Adults who have had tonsillectomies?

ashleymichaud

So, I'm having a tonsillectomy in a week and a half, I'm 23, and wondering if any of you have had a similar experience. How did your surgery go? What did you eat? How did you feel afterward? My doc said I can't exercise for two weeks after it! Did that happen to anyone else? How did you suffer through it? I'm anxious about that because I'll be in week 6 of C25K and insanity and I wonder how far it will set me back? Kind of nervous but also excited to get these tonsils out! Looking forward to your responses.

BrokenButterfly

I had mine out about 3 years ago (ish) and i'm 23 now. I won't lie to you, it's not a nice experience. The healing process is very very painful and you get this disgusting 'slough' at the back of your throat. The trick is, however, to eat foods like dry toast and crisps to help knock off the scabbing at the back of your throat each morning, otherwise you'll find it too hard to swallow the rest of the day. It's really not a nice experience but it's so so worth it. You'll feel great within 2 weeks x

tmd0521

It is true you should take it easy for 2 weeks, i just went to the store afterward and passed out, that was scary. anyways, jello, pudding, chicken broth, mac n cheese, applesauce, yogurt, etc

kappyblu

I'm 40 now but had mine out when I was 19. I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but a tonisllectomy is no fun, especially as an adult. Listen to your doctor. You won't feel like eating much let alone exercising that soon after your surgery. You have to rest and gets lots and lots of fluids. It is so important to keep hydrated, because if not, your scabs could come off (where they cauterize) and you could hemorrage. This happened to me and I had to have another surgery and be recauterized.

Do NOT exert yourself...it will take at the very least 2 weeks to start feeling better. As far as eating, start off with cold, soft foods: jello, popsicles, etc. After a couple of days, you can add warm and soft foods like mashed potatoes, oatmeal, etc. Please take it easy and don't worry about exercise while you are healing. Best wishes!! :flowerforyou:

Charlottejogs

Sorry you are having them out! I had mine out when I was 23ish- I agree that there is some pain. I had "chronic strep" so I had REALLY bad step throat all the time- having my tonsils out to no longer get strep was sooo worth it- there is a positive to consider.

I did take it easy as the Dr. recommended but I do think I did some walking to get out and stay minimally active. I don't remember it being that bad but I also took the pain meds pretty much as prescribed- you know the bottles say something like every 4-6 hours or as needed. I set an alarm and took it every 5 hrs or so for the first days. I don't remember eating just drinking a lot of fluids.

Good luck!

hooperkay

I'm an RN and adults having tonsils out always have a rough time. Your doctor doesn't want you to excerise because of bleeding risks. Usually liquids are the best at first, not too hot or cold, most like luke warm. Broths are best. After few days then more solid foods. Patients that sip frequently do better. You'll want to keep your throat wet. It will hurt more in morning after you wake up or if you don't drink for a long time then do. I'd do just broth for first couple of days. You can live for days without food, but you'll need to stay hydrated. Everyone is different, usually a week downtime. good luck

RMuske

I am the only adult I know who has had them out and has not had a bad story. I was 24 at the time. My advise from my experience is...

Take your meds on time and don't miss doses so you stay on top of your pain.
Water, Water, Water!!! Gatorade hurt my throat but some people enjoy it after.
Contrary to the excited ice cream talk, no dairy! Nothing that will make your mucus super thick, and dairy does.
Take it easy, get plenty of rest.

Turns out my tonsils were full of infection when they took them out and I didn't even know because they were always big a gross. But I was raising my hand when I was coming out of the anesthesia asking for more water. Lol, which I guess is rare. I was even talking the night I got them out. I was not afraid to eat soft foods. Drank a lot of water!

ashleymichaud

Thanks for sharing your stories with me I'm having mine removed because of cryptic tonsillitis. It doesn't matter if I am sick or not, my tonsils are always huge! I'm kind of a negative Nancy, not really expecting things to go great lol. I was thinking about protein shakes during the first few days, any thoughts on that?

ashleymichaud

bump

Redbarron80

I had mine out when I was 37 without any issue. Limited pain and was back eating and exercising in no time. I would try to follow your doctor's advice, but listen to your body too.

Rommel_V

So, I'm having a tonsillectomy in a week and a half, I'm 23, and wondering if any of you have had a similar experience. How did your surgery go? What did you eat? How did you feel afterward? My doc said I can't exercise for two weeks after it! Did that happen to anyone else? How did you suffer through it? I'm anxious about that because I'll be in week 6 of C25K and insanity and I wonder how far it will set me back? Kind of nervous but also excited to get these tonsils out! Looking forward to your responses.

It depends on what type of tonsillectomy they will do to you... If it's the coblator type, you can go home probably the following day, however no hard foods and nuts. About exercise, yup 2 weeks is the minimum time you can do "some" heavy activities... The good thing is that you'll snore more quietly now

GellisIndigo

My husband had his at age 40. I brought him home about an hour to an hour and a half after surgery. About two days after surgery he discovered that the thing that made his throat feel the best was Guinness.

hollyelee

I have never personally had a tonsillectomy but worked in an ENT's office and we did PLENTY of tonsillectomies. Adults do not handle the recovery period as well as children do. So plan to be in pain. Trust me when I say this... you will NOT feel like working out. You definitely will want to start with liquids and then progress accordingly.

ashleymichaud

I'm not sure what type of tonsillectomy they are doing, but I will be going home the same day, bar complications. I'm sure my hubby will appreciate the decreased snoring :laugh:

Also, I love Guinness

seeled

I was in my late 20's when I had mine out. I ate popscicles forever it seemed!

sting5

My son had his tonsils and adnoids remove when he was 16. The healing process took him about a week. The hospital gave us an icepack that wrapped around his throat. He found this to help a alot. So, if you get one, give it a try...it may help you too. It definitely was a week for recovery but every day got better...so hang in there. On a good note, he has been much healthier, no more throat infections and he sleeps and eats much better. His tonsils were huge and actually got in the way of his eating. Good luck. Stay as positive as you can and don't worry about exercise. As far as protein shakes...keep in mind no diary..

mjkanaan

Had mine out when I was 21 and went home the same day. Drank lots of liquids, and was in a lot of pain, but only because I developed a canker sore on my throat. The only thing I could eat was plain noodles for about a week, as anything else was way too painful. Follow the advice and drink lots and lots of water!

kris523sydney

I had mine out when i was 27....it was rough. one good thing though is that I lost about 15 pounds afterwards because I didnt want to eat since it hurt too much. I pretty much stayed on the couch for two weeks. Make sure you stay on top of the pain with meds and try not to cough. I coughed pretty hard one night 10 days after my surgery and it opened the wound and I had to go back to the hospital and have them reclose it. it wasnt pleasant and you dont want that to happen to you. So rest a lot, drink a lot and dont cough!

issyfit

My daughter had hers out in Jan. at age 32. Recovery was difficult for her and took longer than she expected. She didn't feel like doing anything for about 2 weeks. She works with children a lot and was always getting sick. The good news is that she hasn't been sick since she had them out, so was well worth it. Hope it goes well for you.

ashleymichaud

Thats funny you guys keep mentioning no dairy, I would never had known this because it actually recommends it on my post-op sheet. I think I'll avoid it though if its going to messes with my throat.

mamitosami

I had mine out at 24, BEST THING I EVER DID!! I was sick with tonsilitis for 4 months before, like, sick the entire time (I lost 25 pounds, I was a rail because I didn't need to lose anything back then).

Anyway... long story short, my tonsils were enormous and I was in chronic pain. I was living on Tylenol and antibiotics. I begged my doctors to take them out finally (I had to write it down 'cause I could no longer speak at that point and could barely breathe). So they finally took them out!

I was in a ward with a bunch of screaming three years olds drinking juice when I woke up! I begged for steak and potatoes right away!!! I was literally starving! Anyway, I seriously don't remember having any complications whatsoever, I just know I was no longer in pain anymore... I was so thankful. I could sleep, eat, and breathe... and had no more pain... I was so happy.

reddi2roll

Had mine out as an adult. Be sure to drink. You will want to chug a big glass of water you will be so thirsty but you won't be able to. Carry your water with you and sip it. You can hold ice chips in your mouth and swallow as they melt. The funny thing is when I would swallow I would close my eyes and grimace and when I opened my eyes everyone else was making the same face. Popsicles will be good too as they are cool and you only get a little liquid at a time. Eventually, you will move on to solid soft foods like soup, oatmeal, eggs. Your body will let you know when but the water and fluids is the most important. Don't worry about the exercise. You will likely loose wt because of the limited intake and when you feel better you can get back at it. Good luck.

Athena98501

I had mine done at the same time as nose and sinus surgery, so my experience was rather different. Anyway, for the first couple of days, the tonsils were more painful than the nose, which surprised me. After that, they didn't bother me significantly. For the sloughing, my surgeon recommend acidic (oj, tomato, etc), rather than scratchy foods.

Don't know if it matters, but mine happened in my early 30s.

ashleymichaud

Wow, this is all such great info! Thank you all

weighlossforbaby

I was 17 years old when I had mine and I had to eat jelly and soft foods for a while. It went well though and it was after I had a abcess in my mouth removed. My tonsils always caused me to be sick through my whole childhood and after they were gone I barely got sick again

sabrinamunin

My sister just had hers out 2 weeks ago - and it was pretty rough. She was on only liquid foods for several days (she tried solids after about 3 days and said that was a painful mistake), and had to take it really easy. She passed out at least twice even after 3 days had gone by. She luckily had someone home with her at all times. She talked like Minnie Mouse (and very quietly) for nearly a full week, and had days that were better and then it'd get bad again. She's now working again but still having some pain.

I'd suggest just taking it as easy as you possibly can.

ETA: My sister suggest checking out children's liquid medicines if you need them. She had a reaction to one of the meds the doctors gave her, so was taking liquid Benadryl with it, for example.

shady1987dre

Got mine done in January. It was the worse time of my Life. I could not swallow anything pain meds did not work. I could not fall asleep because if i did the scabs would dry out. It took 2 months for me to be back to 100%. Plus side i lost 20 lbs!

Helpful tip say in the Hospital overnight (unless the insurance wont allow it), I went home that night bad idea!

sting5

I don't know if you have heard of Del's Lemonade(it's a Rhode Island thing)....it's basically like a slurpie...flavored crushed ice...My son had lots of this stuff after he had is tonsils removed

ashleymichaud

I don't think the hospital will allow me to stay overnight unless its absolutely necessary, unfortunately :frown:

ashleymichaud

I don't know if you have heard of Del's Lemonade(it's a Rhode Island thing)....it's basically like a slurpie...flavored crushed ice...My son had lots of this stuff after he had is tonsils removed

That sounds yummy, I'll have to check it out

1ahcj

Childbirth is so much better than having a tonsillectomy. I was just ready to die!. I am in my 30's, healthy, and i am telling you, it is the worst pain I have ever been through! Do not get the pills to grind up make sure you get the liquid medicine. I really don't know what to tell you to prepare you. I was fine the day I had it done but the next day and until about 1 week after I had it, I was ready to die! I also had it somehow settle in my ears and they were killing me too. Ok, the best way to tell you is it feels like someone is stabbing you with scew drivers in your throat and ears and twisting and stbbing you constantly. I googled people who had tonsillectomy and read their horror stories and it was exactly the way I was feeling. I ate maybe a total of a plate of food in 1 week. Steamed broccoli (as soft as possible), applesauce, and I think yogurt. I would only drink water just to keep from dehydrating. Girl, I feel sorry for you, but the pain only lasted 1 week for me compared to other people I heard of, it was about 2 weeks. Say your prayers before going in and I hope all goes well for you.