What To Feed After A Tonsillectomy?
Decorating By SquirrellyCakes Updated 15 Jul 2005 , 1:41pm by SquirrellyCakes
So folks, I have a 24 year old who will be getting her tonsils out Monday. The hospital gave some suggestions, mostly water, apple juice, lukewarm broth, popsicles the first day, puddings, Jello, yogurt, milkshakes, icecream the second day. Introduce mashed potatoes and scrambled egg the third and fourth days.
They said to stay away from orange and tomatoe juice because of the acid.
Anyone have any suggestions for juices other than apple juice and any other food suggestions. Anyone have a child that had a tonsillectomy recently? What worked well? What didn't?
Hugs Squirrelly
my daughter was 2 when she had her out and on the 2nd day she ate spaghetti with us (it was her favorite and she HAD to have it) personally i would probably stick with ice water things like that until she feels she can handle the others. sorry i couldnt help much
Hey there Squirrelly! My son had his taken out in May. He is five. Our dr said pretty much the same thing as yours. Sprite, Sports drinks (especially since they won't be eating much). He also said that they have changed their way of thinking and the sooner they can eat the better. Helps their throat heal faster. Just a warning. The third and about the seventh day were the worst. He said we would wonder if it was worth it and we did!! But it was so worth it!! Just make sure she takes her pain medicine BEFORE it starts hurting. Better to prevent then try to maintain or get it to stop. Watching him wake up after surgery was pretty tough!! But just let her know that it does really help!! I hear that the older you are the worse it is so tell her to hang in there. Will keep her in our prayers (and you to if you are taking care of her hehehe)
Good luck
Charlotte
charlieinMO
Heehee, leave it to a two year old to choose spaghetti! Gosh, it has been so many years since I had mine out, all I remember is they used to keep you in the hospital for 3 or 4 days and I remember eating pork chops, corn and mashed potatoes when I went home. Hhmn, that was a big mistake, I still remember, haha!
Now they operate, send them home in 1- 4 hours after the operation.
Hugs Squirrelly
Thanks Charlotte, you know, I never thought of the sports drinks, so that is a great suggestion! The brochure says the third and 7-10 days are the worse too, I guess the scab is a pain at the 7-10 days, and the healing must start at the third.
I nearly died from tonsilitis when I was 15 so for me, having them removed was nothing compared to how sick I was. She has been sick for 9 years, continuously on antibiotics, so I think it will be a blessing. Still, even though it is a minor operation and no matter how old your babies are, they are still your babies and you worry!
It is so true that you would rather have the pain then watch your children suffer!
Have to stock up on groceries tomorrow, so Gatorade will be on the list!
Hugs Squirrelly
and remember no Red popcicles or drinks in case of bleeding. My son had his taken out when he was 24 also, he was a BIG BABY 
Wishing her well.
Shoot, every doctor that I have gone to when my tonsillitis acted up were totally in awe as to how large my tonsils got when they were swollen (not exactly the 'normal' sie when not enlarged either). As a result, no doctor is willing to take them out because of the risk of hemorraging...... isn't that a risk with every tonsilectomy? Oh well, fortunately for me I have pretty much outgrown the tonsilitis, but now I have asthma... one for the other.
Anyway, Squirrley, make sure she gargles with warm salt water. That promotes healing. And as for drinks, try the Naked Juices... lots of vitamins and minerals, no acid.
Debbi
Hi! I am a nurse and I was 20 when I had my tonsils out. The older you are, the more miserable it is. I could not eat anything cold, like popsicles or ice cream, because it made my throat burn. I had tepid gatorade and water, and I took my medicine with string cheese (strange, but it didn't bother my throat). The most important thing is to find some liquid that goes down easy and make her drink plenty of it so she does not get dehydrated. Also, pain meds are constipating, so that's another incentive to drink plenty of fluids.
my mother was told
instant carnation breakfast and things of the like, and lollipops!!!! 
and oh Nutrament, and slim fast drinks.......
Hey Squirrelly,
I just got my tonsils out 3 years ago. I was 34.... I went through the most horrible time w/ my surgery!!!! I never had problems when I was a child it started when I got into my 20's. The surgery was horrible! The dr. let me go home & gave me loritab for pain. My Mom came up to stay w/ us so she could help take care of me. I couldn't eat, drink PERIOD!! After 2 days of horrible pain my DH took me to the ER. I wound up in the hospital for 5 days. I had high blood pressure from the pain, I wasn't getting much oxygen. This surgery is NO fun for adults! They gave me morphine for the pain & they found out quick that I was allergic to it!! I didn't recouperate from this surgery till about 3 wks later. I know it doesn't happen to everyone but it did happen to me. If there is any problems no matter how minor take your daughter back to the dr.! The ER dr. said if my DH hadn't brought me in that I could have died! So be careful~
I forgot.. I was dehydrated too. That's the reason I couldn't eat or drink or take the pain pills. My throat swelled up to just about shut! The high blood pressure was from the pain. The dr who put me in the hospital put me on the heart patient ward! They were afraid I was going to have a heartattack. I have never had blood pressure problems before or after this. It was very scary! Like I said it took me 3 wks to recoupe!! It was worse then the ACL surgery I had on my knee!
Good Luck to her!! And watch her like a hawk!!
Oh man Tc....you went through heck and back.... I have heard of people having problems like that.... kind of like chicken pox ....worse on adults!!!!
grape juice is good. i had a whole in my ear drum repaired 2 years ago and it had it done in an out patient facility anyways there was a little boy who had his tonsils taken out and they gave him white grape juice. they say it is easiest on the throat and stomach
I had all four wisdom teeth removed a few years ago when I was 38......I lived on applesauce, mashed potatoes and cream of wheat for almost a month....I got two infections after the surgery....what a nightmare. Good Luck to your daughter. Maybe she could try drinking those Ensure drinks....they have lots of nutrients in them so she should be fine if she likes them and can handle it.
I remember for my grandson, nothing red ... so I bought him a lot of icecream, popsicles, pudding, applesauce ... he loved it for awhile, but he wanted french fries by the 3rd day lol
I did mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes too, with a lot of butter. (Mine was pretty bad, and I was losing a good amount of weight because I couldn't eat or drink anything.) The doctor only gave me Tylenol, and after about 2 weeks of not eating or drinking anything, my mom threw a fit and I got pretty heavy duty drugs and after that I recovered. It was awful and I am really good with pain.
squirrelly,
sorry i didn't get a chance to read your message on the weekend. having had 4 general anesthetic surgeries in the past 17 years (starting with the tonsillectomy when i was 14) i can tell you that the worst part of surgery - the anesthesia, has improved IMMENSLEY over the past 10 years. actually, it is best to get home as soon as possible - more people get sick with viruses and bacterial infections from staying in the hospital because of their contact with so many people.
when i had my tonsils out when i was 14, i couldn't swallow anything for almost a week -- even water and popsicles kept getting stuck in my throat and i had to spit everything out. i lost 11 pounds. i think the first solid food i ate was a hot dog (on a very soft bun).
liquids are the most important, for hydration and to keep the throat wet (helps prevent that painful scabbing). mushy foods can be very comforting, so if she likes pasta, try cooking some orzo (looks like big rice), which is good hot or cold with any sauce or dressing. of course, the most comforting thing after surgery is to just have someone around to take care of you and let you rest, and it sounds like you've got that covered for your daughter. 
I also lost a lot of weight but was happy w/ that!! I lost 12 lbs in 4 days! How that happened I do not know!!
My wonderful mom mixed veggies & other foods in the blender. I couldn't swallow that! I couldn't swallow water either. I was able to eat scrambled eggs after I was in the hospital 2 days. No salt, no pepper. Was on nothing but IV for 2 days. No water, no nothing.
After all this I hate any surgery!!!!!!!!
Hi Squirrelly...my favorites were freeze pops and jello when I was a child. I've been going through fights with the doctor now with my 6 year old. She had tonsillitis attacks from beginning of March until middle of June. Poor kid was on antibiotics for so long it was messing up all her other functions. She went down to almost 40 lbs. I was petrified. Thank heavens, it finally cleared up. I don't know why doctors are so hesitant to take them out when they can cause so much trouble...and definitely don't want her winding up like these 20 somethings and having to have them out then! Good luck to your girl!
galaglow: get a second (or third) opinion when it comes to antibiotics for your little girl. i was on them all the time when i was a kid (tonsillitis, bronchitis). turns out the "chronic bronchitis" was just asthma that would flare up whenever i got a cold (and i have allergies that trigger asthma symptoms too). indeed, sometimes the treatment just causes further problems: my first asthma preventative medication caused me to develop thrush in a matter of hours, so i had to take something else to clear that up!
a lot of doctors feel pressured to prescribe antibiotics as they're afraid that parents won't leave their office satisfied unless they have a prescription for their child. 
I have to say that I had both my tonsils and adenoids removed this past February and let me tell you...it was terrible 
If anyone ever told you that this procedure was rough for a grownup-they were not lying. I mean, I gave birth to my son 16 years ago on a Sunday afternoon and went back to work on the following Wednesday-full time no less. But, the tonsil and adenoid removal really dropped me on by tail. I'm not one for drugs either, but thank God for liquid Lortab.
I lived on fudgesicles for 2 weeks straight. I absolutely hate mashed potatoes now because I had to eat so many. They have a new procedure now when they can actually sear the cuts as they are making them They say that really cuts down on the healing time and the pain.
Of course, I had a throat full of stiches with mine because there was a tumor involved. So, hopefully, she will not have it as bad as I did.
Good luck...I hope she does well.
Wandootie
Oh, one more thing. Actually the positive side to this is that I have had no sore throats or sniffles since then (even in the Spring). Before, my throat would close up and I could not breath at all through my nose.
It will really be worth it for her in the long run.
Just be there for her-she will need you!
Wandootie
when i was little i would always get tonsillitis .then when i was 40 my dr told me i had sleep apnea.so i had a sleep test then i had to have surgery. i had a tonsillectomy plus a lot more mouth surgery.i had stiches in my lip and top of my mouth. i had to have a tracheotomy kit with me for 2 of the 3 days i was in the hospital. had alot of pain but also had good drugs.all i could eat was ice,freeze pops,jell-o,warm soup. for about a week
after i came home all i could eat was chicken soup with cracker in it and anything cold.all in all i would do it again if i had to ...
forgot to say( good luck and i will be thinking of you).just keep thinking no more sore throats.i thank God and my dr for that everday.
Well, I had mine out when I was 16.... and it was awful..
The only thing that quenched my thirst was ice water....they said 7up and juice....ack.... water was the only thing that didn't make my saliva thick.... I couldn't eat anything for several days... I couldn't talk for 2 weeks either....could only whisper... sooooo... I would say the first thing to take would be ice water....then when she's hungry, the gerber baby food sounds good....tutty frutty...yummmmm...
Hope things go well for her.
hugz,
cakegal
Just got a moment to check posts and respond.
Thanks everyone for sharing information and your stories. Boy, some of you have been through a lot!
Well she had a newer proceedure and actually drank about 6 glasses of water when she first woke up and was talking a blue streak - the first day. She ate well and drank a lot and by the evening she wanted scrambled eggs, which she wasn't supposed to have for a couple of days. However she wanted them, we made them and they went down well. the second day her throat was a bit more sore. Yesterday and today, she is having a lot more discomfort when she talks and her ears hurt, that is all normal. She is sleeping better today.
She is one of those people that gets hypher from anaestetic. so today I guess she is finally sleeping more. At least we found out she tolerates that well.
Haha, we have tried all of the foods you have mentioned, my fridge and freezer are full of easy-to-swallow things, haha. I have run soups through the blender as she really wants something slightly warm that isn't sweet, you can get sick of sweets, haha! So Jello gelatin, puddings, icecream, Freezies and Popsicles, Gatorade, iced tea, apple juice and iced water go well. She isn't drinking any sodas, which is really unusual for her, even flat she isn't tolerating them well. Scrambled eggs seem to be a favourite. Instant oatmeal is going well when mixed with milk. Mashed potatoes tasted strange to her. But Jello seems to be the thing that soothes her throat the best, strangely enough. We did buy baby food and we have homemade applesauce which she likes.
I have been giving her the pain killers prescribed, Tylenol 3 with codeine. They offered a liquid pain killer, but she didn't want it, surprisingly.
Her ears are really bothering her, I guess the operation affects the nerves.
So she is doing very well, I think. She is amazingly tolerant of pain. Haha, don't know where she gets that from!
Thanks for all of the advice and sharing your stories. Hopefully I will be able to get back on the site more, as the days go by.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
Glad to hear your daughter is doing well. She sounds like she is going to heal quickly! Good for her & you!!
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