as an adult have you have your tonsils out?ot!

[Brandi]

These are tonsil stones. Some tonsils are pourous and some are very smooth. I had the same problem. Very dedicated to flossing and brushing but had DRAGON breath and sore throats because of tonsil stones. In and of itself, they are not dangerous to overall health and most docs will play conservative and tell you how to "manage" this condition (salt water garge, usage of pick to clean, etc).

Insurance plans also will not take them out because of this. If you want them out bad enough, you and the doctor will have to link the tonsils to a larger issue - like chronic sinus or ear or glandular infections.

I am a dedicated brusher and flosser as well. My breath is not bad thank goodness. I have a hard time removing the stones though and my gp just said "yup just gonna have to live with them" and didn't even offer a way to extract them. Sigh! Oh well at least it is not something that would hurt me!

Good luck.

I am a dedicated brusher and flosser as well. My breath is not bad thank goodness. I have a hard time removing the stones though and my gp just said "yup just gonna have to live with them" and didn't even offer a way to extract them. Sigh! Oh well at least it is not something that would hurt me!

[DirtDiva]

Y'all are making me feel very lucky. I think I've had strep throat once, maybe twice, in my life. I had a real doozy of a case last December though - took two lots of antibiotics to get rid of it and was a highly unpleasant experience (although quite fascinating watching the, uh, rise and fall of the nasty throat crud). I had glandular fever/mono at the same time though, so that may have worsened things. You can get really nasty throats with that too - I had blisters and lost my voice completely for three days! (Thank goodness that only happened the once!)

[Eagle-Eye]

I just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in... I had strep throat repeatedly over the course of a year and a half. It seemed I would get it back everytime I got off the antibiotics. After being put on Cipro for strep throat, and not having it go away, my doc recommended I get my tonsils out. He theorized the strep infection was imbedded so deep in my tonsils that the meds couldn't kill it.

So, I went ahead and had them taken out. The recovery was brutal, but I would do it again. I haven't had strep throat since, and when I do get sick now I get over it much faster.

Obviously, it is an individual choice whether you will benefit in the long run by having your tonsils out or keeping them. I just wanted to let you know that I had success.

PM me if you would like more details...

[Beth-Ro]

Have you been to an Ear, Nose, and Throat Doc?

I asked my dentist, then GP, about my tonsil problems and got the same "just a thing to deal with" sort of answer. But the tonsils continued to drive me crazy...in addition to the "gunk" aka stones in my tonsils, the tonsils were getting long, hanging down the back of my throat, causing me to constantly have the feeling that I needed to clear my throat. My dh also "noticed" that I had developed a snore.

So, went to the ENT, where I found out that what I had was chronic tonsilitis...chronic meaning it never goes away...and the condition was causing the snoring. The ENT told me it was up to me, but I should consider having them removed because if my tonsils continued to enlarge, hanging down my throat as they were, the condition could lead to sleep apnea, which in turn can lead to heart trouble and high blood pressure.

Since I have a friend who this actually happened to, and scared him half to death, I opted to have the tonsils removed. I was 35. Yeah, it was unpleasant for about 2 weeks. But the yuk breath, throat clogging, snore inducing varmits are now gone and I feel SO MUCH BETTER! I do not regret it one bit.

An ENT specializes in that area of your body and will know her/his stuff.

Oh yeah, by the way, my insurance paid for the procedure. If you do opt for the surgery, have your ENT's office call your insurance to check on your particular coverage.

[bentforlife]

about 30 years ago. I was having terrible problems with inner ear infections. I would be so dizzy I couldn't stand up. I do remember I lost about 10 lbs and didn't talk for about 2 weeks after the surgery. My poor mom didn't thing I would ever talk again. It did solve the problem of the Inner ear problems. Don't forget to ask the adenoids. They are a tonsil-like gland that sit high up in the nasopharyl cavity and can be as much of a problem as the tonsils.

I agree that you should see an ENT. He can give you a better idea of if they should go or not. He can also go over all the pros and cons of the surgery.

Good luck!!

Donna

[short cut sally]

Hey Brandi, just wanted to add my $0.02 also..I had my T&A at age 21 or so, some 18 years ago. The recovery was brutal. First, please go to an ENT to have the procedure done. I went to a surgeon, who as they put it "sometimes have to cut some nerves when they remove tonsils on an adult" (They told me this after I had the surgery) I had excructiating pain that radiated to my right ear when I swallowed for months after the surgery. The surgery cured my chronic sore throats, I did though develop ever since the surgery chronic right ear aches. I have to be careful, to this day, if its windy out to make sure my right ear is covered. I do think my ear issue is getting less and less as time goes on or else I"m just so used to having something stuck in my right ear all the time that I don't notice the problems as much. So, after all that, please go to an ENT if you decide to have surgery. Good luck..shelly

[Brandi]

Have you been to an Ear, Nose, and Throat Doc?

I asked my dentist, then GP, about my tonsil problems and got the same "just a thing to deal with" sort of answer. But the tonsils continued to drive me crazy...in addition to the "gunk" aka stones in my tonsils, the tonsils were getting long, hanging down the back of my throat, causing me to constantly have the feeling that I needed to clear my throat. My dh also "noticed" that I had developed a snore.

So, went to the ENT, where I found out that what I had was chronic tonsilitis...chronic meaning it never goes away...and the condition was causing the snoring. The ENT told me it was up to me, but I should consider having them removed because if my tonsils continued to enlarge, hanging down my throat as they were, the condition could lead to sleep apnea, which in turn can lead to heart trouble and high blood pressure.

Since I have a friend who this actually happened to, and scared him half to death, I opted to have the tonsils removed. I was 35. Yeah, it was unpleasant for about 2 weeks. But the yuk breath, throat clogging, snore inducing varmits are now gone and I feel SO MUCH BETTER! I do not regret it one bit.

An ENT specializes in that area of your body and will know her/his stuff.

Oh yeah, by the way, my insurance paid for the procedure. If you do opt for the surgery, have your ENT's office call your insurance to check on your particular coverage.

I have been to an ent. Cause when i first noticed it felt like I had something stuck in my throat my gp thought it was gerd. But when the medication didn't make the feeling go away he sent me to an ent. I mentioned the tonsil thing to her but of coarse my tonsil looked normal that day and she said to come back in if it continued to bother me. But I am positive I didn't have gerd that it was my tonsil all along. Do you think stress could make it worse? HMMMM? I think at the end of this year I am going to go back to the ent and see if anything can be done.

[janetsplanet]

Yes I had those rascals out at 42. I was so bad I could not swallow my own saliva. That was before I had them out. It came on in 24 hours. They then had to put me inpatient for 3 days to pump me full of antibiotics so they could do the surgery. I was off work for 4 weeks.
The oldest patient in my wing other than me was 6. They had great ice cream. I lost 10 pounds because I could not eat for 6 days.
The down side is my throat hurt for about 3 weeks and I was tired alot. I couldnt eat.
The morale of my story is dont wait until they get too bad like mine. Do it before you are worn down prior to surgery. The surgeon who did mine said that when they took them out they just fell apart they were so diseased.
Sorry to be a downer but it was temporary and I was back to my perky happy self in no time.
It is h___ getting old.

[Runawaymum]

I had mine out at 28 ( four years ago ) , after recurrent problems with tonsillitis (strep?), and yep the recovery is brutal, takes bout three weeks , another thing the doc didnt tell me was that you have this big gap where your tonsils used to be hence be careful when swallowing or it will come out your nose. Something my bh found very amusing! Apart from that I would totally recommend it, I was told that it can cause more bronchial infections because the bugs dont get picked up by your tonsil but the surgeon basically said that is very unlikely and I have not had any problems.
Just a little side note, hollistic healing books will tell you that recurring throat infections are a sign of repressed emotions, so speak up next time some one annoys you

[Robbin_G]

I had them out at 22. GP kept saying I had ear infections (2-3 yearly). As soon as I went to an ENT he said I never had an ear infection (after looking in my ears). "You probably have chronic tonsillitis and eustation tube dysfunction." Had 'em out and now rarely get sick.

Recovery is horrid! All I got down for 3 days was Demerol and even two weeks later, mushy mashed potatoes were like razor blades. I looked fantastic after a 15 lb weight loss.