Tonsillectomy as an adult

[¯|_(ツ)_|¯]

I found out today that I need to have my tonsils and adenoids out. I hear that this is a brutal experience for an adult. Anyone have anything they'd like to tell me?

[hocus pocus]

OMG YES. I literally just did this. I only had my tonsils out though - they left my adenoids in there. I *think* (and read) it's more difficult because children are growing still and they have less scar tissue on their tonsils than adults do - because we've had more sore throats and are grown. I think adult tonsils kind of have to be 'dug out' more than a child's do.

I think it varies from person to person and I don't want to scare you but it did feel pretty severe to me. I couldn't talk for the first few days. I think I am going to put what I learned in bullet points:

• Get a cold air humidifier and put it on your nightstand or very close by. I am so glad I did this, because it allowed me to sleep. It can be hard to sleep after you have your tonsils out because your mouth dries which irritates the scabbing. Keeping this on kept my mouth from becoming too try. Otherwise you will be getting up every ten minutes or so to drink some water.
• Don't drink any carbonated beverages. The bubbles burn the back of your mouth. I tried that with ginger ale because I really wanted some but it wasn't worth it. Try ice cold water (you may end up wanting room temperature/colder as you heal)and some juices are good. I found aloe juice (without the pulp) helpful too. Similarly stay away from anything acidic, like oranges or tomato sauce.
• Get some food in that you will be able to eat. I only had soft popsicles the first week or so. I wanted other soft foods but do know if they are too sticky (like mac n cheese) they can get caught and will be hard to get down. Puddings and jellos are good. Also I had some warm food that i could 'mash' like peach cobbler. Some people go with ice cream but I found it to make my throat feel weird. I think I was allowed to eat what I wanted within reason as long as I was feeling up to it but I was liquid and soft for a while. It took me about 3-4 weeks to eat whatever I wanted to.
• Keep a pitcher of water at your nightstand so it's all ready for you without having to get up.
• Order ice packs - you can get ones that go over your face/neck for wisdom teeth or tonsillectomies. You can swap out the ice packs every so often.
• Don't talk if you don't feel like you can. I think it took me 5-7 days to start talking. Before that I whispered or texted people.
• You might want to get some stool softeners if you're sensitive to pain medication. A lot of people have issues with that.
• Take your medications a little early before the pain kicks in. A half hour or so early isn't too bad. I would also put an alarm on your phone to take your medication so you don't wake up in pain.
• Your face/neck might swell a little and my ears were bothering me but both are normal.
• Before your procedure, have a nice meal - something you really like - because you probably won't be able to eat solids or anything crunchy for a little while.

If I think of anything else I will come back. Best of luck though! Feel free to message me on Discord after you get them out (or at any other time)!

I don't have any advice as I got my tonsils removed as a kid; but I wanted to wish you the best of luck!

[Rika]

Some good resources I have found for it

https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/adult-tonsillectomy
https://www.entlubbock.com/blog/adult-tonsillectomy/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK564983/

I personally never have gotten mine removed at all. I for sure think it'd be up to whatever your doctor or so thinks.