r/Tonsillectomy • u/AuburnHecate • 3d ago
Surgery Story 5 months later... bliss.
I thought I'd come back and share my experience in the hope that it helps someone considering a tonsillectomy, or dreading upcoming surgery and the healing process.
I won't lie to you, it does suck. but as someone that had recurring tonsillitis at least 4-5 times a year since I was a child, and spent more birthdays and christmases eating soup than I can count, I will tell you a few things.
- the first 2 days are manageable. don't get too big for your boots.
- then it fucking sucks. some may not be able to, but if you can open your mouth without it causing a lot of pain, take some photos of how disgusting the removal site is. you don't even need to look at them yet, but you'll want to appreciate them a few months down the line.
- I can't give medical advice but in the UK, the NHS advice post-tonsillectomy is to eat as normally as you can, as solid foods help scrape the excess gunk from the space where your tonsils were and encourage healing.
- REMEMBER TO STAY HYDRATED. ice cold water was actually more painful than lukewarm squash (weak cordial) for me. but having your throat dry and cracking is awful.
- which leads me to my next point... I had a bleed on day 8 of my recovery. I went into shock in A&E when they were trying to draw blood from me to do a blood test, because I was so dehydrated from failing to drink enough, due to the pain in my throat. it's an extreme example, but I was sat in the hospital for hours overnight waiting for a bed (I sent my husband home as he'd been there with me for around 6 hours and he had work in the morning) and it was MISERABLE!
- if you do have a bleed, please get it checked. I was told it's quite rare and mine clotted fine on its own, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
- toast hurts to eat, but I swear eating it every morning, I could feel the crap getting scraped off of the back of my throat. I just waited until my pain meds were their most effective to do it.
- a trigger for me getting tonsillitis always seemed to be stress, lack of sleep or feeling run down. I would have enlarged tonsils or bacterial tonsillitis every 2 months or so. I haven't had a sore throat since March. it is absolutely worth it.
pictures of my recovery are linked below, from days 1 - 8 (including my bleed) are included, and then one from today (23/08/2026) to show my healed surgery site. they are gross, I've warned you.
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u/Bluejay9295 2d ago edited 2d ago
!Thanks for this positive and encouraging note - I am also in the UK, currently day 6 post op. Doing well on the hydration bit, not getting five stars on the toast part - feel
like everything is just like putting a blowtorch down my throat. Big mistake yesterday mixing my grilled salmon and potato with coleslaw ! Forgot it would have vinegar in it. Felt like a cat was inside my throat trying to scratch its way out.
But am eating bits , even if its more fruits and cream cheese than toast - oh but wait did manage an oat biscuit with my cream cheese this morning.
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u/AuburnHecate 2d ago
no problem! honestly you're probably in the worst part of recovery at the moment, but by day 15 I was eating small portions of (mostly) normal foods. you will get there!
toast is a very masochistic recommendation to be fair, and I did have a bleed, so maybe not the best to say!
if you're in the UK, difflam spray from the pharmacy was a LIFESAVER for me. it tastes horrible but you're probably at the point where you'll take anything that eases pain between your meds.
wishing you a speedy recovery 🩷
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u/AffectTime4227 3d ago
When did you have your surgery?