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| Hey all, just went to the ENT today to find out, once and for all, what has been going on with my throat. I've had 3 infections since August- but really haven't felt all that good since August. Turns out, I have what's callled Chronic Cryptic Tonsillitis. Basically, I have two choices at this point- 1. learn to live with it 2. have my tonsils taken out. Has anyone had to do this as an adult? Doc said it's a LOT more painful as an adult with a 2 wk recovery time. BUT, I've been doing some reading and people who have had this done feel a lot better in the long run- less sinus trouble, no more strep/throat trouble, etc... BUT, it is removing a piece of my body (which I normaly don't believe in)..but the prospect of feeling better IS enticing...
Any thoughts?? | |
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| My daughter had chronic strep throat infections.
I treated it with anti-biotics for years until finally the doctor recommended a tonsillectomy.
I put it off for another year, and then finally I looked in my mouth, my wifes mouth, my son's mouth, my other two daughter's mouths and then finally in my infected daughter's mouth and subjectively deduced that her tonsils were larger and 'deformed compared to everyone elses tonsils and we had them removed.
I didn't want for her to have surgery that was unnecessary, but it was necessary and sometimes is necessary for others. She has not had any infections since the tonsils were removed. She is much healthier and happier.
When you heal from removing the tonsils your breath will stink like death.
Once it's all over your quality of life should greatly improve.
Now, something related.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsilloliths
I used to have these, if you have these and don't express your tonsils, it can lead to an infection.
It's gross and could make you gag, but if it's the answer then you could avoid surgery.
Expressing your tonsils involves sticking your finger down your throat and pressing on your tonsils all the way up into your palette and 'stuff' normally will come out of your tonsils if you've never done this.
The stuff is tonsilloliths and it stinks and it's gross and doing this could make you throw up but once you learn to do it and keep your tonsils clean you could avoid surgery.
Grossed out?
Sorry.
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| Oh, and I used to have Strep infections and chronic sore throats until I took care of my tonsilloliths.
Now I don't get them anymore, of course I did change my diet and that's got a lot to do with it.
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| SCT- thanks for the info. I had done some reading on tonsilloliths and I've expressed them before. the first time I had them (around 14), they freaked me out. It's only been recently that I've had recurring trouble with them. As you know, I cleaned up my diet almost 2 years ago. And I felt great for the first 18 months- but these last 4 have been miserable- ok, miserable is probably strong, but I've had this ongoing feeling that something isn't "quite right". The doc also ordered a thyroid panel, so we'll see what comes back with that- although, my thyroid has always tested normal...
So, you just clean yours? You still have them intact?
Glad to hear it went so well for your daughter, though!  | |
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| I still have my tonsils, and have to 'express' them every once in a while, but it really has been a while.
I rarely, maybe once a year, eat beef or seafood and that's what seemed to cause them in me.
My daughter's tonsillectomy went well. Her tonsils and adenoids were so swollen. It's a wonder how she could eat anything, or breathe.
Removing them was the recommended thing to do, and ultimately, I believe the doctors were right, in the case of my daughter.
Edited by SCThornley 2007-01-03 2:45 PM
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| joscmt - 2007-01-03 1:06 PM
Hey all, just went to the ENT today to find out, once and for all, what has been going on with my throat. I've had 3 infections since August- but really haven't felt all that good since August. Turns out, I have what's callled Chronic Cryptic Tonsillitis. Basically, I have two choices at this point- 1. learn to live with it 2. have my tonsils taken out. Has anyone had to do this as an adult? Doc said it's a LOT more painful as an adult with a 2 wk recovery time. BUT, I've been doing some reading and people who have had this done feel a lot better in the long run- less sinus trouble, no more strep/throat trouble, etc... BUT, it is removing a piece of my body (which I normaly don't believe in)..but the prospect of feeling better IS enticing...
Any thoughts??
No, you have third choice: That is NOT have any tonsil problems + NOT do tosillectomy + Lead Proper Habits. This can happen if you are prepared to become disciplined which means not participate in eating some things you post in the OT column. | |
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| OK Marylisa, normally I'd not offer my thoughts on something I haven't personally encountered, but since you asked: I've just watched a co-worker go through hell all this month as his young adult daughter layed in ICU unable to breathe on her own. Four chest tubes worked 24/7 pumping air into her drug-induced comatose body that was permeated with bacterial infection--the list of which was so long I won't even try to recount here. From my friend's description she had a rather long history of recurring infections prior to this last episode. I don't even mean to intone that it was Chronic Cryptic Tonsillitis. But, like e-coli, with serious matters of the body that cause pain and could lead to worse, the last place I'd look for guidance is on a Web forum. I'm not saying heed the trained medical professional's every utterance but I'm seeing them facilitate a miracle now as my friend's daughter just made a turn for the better. | |
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| I had mine taken out as a child, with my sister who's a year older. I think they had a two for one deal because I don't remember being sick, I guess it was the thing to do at the time. | |
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| kulkarnn - 2007-01-03 10:37 PM
No, you have third choice: That is NOT have any tonsil problems + NOT do tosillectomy + Lead Proper Habits. This can happen if you are prepared to become disciplined which means not participate in eating some things you post in the OT column.
Neel- I don't actually eat any of those things I've posted, those are just recipes I have as a result of 10 years of being a chef. And from times I've assisted a pastry chef. I do not consume sugar, alcohol, most wheat (although, I'm not wheat free), low meat ( I like proteins from beans), caffeine, white potatoes, fried foods, pork, sodas... I haven't done any of this since April 2005. | |
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Expert Yogi
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| shelly - it was like a fad in the 50's and 60's. My doc was amazed that I didn't have mine taken out back then.
Bruce - I can read your post two ways - yes, she should have it done to prevent a huge and horrible infection or no, spending any time in a hospital is the best way to get a huge and horrible infection. I agree however, that we are not the best to be giving medical advice, in spite of our best wishes for marylisa and her tonsils. | |
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| Bruce- bitI'm confused, was your friend's daughter in the hospital due to recurring infections, or was the ICU a complication of a tonsillectomy? I'm glad to hear she's doing better. I posted here more to find out of any of you had this procedure done as an adult. I've been doing some research on this the last few days. I'm in the middle of some other testing with my chiropractor as well. I think my plan is going to be to wait a little bit- the ENT also pulled blood for a thyroid count. My chiro is doing a female hormone panel (that's an entirely different issue), as well as a thyroid and an adrenal panel.... so I'm going to wait it out right now and see what all these come back and say. I just know that something's up and I don't know what. I don't feel like my usual self and haven't since August when I first got that infection.
The frustrating part is that I take care of myself- I eat right, I exercise (although, I've been resting these last two weeks trying to get healthy again), I try to lead a healthy life- now granted, I spent the majority of my life prior to 2 years ago abusing what I had been given. So I know that 2 years is only a drop in the bucket.....but still... I think part of it now is that I am so in tune with myself after all the work of the last couple of years- not just diet, but all of myself- emotional and spiritual as well- that I know when I am a hair off of center. I used to be so oblivious that I had no clue until I was a complete and utter train wreck.... oh well, we'll see what happens.... | |
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| Sorry for the confusion Marylisa. It was a series of infections that eventually landed the lady in the hospital. My point was, the infections are not something to be taken lightly as they can lead to life threatening situations. And while I don't consider doctors godalmighty, in this case I'd heed their learned opinion as to the best option as I saw the results of their education in saving this woman. | |
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| that's where I have gotten confused. The Doc didn't say, you have to do this.. or you should.. just "it's an option if you want to". I think when he calls with my test results, I'm going to ask him a few more questions. Because I have mitral valve prolapse (which I have told him about) there is a risk with infections in the mouth. I'm going to ask him how recurrent infections might affect this. | |
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| joscmt - 2007-01-04 10:29 AM
kulkarnn - 2007-01-03 10:37 PM
No, you have third choice: That is NOT have any tonsil problems + NOT do tosillectomy + Lead Proper Habits. This can happen if you are prepared to become disciplined which means not participate in eating some things you post in the OT column.
Neel- I don't actually eat any of those things I've posted, those are just recipes I have as a result of 10 years of being a chef. And from times I've assisted a pastry chef. I do not consume sugar, alcohol, most wheat (although, I'm not wheat free ), low meat ( I like proteins from beans ), caffeine, white potatoes, fried foods, pork, sodas... I haven't done any of this since April 2005.
Dear Marylisa: All this is wonderful, but NOT sufficient. Also, there is one English language mistake in my statement when I said 'which means'. That does not mean that it is identical to not eatingxxx, but not eatingxxx is a part of the discipline.
There is NO case, of any character, when tosillectomy is a proper procedure, except may be cancer of the tosils.
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| Then, Neel, what are your thoughts on this.. what is this "discipline: of which you speak?
You made a reference to not eating the things I have posted here- I was simple stating that I do not eat those things- they are simply recipes..
Edited by joscmt 2007-01-04 6:19 PM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | I believe he is talking about "proper" and "correct" diet. Yep, those recipes over in the OT section are purely for fun. I call it festival food, and you only get to have it if you are in perfect health...even that can be borderlining danger, danger, 
For what its worth...my DD has had inflammed tonsils for over 3 years now. When I look in her throat it drives me nuts!! We treat her by using Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs. My TCMD assures this will clear out on its own. I've noticed up and down improvements over these past years, especially when the acupuncture is performed. We do this every two weeks. This happened overnite while she was attending summer camp. To this day, she never gets sick, she never has any pain, the only symptom she has is her snoring when she is really really tired. Other than that, we will continue using our methods, because I do not believe in invasive surgery for this. I've done the research and all too. I do however feel that if I didn't have TCM, our situation would be different and we would have no choice but to do the dreaded invasive Western medicine. So, about the diet, DD does pretty good in that department, although, she is a kid and does have her sweet moments. Which is okay, because I balance it with bitter and dampness removing herbs and food. | |
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| joscmt - 2007-01-04 6:18 PM
Then, Neel, what are your thoughts on this.. what is this "discipline: of which you speak?
You made a reference to not eating the things I have posted here- I was simple stating that I do not eat those things- they are simply recipes..
Dear Marylisa: Good question. Discipline of which I speak of = Means of Physical Health you shall find in my book you are reading now!!! And, I accept that it is hard to follow it. That is why it is called 'discipline' and not a 'recepie'. | |
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| Now, I request CyndiBen to post the story of 5 friends for the benefit of all of us. Please. Or, Marylisa can do it herself. Only the story please! | |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | NB, aren't you like suppose to be in India already?? | |
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| he leaves tomorrow, i think! i can't wait until he and his wife come to visit me here. i have to get my soup recipes in order! | |
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| ZB--don't forget, Beloved Brother Neel is a closet Irishman--have some Guinness on hand. | |
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| so, I found a message board all about tonsils.. Hmmm... interesting read- for now, I'm just going to try to clean them for a bit. I'm thinking things might not be bad enough to go through all that pain.. . After cleaning them the other day (which was kind of a nightmare with a waterpik- the water goes everywhere) I felt soo much better yesterday | |
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| joscmt - 2007-01-07 12:30 PM
so, I found a message board all about tonsils.. Hmmm... interesting read- for now, I'm just going to try to clean them for a bit. I'm thinking things might not be bad enough to go through all that pain.. . After cleaning them the other day (which was kind of a nightmare with a waterpik- the water goes everywhere) I felt soo much better yesterday
Whenever mine bother me, I just squish the living daylights out of them and they always feel so much better once they're all cleaned up.
Haven't had to do that for about a year or two, though.
It's my guess that you have something in your diet that is causing a discomfort in your system.
Maybe you've developed an allergy?
Who knows? Good Luck, surgery is such a 'pain'. | |
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| That's what I'm exploring now... although, my diet hasn't changed in almost 2 yrs- I mean, I eat a variety, but I haven't added anything new to my usual stuff. I've read that not enough water can bring it on too.... I always have trouble once the summer's gone in remembering to drink enough. In the summer, I drink close to a gallon of water a day.... then the weather changes and it, inadvertantly, drops to less than half of that. I know that's got to cause some sort of shakedown. So I've been trying to get that back on track over the last couple of weeks too. | |
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| well, best wishes and I hope you find the balance that will help you avoid a tonsillectomy  | |
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| Thanks, I'm sure I'll get there.. my body has been through a lot these last couple of years- between getting into recovery for the binge eating, to losing 70lbs, to pregnancy, to miscarriage.... the balance thing will get there... I just have to continue loving on myself and treating it well.. | |
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| i read in one of tyhe books that i recieved from susun weed about throat care in general using herbalism, etc. . .though i don't know how accurate it is to the tonsil issue. perhaps marginally.
anyway, here's the book: Nature's Children (though the author has many books, and this is the link to her 'collection'--http://www.ashtreepublishing.com/bookshop/proddetail.php?prod=213&cat=4 | |
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| I am 56 and also need my tonsils out. I am not looking forward to this but I guess I need to do it because of my sleep apnea. I did find a sight with several people all adults, who have just had the surgery and you can view what they have said. the sight is called steadyhealth.
I do believe if there was some magical herbal or natural healing process for bad tonsils in adults, the doc's would say so.
I would get at least 2 opinions and listen to what both doc's have to say. | |
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| Dear MomDoc: Tosils is a vital part of human body. Removing it is a loss to the human body, even if it may be small loss. However, if you truely believe the reason for your sleep problems is definitely the tonsils problems, you should take them out so that the MOST important factor of human health, that is SLEEP is given the highest priority.
Tosils behavior generally is a reaction to the life style and environment, that includes diet, etc. etc. If you are an extremely disciplined person, you may be able to overcome your problem without doing any surgery. If you are NOT very disciplined person, then I advise you to remove the tonsils.
Removing tonsils is not a major surgery whether you are child or adult.
There is NO herbal remedy or magical formulae for tonsils or any other problems. Going in that direction will be the WORST thing you can do.
Remember to eat some good quality icecreame if you get operated, especially since the weather is hot.
momdoc111 - 2008-06-09 4:15 PM
I am 56 and also need my tonsils out. I am not looking forward to this but I guess I need to do it because of my sleep apnea. I did find a sight with several people all adults, who have just had the surgery and you can view what they have said. the sight is called steadyhealth.
I do believe if there was some magical herbal or natural healing process for bad tonsils in adults, the doc's would say so.
I would get at least 2 opinions and listen to what both doc's have to say. | |
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| In all things medical, if in doubt, seek a second opinion.
I've had a couple of sinus ops and from what I observed in my fellow patients, adult tonsilectomy whilst uncomfortable, was not unbearable. Those having their wisdom teeth out or, like me, their face peeled off the bone in order to enlarge the maxilliary sinuses were far more sore (I have a very neat scar under my top lip apparently).
I do have to warn you not to expect ice cream afterward. The medics give you dryish corn flakes (or similar) as scratchy foods encourage healing.
Whilst making your decision, try salt gargles (made with boiled water and left to cool) twice a day and see if that helps. You may find it soothing if you add some sodium bicarbonate as well as the sodium chloride. From memory a 9% solution minimises the sting.
I'm guessing sea salt may be best as it contains iodine as well.
Fee
Edited by Orbilia 2008-06-10 6:26 AM
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| Hi Fee, that part about scratchy/salty foods makes sense to me. When my sister and I had our tonsils taken out, I remember getting home and everyone was eating potato chips. I wanted some so bad that I ate them even though it hurt so much. My sister wanted some too, not enough to feel the pain though. In the end I healed faster than she did. Or it could have been because she was actually sick, I was only in for the bonus deal they had going at the time. | |
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| wow! the original post is from Jan 2007!
uhm, and i don't believe that docs would know about or support any natural means of doing things because they can't make money that way and it's not within the western, scientific method of figuring things out.
seriously, i've seen things cured outright by diet, chinese medicine, etc etc etc, things that most western docs only acknowledge as "placebos." sad really. | |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Thank you ZB,
My DD does acupuncture for her tonsils. While they are not "completely" down to normal size, she never has a sore throat, and the acupuncture reduces the swelling. There are some chinese herbal formulas that we take regularly on an as needed basis. Our TCMD keeps telling us everything is okay. I think most people freak out when the tonsils get swollen and have a severe lack of understanding about the human body. You know that attack and destroy because something doesn't look perfect syndrome, or let's cut it out and destroy it,
Edited by Cyndi 2008-06-10 10:24 AM
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| yup.
and some of us, like myself, we just have big tonsils. i was so angry at the doc who did my physical in Jan for so many reasons. one of the reasons i chose him is because he did acupuncture, but then i learn he considers it a placebo and "merely experimental!" i was so angry about that. LOL
anyway, on my physical, he wrote that i had large tonsils, and also suggested that i should have them removed! they've never been a problem--i've never had problems with my throat. they're just bigger than average and perfectly healthy. it's crazy!
and as for curing things, Dr Rose--october j's doctor--she has cured animal cancers for years with TCM that she practices on animals. she says "there is no placebo effect in animals!" and she's right.
but no one ever listens to me about it. it's so frustrating! LOL
and, i haven't found a TCM, but we did find a homeopathic doctor near-by who is nice. so, i'm hoping to make an appointment with him this summer to establish a relationship, and then take the baby there soon after birth. | |
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| After beginning this thread forever ago- I've since been washing my tonsils with a waterpik. While it sucks, I always feel a lot better afterwards. Because I have cryptic tonsils (think natural sponge vs. manufactured sponge), stuff gets stuck in there.
This has worked for me.. and no throat infections since then.
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Adult tonsillectomy? Thoughts?