r/Tonsillectomy

Today is day 13 post op (had a bleed that didn’t require surgery day 7 but a hospital stay) and still in some pain. I’m tapering off my Oxy and just Tylenol prescribed. The pain isn’t excruciating like it was days 8-10 but still feel like I have a case of tonsillitis and a very swollen uvula. I have a couple tiny scabs left up near my uvula but looks like most scabs where my tonsils are are gone. Did people still experience pain or just a general uncomfortable tightness in the throat? I don’t have my post op follow up till 4 weeks post op. Feeling a little discouraged and just so tired mentally. Could use some encouragement :( is this worth it in the long run?

Hi all, not sure if this is the best subreddit to ask but I do want any possible opinions or answers as soon as possible as I will need to cancel appointments in advance. I get acrylic nails done (last up to 4 weeks), eyelash extensions (up to 3 weeks), and I self tan with fake tanner quite regularly. Should I remove these / stop procedures before my tonsillectomy date on the 15th of June? Dr. Google has advised this, for reasons such as the fake tan requiring time to remove in case of emergency, but the answers are often pertaining to much more serious and risky surgeries, whereas a tonsillectomy is a much lower risk, routine surgery.

Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated 🧡

(25M) Tomorrow will be day 8 since the operation, I am in decent spirits, still some tongue/ear/jaw pain but my throat does not give me grief. I am scheduled for my yearly rescue re-certs tomorrow at work which would involve a lot of discussion with other peers as well as a good couple hours of decent physical activity. I would keep to myself as best as I can as I still cant talk normal due to pain. My manager isn’t pushy but played the “we’ll have to get him to come back just for you later”. Am I wrong to not show up tomorrow (he is aware I may not be there) or would I be alright to tough it out for the day?

Hi I (18F) am on day 4 rn, the ear and swallowing pain is barbaric. To make it worse, I got my period, which makes me 10x more sensitive to the pain

I feel like I’m going crazy I haven’t slept for two days. What is something I can do right now to relieve even just a little bit of pain 😭

thank you so much in advance

- Hey guys, I (26M) don’t normally post on Reddit but I had a tonsillectomy today and figured this would be a good place to ask for advice!
- Had tonsil stones and a sore throat for 3 years or so
- Didn’t know tonsil stones were the issue until about a month ago
- Went to the doctors (ENT specialist) to have my sore throat checked out and they pointed out that I had very many tonsil stones and that they’ve been affecting me for years
- They removed a large bulk of them, but there were still a few in there, and it helped out my sore throat a ton, but then after a few weeks it kinda went back to being sore all the time
- So today I went through with my tonsillectomy, I got it about 8 hours ago, the pain isn’t too bad, not much worse than the sore throat I dealt with for so long lol
- Posting cause I wanna hear your thoughts, did I make the right decision going through with the surgery? My first surgery so I’m still kinda nervous if it was the right choice lol

I’m well aware that this is an absolutely insane statement and equally insane thing to do but I’m genuinely so out of options it’s painful. Since the NHS refuse to provide surgery for my tonsillectomy my only option is going private and as a 19 year old university student I am incapable of paying those fees. My airways are incredibly blocked, especially at night, and I am unable to properly function during the day so am considering using my family holiday to get a tonsillectomy for almost half the price as UK prices. This would mean I would have to fly back 2 days post op which I know is a major risk, however, literally anything feels better than what I’m currently feeling. I suppose my question isn’t ’should I do this’ because I know I obviously shouldn’t but rather ‘what exactly are the risks?’ Specifically the issue of air pressure changes on the flight (I’m not so concerned about the hydration aspect of things as I believe I will be able to keep on top of this). There is a high possibility I will be carrying this out so would like to know all the possible risks to optimise my journey back.

Hi, I’m currently almost 3 weeks post op and i was wondering when it would be okay to drink alcohol again?

My best friend is having a birthday party this Friday and i would love to have a drink or two, i’m not thinking about getting drunk or anything maybe just a bit of wine, i’m just kind of scared it will burn or cause a bleed(i didn’t have any bleeding issues through my recovery though).

Hello!

Does anyone here have experience getting a tonsillectomy together with UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty)? My ENT mentioned he plans to do UPPP alongside my tonsillectomy for sleep apnea, but I wasn’t given much detail about what the procedure actually involves.

I’ve been researching it on my own and I’m starting to feel a bit anxious, especially about scar tissue, recovery, and whether the uvula is partially or fully removed. I also haven’t been able to find many people who’ve had both procedures done together.

I’d really appreciate hearing about anyone’s experience with recovery, results, side effects, or anything you wish you knew beforehand. Thank you!

Lol my previous post was about how much of a breeze day 2 was, thinking that this would be easy. I was so wrong about that. On day 3 rn and it honestly sucks, haven’t slept all night

Anyone else with the rotten flesh smell? And a horrible lack of sleep?

I’m so grossed out by my own breath and nothing seems to help, just thug it out? When does this nightmare stop 😭

I had surgery on Monday for my Thyroid and my throat is damaged from the intubation! My uvula is literally dangling down to my tongue! It feels like a large piece of skin that flaps back and forth. Is this ok? I’m scared they’ll need to cut it, it’s the weirdest sensation and I cannot stand it. I’m extremely bruised in my throat too. Has anyone experienced this with their uvula?

im doing okay, but honestly the anticipation is whats killing me. i know the pain is going to hit me like a truck, and im just waiting😭 i keep telling myself that if i can get through multiple severe tonsillitis cases AND cdiff/colitis, i can surely get through this.. right?💔

Hi guys

Can you share your succesful stories of recovery?

I am getting more and more traumatized reading these utter fully panic inducing things people have to endure with bleeding and pain that is worse than giving birth and having all sorts of emergencies being pumped with various drugs to survive. I am so fucking fucked up and I becomes harder and harder for me to even consider having tonsils removed.

Hi I’m on day 2 (my surgery day being day 1) and I honestly feel really fine even though I woke up a few times in the night! I was able to eat soft pasta, 8 scrambled eggs, pumpkin soup, soft bread and cucumber. Obviously swallowing is painful and I have a swollen tongue but it’s pretty manageable.

Is this the point where it all starts going downhill?

Am I delusional about this being so manageable or do I just have to wait a few days before it’s getting very miserable?

I’d love to hear some stories from people who are a little further in their tonsillectomy recovery.

Thank you!

I just wanted to encourage you to do the surgery, especially if you have constant streps and/or sickness related to it. My tonsils were also really enlarged because of the constant infections.

I'm doing lots of endurance sports these last years and always felt like I have a hard time progressing and felt really unfit most of the time.

Then, I had tonsillits 6x from october to march, which resulted in the desicion to take out my tonsils. Turns out (well obviously) I had developed a chronic tonsillitis and even in the breaks where I felt alright and didn't take antibiotics, I was still technically infected and ill.

It's now more or less 2 months after my surgery and I swear to god I've never felt so amazing in my life. Not only can I breath better, it really just also feels like I'm finally fully healthy. I think I made more progress, sports wise, in these last 6 weeks than I did in a year.

Yeah the healing process kinda sucks but it's so so worth. And I say that as someone that even had a bleeding 5 days in, resulting in another hospital stay.

Tomorrow marks 1 week since my tonsillectomy and adenoids. Not going to lie, since day 3 (not counting surgery day) the pain has been unmanageable. The first few days I was eating and feeling very confident, boy do I wish I could go back.

My doctor would not put me on any narcotics bc I thought I had an intolerance. So she has only had me on Tylenol every 6 hours and Celebrex every 12. I had prednisone for 3 days. I kept asking her to consider narcotics because they gave me some right before my procedure and I had no reaction.

Thankfully I got some norco 10s from a family memeber (I know it’s frowned upon to take someone else’s prescription but I don’t even care at this point) I’ve been taking half of that with 1 extra strength Tylenol every 6 hours. It only gives me relief for maybe 2 hours.

I’ve been drinking water constantly while I’m awake. I can’t even eat applesauce anymore. I’ve had only a smoothie a day the last 2 days. I’m so hungry but I will not even attempt to eat because of the pain.

My doctor just keeps saying this pain is normal and I should expect it until day 10-14, I know the pain is normal but I feel like something needs to be adjusted to make me more comfortable with pain meds. I feel like I can hardly even swallow my saliva and water.

I am just begging to the universe that I turn a corner soon, because at this rate I fear I’m going to get dehydrated.

I’m not even scared of hemorrhaging anymore because maybe if I have to go to the hospital, they’ll listen and I’ll get some help managing pain more.

Anyways I just needed to vent, I’m feeling so helpless and over this recovery.

What can I do to get rid of the tongue pain??? I assume it’s from the torture device they use to hold the mouth open, but my god! It’s worse than my throat when I swallow.

For the last 7 months or so i have been getting sick every month, sometimes twice a month. My throat hurting, my ears hurting, my entire body being tired etc. At first i thought it was because of my high stress job but I quit 5 months ago and it's still happening. I have been to the doctor for like two of them and they gave me antibiotics and i figured it's a chronic thing for me so i should stop getting antibiotics lest i get antibiotic resistance for the surgery. My mom says it's probably a vitamin deficiency but I am sure it's my tonsils.

So im curious, what were your symptoms that led you to the doctor who then told you about the surgery?

27M, On the night of day 4/5, ear pain has already begun, atleast past the mucous phase, now in the scabs solidifying phase, misery is in full effect, t3s were making me emotionally unstable so i switched from 2 pills to 1 plus extra strength Tylenol, i wanna know when the "this is the new me forever phase" is gonna end? Time couldn't possibly be moving any slower right now, when does the mental torture end?

I (21M) got my tonsils out now 8 days ago (surgery day is day 0) and it has been a wild ride. I know everyone says, "days 5-7 are the worst pain days" but honestly my healing looked really different (so far). I had the worst pain from days 2-4, the painkillers didn't even work well enough to blunt some of the pain. I got to day 5 and my scabs were already decently thin and the pain wasn't as bad, I was more sensitive so I switched from ice water to room temp water. Overall I was doing great though on days 5-6.

On day 7 I had complications. I woke up in the morning and after some hydration and OTC meds, I felt amazing! I actually had 2/10 pain at baseline and didn't even need painkillers. But surprisingly I saw halfway through the day I started bleeding slightly. Too little to be a hemorrhage and too much to deem negligible. According to doctors orders I had to go to the ER. They got me back in 30 minutes and the bleeding seemed to halt fairly well. I almost regretting going to the ER until I randomly started bleeding intensely. They already admitted me so I hit my call light and the staff ran to get the appropriate treatment. I used suction to control the blood in my mouth and eventually they gave me neutralized Transexamic Acid (TXA) to help me clot. I breathed it in well and it worked pretty fast to clot things off.

They sent me for a ct to see if I needed surgery again, and I was unable to lay back without blood pooling into my airway. They switched it so I laid prone so they could quickly do the scan without me choking. They then in the meantime gave me Ondansetron (Zofran) to help with the nausea from the blood I inevitably swallowed on accident. They gave me TXA via IV and IV fluids to help with clotting even more and hydration. Lastly they gave me Oxymetazoline (Afrin) to GARGLE (yes GARGLE not inhale) in order to constrict the bleeding vessels. That combo worked like a charm and after not very long, I was under control with only an estimated blood loss of 200-300ml.

Thankfully, I didn't need emergency surgery again, they were able to control it conservatively. My throat eventually cleared with water and after an hour or so the doctor saw my clot had completely disappeared with no more bleeding (I assume it clotted off internal and the external clot got spat out or swallowed). They even sent me home the same day. I was super nervous to go to bed that night because sleeping means no hydrating, I didn't want to bleed again. I slept for 1-2 hour increments and woke up to hydrate.

Now on day 8, the ENT office called me to check in after my ER visit and they basically said I got unlucky and just so happened to be the rare case of hemorrhage, but it was good news it didn't need surgery. I am still at risk for another bleed until day 14, but risk drops significantly by day 10.

All this to say, I just thought I turned a corner and it got worse, keep ahead of all the meds and hydration so this is less likely to happen to you!

If anyone would like to share your experience please do so, I am glad to know im not in this alone!

Edit: It is day 8 still and I am having little to no pain whatsoever (even while only using tylenol 500mg Q6), from what I can see in my mouth I have a small amount of scab left and whats there is super thin. The nurse I spoke with said I could have had a rare occurrence of healing faster than expected which would have lead to my scab coming off and causing the secondary hemorrhage. This just goes to show my point on how everyone heals differently and how strange this surgery really is.

I 24m had my tonsillectomy 10 days ago on the 8th, i have almost no pain except when yawning and the back of my throat is almost all clear of white scabs however i’ve noticed that everything i eat whether it’s fruit, cheese, dairy, popsicles, soups, macaroni, cereal it all tastes gross/bitter/metallic after one or two bites. it’s gotten to the point i put off eating until i have to since everything is just so unenjoyable to eat and im wondering if there’s any foods that you guys noticed didn’t get their flavor altered while recovering from your tonsillectomy? also sorry if this is a bad post this is my first time posting to reddit