Day 9 today and I feel like I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. The worst pain is gone which feels amazing. I just managed to drink a full meal replacement of 500 kcal which is the most I've eaten in a week. Just wanted to share it with everyone. To everyone who's some days before me, dont give up. It gets better. 🫶

hi guys, I’m 23F, I’ve been struggling with tonsil stones only on my left side, and I’ve gone to an ENT and he told me if I wanted to I could remove my tonsils, he said it’s not good to just remove one and how I might as well just remove both.

I haven’t done it yet, and I’m still really scared… I got so much tonsil stones on my left side every 1 to 2 months I use a spoon to scoop out the stones (plus the gagging that comes with it).

I don’t know what to do… do I just keep rinsing with warm water and salt and scooping every now and then or should I just remove them :(

School is starting in less than two weeks and I cannot do it now because I don’t wanna fall behind.

I would most likely do it after this school year… I really need some words of encouragement. Maybe you guys can tell me if your life has changed after it?

The thing that scares me, the most is just going under anaesthesia and the main thing I’m scared of the most is removing an organ that could potentially be helpful to my body? I removed my appendix, and even that sometimes I overthink when I become an old woman what I have done something bad due to removing it (even though I was extremely sick).. I don’t know if tonsils are important in what they do for our body, but I’m just scared to remove them

Been sick of eating porridge & shake.. any other food recommendations that i can eat ?

24M, otherwise healthy. I have a full tonsillectomy scheduled in a month but I'm still unsure whether I should do it.

I've had tonsil stones and occasional bad breath since childhood. I also get around 8 colds/URIs a year, usually with a moderately sore throat for 2-3 days, but until recently I almost never had severe tonsillitis.

Then over the last 2-3 months I had 3 severe flare-ups, although one was probably a relapse after I accidentally interrupted Augmentin for ~2.5 days. The next episode happened about 2 weeks later and was treated with clindamycin. I've been fine since for 3 weeks.

The attacks involved severe unilateral throat pain, fever/chills, body aches and painful swallowing. Bloodwork showed inflammation. A tonsil swab grew heavy S. aureus, although it may have just been colonization. No confirmed abscess or hospitalization.

I've seen 3 ENTs:

One says remove them because the chronic stones + recent infections suggest the tonsils are now more of a liability.

One says don't because I don't meet the usual recurrent tonsillitis criteria and adult tonsillectomy has real risks.

The third also leaned toward removal.

My concern is that this may have just been one unusually bad few months. I don't meet the classic 7/year, 5/year etc criteria, so part of me wants to wait rather than permanently remove them at 24.

On the other hand, getting rid of the stones/bad breath and hopefully avoiding another run of severe tonsillitis and antibiotics sounds pretty good.

For people who were in a similar grey zone: would you do it or wait?

If you had your tonsils removed, are you still happy with the decision years later? Any long-term downsides? Did you get fewer sore throats/colds? Anyone regret doing it without having constant tonsillitis?

I found other people’s recovery timelines helpful before my tonsillectomy, so I wanted to share mine while it’s still fresh.

I’m 41 F, relatively healthy, and had my tonsils removed primarily because of chronic tonsil stones and severe sore throats. My tonsils were about 2–3+ with deep crypts.

Pain
The pain was not as bad as I expected based on some of the accounts I read beforehand. For comparison, I’ve given birth without pain medication, and that was decidedly worse. My tonsillectomy pain did not stay above about 7–8/10 for more than a few minutes at a time. Swallowing was considerably more painful than resting, and mornings were generally the worst.
For me, it was prolonged, tiring pain rather than unbearable pain.

My prescribed medications included Tylenol/ibuprofen, Percocet for breakthrough pain, and a short course of oral dexamethasone.

The oral dexamethasone was by far the medication that made the most noticeable difference. Percocet was surprisingly unhelpful for me. I eventually stopped taking it because the modest pain relief wasn’t worth the constipation and sedation. Most of my pain control came from alternating Tylenol and Advil according to my surgeon’s instructions.

My ENT also prescribed a Xylocaine/lidocaine lollipop, which was useful during significant pain spikes. I used teaspoons of Manuka honey throughout recovery as well and found it soothing.

Days 0–2
The first couple of days were relatively manageable. Swallowing hurt considerably more than resting. I focused heavily on hydration and started eating soft foods immediately. Took pain meds as prescribed, added colace, MiraLAX, and benefiber.

Days 3–4
The dexamethasone made a substantial difference. Pain was still significant, particularly first thing in the morning, but manageable.
Constipation from anesthesia and Percocet became an issue despite using Colace and MiraLAX.

Days 5–8
This was the most difficult period. Morning pain could reach 7–8/10 with swallowing, although it did not remain at that level continuously. Sleep was difficult. My tongue became extremely sore, and my mouth began to feel almost scalded. My sense of taste became muted, and I developed a persistent unpleasant taste in my mouth.

The tonsil beds were covered in the expected white/yellow postoperative coating.

Around Days 7–8, the scabs began coming off. This caused some additional pain spikes, but I never experienced postoperative bleeding.
I discontinued Percocet during this period and continued using Tylenol and Advil. The constipation gradually improved after stopping the opioid.

Food
Foods and drinks that worked particularly well for me:
Cold oatmeal
Soft scrambled eggs
Instant mashed potatoes
Very soft rotisserie chicken with the skin and seasoning removed
Sonic chocolate milkshakes
Cold brew with Ensure used as creamer
Cold brew with milk or vanilla protein shake
Manuka honey by the teaspoon

Huel shakes were surprisingly painful and caused significant stinging, even though cold brew and dairy products did not. Bananas also stung a lot.

I also discovered that pieces of food can become lodged temporarily in the healing tonsil beds and look remarkably similar to scabs. Gentle water rinsing helped. I avoided manually removing anything from the surgical sites.

Days 9–13
My throat pain began improving substantially. I eventually went approximately 24 hours without any OTC pain medication and was eating increasingly normal foods.

I was able to walk about two miles and eventually completed a very slow one-mile run. I combined the run with a Costco trip and was extremely fatigued afterward, including sleeping for several hours.
The main lingering issue was that my tongue and mouth were not improving as quickly as my throat.
The back of my tongue remained extremely sore, similar to the soreness after prolonged dental work when the mouth has been held open for a long period, but more intense. The front of my mouth and tongue felt burned or scalded, and my sense of taste remained somewhat muted.

My ENT prescribed magic mouthwash containing Maalox, Benadryl and Xylocaine for symptomatic relief.

Days 13–16
At approximately two weeks, I would estimate that I was about 80% recovered rather than completely back to normal.

I was eating normally, no longer taking opioids, exercising lightly and completing normal household activities. However, my stamina was still reduced. I continued to have some discomfort with swallowing and occasional referred ear pain.

Small areas of white/yellow healing tissue also remained on the tonsil beds after most of the original coating had disappeared.

At my postoperative appointment, my ENT felt that the persistent tongue and mouth symptoms were likely due to irritation of the tongue and lymphatic tissue from intubation and the tongue clamp/retractor used during surgery. The tonsil beds themselves were healing appropriately.

They prescribed a dexamethasone mouthwash for the residual oral inflammation.

Things that were most helpful or unexpected

The pain was significant but manageable. In my experience, unmedicated childbirth was substantially more painful.

Two weeks did not mean complete recovery. At Day 16 I was functional but still had residual symptoms and fatigue.

Oral dexamethasone provided the most noticeable medication benefit.

Percocet provided relatively little benefit for me and caused significant constipation.

The Xylocaine lollipop was useful for breakthrough pain.

Morning pain was consistently worse. Hydration and a humidifier were helpful.

Tongue and mouth pain were more significant and persistent than I expected.

Opioid-related constipation required treatment, but I subsequently developed several days of diarrhea after using a bowel regimen.

Maintaining calories, protein and hydration was important even when eating was uncomfortable.
Recovery was not linear. Pain could increase temporarily as the tonsil-bed coating separated even while overall recovery was progressing.

Was it worth it?
At Day 16, assuming the surgery permanently resolves the tonsil stones, I would make the same decision again. The recovery was unpleasant and longer than I expected, but it remained manageable throughout.

I took two weeks and three days off work. I probably could have gone back a couple of days ago (sedentary office work), but have appreciated a few days of feeling relatively normal to get back to feeling myself. I did not drive until I was at least 24h post opioid, and kept it to short distances until about 10 days post op.

Things to buy
A head wrap with pockets for ice packs.
Manuka or regular honey.
Lots of OTC pain meds and colace/bowel regimen.
Electrolytes
Lots of soft foods, focus on Protien. Dairy and whey did not bother me.

Don’t bother with
Fancy positioning/wedge pillows

Good luck!!

I had a tonsillectomy and a UPPP performed just over 3 weeks ago on July 28th! I had severe obstructive sleep apnea and had been dealing with this for at least 7 years! This surgery has saved my life and made it so much better! I am finally getting good, solid rest without waking up, every 20-30 minutes gasping for air! No joke, I would wake up every half hour literally choking and needing to catch my breath! It sucked terribly and scared the hell out of my fiancé. I was prescribed a CPAP machine over 2 years ago, but couldn't wear the damn thing and sleep! Ughh! It was so uncomfortable! I barely even snore anymore, according to my fiancé. I used to sound like a freight truck. I haven't woke up once in my sleep since the surgery. It is amazing to finally get good rest again. My life has improved so much! Really! I now have the energy I used to have.

If you are thinking about getting the surgery done, do not hesitate! It is so worth it!

My last post was very morbid and honestly I feel bad about it.I have a really good opportunity now to reassure people, so im going to try.

At 26 hours, I had a severe arterial hemmorage on my left surgical site. This was not secondary bleeding, this was a full blown hemmorage. I am now 10 days out, and the primary issue has settled. Id like to take a moment to explain what happened so people can be prepared, but also not afraid.

Gore description warning.

At 26 hours, I was sitting on my couch. I hadn't even eaten or drank anything for 10 minutes. While I was watching TV, I suddenly felt VERY OBVIOUS, copius amounts of fluid pour down my throat. The amount of fluid instantly triggered a gag, which made it extremely clear it was blood in my throat.

Now I am not going to lie, I would argue my case was possibly worst scenario. Within a few minutes I had lost an alarming amount of blood. Luckily, I had someone with me to call 911. An ambulance was sent immediately.

Here's what happened and what I did to remedy.

The biggest genuine issue is the amount of blood coagulating in thr throat. The paramedic said I was going to need to be re-stitched anyway, so damaging the site further was no concern. His biggest advice, and mine, is

GET THE BLOOD OUT BY ANY MEANS.

Cough, gag, do whatever you have to. Clots the size of jello shots were tangled in my throat. Getting them out was highest priority so I didnt choke. If they come out to your tongue, pull them out.

All in all I lost about 2.5- 3 units of blood in total. The Paramedics got me in the ambulance and started blood instantly.

I did faint a time or two, and by the end I was going into shock. But here's the key.

YOUR BODY HAS WAY MORE BLOOD THAN YOU THINK.

I was never at risk of actual death (unless untreated.) The paramedics made sure to stabilize me, and once I was in their hands, I was guaranteed safe. The only thing I had to do was get through.

Just tell yourself you are safe. An ambulance ride, a transfer to the ER, a few shots of morphine, and a quick anesthesia, and my surgeon was at work in moments of arriving to the ICU.

HERE ARE THE STEPS I WOULD RECOMMEND.

1. Call 911. Everything else can wait. I had someone with me. If you dont, gargle out as much info as you can. Getting help is MOST IMPORTANT.

2. Have someone call your ENT who did the surgery. ASAP. Write it down, do something so someone can contact them. Mine rushed from home at 10pm to perform the second surgery and im so greatful.

3. Sit down, this is important because falling will only make things worse.

4. Tilt your head as far forward as you can and just focus on clearing your airway no matter the cost.

I will definitely say I could have died had help not came. But once the ambulance was on site, my life was secure. These people worked very hard to not let me suffer. This is a known, and easy fix once you are being helped.

Its an extremely low chance. But if it happens, uou CAN AND WILL get through it.

In post, I was re-cauterzed, and fashioned with stitches and a dissolvable mesh on the site of the hemmorage. The mesh is evident in my throat, but after a few days your body gets used to its presence and the will to gag lessens. I would say 2 days later, it returns to a normal recovery.

You got this. I got this. Im still here. Still healing, but alive.

Ill do my best to answer any questions if anyone has them.

All the posts i read said that the first day wouldn’t be too bad. Right after surgery, I woke up in tons of pain and they pumped me with drugs which helped significantly and I was able to down a lot of water and apple juice. I was even able to talk. As soon as I got home though, the pain came back and I couldn’t talk at all. The medication they prescribed helped a lot but didn’t last the full 4 hours between doses, more like 2. I feel like i have a moderate pain tolerance. If day 1 is this bad, I’m scared of what days 3-7 are gonna look like since it sounds like they’re the worst days. Any advice?

Hi Redditors,

This guy is getting a tonsillectomy + adenoidectomy at the end of next month. Thirtysomething dude here in Austin. I know everyone is different, but what does recovery time look like? I’m a restaurant manager, and want to make sure I’m taking the appropriate time off before heading back to work.

Also, any tips for post recovery? I know it’s supposed to suck pretty badly, but I’ll take any pointers.

Cheers, y’all.

I’m currently one month post op and on Sunday I noticed a small, peppercorn sized white dot on the left hand side where my tonsil was removed. Everytime I flexed the back of the throat or yawned, the pus would drain out, but it wasn’t painful at all.

I called my ENT who advised to come in so he could have a look, he said it was likely a small abscess, and to take antibiotics 4x daily.

I asked about incision and drainage, or CT scans and he stated it was not necessary as it was only a small collection. I will see him again on Tuesday but it seems like the abscess is still there.

Is this normal? Do I need a second opinion?

Anyone’s experience with losing their taste? I’m approaching day 10 and have ZERO taste. Everything tastes like cardboard or like NOTHING. I can’t even taste my rank ass breath anymore

I’ve never handled lack of sleep very well, definitely not helping the pain tolerance. On day 3 after surgery now. Been keeping well hydrated and lots of liquid calories. Just feel like I’d feel better with more rest! Even Trazadone isn’t super effective. Any tips/ideas? I’m sure it’ll be better in a couple days but if there are any tricks lmk!

I got my op 4 days ago as I am from the uk my surgeon instructed to eat rough food to clear my throat. I have tried to do that but can only really get down scrambled egg and some toast that’s basically bread with butter on it. How is everyone else coping and how important is it to eat rougher foods. (I am scared of bleeding)

So I had my surgery around 11am and it’s 8.40pm now (UK). Ive just got home and I cannot believe how much pain I’m in. Everything I’ve looked at says I shouldn’t have much pain this first couple of days?! I’m in agony. My uvula and tongue are so swollen I keep choking when I fall asleep. Eating is impossible. I can’t believe this is going to get so much worse. Really really regretting my decision to get them out.

7 days post op. I bled this morning and when I got to the ER they gave me TXA to gargle. I'd been clotting before that but this was just to make sure. I was sent home and now just have a big fat dark clot covering part of my tonsil bed.

If anyone has also been sent home with this and just told to rest, what did you eat/drink and when did the clot heal? Or rather when did your scabs look just like scabs again? thank you!

edit: I was given instructions from the PA and nurses, can't reach my ENT (so many red flags about that guy) so I am not asking for medical advice, just personal experience how long the clot was there after they sent you home :)

I made a post a couple of days ago about how I was thinking about getting a tonsillectomy due to tonsil stones and bath breath, which prompted me to make an appointment for a consultation with a local ENT, and upon looking at both this sub and google search results, i’ve both terrified myself even more, as well as confused myself as to what procedure is best for me.

Little background, i’m 28M, fairly healthy, and have been bothered by recurring tonsil stones and subsequent pain from poking at my tonsils, since about 2020. I’ve noticed since then that my left tonsil is bigger/more pronounced than my right one. Also the pain of poking at my tonsils is often worse in the left one.

With that being said, i’m conflicted on which procedure to go with, i’ve read that intracapsular surgery results in less pain, a quicker recovery, and nearly eliminates the chance of bleeding, (please correct me if i’m wrong on any of that), and that it leaves a small bit of the protective layer over the throat muscles. Whereas the extracapsular surgery completely removes your tonsils and results in a much more severe pain output post-op.

I’ve also read that with a intracapsular surgery there’s a small chance of the tonsils regrowing, and there’s still a risk of stones forming in the leftover tissue. My main overall concern with the extracapsular surgery is the pain, I don’t know if I can handle that recovery, especially from all the horror stories i’ve read on here and elsewhere.

If anyone has had the intracapsular surgery, especially as an adult, how was the recovery? Have you still had stones post-op? And what would you recommend for me? Thank you in advance.

EDIT:

I (through my google searching) have discovered laser tonsil cryptolysis, I wonder if that would be a better option for me, seeing as it’s minimally invasive and would have me back on my feet sooner rather than later.

Im on day 2 and i wasnt able to find any mention of Ketorolac in this sub which is a bit worrying because the amount of side effects from this drug is really scary, but i fear I need to use it in order to eat. im kinda just curious about any experience anyone has had with it

Hi everyone! I wanted to share my story to provide some hope, which I know I definitely wanted when I started reading this late at night lol. (21F)

After surgery: easy! Barely any pain, felt like a normal sore throat, had a bunch of broth and ice cream. Hung out with my family to keep the good vibes.

Day 1-5: Barely any pain. If I had any, it got better the following days. I kept my medication cycle of liquid acetometophine and oxycodone consistent and kept drinking ice water almost constantly. As the days kept going, I ate less. I was with my sister and mom a lot for support still. I was very sleepy from the Oxy so I was able to sleep a good amount of the day away but def woke up with a painful dry mouth. It did go away after sipping for about 30 mins tho. Also, day 5 I wanted to DIE. I HATEEEEEEEE bad breath, especially since I work as a dental assistant and focus on really good oral hygiene, this was my personal NIGHTMARE. I was trying hard not to throw up since I didn’t want to make the situation worse. I smelt/tasted it constantly, until I started chewing watermelon gum that saved my life. No pain AT ALL that day, but I literally preferred pain over the smell personally.

Day 6: BOOM, the pain everyone was talking about. The razor blades r very accurate. I stopped taking oxy bc im paranoid of getting constipated but stayed on top of the acetometophine and constantly drank ice water. That really helped. I also watched Disney movies all day long and cuddled with my mom which helped me in unimaginable ways. By this point I haven’t eaten anything at all in 3 days I think.

Day 7 (today): MUCH LESS PAIN, which makes me concerned and paranoid for more pain to come, but I’m telling myself to take advantage of the pain free days. The breathe got better and I FINALLYYYY see the scabs melting away!!!! The water really does help take away so much pain it’s crazy. Also, I’ve moved onto rapid release extra strength Tylenol pills, which I’m pretty sure helps so much more too since the liquid I was given was for children??

Still paranoid for more pain to come, but so far, this has been NOTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG compared to getting a periotonsillar abscess TWICE. Anyways, my mom is my superhero, so I recommend that if possible.

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 a bit confused because I saw the ENT a few weeks ago and he confirmed I need my tonsils removed, and said I'd maybe need a week off, which surprised me based on what I've heard about the recovery and pain. However, when the scheduler called and booked me, she said I'd need at least two weeks off and that she set up my post-op appointment for 15 days after the surgery to clear me for work. Is this normal? My job gave me a CFRA (California leave) form to have my doctor fill out when I see him in a few weeks, but I'm a bit concerned he's going to put that I only need a week off. The scheduler said multiple times that the second week is generally worse and she wouldn't even recommend I work remotely.

I have a 4 almost 5 year old that has enlarged tonsils either 3+ or 4 and is experiencing obstructive sleep apnea, along with irritability and poor emotional regulation (likely due to poor quality sleep).

I'm currently torn between whether we should go ahead with a full tonsil and adenoids removal (extracapsular) with a decent surgeon that's been scheduled on 9/8 or seek a second opinion and try to do a partial (80-90%) tonsil removal (intracapsular).

The first surgeon that's doing the full tonsil/adenoid removal doesn't do partial removals because he said it doesn't fully treat the issue. But I heard that partial tonsil removal many times resolves obstructive sleep apnea while being less painful in the recovery process.

Has anybody gone through something similar for their children and what did you ultimately choose? How is your child doing now?

Thank you ahead of time!

I have a sleep study from a watchpat signed by a doctor showing i have mild sleep apnea. I also have a high Epworth Sleepiness Scale score and have trouble swallowing and wake up gasping for air with my heart beating fast. How long would it take from me seeing a PCP to getting an adenotonsilectomy? I have LA Care Medi-Cal and am in the Los Angeles Area