33M - Put this surgery off for 5-6 years.
Had my tonsillectomy on 4/24/2026 at age 33. ENT said my tonsils were around 3cm / Grade 4 and chronically inflamed. Biopsy later confirmed chronic infection/inflammation but thankfully non-cancerous. Looking back, they absolutely needed to come out.
Honestly, the buildup to this surgery was years in the making. My primary doctor told me at the end of 2019 that I had enlarged tonsils and I should see an ENT Specialist for a solution to either sleep apnea or consider getting them removed. Covid happened and I put the idea of surgery off until 2021. In 2021, I realized losing weight helped a bit and I was sleeping better. At the end of 2023 however, I had 3 really bad sinus infections back to back to back. Throughout 2024, I tried going the homeopathic/natural route because I really wanted to avoid surgery. Tried different remedies and basically hoped I could shrink the tonsils naturally. Then in 2025 I mostly just waited it out and tried to tolerate it. By the beginning of 2026 though, after years of enlarged tonsils, poor sleep, anxiety, airway issues, tonsil stones/inflammation, and waking up tense all the time, I finally decided it was time to get them removed. Listen to your body. Sometimes your body is trying to tell you something for years before you finally deal with it.
Recovery was honestly brutal. Days 0-3 weren’t too horrible, mostly soreness and fatigue. Around Days 4-9 though, things ramped up hard. I had sharp stabbing pain mainly on the left side of my throat, crazy referred ear pain (8/10 pain), excessive saliva, nasty tastes in my mouth, scab shedding, trouble sleeping, anxiety, lockjaw feeling, and that weird “wasabi/spicy tongue” nerve pain feeling people talk about. Pain would fluctuate from like 2/10 to 8/10 depending on the hour. I barely ate anything that first week and dropped 12 pounds in 8 days.
On Sunday 5/3 things got serious. I had been bleeding more than I realized for probably 2 days. Went to the ER around 6pm because it wouldn’t stop. Ended up needing emergency cauterization surgery at midnight to stop a hemorrhage. Stayed overnight at the hospital and got discharged Monday morning 5/4. This wasn’t an ideal way to recover but thankfully the second surgery expedited the recovery process and I felt like the second week went by way smoother than the first week because I was able to actually eat a bit (soft foods & liquids), drink water with no pain and speak without any pain.
Since the second surgery though, I changed my recovery approach completely:
- hydrating a LOT more - stopped constantly spitting
- taking it easier physically
- sticking mostly to Tylenol and not Oxycodone.
- eating soft foods consistently
- prioritizing sleep at night with a donut pillow for upright rest
Today is 5/14 and I’m doing significantly better. Pain is mostly around a 2/10 now. Talking normally again, eating a lot more, sleeping better, anxiety is calming down, and weirdly enough I’ve already noticed positive changes:
- lower resting BPM
- lower BP
- easier breathing through both nostrils
- sleeping less tense
- less jaw clenching/fist clenching during sleep
-significant reduction in overall anxiety
-able to think a lot more clearly
-voice is a lot more clearer and less hoarse overall
Honestly I think these enlarged/infected tonsils were stressing my body out for years more than I realized.
For any adults going through this surgery:
Hydrate like crazy
Don’t ignore continuous bright red bleeding
Don’t constantly spit into the sink all day like I was doing
The recovery really is a mental battle too
It DOES eventually get better
This surgery might be the best thing you ever do & has the potential to solve many issues despite the somewhat rough recovery process… You got this.