Recovery From Adult Tonsillectomy

Definitely stay on schedule with pain meds. Staying ahead of the pain is the whole trick here. Good luck to your daughter! Two weeks after surgery she'll be very happy she did it.

I had my tonsils out when I was 16 [which was more than 40 years ago], in Lankenau Hospital, Philadelphia.

Our family had a real history with ENT problems, plus allergies. Age 16 was the beginning of our doc's "adult" protocol, which consisted of getting a tranquilizer, being wheeled to the OR on a gurney, getting up and sitting in chair, and getting a local anesthetic before having the tonsils removed sitting bolt upright and awake...

I've been admitted to the hospital only twice in my life, and this event was pretty memorable compared to the other one!

I was a cheerleader, a gifted student, and a musician who mostly played the piano [always the accompanist] but would occasionally get a chance to sing. No cheerleading ever again. I couldn't sing for a year. But worst was that I couldn't really participate in class discussions. I had a sadistic advanced math teacher who insisted on cracking jokes [really funny guy], making me laugh [and wince in pain], and baited me to talk when I really couldn't.

I was prescribed codeine in capsules. I couldn't swallow pills before the operation -- nothin' to do with tonsils. Couldn't swallow the pre-surgery tranquilizer in the hospital, so had get a big fat shot. Couldn't swallow the codeine capsules, so I had to spread the powder on ice cream sandwiches... I lost a quite bit of weight too, as has been mentioned here.

It was tough for me to be a successful student. I'm sure the surgery protocol has changed entirely, but the pain for adults, from the reports here, hasn't changed.

Fully agree that parents should administer the pain pills exactly as prescribed, and then get rid of any extra pills in a responsible manner -- e.g., return to a pharmacy for disposal.

Many of the the doctors now use coblation. Apparently its been used for about 10 years by many but not all doctors. It causes less pain. However, there is still going to be a lot of pain given with this method.

I had my tonsils taken out when I was like 25? Instead of fully harvesting them out-- they did a new procedure where they shaved them down. It sounds disgusting, but it achieved the same results-- way less illnesses, and strep throats, with half the recovery time. I had maybe ONE full week of pain, and then it started to lessen. I just remember sleeping, taking the drugs (u don't want to be without), and drinking tiny sips of broth. Good luck!

I had mine removed 25 and it was pretty horrific. I also had my uvula and soft palate removed and the turbinates in my nose cauterized, so I couldn't breathe in any way that wasn't excruciating. No red sauce for a month after (it burns!), lots of liquid pain meds. I didn't eat solids for 3 weeks after. I had it done at Hopkins in Baltimore by a great surgeon. I think choosing a great surgeon is key. It will hurt. Prep your daughter about the fact that she may be asked to complete advanced directive paperwork. That really freaked me out at the time

Ps, if she has any palate removed, she may have to semi- retrain herself to swallow. That was a shock to me. My voice changed post-surgery too. And my apnea stopped!!