Tonsillectomy

[Mamuss]

I'm having my tonsils out soon. Does anyone have any experience with having theirs out? Recovery etc? Is it going to be as painful as I'm anticipating? Any advice would be gratefully received...

I know a few children who've had theirs out. All were fine, mild discomfort that's all. We worry more than we need to .. part and parcel of being a parent

I had mine out in January. It is sore afterwards, there's not point pretending but it is bearable as long as you keep on top of your painkillers. Take the strongest ones you can get, I would say dont leave the hospital unless they've given you at least 30/500 cocodamol.

I ended up with a bad infection and a hemorrhage which is the complications they warn about, I won't go into too much detail about what happened as I don't want to freak you out but if you see any blood or spit up any blood then go to hospital as soon as you can. Also your breath will be a bit smelly after but if it's genuinely offensive to you and others then get to the doctor for antibiotics.

I was taken first thing and was out by 5. Take the morphine when you wake up!! They'll make you eat before you leave too, it's a bit stingy but not too bad! I was back to normal and off the painkillers after 2 weeks even with the complications. Try and eat normally as soon after as it clears the scabs and helps prevent infection.
Good luck! This is the longest I've went without tonsillitis in 4 years, it's so worthwhile!

Someone else asked this recently. I can't remember who.

Be prepared to have your appointment cancelled, seems very common as it's not life threatening but very annoying. Only happened once to me but was very irritating having to take two weeks holiday from work and then have to ask for it again a few months later.

The actual op went fine but I was in for approx 5 days as got an infection (I was mid twenties) which again is common in adults. Yes it's painful but just like tonsilitus but just keep thinking this will be the last time you'll have this pain and you'll get through it. Eat as soon as you can and take the painkillers to keep you topped up.

Good luck

I would say its more annoying and frustrating than horrendously painful. I was really worried but it was less painful than I anticipated. They gave me Codeine, diclofenac and paracetamol. I found the diclofenac most helpful.

You will wake up feeling like you've got a lump in your throat, you know that kind of emotional throat constriction. But it doesn't feel unbearable. I was made to eat toast before they let me go home, you need to keep eating as normally as possible but you'll work out things that are most comfortable to swallow. My DM had kindly prepared some Cornish pasties for my return- I would not recommend! The pastry stuck to my throat and DM got all offended I couldn't eat it while I was desperately trying to explain the problem without talking too much!

One thing I wished I had bought in advance to have in house was those little cans of iced coffee. You can't have hot drinks for a while because it encourages bleeding and I really missed my morning coffee hit.

It's a longish recovery that gets boring but it's worth it in the end.

Oh and I did get an infection too, you'll know by the disgusting taste in your mouth! Quite common as previously said but get to the hospital/doc for more antibiotics asap and it shouldn't cause further bleeding. Good luck, you'll be fine

Oh forgot to say that I found cereal really good, the milk and the crunchiness was quite soothing in a weird way.

I asked this recently... but have NC since. Had mine out in November, posted here a few times as I was utterly terrified!! Woke up from op with bruises on arms from being restrained, no memory of this .

It was not as bad as I'd built it up to be, it was sore, days 3-7 were the worst and eating/yawning were bad. Waking up in mornings was horrible too.

My hospital didn't make me eat toast but I doubt I would have had a problem, as days 1-3 were fine for me, I ate a cookie on day 2! Oh and for some reason I found ice cream the most painful thing of all - the cold was far too harsh. I tried to eat normally but pain was pretty bad so mainly ate mashed potato and jelly - jelly was amazing. Doctor told me to just eat whatever I felt like and not to worry too much, main thing is keep drinking water!!

I also had op cancelled once, was irritating. Best advice is don't look online too much, I scared myself silly. Get rest, get DVDs ready to take your mind off it, you should get medicated mouthwash. I had to tough it out on ibuprofen and paracetamol because the tramadol they gave me made me sick - being sick after a tonsillectomy is pretty awful so was too scared to use any stronger painkillers after that. Day 7 I suddenly started feeling so much better.

And focus on the outcome - my life has honestly been transformed!! I had tonsillitis 8 times last year, was constantly ill with colds/flu type things - the longest I was well the whole of last year was 3 weeks. Since Nov, I have had 1 mild cold, I cannot emphasize enough how pleased I am I had it done. I'm 23 btw. GOOD LUCK! I know it's scary, especially if you've read around online, but you'll get through it and be so pleased you had it done.