Symptoms/Reasons/Concerns to HAVE Adult Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy Surgery - Ear, Nose & Throat Message Board

DJBucs2005 · 11-03-2004, 03:09 PM

I would have just made a post in the thread that's already up talking about this matter (BUT then not everyone would see that post as that thread is over 100 pages long), asking people to share their symptoms/concerns/problems (so that others can relate and hopefully be helped in finding answers to THEIR problems...like myself

) So, why am I making another thread? Well, for one, I'm not getting any new major posts in my original thread

in regards to my breathing problem. I want to know ALL of the symptoms/problems/concerns, for those of you (or your family members, friends, etc.) who are going to, considering, or have had tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy surgery. The reason why I'm so interested is because I am considering getting my tonsils out. If you go ahead and read that thread I pasted, and the original "Adult Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy Surgery" thread, you'll see my posts, on page 99--->

and then 100 as well, you'll see what my situation is.

I'll start it off. My symptoms are:

• Enlarged palatine tonsils; which are the tonsils most commonly removed due to problems
• Constant difficulty breathing through both my nose and mouth, which also leads to fatigue and shortness of breath when exercising and playing sports. This is really where I think I have messed myself up. I think I have often led my doctors to think that I have experience problems breathing ONLY when I'm exercising, which is NOT the case. It is only worse when I'm exercising, because by nature, when one is exercising, they need more air, and if there is some kind of obstruction (tonsils or adenoids possibly) and more air needs to get through, then there is going to be a problem. (Is that a good explanation/way of looking/thinking about it???)
• Mucous buildup in the morning, and throughout the day forms, and often having to spit up mucous throughout the day, especially during the winter.
• WAY too many sore throats and colds, especially during the winter. I'm thinking it could be tonsilsitis, as this next symptom (crypts) are caused by frequent tonsilitis
• Tonsil crypts, I believe due to the tonsilitis, which traps food and debris, and end up looking like little white spots on the (palatine) tonsils
• Constant redness in throat and on tonsils• More fatigued than I have felt in the past, when waking up and throughout the day
• Snoring in my sleep---this is probably caused by the tonsils or the adenoids or a combination of both. Since I'm probably going to be getting another opinion, that will buy me some time to perhaps go and buy a tape recorder, and tape myself sleeping, to CONFIRM that I do indeed SNORE when I sleep.
• Oftentimes, I get a bloody nose in the winter, more than I think I should be getting (I hardly got any of these this winter. I'm kind of surprised. I've hardly spent time outside doing acitivities in the cold though, in fear of getting sick. Because when I get sick, I REALLY get sick, and I'm sick forever it seems)
• No doctor has ever looked at my adenoids. A doctor I saw claimed the only way to look at the adenoids is when they are doing surgery to take out my tonsils, and then they would look at them and determine whether they too need to be taken out. That is not true. They can be looked at with a scope...which is why I don't trust that doctor, and I'm getting another opinion.
• This is a very minor one, but pretty much relates to everything else, with the concern of the tonsils and adenoids. I have noticed more recently, when I'm laughing, just a little laugh...for example..if I'm not talking, and I'm just listening to someone talk, and they say something funny...I'll try to let some air out of my nose real fast and abruptly. I've had this happen..where I try to let the air out of my nose...and it wouldn't come out!!
• Also, I JUST put 2 and 2 together. This may or may not be a significant finding. Okay, if you didnt happen to read any of my other posts, the Dr. I saw a few days ago agreed to take my tonsils out. However, not because she thinks they are causing a breathing problem, but because one is bigger than the other. Here is the thing though. The side that the tonsil is bigger on the right. I also experience more trouble breathing through my RIGHT nostril. I have trouble breathing through BOTH nostrils, but ONCE again, it is through the right nostril that I have more trouble breathing through!
• (NEW) I don't experience a LOT, but every now and then, I'll get a chest pain for apparently no reason. It is pretty sharp too. On a scale from 1-10, when I experience chest pains, I'd say the worse it feels is an 8, and the least unpleasant chest pains I feel are about a 6.

If any of you are still reading this.....I thank you from the bottom of my heart...

Please, go ahead and post your symptoms/problems/concerns/ for the reason I gave above!!!

Sincerely,
Dave J

By the the way, I am a young one..only 17..soon to be 18 this month..I notice there are quite a few older people on here, which is good in the sense that they are older and usually more wiser and experienced.

Ratatosk · 11-03-2004, 03:45 PM

The reason I had my tonsils removed was because I was sick and tired of dealing with those nasty cryptic tonsils and all that gross stuff. Also, I had noticed a correlation between horrible sinus headaches that would knock me for a loop and the next day my tonsils would be even grosser.

My tonsils not only would drain and have tonsil stones coming out of them, but sometimes they would bleed.

I've never snored, but then I don't sleep on my back.

Adenoids weren't an issue for me, it's my understanding that as you get older they shrink; however, I do know of someone who had sleep apnea and snored terribly who had his tonsils AND adenoids removed at the age of 40.

When the ENT removed my tonsils, he said they were very enlarged, very scared and very full of infection -- infection that went very very deep. One tonsil was much larger than the other and therefore the ENT left a bigger hole on that side when he removed the tissue.

That's my story and I wish I'd been brave enough to have had my tonsils out years ago instead of waiting until I turned 34.

mvtonsilhater · 11-04-2004, 10:28 PM

i'm posting my account of my coblation tonsillectomy on the 'Adult Tonsillectomy' thread but i figured i'd post reasons why i got the tonsillectomy here....

Reasons I got my Tonsils Out:
-Both larger than they should be according to my doctors
-One almost twice as large as the other
-Very frequent mild sore throats (NOT tonsillitis and NOT strep throat)
-Two ear infections in the same side ear that the large tonsil is on in the past 1.5 years
-Tonsil crypts and stones that constantly accumulated in them
-Occasional bad breath resulting from tonsil stones
-I did not want to deal with removing tonsil stones for the rest of my life or worry about bad breath in a professional work environment
-I snore sometimes and that ****es my girlfriend off.... my ENTs said the tonsils might add to the snoring so it might help that as well
-I heard about this new 'coblation' method that didn't sound as bad as the electrocautery or laser methods so i figured it might not be so bad

i saw two ENTs and both said that most or all of these things would be improved if i got the tonsillectomy. they both said that the stones would definitely not go away unless i did get it. the first ENT warned me that it would be very very painful and lay me out for 10-14 days. she told me to think about it for 6 months and pay attention to all my symptoms then we'd discuss it later. i held out for 3-4 months and noticed that the tonsil stones were always there even though i cleaned them out w/qtips every other day. i asked my girlfriend and roommates if i ever had bad breath. they didn't outright say my breath stunk but they kinda hinted at it. (i needed honest answers and they gave honest answers politely...

) i went back to see the original ENT and she again seemed to hesitate on doing the tonsillectomy. she told me about the pain and suffering i'd go through. i asked her about coblation and she said they had one of the instruments at the hospital but that she had yet to use it. she also said that it probably wouldn't be that much different than the traditional method. that wasn't what i had read so i told her that i wanted to think about it more and consult someone who had used coblation on patients already. she told me to go for it.

i did more research on the coblation method. i found a local doctor who has used this method on around 15 patients already and got an appointment. thank god my insurance is pretty good and i can see whomever i want to. i saw her, explained all that i just did above. she took a really good look at everything and said, 'let's take them out. they shouldn't be that big and you shouldn't have to deal with the stones, etc etc' she also explained that i might be laid out for 10-14 days but said that the pain wouldn't be as bad with the coblation method. she also said that she used to use the laser method but found coblation to be even better. she's been in practice for 20+ years apparently and did her residency at one of the best places in the country. who was i to argue w/her?! (i don't want to name schools or hospitals here for privacy's sake)

anyway, a month later i was on the OR table and two days after that, here i am. i don't feel perfect but i'm 100% glad i did it so far. it only hurts a tiny bit when i swallow without anything in my mouth or with just water. soup, applesauce, etc etc all feel fine goind down right now.

good luck w/your decisions!

mvtonsilhater · 11-04-2004, 10:30 PM

FYI, I am a 27 year old male. 5'8" and 170 lbs w/a muscular build. don't know how much my account would help someone who is entirely physically different than myself.

DJBucs2005 · 11-05-2004, 01:34 PM

Weird...no breathing problems? Maybe it could be my adenoids that are causing my problem instead OR as well. Maybe then, if they are large enough to be causing a problem, the doctor who is scheduled to take my tonsils out, and said "I will determining whether to take your adenoids out when taking your tonsils out." And said that that is the only time she can look at my adenoids...which isn't true.

Anyone know if and how much adenoids can effect breathing if they become too large?