Adult tonsillectomy, anyone have experience? I'm so scared!

[Leslie735]

Just as it sounds, I'm having my tonsils removed on the 28th of this month. All I'm reading is horror stories online about the recovery of an adult tonsillectomy. My E.N.T. wants to remove my tonsils because my right one is enlarged and has been for a year now, while my left one is completely normal size. It happened after a bout of tonsillitis and never went down. So not only am I scared of the recovery but scared of that as well. Ugh! I'm reading it is SO painful. I'm already started my stock in supplies. I have a humidifier, already bought some soft foods but will get more and I plan on getting an ice pack for my throat. Any other good tips? I'm so nervous about this! :scared15:

[Carrie8484]

I had mine out 2 months ago.
I'm 32. I believe things are a bit different in the US than the UK regarding this procedure.
It will be very painful to swallow for 10-14 days. Water will be your best friend - just drink constantly. Keep up on your pain medication
In the U.K. We are told to eat normal and crunchy food to keep the scabs healthy and prevent infection. In the US I believe you are told to eat soft food? To be honest, I would do a mixture of both. There will be many times when you will find it too painful to swallow but please persist as this really helps the healing. Some bleeding is normal but watch out for anything untoward and call your consultant if you have any concerns. Eating is so important as you will be on pain medication and you need to line your stomach and keep your strength up.
Yes it's not pleasant but the pain for me wasn't as bad as migraine pain, for example.

Oh, and one of mine was larger than the other hence the removal. The biopsy was normal and I'm sure yours will be too x

[Leslie735]

I had mine out 2 months ago.
I'm 32. I believe things are a bit different in the US than the UK regarding this procedure.
It will be very painful to swallow for 10-14 days. Water will be your best friend - just drink constantly. Keep up on your pain medication
In the U.K. We are told to eat normal and crunchy food to keep the scabs healthy and prevent infection. In the US I believe you are told to eat soft food? To be honest, I would do a mixture of both. There will be many times when you will find it too painful to swallow but please persist as this really helps the healing. Some bleeding is normal but watch out for anything untoward and call your consultant if you have any concerns. Eating is so important as you will be on pain medication and you need to line your stomach and keep your strength up.
Yes it's not pleasant but the pain for me wasn't as bad as migraine pain, for example.

Oh, and one of mine was larger than the other hence the removal. The biopsy was normal and I'm sure yours will be too x

Thank you SO much for your positive story! It really means a lot to me, especially telling me that your biopsy was normal. That helps! Was yours always that way or did it become that way? Was your other one normal? I have read about forcing yourself to eat and drink and that is my plan. I'm going to try to eat as normally as possible from what I'm reading that makes a big difference. Thank you for the tips!


ETA: I'm also 32. ;)

[Fishmanpa]

As with Carrie, I've been there done that TWICE (both palatine and lingual). And as mentioned, it's no picnic. There's a site (http://tonsillectomyrecovery.com/) that helped me in preparing and knowing what to expect. I suggest you check it out.

Good luck and lots of ice cream :)

EDIT:... scratch the ice cream and go with freezer pops. The ice cream was a bit too thick at first but as you heal? Yum! Cooler liquids or room temp is best. Jello, pudding, soup broth and one that I loved was mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs mixed. Easy to eat and pretty yummy! Again, read that site and what to expect day to day. You'll turn the corner in about two weeks. Ohhhh... and LIQUID pain meds. It was too hard to swallow a pill for a while. The key is to make sure to take your pain meds (even if you have to wake up to do so) as it's easier to keep it at bay than it is to clam it when it's kicking your butt.

Positive thoughts

[Leslie735]

Fishmanpa: Thank you for the tips! I'll be sure to ask for liquid pain meds. I keep reading that nausea is a problem because people are not eating and taking the pain medication on empty stomachs. Was that the case for you? I despise nausea and throwing up so I'd like to avoid that. I'll force myself to eat if I have to.

Flipp: Thank you so much, comforting to read. :)

[Fishmanpa]

I just made sure I ate something. Like I said, mushy, easy to swallow foods. But no, I didn't have nausea, just the sore throat of a lifetime. Like I said, read that site and what to expect.

Ohhh one tip. As you heal, there will be scabs where they took your tonsils out. Don't be surprised or freaked if you cough them up when that happens. There may even be a little blood. It's gross but totally normal for the healing process.

Positive thoughts

[Carrie8484]

I am emetophobic and being sick was one of my big worries.
I didn't feel too bad with nausea, all I will say is that as the scabs are forming they can make you feel a bit 'gaggy' back there. Worse in the morning.
Drinking as soon as you wake up helps with this. Just keep hydrated.

People will tell you different things about eating.
As I said, in the UK we are told numerous times to eat hard, crunchy foods to keep the scabs clean. It seems every other country are told to eat ice cream!
There is no right or wrong, as long as you eat something!

[Leslie735]

Thank you everyone, I'm feeling more at ease. :) :yesyes:

[Leslie735]

Wanted to come back and update, I had the procedure at the end of December. Recovery, for me, was a total breeze. I didn't even have to take a single pain pill. I took Tylenol twice the first couple days and that wasn't even all that needed. No issues with pain or bleeding. Went very smoothly.

[Miznuvem0412]

I'm seeing an ENT next month mines have been swollen after a virus I got back in nov 2016. They are still swollen and they're talking bout removing them. I'm scared also but hopefully they diminish more by the time I see the ENT

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

[Ryank65]

I'm seeing an ENT next month mines have been swollen after a virus I got back in nov 2016. They are still swollen and they're talking bout removing them. I'm scared also but hopefully they diminish more by the time I see the ENT

I had both my tonsils taken out at the age of 18. Not trying to scare but It was the best and worse thing that happened to me. I say worse because I'm a very big guy and I couldn't feel my pain pills working so I was in a lot of pain and didn't drink enough water. Because I didn't drink enough water I had to go to the Emergency Room for dehydration, that's why it was a bad experience but that would of never happened if I just drank water haha. Why its the best thing that's happened is I get sick A LOT less. I haven't had strep throat in years and every time I get a cold I never get a sore throats like I used too. You also don't get little food chunks stuck in the tonsils and have to worry about tonsil stones that make your breathe smell bad constantly. I wish I would of got my tonsils out when I was even younger so I didn't have to deal with throats problems growing up.

[Leslie735]

Don't sweat the procedure. Seriously, I was TERRIFIED it was going to be horrible because that is all I read about online. For me, it was nothing. Really! The biggest advice is to DRINK DRINK DRINK as much water as you can tolerate. That was the biggest advice given to me and they were so right. It kept my mouth moist, the scabs moist and the pain never got worse than a 3-4 for me. I set an alarm during the night to wake up every hour or two to drink water. I was determined I was not going to have any bleeding or pain. I took 2 regular Tylenols through and never touched a pain pill that was prescribed to me. You'll do fine!

btw I'm 32 years old.