Tonsillectomy: How Bad Is the Pain and Tips To Recover. 

Also, thank you for saying it’s painful. I’m 18 and was told that it’s bad but I’m on day 6 and it’s horrible! Your honesty helped me remember that this is ok and I don’t need to see someone lol. I could be a drama queen though too 😂

Just got mine done, currently feel like I’m dying but I know I’m not. Thank you for your honesty in the pain level so I know that I’m not crazy.

the worst possible pain, everything hurts.. throat inside outside, ears hurt continuously, you can't sleep, you can't eat, you can't drink water, you can't do anything practical, you just have to wait for it to heal and get back to normal 😢😢

Im 27 and just had mine out 2 days ago. Feeling okay today but felt awful yesterday, and I'm expecting to feel awful over the next week. But I know it was the right decision and I can't wait to be fully recovered.

Im going through this now & your advice re dry mouth is spot on. The less i use my mouth the more painful it gets

I just got a tonsillectomy and I can tell you that this is the worst pain EVER! My uvula is swollen so I have issues with it feeling like I will swallow it and it partially blocks my airways so I have to sit up at night when I sleep. I can’t wait until I heal because OMG, it hurts !

Tips: 1) When swallowing push your antitraguses into ears, trust me I had the surgery yesterday and I tried this, it works! You will feel only weaker pain or absolutely none! 2) When one painkiller doesn't work use 2 at the same time. I'm still in hospital and they gave me 2 pills so at least I could got 6 hours of sleep 3) Before using painkillers rather crush them for better swallowing 4) Eat in smaller pieces Hope it helps 😊

THANK YOU SO MUCH I CANT THANK U ENOUGH THIS HURTS SO MUCH AND ITS ENDING SOON LESS GOOOOOOUUUU

It is the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt in my life! I’m in my 30s and had mine 7 days ago. I can’t drink or swallow let alone eat soft foods. I’ve be alternating between Tylenol, ibuprofen and oxycodone every three hours but the only thing that seems to give me some relief is the oxycodone and I only have one last pill left😭. Nothing can prepare you for this! Do not get it done unless you’ve tried everything else.

Thank you doctor I will keep this in mind since I got my operation to remove my tonsils this Thursday, I will be drinking water a lot. Thanks doc ❤

Just had mine taken out almost 24hrs ago & im honestly not feeling too bad. I'm just drinking a lot of water & making sure i take medicine on time.

Currently on day 5. Didn’t get enough hydration in because it hurt so bad. Figure out today the pain suppresses when I’m very hydrated. Recommend to not wait until you’re 21 to get this done like I did.

Watching this and realizing how my parents should’ve cared for me after mine as a child…

Thank you I'm getting this done in September and I'm nervous because I've never gotten surgery/surgery related procedures : )

I got mine out 6-21-23 and it by far has been my worst surgery ever... (fistula)(right acl)(umbilical hernia) Many factors that can trigger pain... Make sure u have lots of water to flush and drain the thought and keep it cooled down. Thanks for all ur tips..... Let's get this over with.

I've been told years ago my tonsils needs to come out. Now that I'm older and having more problems with them I'm thinking about it, but worried about the pain and recovery. This video is very beneficial for me. Thanks!

I'm a week into mine and honestly it falls in the middle of the pain index for me compared to some of my past tonsillitis experiences. It's probably ranking under my wisdom teeth experience as well when they poked through my mouth lol

So, I am a clumsy person in general and this surgery just solidified it for me: Day 4 - accidentally spilled 60% of my liquid pain meds all over kitchen because the cap wasn't fully on and I decided to do the shake well before using method Day 5 - managed to choke on said liquid pain meds causing extremely painful 10 minute coughing fit where I could barely breathe Day 6 - about 90% of my scabs fell off in the night. Woke up with the worst pain imaginable after only 5 hours of sleep. Drinking water felt like drinking fire, ice did not help. The whole day I only had 1 whole popsicle, 4 sips of water and 2 spoonfuls of pudding. Pain meds couldn't do jack for me. Day 7 - so desperate for pain relief, I take Tylenol, forget I took Tylenol, then took liquid pain meds. Sat still as a board for an hour to stop my eyes from melting out of my skull. Never again. Also! Pro tip for nighttime mouth breathers: wear a mask! The humidity from your breath is trapped and keeps your throat wet.

My 8 year old is having this surgery in 2 weeks and my heart is breaking for her!! Constant tonsillitis, severe sleep apnea and a perforated eardrum have brought absolute agony to this child…😢 She has been on antibiotics for nearly 4 years constant… It’s so bad that her attendance at school is very low and she can’t hear from one ear anymore….😢

I was 18 years old when I had my tonsils adenoids and a little skin tag removed. The ear nose and throat doctor told me that it would feel more painful than getting my wisdom teeth out which I had done 2 months prior to that surgery. It took me two weeks because I was warned that teenagers and adults have a two week recovery process will children has only one week. It hurt to yawn, swallow, cough, and speak.

Got mine out last week. My advice would be to drink liquid IVs, be mindful of how you swallow and how often (kind of odd but try to make it as easy mechanically as possible beforehand), stay away from dairy for the first couple days, and try to get prescribed tetricaine lolipops

2 weeks of hell. Hated it.

I’m on day three of recovery and it’s pretty bad but for the most part the hardest things for me is swallowing and taking the medicine. The best way I can describe it is if you have wet paper towels in your throat which almost makes me choke. But it’s not horrible for me but it’s different for everyone.

The hydration tip has helped me a lot so far

Day 27 here . No pain... but my taste buds are wayyy off . Food tast BAD OR ZERO TASTE. I have a funky taste on the back of my tongue. Anyone had this problem!? Help ⚠️ all i want for Christmas is my taste buds back! Any suggestions?

For me at age 58 I relied on narcotics and rapid release Tylenol and at the peak of the pain narcotic every 3 hours, water and I kept a cup of mini ice cubes to pop in my mouth to lower the pain a little. When it was at the peak of pain I had slept past four hours and the pain radiated from the tonsilectomy spot out into my ears and made my ears hurt and feel hot. I had maybe three or four really bad days and some not good but not horrendous days. Also nausea with the meds happens so if you have nausea ask for what to take. I have some dissolvable zofran I can take and some days just took some pepto tabs in the morning bc the meds plus my normal meds and light breakie was just too much on my stomach. Ice externally during that peak time helped nominally with swelling type of pain around under my jaw. Ice chips or mini cubes on hand and water sometimes better tolerated at room temp or just a lorroedooo but not super cold ice water felt better. The super cold was too much on top of the pain at some point. Pain management is so personal to the individual that it’s best to communicate closely with your doc if you don’t have adequate pain control or are having bad side effects like nausea. My doctor gave me these giant round tablets of generic Percocet that were so hard to swallow so they said to cut them in half. I then had scraping oain with the edges of the halves. They said not to crush them bc I would get too much medication at once so best to take before the pain is unbearable to the point where swallowing is too hard. I supplemented with the rapid release extra strength Tylenol maybe three or four times a day max and that got me thru. I’m in day 12 post op and got through the worst of it but still in pain and it’s hard to sleep bc my soft palette is swollen and hard to breathe out even tho I can breathe in. I wake up often from airway blockage off and on which is funky. Hoping with the inflammation chilling out that that will also. I also had a lot of post nasal mucous that became thick and hard to clear bc you can’t just clear your throat and even with all the fluids. I ended up taking some mucinex that helped loosen the gunk and get it out also. Not sure if this much swelling is normal that my airway feels like it’s blocking at sleep but waiting another week in hopes that it’s just temporary. But pain meds depend on patient history, previous meds and any allergies or intolerances also so best to communicate closely with your provider if anyone is here and has problems. I most places have online charts where you can message the doctor if it’s too hard to call bc of the pain. Good luck to those going thru this and keep your freezer full of ice chips or mini cubes, keep sipping and don’t get discouraged around day 7-10 when it feels like it’s never going to end. You will turn a corner.

I’m getting mine out Monday. Dreading it!!! But can’t wait to not deal with tonsillitis every 2-3 months!

I had this surgery when I was 13 and it was terrible! I am glad I got them removed because they were causing a lot of discomfort and I was constantly sick but the recovery was absolutely painful

Just recovered 3 weeks ago and as someone in experience she is absolutely right it is extremely painful especially when you swallow

34 and just been told I have to have surgery. Glad to be having something done at last but a little bit worried as doctors keep telling me how bad the pain is going to be, especially with fibromyalgia.

It’s a nightmare! I have always tolerated pain well but this is the WORSTTTTTTT. My doctor had warned me that it is more painful for adults. I am 12 days post and I still can eat. I can hardly drink, everything including water stings and burning the side of my tongue and the back of my throat. The scabs are falling off so I do spit blood overnight, I use a popsicle to stop the bleeding. No one really talks about the equipment used to hold the tongue during the surgery. It leaves dents and marks on my tongue, it hurts so bad that my heart palpitates a bit; tears come to my eyes. Helloooo, the weight I tried so hard to lose by exercising over months ago, I loss that weight a little over a week, about 20 lbs so far. May God help us through this pain.

It’s a nightmare! I have always tolerated pain well but this is the WORSTTTTTTT. My doctor had warned me that it is more painful for adults. I am 12 days post and I still can eat. I can hardly drink, everything including water stings and burning the side of my tongue and the back of my throat. The scabs are falling off so I do spit blood overnight, I use a popsicle to stop the bleeding. No one really talks about the equipment used to hold the tongue during the surgery. It leaves dents and marks on my tongue, it hurts so bad that I hurt palpitates a bit; tears come to my eyes. Helloooo, the weight I tried so hard to lose by exercising over months ago, I loss that weight a little over a week, about 20 lbs so far. May God help us through this pain.

got mine out a week ago, i currently have a huge mass of blood in my throat but its not bleeding enough for me to go to the er so imma wait it out till the morning and go to my surgeon. the pain is honestly slight imo, i had tonsilitis around 12 times in the last 2 years so im just kinda used to it. i really miss food though

Omg thanks, I had this yesterday, I already know how to feel less pain while swallowing but not talking 😮

I’m a person who experiences tonsillitis at least 8 times a year right now my throat is swollen and painful I have my tonsillectomy on the 21st….. I am not a person who can tolerate pain so I’m hoping my recovery is smooth

After day 6 most of the pain will settle away. Keep timing the painkillers and try to take little sips of water as much as possible. Make sure to drink only bottled water the first week.

I’m getting mine remove in a few months so thank you for the advice

It's day 2 and I'm sure things will be worse but it's not that bad more uncomfortable. If you have had tonsillitis before it's not horrible

Im on day 3, going absolutely nuts from the pain.

I'm getting tonsils and adenoids out in about two weeks, and I've been pretty scared about the pain. My ent told me it was gonna be painful but I'm low key scared of how painful it will actually be. Some say its horrible some say they felt little pain, So I'm like hoping my case isn't all that bad😭

It’s working. Day 3, so thanks for reminders!

I am a kid but I have a tonsil and it hurts like hell!

Okay let’s do this Day 1 ✅horrible threw up 4 times today and took 6 naps Day 2 nausea wasn’t as bad but my throat stil hurts a lot but the more I drink the better it feels

Hi , I just got mine off I'm almost ten and it's really painful and I'm on day 4 😢 it hurts and warning I haven't been taking my meds and I regret it 🙃 thank u

I went into the recovery thinking that it’ll be a pretty easy time. But no. I went from eating solid foods on the 3rd day to not even able to eat Ice cream today (6th day). I was trying to eat mashed potatoes and it’s just unbearable when I move my tongue to chew. I’m on 3 different pain meds and it’s still a 9/10 pain when I try to eat. I hope this’ll end soon because my family thinks I’m faking it and are telling me to suck it up 🤣

Hi !I don’t want to say my age but I’m younger and I just got my done today and so far I’ve had 4 18oz water bottles and 5popsicls!It really does suck but Atleast I won’t get strep every week.

I had tonsillectomy 7 days ago and i still hurts so bad they say its like a knife blade in your throat they are right(btw im 10)

32yr M 3days in ..she is right ...the PAIN is no joke!!!

I got my tonsils out today thanks!!

Got mine out yesterday, the pain has been a level 4 or less. It's like a 2 right now. Idk, I just have good pain tolerance.

day 10 i can only eat soup because of the pain. i thought it will pass by now especialy coz the pain wasnt that bad till day 5. on day 5 i had a hemorrhage and had to get back in hospital. and since then i had insane pain and still do when i eat

Marshmellows were a life saver!!

i’m on like day 8 or 9 i think and so far my two biggest issues right now is my scabs tend to flake off but not come completely off and they kinda stab my tongue from the sides and it really painful and i tend to have really bad ear pain! do you know what i can do to help these problems? i’ve tried looking it up but the same things just keep coming up and are barely any help.

It’s not as bad as people say it’s pretty cool being able to eat all the junk food

just got mines done yesterday 😞doing research

What is your advice on eating? I’m on day 10! Is it safe to swallow? Or should I be chewing my food really well still?

The Hydration Method Doesn't Work If You Don't Take Enough Painkillers; Sadly for me the hydration doesn't work, I'm 19 years old and because im almost underweight, I have to take a child's dosage. I feel e v e r y t h i n g. I can only take 400-500mg of painkillers for portion (depends on the drug). And the less-pain-period ( pain goes away only in my right ear, throat pain stays the same) ends after only 2h. But my next dosage is the quickest after every 3h ( more correctly it should be 4h, but I would try to hurt myself) so personally it doesn't matter when or how much I drink or eat it h u r t s. I'm on my 7th day so far not a single painfree moment, kinda getting used to it. So the hydration method doesn't work if you don't take enough painkillers, I'm not saying it can't effect the pain, but so far it has not been noticeable.

I'm on day 8 and omg I have never felt so deadly..the pain in my ears are soooo bad, it feels like 2 large rusty nails have been hammered into my ears and stuck in my jaw bone, my toungue hurts and feels burnt in spots all over, my throat feels like it's choking me, I can't eat and drinking water is soooo painful, it triggers my ear pain. It's worst in the morning and at night.

should i get my tonsils removed? here’s my reason why i think i should: i have really bad unexplained breathing problems, mostly at night (got tested negative for asthma) i get strep throat 2-3 times a year i usually wake up with a really bad sore throat sometimes i have trouble swallowing

Yeah I’m turning 12 in a few weeks and this shit hurt like CRAZY for the first 12 days

How painful is it for 12 to 13 year olds? I’m 13 and I’m getting it and I’m shaking in my boots 🥲

I'm getting my tonsils out tomorrow morning.

Is 13 considered still a kid and will have less pain? Also from 1-10 how painful is it on the severe days?

My ENT mentioned that my tonsils should be removed because of how large they are. Will this cure my snoring? I also tend to struggle breathing sometimes.

Is the tonsil removal painful? In close to removing it but my doctor said I have to wait and see if it gets worse or not. If you had your tonsil removed can you please reply like dose it hurt while the doctor is removing it? How much time it takes to be removed?

I HAvE It RIGHT NOW ITS PAINFUL

I’m on day four my uvula is swollen and my throat hurts

Thank you I got my tonsils out 3 days ago

Day 3 of tonsillectomy. Hurts so much. Can’t sleep with my mouth closed, can’t speak, even my ears hurt.

I have it Now

Just got mine taken out today I wasn’t prepared at all for the pain it’s making me cry which I never do I’m usually good with pain

Hello, I had my tonsils out last week and there’s been a particular spot on my left tonsil scab that has made pain be a 1000/10. It looks like a long red line that looks like a scratch. Is this normal?

I have had strep throat 3 times within a year and I fear I might need to have my tonsils removed and I hate strep tests.😢

I have to get a tonsillectomy in a few weeks and I'm very nervous about it 😅

Please tell me what i should do. Tomorrow is day 7 and they still are not recovering i have been drinking fluids and eating some but they are still hurting as day 3 what should i do?

Past two months I underwent for the tonsillectomy and till now I'm still having hurt in my ear and in my throat

My tonsils are so big it's almost blocking my airway

Honestly I don't give a shit how painful it is because at least I'm not getting the same pain every once a yeah now When I have the chance I'm definitely getting them removed as I am constantly getting tonsillitis

I had it done 2 days ago I’m in a lot of pain anyone got tips to make it hurt less?

Surgery scheduled 6-25-24 for 12 year old so if I remember I’ll come back after and tell y’all how it went😁 (But I make no promises)

I got my tonsils out yesterday along with my adenoids and I go a septoplasty and I for the septoplasty I had to do a vigorous saline rinse and when some went in my throat and I spat it out I saw a black thing go into the sink is that a scab that fell of from my tonsils or adenoids day 1????? or is it just dried up blood?

When you drink the water so fast how can you not get the hiccups?

Are you located in florida by chance

See I have had frequent sore throats would I might need to get my tonsils removed 🤔

Ever since I had mine I still keep water with me on my bedside at night

Does this help with snoring? If removed

I just finished this surgery today actually and bro this hurts a ton every time i swallow it hurts a lot think of you coughing a lot but multiply that by a lot your throat hurts a lot but i will be fine

i’m 13 and i might have to get a tonsillectomy. does that count as a kid? how bad will the pain be for me?

For me it was a month and it did hurt the surgery didn't hurt but the days after it starts to hurt

Question. Why would someone get a tonsillectomy? Is it just swallowing issues?

Can i drink powerade ?

Ummm I had it before and my toncils are growing back... is that normal?

Finally getting mine out in November (23F) and I have a surprisingly high pain tolerance but now I'm kind freaked out. Thinking of medical taping my mouth shut at night so I dont wake up absolutely miserable

What foods should I eat during this time?

I got my tonsils removed when i was almost 7. My tip is STAY AWAY FROM FIZZY DRINKS!!!!

Can this pain get hacked by IV saline? Can you be hydrated enough without drinking?

Had one 3 weeks ago.Im 31 Its very painful.

HEllo doctor i hope you reply,do they test for HIV when doing a tonsil surgery remove

i got mine out yesterday and i have Stitches in my mouth but i wanna brush my teeth. When should i wash my mouth cus its so uncomfortable but i cannot open my mouth in fear of breaking my stitches.

I can feel my taste of sensation will become less now , is it normal? This is my 20 th day