r/Tonsillectomy

Hi all,
30F and I have had strep 3 times this year. I never got strep as a kid, but once I hit 30 it was all down hill from there 😅. I have frequent tonsillitis and constant tonsil stones. They also just get randomly swollen and they make it difficult for me to swallow. I’m ready to get them out and my tonsillectomy is scheduled for 9/16. I’m not going to lie I am terrified. I’m a nurse and I recently brought it up at work and everyone thought to tell me their horrific adult tonsillectomy stories. By the end of listening to everyone’s story I was in tears, and almost called to cancel my surgery. I’m not usually this big of whimp, everything’s just hitting me at once. I’m a post anesthesia care unit nurse so I’m actually not scared of the anesthesia, mostly just really scared of how painful the recovery is going to be. I’m a mom of two elementary school age kids and I want to be there for them, but also respect my recovery. Please tell me I will be ok and that I will feel much better after getting these tonsils out. Please also tell me all of your positive experiences. I could really use them 😔.

I have my tonsillectomy scheduled for Friday (two days from now). I’m pretty worried about the pain. My ENT said they can only give me pills to swallow instead of liquid meds. I definitely plan on taking these, but I did remember I have some liquid lidocaine from past tonsillitis. Is this safe to take post op??

Hello everyone, I am just sending my message to whoever is out there because I am in so much pain right now (day 7 post op). I keep thinking I see the pain starting to go away and then it just comes right back.

Anyway, I woke up in so much pain and went in for a popsicle. I have never had this many popsicles so early in the morning ever. I have literally eaten 3 boxes of popsicles in 7 days. Ugh, when will this end!!

For starters i’m a 28 year old male, generally healthy, but have suffered from tonsil stones and constantly feeling like I have one, which leads to me pressing into my tonsils to the point where they bleed. It’s not something i’m proud of but the irrational fear of them has gotten me to this point.

My main fears are, missing two weeks of work when i’m
already not well off financially, the (from what I hear) severe pain that comes with the surgery, and also as a picky eater, starving to death during the recovery (lol)

So with that I have a few questions;

1. On average, (if anyone knows), how much does insurance cover the surgery? I have insurance through my job, and i’m very much worried about the potential out of pocket cost for whatever insurance doesn’t cover.

2. Is the pain really as bad as it’s said to be? I’m kind of a baby when it comes to pain, especially when it comes to my mouth, I was always horrified when having a loose tooth that it would hurt, to the point where my mom had to force me down to get one of my teeth out as a kid. Sore throats suck, but from what I understand this is way way worse.

3. Is taking pills easy after surgery? I take two pills daily, for ADHD and for Anxiety, the anxiety pill is smaller, and i’d compare the ADHD pill to the size of an Advil Liquid Gel, and i’m worried that the pain would be too much to take said medication.

4. What foods are best advised to eat post surgery? I know to avoid hot/spicy/crunchy foods, but as a picky eater, I am genuinely worried about starving, especially with the lack of appetite that comes with the procedure. What got you through your surgery at least eating wise?

5. How long does the really severe pain last? I’ve seen so many people say the surgery was worth it for many reasons, I as stated earlier, just hate pain and am concerned it would be too painful of an experience.

Hey hey, before I start the whole reason I post this is because Iam autistic and need preparation before.

My surgery is in one month, and I’m very nervous about it all! Mainly because I’ll have to take out my nose piercings and I really don’t want too!

But if it’s a need I will.

I was able to leave my nose piercings in while I had my iud installed, so maybe I could for this?

But please be honest, and tell me what may happen and what may be acceptable!

So sorry, I hope everyone’s having a good day 🫂

My surgery is tomorrow and I’m starting to get nervous! 😭 I’d love to hear from anyone who has gone through this — especially what you wish you had known beforehand.

What helped you recover faster? What should I have ready at home? What should I absolutely NOT do during recovery? Any must-have products, foods, medications, or little things that made your recovery easier?
Also, what surprised you the most about recovery that nobody warned you about?

Please give me all the tips — even the little things you think are obvious! I’m trying to be as prepared as possible.

Hi! I am getting the surgery one week from today. I am female, 32, 5’1, 183 lbs. I am having the surgery done because my tonsils are literally ginormous. Every single doctor and nurse that has looked at them has audibly gasped and asked me if I can breathe and swallow, because one side is completely blocking the uvula. Like not even kissing, but crossing over 😳 I also have severe sleep apnea and snore. In addition to that, I get sick all the time. I had tonsillitis twice in the month of May, which has prompted me to move forward with getting them out.

I understand weight affects snoring. I am hoping that having them out will help somewhat and make my snoring at least a little quieter. I’m at the point right now where my husband and I sleep in separate rooms most nights. I do have a CPAP but I absolutely hate wearing it 😅 so most nights I just sleep in our guest room.

Just curious if anyone experienced a positive change in their snoring. I know it’s not going to be a magic cure, like I said, I know being overweight can make you snore as well. But would love to hear any positive stories, mostly everything I hear is that the recovery is awful. I’ve never had surgery before and I’m very scared lol

I'm 4 days post op and got so many tips from this sub. I'll list the ones that have really helped me and anything I personally have found to help. More than anything I think I want peace of mind that everything is going to be okay 😭 so reading these posts really helped me. I hope this helps at least one person who overthinks like crazy. These are the things I would say are non-negotiable if I were to do this again (God forbid lol).

1. ⁠Cool mist humidifier. I think for everyone this is necessary. It will keep your throat moist while you're not drinking ice water (you should be doing that every chance you get!) I put it on my nightstand slightly elevated from my bed because I didn't want it directly in my face. Keep your door shut or at least half way. I noticed a big difference when I'd leave my room, could only handle about an hour before I had to go back and breathe in the moist air.

2. ⁠Ice water. Drink this 24/7. I swear at times it is more pain relief than the pain medication. I went through a 36 pack of water bottles in 3 days and a huge bag of ice from the grocery store in that same time. Always have a big cup full of ice and water. Don't worry about chewing ice honestly, it's scary for me and you get the same benefit from extremely cold water. When I say take at least a sip every 10 minutes, I mean it. Set timers in the middle of the night. I've found even when im waking up in the middle of the night to drink, my rest improves.

3. ⁠Be careful if you are sensitive to opioids. I'd never taken them before so I had no idea. My doctor prescribed me liquid hydrocodone. First dose at home it made me super nauseous but I continued with the next dose. Big mistake. Next time I took it, an hour later I was vomiting water and blood that had gone into my stomach during surgery (normal). It felt amazing to get out BUT unfortunately the straining caused a bleed on the right side and the blood loss mixed with the pain medication made me extremely delirious and hysteric. I went to the ER and vomited again, they did an X-ray, gave me fluids, ran THREE separate rounds of blood tests, had my vitals 24/7 and gave me TXA to clot my blood. I was up for to receive blood but thankfully the medication worked enough. I was only there from 11pm to 8am but I swear it felt like I was there for 3 days. If you have nausea after taking it, please stop. Honestly I do not think it's worth it. I've been taking Tylenol now every 6 hours and I feel so much better off the hydrocodone. I don't say this to scare anyone!!! As long as you're drinking water all day and keeping your throat moist / eating smooth foods you more than likely will not bleed. I just got unlucky.

4. ⁠ASK FOR A STEROID from the get-go. With my situation I had to advocate for myself quite a bit (surgeon didn't even see me after surgery or tell me how it went. He said no need to follow up either 🙃). The night of day 3 I decided to call the next morning and say I want a steroid to help with the inflammation. My uvula has been huge to the point where it goes down into my throat and I can't see the end of it. If that happens it doesn't automatically mean you can't breathe or swallow, but it does make it much harder. I started prednisone today. Your doctor should recommend the best days to take it since it's short term. But ideally you want to start it right before the pain starts to peak.

5. ⁠Food. I only ate applesauce my first day since I was later in the ER but the next day I really tried my hardest to eat as much as I could. I've found eating makes me feel so much better. My favorite things have been malt-o-meal or cream of wheat. I found a plain chocolate one and I just add water and sugar and it is so good. Make it really runny. Even having it slightly warm feels really nice and it's satisfying. When my stomach hurt I CRAVED bread. So I heated up a can of chicken noodle soup and made sure the noodles were the really thin ones. I got a piece of white bread and dipped it in the soup. At day 3 it tasted like I was eating in a fancy restaurant. Make sure you chew really well. I really recommend. Non-dairy Ben and Jerry's ice cream is so good. I had the strawberry cheesecake one and found crushing up a big graham cracker into dust and mixing it in was so much more pleasant to eat. I mixed vegetarian refried beans with water and shredded cheese and microwaved it until it was thin enough. It was good for when I had a savory craving, I do recommend. Lastly, aloe water feels very nice and is a nice change from regular water. I'd avoid juice if you can. I tried having non-dairy yogurt blended with frozen banana on day 2 and it burned so I can't recommend any fruits to you right now.

6. ⁠TAKE A BATH!!! I began to feel so disgusting just sitting in my bed day after day. I would shower every night but I once took a hot bath in the morning and it helped me feel positive again. Lol this stuff can get really hard on your mental health.

7. Dulcolax stool softener every morning. It's very gentle. If you have a sensitive stomach to the general anesthesia maybe wait until your stomach feels normal before taking.

I wish you luck and I hope this helps you or anyone else!! ❤️❤️

I hope this helps you or someone out!

I had very recurrent peritonsillar abscess which I got monthly or even twice a month so was super annoying. I had to go to the hospital 4 times to get it drained. I also had chronic tonsillitis and cryptic tonsils. With that being said I decided to get a tonsilllectomy as I was honestly TIRED of getting sick. Also I vaped a lot so I was thinking some of that irritation could of been from the vape.

Leading up to my surgery I quit vaping like 4 days before since vaping can restrict blood vessels and slow healing. Looking at all the horror stories on tiktok I was absolutely frightened for this surgery but here's how my healing process went.

Day 1 (surgery day): Pain 3/10 , very swollen uvula and uncomfortable to swallow

Day 2-4: same pain level was about a 3.5/10 -- again the pain was only when I swallowed but other than that I was feeling fine.

Day 5-9: pain was highest at a 4/10 and the lowest was like a 2/10.

Days 10-15: very low pain only uncomfortable when I swallow and there was times where it would be uncomfortable in the morning or at night but this was cause scabs were falling.

I made sure to take my pain meds exactly on time, I had only had Paracetomal and Ibuprofen prescribed to me and they did the job. I was also on antibiotics which my doctor prescribed me to avoid any infections. I stopped my pain meds on day 8 and I felt fine. The pain came NO WHERE NEAR close to the nightmares I faced when I had my abcesses and could not even speak a single word.

I made sure to drink 3-4L of water a day and this was easy to do because I had a straw water bottle (hydroflask). I didn't do anything special like getting a humidifier or getting the ice pack for the face or doing anything different, just followed my surgeons advice of sticking to cold soft foods days 1-3 and very soft foods days 4-8 (mashed potatoes, soups, purée) i only started eating pasta day 8 ( so a week post op) and made sure it wasn't hot.

It is now day 15 and I am of course still healing as I dont feel 100% back to normal the throat still feels raw which is normal but pain is like not even there and if it is its when I yawn or eat something which requires jaw work lots of chewing.

I wanna tell everyone to not be so scared of this surgery as for me it was NOTHING like what I saw online and I dont know whether its. because I've already had much worst pain on my tonsils or if its just because I stayed really hydrated and stayed away from crunchy / scratchy foods.

Also im still scared to hemorrage as Ive seen that can still happen even 2 weeks post op so ill keep this updated!

I'm at day 5 post op now. Day 6 tomorrow (currently 8.30pm over here). I am dreading the pain will be worse tomorrow. For you who have already endured this recovery, what day was the turning point for you?

I got my tonsillectomy on August 13 and I’m on day 4 post-op. Today has easily been my best day so far, which is somehow making me more nervous instead of relieved lol.

I woke up, took my pain pill, and was able to literally CHUG water with barely any pain. I also have basically no ear or throat pain today. My biggest issue right now is honestly constipation from the opioids, so I just took Dulcolax and I’m hoping that finally gets things moving 😭

BUT I’m suspicious. 😂 My scabs definitely couldn’t have fully fallen off yet, right?? I keep hearing that tonsillectomy recovery is super deceiving and you can have one amazing day and then wake up the next day feeling like you’re swallowing razor blades.

I’ve also seen people on TikTok saying their scabs didn’t start coming off until days 6–7, so now I’m sitting here
thinking this is the calm before the storm. 😭

Did anyone else feel surprisingly good around day 4 and then get worse when the scabs started coming off? Or is there a chance I’m actually just having an easier recovery than expected? What days were the worst for you?

I’m on day 10 and honestly just feeling defeated. This has been a lot harder mentally than I anticipated.
I feel like my scabs aren’t coming off, at least not as much as people seem to say they do? I still feel woozy and don’t want to take my pain meds as I hate how they make me feel.. I keep being told I’m “almost there” but is that even true ?
Trying to remind myself it will be worth it, and I’ll never have to go through this again.
I appreciate this page as I can come read things here and know I’m not alone in it 🙃

Hello group. I’m day 5 post op and going insane. What are some foods you were able to eat post op that you didn’t know you could? Like some soft foods where you were like oh wow, this is so easy to swallow. I’m starving

Update: I was able to eat egg 🥚 which took ten minutes for one egg but I got it down

Curious to hear answers to title question. Context: Since last August (2025) everytime I've gotten sick my tonsils have swollen up. I work in a school so I was sick basically once a month. I had tonsil swelling in August, twice in September, once in October, in February 2026, and in March that for a month straight instead of the usual week-long episodes I'd been having. Usually they never outlast the duration of the cold/flu that I was dealing with at the time, again with one exception. I'm currently sick now, its only been a couple days and my tonsils are annoying me with this persistent soreness. They look red and inflamed, but they've been worse before (Aug '25). The size has fluctuated between episodes as well. The ENT told me to wait to experience it for at least another year (that was in October) to even look into a tonsillectomy. My next appointment is in October, so a month and a half away. I want to be prepared with the right concerns/questions in case I need a tonsillectomy.

Does it sound like I'd be eligible for one? Could the tonsil swelling just be my body's reaction to being sick? I mean I know its not ideal but neither are cold symptoms overall. Most swelling in the body is for protective purposes right? Maybe if I try to strenghten my immune system I will stop getting sick and it will stop happening... but that will be a while, especially because I work in a new school now and will be building new immunity to whatever the teens and staff at this place pass around.

If I get them removed won't I be more likely to get sick since they are part of my immune system? I'm also worried because I talk a lot as a teacher so there's not really a convenient time for me to be able to shut up. I also have an irrational fear of anesthesia and surgery, so perhaps thats why I'm making excused... What do I do?!?

My other health info: AFAB 23, cannabis smoker, fairly active, fair diet. Lmk if I'm missing something.

(Edit to add: Never been positive for strep, or covid during these episodes. First ever swollen tonsil episode was with mono dx in Aug 2024 but that went away after 2 or 3 weeks. I can imagine mono might be the culprit for these episodes now...Damn you mono)

Currently on day 13, noticed this evening I’ve got a through and through hole to the right of my uvula. Yesterday it had a scab on. Just a bit freaked to see a hole, no bleeding noticed.

Anyone had a post tonsillectomy fistula before? Did it heal its self or did you need further examination from your surgeon?

Hi peeps here’s my tonsillectomy journey on the nhs so far.
Had my surgery on 11/8 and it went well and was able to leave same day after being able to eat with paracetamol and ibuprofen and a numbing mouthwash.

Day 1+2: were fine , painful but tolerable and was able to swallow small amounts.
Day3: pain increased to ears and jaw and teeth so got codeine from gp as mentioned in aftercare advice whcih helped
Day 4: started getting stomach pain from codeine so had to stop it and pain got worse again. Was unable to swallow water without severe pain and was super nauseous due to stomach pain and not being able to eat much.
Day 5 woke up in early hours puking twice and severe throat pain so went to a&e as there was a streak of blood in second puke and i was losing my mind from pain. Vomited again once i was checked into the emergency department and it was all just green fluid as there was no food in my stomach or water. They hooked me up to a paracetamol via iv and antisickness meds which helped with the pain and puking. Used numbing throat spray, ibuprofen and more paracetamol iv to reduce pain enough so i could swallow water again. The ent checked in in the afternoon and said its good i came in since i was super dehydrated and it couldve caused bleeding in the surgery site. Once i could swallow water again relatively okay i was discharged with antibiotics, tranexamic acid for bleeding prevention and told to use the throat spray every few hours so i can keep sipping water.

Day 6: (today) still very painful but throatspray and paracetamol every 6 hours is saving my life. Allowing me to drink water and take meds and eat tiny amounts of food. Only thing os im super nauseous still and cant think of foods to eat that are soft but not triggering 😭😭 hopefully it improves. Im scared ill vomit again and start bleeding. Does anyone have random food recommendations that wont trigger nausea but are safe to eat after a tonsillectomy ?

Just wanted to reiterate if you cant swallow anything and are in severe pain just go to the emergency department for help so it doesn’t worsen your condition and put you at risk of a bleed !

A short story of my journey to date as I’ve found it helpful to read others’.

I had my tonsillectomy on Thursday 13th July around 0820. The anaesthesia and operation went well and I was back in my room recovering and sending emails for 0930. I was sent home the same day around 2pm with paracetamol, ibuprofen and Dihydrocodeine.

I had a visible blood clot in my left tonsil bed which was bleeding yesterday (Sunday 16th) and required me to visit A&E. Arrived at A&E and it was rammed however they must take it pretty seriously because I was seen by a specialist from ENT and on the ENT ward for observation by 11pm. On arrival at A&E, they done their usual blood tests, got a cannula in and I was administered adrenaline on a swab applied directly to the bleed location and kept in overnight for observation. The clot resolved itself and had disappeared by morning and I was home today (Monday 17th) around 2pm.

I wouldn’t say that the pain I’ve experienced to date is in any way significant - maybe 4/10 - although I have been following a medication schedule religiously. I am however only on day 5 at the time of writing and it may go up over the next few days.

I am slightly nervous about restarting ibuprofen in case of a link to further bleeding but my ENT consultant said just to resume the schedule. I can cope with paracetamol and Dihydrocodeine so will see how I get on!

i’m on day 13 (surgery was august 4th).
i have minimal scabs on the back of my throat but i have white scabs on both sides (near the ear area). i’m certain those stubborn scabs are contributing to my excruciating ear pain. i have not done any salt water gargles; however, i may if they can expedite the scabs to fall off.

i’m scheduled to return to work on day 16 but i’m extending my FMLA to day 24. i work in child welfare and it’s way too demanding for me to return just yet.

any tips on how to make the scabs fall off quicker? other than drinking water, of course.

I (21F) got my tonsils out on Wednesday August 5th, making today day ten of recovery. I turned the corner on day 9, yesterday, and have been feeling so much better!

All that aside, if you are prescribed opioids such as oxy for pain relief and take it for more than a day or two…. TAKE LAXATIVES!!!

I’ve been taking Colace, a stool softener and stimulant, everyday for the past week, and still couldn’t shit.

Fast forward to bloating and SEVERE abdominal cramping today, I had to go to urgent care and was then sent to the ER for a bowel impaction. We’re hoping some heavier doses of laxatives (I was literally prescribed the colonoscopy prep, NOT fun) clears me out, but if I don’t pass gas or stool in the next 48 hours, I have to go back to the hospital for more serious operations.

Please don’t make my mistake and only take one type of laxative/stool softener during recovery, TAKE A POTION! Miralax AND some pills at least, more if your doctor recommends it.

The one silver lining of the horrible painful and stressful day? I haven’t thought about my sore throat hardly at all😅

My surgery is tomorrow morning Monday the 17th! I’m sooo nervous yall!!! I’m scared of the Anesthesia. I guess also the pain afterwards. Do you think if I ask they’ll give me something for anxiety when I get there? I’m very prepared for optimal healing. I’ve got the humidifier, groceries, jaw ice packs, wedge pillow, exc. how did you guys calm your nerves the night before and morning of?