tonsillectomy - tonsil stones

[CalendulaAndRoses]

Hi all - my DD (14y) has gi-normous tonsils (seriously, don't know how anything gets down past them) and over the last two years has been having low grade sore throat, on-going nasal drips, missing fair few days off school just feeling generally under the weather. She has started to get tonsil stones in last 12 months or so, with ever increasing frequency. When they come she dislodges them herself, usually within a day or two, but they make it painful to swallow and sometimes are tricky to get out. She also snores quite a bit which I think is linked.

I had her at a consultant about 18 months ago and he said a tonsillectomy was definitely an option but it was not an absolute medical necessity. At the time we decided to leave it but now with these tonsil stones getting more and more frequent I'm thinking again.

I phoned the consultant to get his input but he wouldn't talk to me just had his secretary tell me we can book straight in for the op if we want to.

Her dad is not keen, wants her to gargle daily with cider vinegar and wear a silk scarf tight around her neck at all times. Which could help I'm sure but she's not inclined to want to go there with the silk scarf. And I suppose I'm thinking it isn't really a long term solution. With the stones increasing in frequency it's getting pretty unpleasant for her and unlikely to change long term so maybe better just getting them out.

Any thoughts or experience or advice?

I had awful Tonsillitis and Tonsil stones all through my teens. I missed loads of school and college as a result. I had my Tonsils removed at twenty and never regretted it for a moment (I am late 40’s now!) Every time I was run down my tonsillitis would flare up.

Tonsillitis can be really debilitating and tonsil stones are rank ! (they make your breath smell, not pleasant for a teenager) The actual tonsillectomy is not the best operation but over quickly and I recovered within a week or so.
Hope this helps.

Get rid!

I had my tonsils out last year (mid 40s), after 20 years of stinky tonsil stones!

If the NHS are offering, do it! Your daughter will be a new woman once she’s recovered.

I missed loads of my A levels due to repeated tonsillitis. It had a big impact on my grades and I felt shit for most of that two years.

I had my tonsils out in the August before going to uni when I was 18. Recovered quickly, I went on holiday to Spain to weeks later. I'm early 40s now and hardly ever get ill.

If I had my time again, I'd do exactly the same.

And if my Dad had told me to gargle daily with vinegar, or wear a silk scarf I would have told him to piss off!

I also had mine taken out a few years ago in my 40s for this. It was worth it, they are rank. I was avoiding speaking to people because of the smell and gagging over the sink twice a day removing them. And they taste as bad as they smell.

If she wants the tonsillectomy, she’s old enough to decide for herself. It’s her that has to live them, not her DF. At 14 the surgery and recovery will be unpleasant, but not as bad as it was in my 40s. Let her make the decision.

Definitely have them removed. My daughter had hers removed at university after many years of suffering tonsillitis including two bouts where she had to be hospitalised for several days. In her early teens it was manageable but when she went to university and lived with other students it caused her immeasurable stress and suffering. The crunch for her was when she developed a quinsy (abscess on tonsil): the consultant during her hospital stay said she would almost certainly develop the condition again and should have them removed. Once they were out, her life changed for the better as so many people have said and she’s never looked back. People are nervous because the operation and recovery can be unpleasant but my daughter said it was nothing compared to what she had gone through.

Thanks all! She's pretty keen to get them out and yes, if she weren't such a pleasant soul would definitely have told her DF to piss off. As it was she just looked at me with a sort of a "you cannot be serious" face when she heard his notions and we moved rapidly on.

She is booked in for March 30th so will miss a week of school and then have rest of recover in Easter hols. Or at least that was the plan til we heard community spread Covid-19 in the hospital she's booked into so waiting to hear what's next...

She's what, Year 9? Excellent plan to get them sorted before the important GCSE years. I wish her a good recovery. Stock up on icepops.

we aren't in UK but yes year 9 equivalent and big state exams next year, so timing seems good. Apart from that darn virus...