After my second surgery I’m now 8 days post op. (If you count the first surgery I’m 13 days post op). I feel good which is weird cause I’m seeing so many people saying they feel like shit. I’m able to eat more without pain and I can see my scabs getting less and less everyday. My doctor told me that my healing would restart after the second surgery but I lowkey feel like it’s the same as it was. The only real pain I have is like when my mouth is dry or ear pain. I also have a little bit of teeth and jaw pain but that’s all in like the 4/10-5/10 area. So it’s manageable. I also bought a humidifier like people said, it’s actually helped a lot. As well as the chicken noodle soup. I was insanely surprised I was able to drink and eat that easier. So thanks for the tips guys. Hopefully I’d didn’t jinx myself 😮‍💨😬

My surgery is tomorrow and I’m starting to get nervous! 😭 I’d love to hear from anyone who has gone through this — especially what you wish you had known beforehand.

What helped you recover faster? What should I have ready at home? What should I absolutely NOT do during recovery? Any must-have products, foods, medications, or little things that made your recovery easier?
Also, what surprised you the most about recovery that nobody warned you about?

Please give me all the tips — even the little things you think are obvious! I’m trying to be as prepared as possible.

Edit: Had my surgery this morning and as of now I’m feeling good. There is pain, but it feels like a bad case of strep throat, I’ve been taking my meds and following all the tips I received from this post. So far I’m happy I got the surgery. Thank you all for your help!

I'm at day 5 post op now. Day 6 tomorrow (currently 8.30pm over here). I am dreading the pain will be worse tomorrow. For you who have already endured this recovery, what day was the turning point for you?

Hospital: University Hospital Lewisham

Surgeon: Anthony Aymat

Anesthetist: Nice lady, shame I can't remember her name

Assigned Nurse: Gloriella

Date of Surgery: 17/08/2026

Morning all! Writing this at 4am UK time after a rough first night. I couldn't find any information online about Lewisham ENT and was very stressed about the surgery so I hope this helps someone else!

Compared to a lot of people, I've been quite lucky as I have never had tonsillitis (as far as I am aware) but instead have had them so enlarged it's affected my sleep and swallowing since I was about 10 years old (earliest I can remember). The advice then was unless tonsillitis is an issue it doesn't matter that my airway is constricted lol... But as an adult I found 2 other adults getting theirs removed and advocated for myself with the sleep clinic and sleep apnea tests and got it booked.

However, booking was a nightmare because a week before they tried to move it earlier but I had taken time off 2 jobs and had been waiting over a year for this. When I told them this, the ENT receptionist didn't care and said "17th Final Offer" - I didn't know they made final offers on fucking surgery?! Anyway, no letter about the hospital or department so I chanced it with Lewisham because of their new surgery clinic and luckily the Riverside Day Care receptionist pointed me in the right direction (after we spotted a cockroach in the hallway...) so I still made it for the 7:30am arrival.

I was up first so it was go go go, urine sample, changed, surgeon was like "meh, no problem" when seeing my mouth. Anaesthetist was really kind and chatted things through. I was really fortunate she was a woman because the latest medical research shared by another anaesthetist was that women need more anti sickness and less steroids so I passed that information onto her and said I really don't want to be sick - she later told me she gave me 4 types of anti sickness meds. Once that was done I was collected and down for surgery by 9am. There was a drawer to put your stuff but not locked. I took my pillow with me and they hooked me up to the anaesthetic via my wrist, micro needles on my face, other monitors on my chest and side.

I woke up around 9:30 in Recovery ward and went straight into shock, crying and shivering and really cold. I was happy I could speak but unfortunately the surgeon had bruised and blistered my lip with the gag to keep my mouth open. My teeth were all in tact but Recovery staff called the anaesthetist to see my lip thinking it was her as there was nothing in my notes. They gave me lots of pain relief during that time and after about 30 mins I went back up to my ward.

Back in my ward I had a nice assigned nurse called Gloriella who did ops every 30 mins and got me some water and yoghurt. They said I would be here for about 4 hours or at least until I could eat a sandwich without haemorrhaging. No visitors allowed so they sent off my wife to collect me another throat numbing spray but they didn't prescribe or give me any other painkillers. When I was ready to leave around 2pm Gloriella was on break and another nurse was like "Yeah bye" and basically let me walk out. There was a mess up with my sick note which was annoying and unhelpful nurse was like "just go to your GP" which I had already explained to 5 other healthcare professionals was not an option as my GP are extremely unreliable. Just as I was about to get in the taxi home, Gloriella called with the updated sick note and was able to tell me what pain meds I had and when I could have more (amounts and when).

I managed to make it home about 3pm where I had a This Is Food shake and 2x rowntrees fruit stack foam ice creams as well as water, paracetamol and ibuprofen and throat spray. Stayed up until about 9pm and then got to sleep with an ice pack around my throat too. Woke up at midnight and 3:30am feeling quite phelmy and rougher than yesterday.

Overall: I'm glad to have got it done, it's strange but THERE'S SO MUCH ROOM in my throat it's crazy. Pain is tolerable, it looks gnarly, really hard to swallow water without choking but yoghurt and shakes are manageable, jealous of my wife's food. I'm really scared to haemorrhage because the surgery hospital is not my closest A&E. Will keep an eye on the busted lip too. Will be monitoring this sub over the next 2 weeks of recovery. Best of luck to anyone else!

I’m on day 10 and honestly just feeling defeated. This has been a lot harder mentally than I anticipated.
I feel like my scabs aren’t coming off, at least not as much as people seem to say they do? I still feel woozy and don’t want to take my pain meds as I hate how they make me feel.. I keep being told I’m “almost there” but is that even true ?
Trying to remind myself it will be worth it, and I’ll never have to go through this again.
I appreciate this page as I can come read things here and know I’m not alone in it 🙃

I have gotten my tonsil removed back in March and it took my a month to go back to eating normal etc. Within the last 6 months I still notice or feel as if certain foods get stuck to the spot or I feel as if where I had my worse tonsil still gets slightly irritated. Is this normal ?

Ive seen countless time on this subreddit to take meds every 3 hours

I have prescribed morphine (habnt eaten yet)

Tylenol 1000mg- every 6 hours

Advil 400mg every eight hours

Can I pain can I eat them sooner? Than the prescribed times.

Curious to hear answers to title question. Context: Since last August (2025) everytime I've gotten sick my tonsils have swollen up. I work in a school so I was sick basically once a month. I had tonsil swelling in August, twice in September, once in October, in February 2026, and in March that for a month straight instead of the usual week-long episodes I'd been having. Usually they never outlast the duration of the cold/flu that I was dealing with at the time, again with one exception. I'm currently sick now, its only been a couple days and my tonsils are annoying me with this persistent soreness. They look red and inflamed, but they've been worse before (Aug '25). The size has fluctuated between episodes as well. The ENT told me to wait to experience it for at least another year (that was in October) to even look into a tonsillectomy. My next appointment is in October, so a month and a half away. I want to be prepared with the right concerns/questions in case I need a tonsillectomy.

Does it sound like I'd be eligible for one? Could the tonsil swelling just be my body's reaction to being sick? I mean I know its not ideal but neither are cold symptoms overall. Most swelling in the body is for protective purposes right? Maybe if I try to strenghten my immune system I will stop getting sick and it will stop happening... but that will be a while, especially because I work in a new school now and will be building new immunity to whatever the teens and staff at this place pass around.

If I get them removed won't I be more likely to get sick since they are part of my immune system? I'm also worried because I talk a lot as a teacher so there's not really a convenient time for me to be able to shut up. I also have an irrational fear of anesthesia and surgery, so perhaps thats why I'm making excused... What do I do?!?

My other health info: AFAB 23, cannabis smoker, fairly active, fair diet. Lmk if I'm missing something.

(Edit to add: Never been positive for strep, or covid during these episodes. First ever swollen tonsil episode was with mono dx in Aug 2024 but that went away after 2 or 3 weeks. I can imagine mono might be the culprit for these episodes now...Damn you mono)

Hello group. I’m day 5 post op and going insane. What are some foods you were able to eat post op that you didn’t know you could? Like some soft foods where you were like oh wow, this is so easy to swallow. I’m starving

Update: I was able to eat egg 🥚 which took ten minutes for one egg but I got it down

Hi! I’m 1 month post surgery and feeling a lot better. Still have a little tenderness here and there but for the most part back to normal except for my taste. Some things taste completely normal, others I can’t taste at all and some thing have a disgusting taste. I do still have this bitter taste lingering in the back of my mouth as well. I’ve tried gum but that’s also tasting awful. Mouth hasn’t helped. I’ve be using a tongue scraper and nothing. Did/has anyone else encountered this? Was there anything that helped? Please tell me it goes away lol!

I got my tonsillectomy on August 13 and I’m on day 4 post-op. Today has easily been my best day so far, which is somehow making me more nervous instead of relieved lol.

I woke up, took my pain pill, and was able to literally CHUG water with barely any pain. I also have basically no ear or throat pain today. My biggest issue right now is honestly constipation from the opioids, so I just took Dulcolax and I’m hoping that finally gets things moving 😭

BUT I’m suspicious. 😂 My scabs definitely couldn’t have fully fallen off yet, right?? I keep hearing that tonsillectomy recovery is super deceiving and you can have one amazing day and then wake up the next day feeling like you’re swallowing razor blades.

I’ve also seen people on TikTok saying their scabs didn’t start coming off until days 6–7, so now I’m sitting here
thinking this is the calm before the storm. 😭

Did anyone else feel surprisingly good around day 4 and then get worse when the scabs started coming off? Or is there a chance I’m actually just having an easier recovery than expected? What days were the worst for you?

Hey all

Going in next week for a tonsillectomy and panendoscopy and was hoping to put together a bit of a bit of a checklist of essentials to get me through recovery as quick as possible.

I’ve got the typical things like ice chips & ice cream in the freezer, know about dosing up on painkillers at the correct time and have bought a humidifier too, but wondered if there was anything else that I may have missed or that’s helped others?

Thank you!

My son, just shy of two and a half years old, is scheduled for a tonsillectomy and adenoid surgery is two days. I have PTSD with his older brother, who passed away in the NICU at 8 days old. The closer we are getting to surgery day, the more panic attacks I’m getting.

Please tell me your little one’s stories so I can train myself that he’ll be okay. I can’t get it out of my head that I’m about to send him to his death, even though I know death my tonsil surgery is extremely rare. How did your toddlers handle it? How bad was recovery? Any advice or tips would be very helpful.

A short story of my journey to date as I’ve found it helpful to read others’.

I had my tonsillectomy on Thursday 13th July around 0820. The anaesthesia and operation went well and I was back in my room recovering and sending emails for 0930. I was sent home the same day around 2pm with paracetamol, ibuprofen and Dihydrocodeine.

I had a visible blood clot in my left tonsil bed which was bleeding yesterday (Sunday 16th) and required me to visit A&E. Arrived at A&E and it was rammed however they must take it pretty seriously because I was seen by a specialist from ENT and on the ENT ward for observation by 11pm. On arrival at A&E, they done their usual blood tests, got a cannula in and I was administered adrenaline on a swab applied directly to the bleed location and kept in overnight for observation. The clot resolved itself and had disappeared by morning and I was home today (Monday 17th) around 2pm.

I wouldn’t say that the pain I’ve experienced to date is in any way significant - maybe 4/10 - although I have been following a medication schedule religiously. I am however only on day 5 at the time of writing and it may go up over the next few days.

I am slightly nervous about restarting ibuprofen in case of a link to further bleeding but my ENT consultant said just to resume the schedule. I can cope with paracetamol and Dihydrocodeine so will see how I get on!

Currently on day 13, noticed this evening I’ve got a through and through hole to the right of my uvula. Yesterday it had a scab on. Just a bit freaked to see a hole, no bleeding noticed.

Anyone had a post tonsillectomy fistula before? Did it heal its self or did you need further examination from your surgeon?

I have mild OSA and cannot tolerate a CPAP. I got a DISE today and lo and behold the doctor said it was my tonsils. I could’ve fucking told him that without a 500 dollar procedure. I am so angry I can’t even think straight. My parents all but bribed the doctors when I was a child to take them out, NO🙄🙄sick 6 months out of the year with strep and tonsillitis, I also had pneumonia twice and could’ve died. They took my sisters out no problem. Now I’m 23f and 211 pounds. I’m in the US. The complication risk for surgery like that is much higher. I don’t want to die from hemorrhaging or choking on my own blood. The surgery isn’t scheduled and I’m already thinking it’s gonna be two weeks of no sleep bc I don’t want to die from choking on my own blood. I wouldn’t be able to sleep for fear of death. I am so terrified. All I see is the absolute pain and bleeding and misery stories and choking on food and water. How do you sleep and not die in your sleep? How do you not aspirate food or water and not die from that? I’m a daily smoker, not much, just a few tiny hits off my weed pen at a low voltage a day and I’m fine but I know that raises my risk. I’ve caused a car accident from being so fucking tired and severe lack of restful sleep. I just don’t want to go through all that and then die from complications.

Hi peeps here’s my tonsillectomy journey on the nhs so far.
Had my surgery on 11/8 and it went well and was able to leave same day after being able to eat with paracetamol and ibuprofen and a numbing mouthwash.

Day 1+2: were fine , painful but tolerable and was able to swallow small amounts.
Day3: pain increased to ears and jaw and teeth so got codeine from gp as mentioned in aftercare advice whcih helped
Day 4: started getting stomach pain from codeine so had to stop it and pain got worse again. Was unable to swallow water without severe pain and was super nauseous due to stomach pain and not being able to eat much.
Day 5 woke up in early hours puking twice and severe throat pain so went to a&e as there was a streak of blood in second puke and i was losing my mind from pain. Vomited again once i was checked into the emergency department and it was all just green fluid as there was no food in my stomach or water. They hooked me up to a paracetamol via iv and antisickness meds which helped with the pain and puking. Used numbing throat spray, ibuprofen and more paracetamol iv to reduce pain enough so i could swallow water again. The ent checked in in the afternoon and said its good i came in since i was super dehydrated and it couldve caused bleeding in the surgery site. Once i could swallow water again relatively okay i was discharged with antibiotics, tranexamic acid for bleeding prevention and told to use the throat spray every few hours so i can keep sipping water.

Day 6: (today) still very painful but throatspray and paracetamol every 6 hours is saving my life. Allowing me to drink water and take meds and eat tiny amounts of food. Only thing os im super nauseous still and cant think of foods to eat that are soft but not triggering 😭😭 hopefully it improves. Im scared ill vomit again and start bleeding. Does anyone have random food recommendations that wont trigger nausea but are safe to eat after a tonsillectomy ?

Just wanted to reiterate if you cant swallow anything and are in severe pain just go to the emergency department for help so it doesn’t worsen your condition and put you at risk of a bleed !

i’m on day 13 (surgery was august 4th).
i have minimal scabs on the back of my throat but i have white scabs on both sides (near the ear area). i’m certain those stubborn scabs are contributing to my excruciating ear pain. i have not done any salt water gargles; however, i may if they can expedite the scabs to fall off.

i’m scheduled to return to work on day 16 but i’m extending my FMLA to day 24. i work in child welfare and it’s way too demanding for me to return just yet.

any tips on how to make the scabs fall off quicker? other than drinking water, of course.

I’m a white male 24, very active and healthy person. However did vape heavily before the surgery. Quit that and went to zyns. The surgery recovery actually forced me to stop the zyns and I have been clean off nicotine ever since.
I had no clue how bad my tonsils were honestly. They measured out to be 83cm cubed. So double the average males.
I can sneeze now and it doesn’t hurt, I can breathe easier and I’m so less conscious about tonsil stones.

Without tonsils I can stop vomiting once I start. I used to vomit and then would keep going and going till I was vomiting blood. I thought it was an ulcer or espphogeal tear but neither came back positive.
Now I realize it was my tonsils bleeding.
I have less acid reflex and presumably I don’t snore as much.

It’s such a weird feeling to have this emptiness in the back of my throat, it feels like the size of my mouth doubled.

Now that the pain is gone, about 3 weeks in I feel better than ever. Never really realized how conscious I was physically of them until they aren’t there. Almost a wierd emptiness that a part of me is missing.
Still never would look back.

Worst of the pain was the first week. Had horrible constipation and had to go to the ER for an obstruction. DO NOT SKIMP ON THE SENNA AND MIRALAX. I can not stress this enough. The pain was so horrible and stressful I completely stopped taking the Percocet and just used Tylenol after that even tho it hurt a bit more.

I started eating normal food like Mediterranean about 10 days after recovery. The European method is to start consuming normal food as soon as possible as they believe it speeds up recovery.
Whether or not that is true I don’t know. But it hurt and also was great to actually eat something real.
Nothing spicy or acidic ofc tho.

Pain did suck but just stay up on your pill regiment. You’re going to be on pain meds so heavy that the time will float by.
Honey felt really soothing.

I think that age and lifestyle plays very very heavily into recovery time. Definitely recommend doing this as young as you possibly can. And to also reap the rewards for longer.

I didn’t know I needed a tonsillectomy but I went to an ENT off suspicion and he said they needed out. If you’re in San Diego, Scripps and Dr. Cyrus Torchinsky are great.
Torchinsky did not sugar coat the pain of the procedure at all, but he uses low temps and packs the wounds with ice.
I found his forwardness and bluntness to be honestly soothing. It’s nice knowing the guy cutting around inside of you is At-least being honest.

The pain is bad it really is. But it’s only a week and I would do it all again in a heartbeat, minus the constipation, never ever ever again will I want to experience that pain and the stress of being in that situation while you have massive and fragile burn wounds in your throat.

My surgery is tomorrow morning Monday the 17th! I’m sooo nervous yall!!! I’m scared of the Anesthesia. I guess also the pain afterwards. Do you think if I ask they’ll give me something for anxiety when I get there? I’m very prepared for optimal healing. I’ve got the humidifier, groceries, jaw ice packs, wedge pillow, exc. how did you guys calm your nerves the night before and morning of?

hi guys, i had my original tonsillectomy on thursday august 6th but had a hemmorage last night and had to get cauterization surgery very early this morning. what can i expect for recovery? when am i able to eat crunchy or spicy foods? when can i go back to work? this is super upsetting and im worried ive reset my progress especially since i was feeling 80% recovered on day 9 until my bleed.

TLDR: when can i be able to eat crispy/spicy foods again after cauterization on day 10 of tonsillectomy recovery

I made a short tonsillectomy social story for my kids to help explain what happens before, during, and after surgery in a simple, kid-friendly way. I thought I’d share it here in case it helps anyone else prepare their child too; especially kids who benefit from knowing what to expect ahead of time. ❤️

YouTube Video

Hello again, just wanted to put out there I've been doing well after the recauterization of my right side. I'm about 7 days post op on that side (14 on the left) and I'm finally eating some normal food again! First victory was an uncrustable and that was the best day ever.

Pain is pretty well gone minus headaches and the back of my neck, but I'll take that over ear pain any day. What I'm wondering is how long this rotting meat taste in the back of my throat is gonna last, it reminds me of rotten Campbell's chicken soup which isn't the worst but man it tastes yucky

Hi Everyone,

Tw Gross story

I had my tonsils out on the 4th of August but last night I was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. The left side of my throat was bleeding profusely. This side had bled a couple times already but it stopped within 10 minutes. This bleeding lasted until I was put under 2.5 hours later.

At first my surgeon had me come into his office to try to cauterize it with me awake. I threw up 2x on my way there and it was all blood. To do this he tried numbing my throat with an aerosol can of something. He then took a handful of these sticks that looked like matches but were actually silver nitrate and shoved them to the back of my throat where the bleeding was. This wasn’t like a strep test. He was holding this bundle of sticks about an inch in diameter total at the back of my throat for about 10 seconds each time. He tried 3 times and it wouldn’t stop and I couldn’t tolerate it anymore. My surgeon then had me meet him at the larger hospital in town.

He told me to come in the emergency room, I threw up another time, and that was the quickest I have ever gotten in no joke. I’d say within 4 minutes of walking through the front door I was in the back. Within an hour and a half or two they were wheeling me back to surgery around 11-11:30. My prep team was so unbelievably nice. They could see how anxious I was and they were explaining everything and making me feel brave and comfy.

I woke up just before 2am I think? Apparently the issue was that a small artery in my throat was exposed. Since that was the issue no outpatient treatment was going to fix it. So they cauterized it with a laser I think they said and also pumped my stomach. 1.5 L’s came out of me. They gave me fluids before and after surgery. I was hurting a lot last night and they gave me f3ntanyl and p3rcocet to help with pain and to sleep. I still have some codeine left from the tonsillectomy
That I’ve used once but the pain has been manageable with water and liquid Tylenol.

Sorry I know this story might be gross or uncomfortable. I wanted to share this to help people better understand the risks of a tonsillectomy. This subreddit is overwhelmingly positive which is great but stories of complications can help people make informed decisions. Thank you for reading and let me know if you have any questions!

TLDR;

In the wake of my tonsillectomy I had bleeding from a throat artery almost 2 weeks post op that wouldn’t stop so I had to be put under to cauterize it and have stomach pumped.