Tonsillectomy recovery

[Sarahcoggles]

I posted in Health but posting here for traffic - sorry.

DS is 17 and due to do his A levels this summer. He's really struggling with his throat and has been told he needs his tonsils out. Waiting list on NHS is well over a year so with family help we're paying privately, so can basically choose when to have the operation.

He has mocks in February and the real thing starting mid May.

I know the official line is that it takes 2 weeks to recover, but I'd be interested in hearing people's actual experiences of it. We're trying to work out which 2-week block would be the least disruptive in terms of his education. We considered the Easter holidays but thought that might be a bit close to the exams.

Any thoughts?

Thank you

Also agree with what @Zombiemum1946 says. Try and set a schedule for him to take painkillers and stick to it as much as you can so he’s keeping on top of it and taking them before the pain kicks in again. I was given oramporh which really helped

The main issue with recovery is the amount of scar tissue etc they have to hack away at, usually the older you are the more tonsillitis you’ve had so it builds up a lot. I think if he doesn’t get recurrent tonsillitis you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised.

I had my tonsils out at 28, due to quinsy that I had had twice, I was on the emergency list, as I had already been admitted due to the second quinsy. Consultant was concerned that I could experience severe blood loss, I took Arnica homeopathic remedy, emergency dosage 3 days before surgery, blood loss was minimal. I did have infection after surgery that slowed my recovery. But well worth having the surgery.

Good luck I hope your DS recovers quickly.

I'm in the same position OP. DS is 21 and has been getting tonsillitis pretty much monthly for the last 18 months. He's so run down and it's affecting him mentally as well. Like you, we're paying for him to have it done privately as waiting lists are so long. We have an appointment with a consultant next week so hope he'll be able to have the op asap. I'll update and let you know how it goes.

not going to lie, the recovery period for me was horrific. Had mine out at 18, I could only sleep for 2/3 hours time as the pain killers wore off and the pain woke me and my throat would be dry, felt like I was swallowing knives.
I was prescribed some kind of mouthwash that I remember helped.

Despite the awful recovery, I had no complications and it was worth it but it took me 2/3 weeks to get back to normal.

When I had mine taken out (20yrs old) I was told it was routine op, 2 week recovery. So decided to have them out a month before some university exams for similar reasons. What actually happened was i caught an infection, the swelling caused all the cauterization to come undone. So hemorrhaged bucket and buckets. Truly terrifying. Had to have it all recautetised. Was horribly ill for over a month and missed all my exams. In hospital the consultant told me that around a third come undone due to infection, a third! I was so angry.

I had mine out at that age, it was awful. Wounds got infected so it took about six weeks. Done privately though, so went in the day of my last exam and they were done the next day.

Just posting here as I was looking through these boards a few weeks ago in advance of my DS's surgery (adenoid and tonsil removal). He is 3. He had the coblation surgery, which can minimise risk of bleeding and speed up recovery.

His admission was at 745AM, so he fasted from the night before, water until 730AM. He was taken up to theatre around 930, so we played and coloured and sang until then.

I sat him on my knee while he was put to sleep (mask) and sang in his ear. He stayed completely calm. I was able to be with him in the recovery ward when he woke up. A few minutes later he became quite upset and the nurse recommended trying to get him back to sleep, which he did quickly. He then slept another 90 minutes, and woke up ready for his tuna sandwich which he favoured over ice cream! He ate a muffin, some watermelon, apple, crisps and yoghurt pouches as well.

We were discharged and home in time for a big bowl of pesto pasta and a water fight with big brother.

We kept on top of pain killers, alternating Nurofen and Calpol. We also kept on top of offering drinks and food so that his throat didn't dry out and the scabs came off more easily. He loved pesto pasta, Frubes, and crisps. Wasn't that interested in ice lollies or ice cream, but did offer regularly. He ate most of us his usual meals as well, maybe being a little more picky than normal for the first few days.

He woke once per night for the first few, and seemed to be in the most pain then, but cuddles and meds sorted him out. From night 5 he slept through again.

On day 4 (counting surgery as day 0), he had a hard few minutes, running around holding his mouth and asking for medicine when he wasn't due any. I gave him some pizza a few minutes later, which he GULPED down, and when I looked into his throat later, I noticed a lot of scabbing had come off. This happened a few times over the next few days - short bursts of pain followed by really clear progress in terms of his healing.

By day 8, we were reducing meds and by day 12 he wasn't taking anything. It's now day 15 and you'd never know anything had happened, bar the fact that:

his sleep apnea (which was severe) is now completely done - he slept silently and deeply from the first night post-op!

he is currently having a growth spurt and eating us out of house and home!

Totally worth it, and the recovery was easier than I had anticipated. Hope whoever is reading this experiences the same.