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I've had very large tonsils since I can remember and have always had doctors look at them and remark things such as - "wow, those tonsils are big enough that I would expect they'd be on some other doctor's desk in a jar."
The truth is that at least twice a year I get tonsillitis and other than taking tylenol for pain relief nothing else really seems to work. Usually I start off with a sinus issue which seems to then set off my tonsils. Almost inevitably I also will lose or come close to losing my voice for a day or two as well. I'm now in my mid 30s and I'm tired of having this happen to me.
I've been considering having my tonsils removed. Part of me wonders if removing them is smart though because they are part of your lymph system, and I certainly don't want to remove something important.
I spoke with my PCP about this last year and was told that I need to have more cases of tonsillitis on my medical record before they would consider removing my tonsils. That kind of ticks me off because I don't have the time to make frivolous doctor appointments, and because I likewise don't want to spend the money associated with those visits.
What are peoples thoughts on this? Has anyone ever dealt with chronic or frequent tonsillitis here? Has anyone found any solutions other than having tonsils removed? Has anyone had their tonsils removed as an adult and an associated story to tell?
removal of your tonsills is very unlikely to cause any long term problems...the bottom line is if they are regularly causing you problems, discomfort, time off work etc, you'd probably be better off without them.
the only issue is that removal of tonsills as an adult is significantly more challenging than if they are removed as a child...the multiple episodes of infection make the tonsills larger, more scarred, and more difficult to remove, and once out, the wounds are more prone to infection and bleeding (and, im afraid to say, the pain resulting from surgery to the soft palate is not pleasant).
im not aware of any alternative, though. you might need to just bite the bullet. good luck!
I had my tonsils removed at age 40. I had more pain than teenagers seem to have and I had a sore throat for over the 2 weeks I got off from work. If I had had to talk a lot at work, it would have been miserable. OJ stings like hell, you need soft foods and non-citrus liquids for at least 2 weeks. I spent the night after in the hospital due to the general anesthesia it takes. I have been very happy in the 35+ years since then!
An update - Ok so it's over 4 years later and I finally found a solution which didn't involve removal of my tonsils *cheer*
I want to share it because it really works. I never made the connection before, but my tonsillitis was directly caused by food sticking within holes on my tonsils. Apparently this is very common (there's a term for such tonsils: reticulated), and although people have know about this and various manual methods to remove "tonsil stones" are documented online (and via youtube), I found a method that works which is actually safe and less tedious than using fingers or Q-tips.
Firstly, when I need to do this... I find that after I eat processed snack food (chips, crackers, cookies, etc), sometimes I develop the very early symptoms of a sore throat. Typically late at night, either a clogged sinus cavity forms or I feel some soreness on one of my tonsils. That's when I know I need to take action...
What I do... jump in a shower as soon as possible (I never wait until morning as things inevitably would be worse by then), and with water on full blast, open wide, exhale and make a gargling noise while letting the water blast into your mouth (onto your tonsils). The vibration literally knocks whatever it is that has gotten stuck from the tonsils. Now I don't do this with the massage jet on, just the regular full pressure spray. I typically do this for about 3-4 minutes to ensure I am done and the tonsils are clean (at least as clean as I can get them).
As of this year I haven't had tonsillitis for about 4 years (a record for my life). I've had close calls which were evaded by this show washing technique no less than 4 times a year.
If that works for you (and it sounds like it's working great) you could try a Waterpik. You wouldn't want to direct the pik directly to your throat (you could choke), but a ricochet effect might do the trick off the back edge of your tongue.
My brother & I had tonsillitis about the same time when we were young. We both had our tonsils taken out at the same time. Yes it was a little sore for 3-4 days but the best part I remember was getting to eat only soft foods like ice cream, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, ice cream, more ice cream so cool and soothing for about 10 days.
It's not a difficult process and you'll feel better after all the healing.
I'm glad you mentioned the waterpik - yes I used that for a while and it does work... here's what I learned though, and this should serve as a warning to others:
1) inevitably although waterpiks dislodged tonsil stones and enabled me to avoid a few sore throats, every single time I used them effectively, I also saw blood/wounds on my tonsils/in my saliva afterward. I don't believe this is healthy at all as lacerating your tonsils even to remove crud opens you up to potential infection.
2) the last time I used the waterpik I actually did get a pretty bad ear infection. The ear infection was among the worst I've ever had and I suspect I may have inadvertently blown some bacteria up into a eustachian tube resulting in an infection that was not easy to get rid of.
Ultimately, and this is usually where a poster trying to be helpful in any health related thread chimes in about seeing a Dr instead of doing any of this - but I kindly will dismiss that idea unless you really want to just be prescribed antibiotics and advil/tylenol (inevitably, that is all that will happen). Also having components of your lymphatic system removed (that is what you are doing when you remove your Tonsils) doesn't seem like a great idea considering medical science barely understands how that system operates (and those who specialize in researching it today rarely recommend removal of any of the components unless there is a more dire reason i.e. cancer). Hence my post, and advice... water pressure works, like from a shower head, but don't use anything super high pressure/intense like a waterpik (unless you have the ability to dial down the pressure and intensity of course).
Just my advice, I just want to help people out relating my experiences.
Interesting. I just asked my PCP yesterday if tonsils could grow in late life (I'm 62). He looked at them and said they are large (which I knew). He said I would not want them out as it would be a difficult surgery (his words) and that he had heard of people cleaning them with a Waterpik. He did say bad breath could be caused by food sticking between the tonsils. I'll have to try your method!
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