Anyone have their tonsils removed as an adult?

[djc315]

If so, how much did it suck?

I get tonsillitis/strep about 2-3x a year, and I'm wondering if ripping those bastards out might be a good solution.

I've heard it's a rough recovery, but my thought is it's 1 recovery instead of several bouts of illness per year.

[Deleted]

My friend had hers out, she drank milk shakes and other cold things for a few days and was fine. The anticipation of a "really rough recovery" was worse for her, and she's a giant whiny baby about most things.

[mandapanda18]

I had mine out at 28, I am not going to lie, it was the worst experience of my life. They sent me home within an hour of surgery, I was dry heaving and miserable from the anesthesia! It felt like I was swallowing shards of glass. I also have major issues with dairy due to my crohns, so I had trouble finding things that were easy to eat AND made it okay to take some med's. I recovered within 3 days, (surgery Thur, back at work Mon) but was still pretty sore/miserable for about 10 days. I will say that it changed the quality of my life drastically! I have not had strep/sore throat issues in nearly 5 years. I would get pretty sick (needing antibiotics) every other month for about 3 years before I gave in.

[holly116]

DH had a UPPP surgery for obstructive sleep apnea just on Monday morning. . Ask away, he's on day three (supposedly one of the worst days) and overall is doing much, much better than he feared.

[holly116]

I asked the surgeon why it's so much worse for adults and basically, it's because we know what's going on/freak out about not being able to really breath well with the swelling afterwards and because it takes longer to heal. But, you get the good drugs!

Surprising to DH, he can talk, quietly, but he can. He can eat more than he thought and was able to quickly. He has scrambled eggs the day after surgery but has mostly been sticking to instant mashed potatoes, puddling, juice and protein shakes.

They kept him overnight in basically an icu setting to watch his breathing (standard for apnea patients) and they had him wear a mask and breath humidified air the whole time and I think that really helped.

[formerlyak]

I had them taken out at 37. I was getting strep ever month for over a year. I'd get strep. Get the antibiotics. Get better. A few weeks later, I'd have strep again. Rinse and repeat. I would not get them out for 2-3 times a year with strep unless there is another reason your doc recommends it.

I was warned that recovery in adults was horrible and I should plan on being out of the office for 2 weeks. So I took two weeks off and had it done. Waking up sucked because I felt like I couldn't breathe from all the swelling. The nurse told me to breathe in a different way and that worked.

They tell you to drink water as much as possible. Drinking anything sucked, but the alternate - letting your throat get too dry - sucked a million times more. So power through and take sips of water on the regular.

I tried the shakes and ice cream and the like and the cold was too cold and bothered me and the ice cream caused phlegm which sucked. So I stopped that and switched to mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. I lived off mac and cheese and snapple for about a week. Each day was a little better.

Stay on top of the pain. Have water near you at all times, even at night. At night is when you run the risk of your throat drying out the most, so any time you stir at night, take a sip. Sleep sitting up in a chair the first few days. It makes breathing easier.

In the end, after day 4 or so, it wasn't horrible. But I will say, I have had 4 other surgeries - hernia repair, knee surgery, and 2 c-sections - and the first few days after tonsil surgery were by far the worst of the bunch.

I went back to work exactly a week later.

[arch01]

Yep, I was 27. It was a horrendous recovery, but 1000000% worth it.

I had the surgery on a Thursday and went back to work FT a little over a week later. The worst was day 5-6 when the scabs were coming off.

One thing the doctor told me was to NOT eat ice cream, drink milk, etc. Basically, stay away from dairy. It coats your mouth and doesn't allow you to produce as much saliva. I lived off chicken noodle soup and ramen noodles-it was suggested that I have things higher in sodium to help with making me want to drink more water.

[leeluu]

I had them out at 22 and it wasn't too bad. Painkillers make me nauseous so I went without. The worst part was I got a bad UTI, and the antibiotics made it really painful to poop.

Edit: Apparently I get confused on the timeline of my surgical history. The above referenced when I got my deviated septum fixed, not tonsils removed. That was age 13.

[woodenshoes]

I had them removed at 27. I was getting strep throat 3 to 4 times a year and have not had it since. It has been a huge relief. Honestly, the recovery was not that bad. Granted, I had also had some lung operations so in comparison this seemed much better. No regrets! Oh, and I was also told to avoid dairy. All my guilt-free milkshake dreams went right down the drain. 

[7costanza]

I had mine removed at 23 and the recovery was really bad but worth it. I didn't have strep much but was getting tonsil stones (which are disgusting), and lots of sinus infections. The sinus issues are MUCH less now, and obviously I don't have to worry about the stones.

Recovery wise, I took a week off work which was enough, the pain was worst the first 3-4 days. Its the only time I've cried from pain as an adult. The original pain meds made me really sick so I had to try a couple to find one that worked which was rough.

[lynn07]

I had mine out at 18. Not going to lie, the first few days were rough. The pain meds made me sick, and puking through not yet healed wounds in my throat was absolutely terrible. I didn't eat anything besides jello for 3 days. I felt better after about 5 days (and started college the next week). But my throat hurt when I yawned for about a month. It was worth it though.

[mandapanda18]

Oh... I didn't take the prescribed meds, I drank childrens tylenol straight from the bottle. It was enough to ease the pain and not make me vomit again!

[londoncalling]

I had mine when I was almost 21. It sucked. I was laid up for almost two weeks. The first week I did nothing but take pain meds and sleep and the next week I only did the minimum (college classes and work) with nothing else. I describe it as simultaneously being the best and worst decision I ever made. Once I got past the recovery it was a fantastic choice. I haven't had strep throat in 13 years (used to have 4-6 times per year). My overall health has generally improved as well (cold length etc).

[toutsuite]

Had mine out at 21. Like others, the recovery was rough at first. Days 3-4 were the worst for me. It was worth it though. I was getting sick at least 8 times a year. Usually I would need a prescription to get rid of it. Now I catch a cold maybe once a year? Sometimes not even once. It was definitely life changing from a quality of life perspective even if the initial recovery was rough.

[sallyanne]

I got mine out when I was 21 and I honestly don't remember it being that bad. I found wisdom teeth to be worse. The meds they give you in the hospital made me feel invisible so I ate a steak dinner the first night - don't do that! It hurt the 2nd day more because of that. But lots of Popsicles, kraft dinner and water.
We also had a major blackout that summer that started as I left the hospital. So I think it took my mom 24 hours to find a pharmacy that could process my pain meds. And I had to eat a lot of Popsicles before they melted. Lol.
I really just remember sleeping a lot and eating kd mostly.

[katiecj6]

I had mine out at 29. It sucked, but was so worth it. I was getting strep/tonsilitis 4-5 times a year and it was miserable. Since I got the surgery, I haven't been sick once.

I only planned to take one week off work, but I ended up needing 1.5 weeks. I would suggest to plan to take two weeks off and have it be a bonus to go back sooner.

Drink, drink, and drink. Keeping your throat wet is so important, when it gets dry, it hurts way worse.

For the first 3 days, I set an alarm for my meds and took them around the clock. After three days, I didn't set an alarm at night, getting sleep was more important. I slept a lot the first couple days, mostly because narcotics make me very nauseous, so I took them with gravol, hence the extra sleep. After a few days, I switched to Tylenol.

I stocked up with all my favourite drinks, had an ice pack that I could wrap around my neck, and I caught up on a ton of netflix shows. It just takes times for the scabs to heal.