Look into radiofrequency ablation. Its not suitable for everyone, but its less painful with faster recovery times.

I had mine lasered in my early 30s. I too had heard a lot of horror stories, but my recovery really wasn’t that bad. For me the worst part was that either the general anaesthetic or the codeine made me sick - so I stopped taking the cocodamol and stuck to just paracetamol and ibuprofen and that was fine for me - I did make sure I stick to a religious schedule of taking them though and very carefully followed all the post-op care instructions they gave me.

Not sure how helpful my experience will be because I had mine out nearly 50 years ago when I was 21 years old. My sister had her out at the same time, she was 24.

The day after the operation I was eating the same lunch as everyone else in the ward - no choice of menu in those days - which was some sort of fish, I remember. My sister took a bit longer and wasn't ready to eat properly for a day or so longer.

A few days after our operations we were told off by the sister of the ward we were on for playing snap too loudly in the day room - you were kept in hospital for about a week then.

Had a really quick recovery although I was kept off work for six week afterwards in case of infection.

My GP at the time told me over and over again how painful it was for an adult and emphasized the recovery period. I never found it painful except immediately after the operation and of course you're given pain relief.

Can't imagine this sort of thing was better then than it is now and to an extent I imagine it's down to how it feels for the individual.

My adult DS had his tonsils out last year. He had reuccuring tonsillitis. He went into hospital in the morning had his operation in the afternoon and got home the next morning. He was sore for just over a week but not sore enough to use the strong painkillers he was given. He's never had any issues since and said it was the best thing he's done!

@Pumpastrotter over the years several gp's told me DS couldn't have his tonsils removed because the NHS didn't do those operations anymore. So after getting tonsillitis every couple of months for nearly a year he asked the GP for a referral to ears nose and throat. They asked him if he would like them out!! And said the NHS has never stopped the opporations and couldn't understand why for years he was told he couldn't gave them out! Waiting list was short, tonsils were out 6 weeks after his ENT referral!

Don’t back out again. You did that once and regret it, just get it done 🌷

I had mine out as a child and I remember it was very sore but unlimited ice cream, crisps and a new colouring book with lots of fuss made me wish I had another set that I could have out!

Maybe think of some things that are real treats & get/buy/do those.

I’m glad we didn’t have the Internet then. No scare stories!!

I had mine out 4 weeks ago on Thursday.
It's already the best thing I've done.
My ears don't hurt, my throat isn't constantly sore, I'm sleeping better, snoring less, and the biggest thing is that my psoriasis has eased. There's a link between step throat and guttate psoriasis.
I've been back at work over a week and was able to celebrate my birthday last weekend. (Very, very drunken weekend)
I used paracetamol and ibuprofen. The consultant prescribed me oramorph too. I definitely needed it, but I have acid reflux which made for some very painful nights.

@imgettingmyknickersinatwist did you have it done?