As a 26-year-old female, my tonsillectomy was the worst pain I have ever experienced. When my doctor told me it was going to be worse than strep throat I thought, “How could it be worse?” Well it is. I am on day five, and I can't swallow, I can't eat, my ear hurts, and I can't keep myself hydrated. So I have a smell from my pores coming through my skin from the medicine. It's a lot to go through as an adult. Published: March 23 ::

I am a 21 year old female and had my tonsils removed a couple of months ago. The reason I am writing this now is because throughout my experience I found the information on forums such as these extremely useful, and it was nice to know other people were experiencing the same thing as me. One thing I would like to say is that having my tonsils out was the best decision I have ever made. My doctor strongly advised me against it but I went ahead with it anyway, and am so glad I did. It was not as painful as I thought it would be and certainly not as bad as my worst bout of tonsillitis. If anything it looked worst than it actually was. The best advice I can give anyone who has just had the operation is to eat! The more you eat, the quicker you will get better. I was up and about again within a week due to my non-stop eating! It may hurt at first but it is totally worth it. Toast is the best thing to eat as it is rough and hard to swallow and takes any bacteria down with it. 2 months after my operation and I am a healthy happy student again! Published: May 11 ::

I am on day five of my tonsillectomy and must say it wasn’t as bad as I had hyped myself up for! The thing that I struggled with was the morphine after the surgery. I have been keeping up with my pain medication every four hours no matter what even if the pain has subsided. I also found that sucking on ice cubes was very helpful and am still doing so. I am unable to have any dairy products because they are making me very phlegmy, but popsicles and other soft foods such as scrambled eggs and baked potatoes have kept me from starving! So my suggestion for those who are getting ready for the surgery is take the pain medication no matter what, suck on ice cubes right out of the surgery to help you stay hydrated, have an ice pack handy for around your neck and try and eat something just to have in your stomach and get a lot of rest. Published: May 01 ::

This is my fourth day out of surgery. I had a tonsillectomy and an adenoidectomy. I am 36 and have to say, the pain is worse than I thought. However, the biggest thing is that my nose is stuffed up, and I cannot breathe well enough to sleep. I am gargling and using a nose rinse. I’m seriously tired of pudding and all the soft food. I tried more substantial stuff like oatmeal, but it tore up my throat. Prednisone tastes awful. Published: April 13 ::

I’m 22-years-old, and I had my tonsillectomy last Thursday, so five days ago. I read all the horror stories online and kind of freaked myself out. So, I am here to write an uplifting, positive story. It really is not as bad as people have described it to be. As long as you stick to your dosage schedule, you'll be fine. Drink tons of water and don’t sleep for long periods of time. I set my alarm for every two hours; that’s when I took my meds and stocked up on my fluid intake. Needless to say it was hard to wake up in the middle of the night, but given a choice, I'd rather be tired than in pain. I also kept ice packs around my neck for the first two days. The ice helps with the swelling and pain. Honestly, to me it felt like a really bad sore throat. You want to keep your throat moist because when it gets dry, it does hurt and it helps to be hydrated when it comes to scabbing, and you'll heal faster. So, I hope this was helpful to anyone who is getting their tonsils out soon. Good luck! Published: April 07 ::

My 2 1/2 year old son is one week and one day post surgery (tonsils and adenoids). He's still struggling so much. He developed a horrible hacking non-stop cough a couple days after and nothing helped for 3 days (that finally subsided). He's still running a mild fever. His pediatrician says he has an ear infection. He was 29 lbs when he went in for surgery on Friday, by Tuesday he was down to 26! I felt reassured by reading a website. Apparently this is all normal. His surgeon said he'd recover in "no time" but now we're realizing 2 weeks is more likely. Published: April 06 ::

It is day two out of surgery. I've been able to remain hydrated so far. Today something odd is happening with my tongue, it is turning white with spots and swelling. Not sure of what might cause that other than maybe the salty/sugary foods I've been consuming. Jello, pudding, ice cream, etc. Still difficult to swallow and the pain goes to my ears as well. The uvula is seriously swollen and is filled with a clear liquid, it sometimes makes breathing difficult and it catches much of the mucus from nasal drip, compounding the breathing problem. Last night I rolled over in my sleep and thankfully most, if not all, of the mucus ran out of my mouth while I slept. I woke with the usual pain, but a completely open airway. I expected a quicker recovery, but in reading the comments I suspect I'll be out of the game for a few weeks. Published: April 01 ::