Anybody had any good experiences having their tonsils removed with certain Dr's?
Anybody had their tonsils removed when they were older?

6/7/2009 7:44:39 AM

oops

[Edited on June 7, 2009 at 8:15 AM. Reason : not chit chat, so sry]

6/7/2009 8:13:23 AM

here it goes

6/7/2009 8:21:48 AM

?

6/7/2009 9:12:50 AM

I am sorry to tell you, but I had mine removed when I was 19. It was the MOST painful experience I've had in my life.

Granted, I lost about 20 pounds during the entire experience.

But my surgery went pretty well all in all. Typically you have about 10 days after the surgery for serious complications to arise. I made it 9 days before I tore a few sections in my throat and ended up hemorrhaging about 2 liters of blood out of my mouth, had to be rushed to the hospital. They cauterized the openings, and it fixed that problem. Unfortunately, the loss of blood/dehydration resulted in another trip to the hospital the next day to be put on fluids.

BUT

I would do it again. I had some of the worst sinus infections, and they were so unbelievably frequent. I haven't had another sinus infection since the surgery. It was completely worth it.

(Oh and I had my surgery up here in DC, so I wouldn't help on the doctor thing)

6/7/2009 11:38:50 AM

One of the things I want to do is get rid of my tonsils but damn...

6/7/2009 11:44:15 AM

yeah, my aunt got hers removed...she's in her 40's or something. Got a cold and coughed out a clot, went to the hospital and they sprayed something in her throat but they sprayed too much or something. Don't remember what happened but it was bad.

6/7/2009 11:47:43 AM

Yea I don't remember spray. I'm pretty sure it was hot metal and they were sealing the cuts or something....

(Now that I'm saying that, sounds like I was in a hospital from WWII or something)

6/7/2009 11:59:19 AM

A good friend of mine had his out in Greenville, NC by the same ENT that I went to for problems with my hearing. But that's Greenville and you may not want to go an hour and a half away to have it done.

Anyway, my friend says that he has never been so miserable in his life. It took him far longer to recover than he thought that it would, BUT it solved his problems. He snored badly, had bouts of sleep apnea, and suffered from frequent throat/tonsil infections. After having his tonsils out (and I believe they may have done something else while they were in there), he stopped having problems.

6/7/2009 12:11:19 PM

At a wedding of one of my relatives, one of the guest brought her kid that just recently got them removed. He kept coughing, everyone thought it was red juice....well, he ended up I guess completely tearing more than just a few sections...bleed to death before he could make it to the hospital. The wedding continued.

6/7/2009 1:01:06 PM

that's utterly depressing. Also, does anyone know how they had their tonsils removed if it wasn't by a scalpel?

6/7/2009 6:05:19 PM

this thread makes me confused

6/7/2009 6:07:19 PM

^^ i honestly have no clue how they got rid of mine....

6/7/2009 6:24:49 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsillectomy#Surgical_procedure

6/7/2009 6:27:48 PM

I had mine out when I was 10. I used to get strep 3-4 times a year, so my parents finally decided to get this done. My recovery went well for the most part. I was sick as hell from the anesthesia and had to stay at the hospital overnight to stay hydrated, but other than that it wasn't much different from when I got my wisdom teeth taken out a few years later. I was on Jello and yogurt the first days, but I was up thin sliced ham, mashed potatoes, and peas a few days later. My throat was obviously sore for a while, but I was used to that after getting strep 4 times a year. Thankfully I haven't had strep again since.

6/7/2009 9:40:01 PM

i thought they didn't do this anymore. except in like really extreme cases i guess.

no?

6/7/2009 9:53:28 PM

Dr. Boyce in Cary/Raleigh is pretty good. He used to be my neighbor.

6/7/2009 9:59:03 PM

yeah I hate to tell you but my sister had hers removed when she was like 22 and she's had all kinds of medical shit including giving birth and she swears getting her tonsils out was the worst thing she's ever experienced.... supposedly it's much worse when you're older...not sure why kids don't have it as bad but they don't...

6/7/2009 10:08:38 PM

Quote :

"i thought they didn't do this anymore. except in like really extreme cases i guess. no?"

It's much less common these days, especially in kids. The procedure's still done, though it requires stronger criteria to be met...I wouldn't say it's only in extreme cases, though, just not as prevalent.

And yes, in adults it tends to be very, very painful.

[Edited on June 7, 2009 at 10:32 PM. Reason : ]

6/7/2009 10:32:04 PM

i haven't had a child, but i've heard women say that they're not sure which is worst child birth or tonsillectomy as an adult.

i'll let you know if/when i have a kid.

6/7/2009 10:34:15 PM

I had a great experience with it. My dad bought me like a hundred dollars worth of Ninja Turtles after it was over.

6/7/2009 10:56:51 PM

I had my tonsils and adenoids out when I was 17. I can't imagine being in any more pain.

That said, I didn't get sick for 3 years after that.

Totally not worth it.

6/7/2009 11:30:46 PM

my oldest brother has the worst sleep apnea, and he's trying to lose some weight. hmm... seems like this is what he needs.

too lazy to google, so what's the main reason why people get tonsils removed?

6/8/2009 2:46:13 AM

Quote :

"my oldest brother has the worst sleep apnea, and he's trying to lose some weight. hmm... seems like this is what he needs."

Doubtful. Removal of the tonsils for sleep apnea has a good success rate in kids, but very poor results in adults. Weight loss is a much better option.

[Edited on June 8, 2009 at 8:51 AM. Reason : ]

6/8/2009 8:39:35 AM

I'd avoid coffee and granola bars.

6/8/2009 8:43:20 AM

I had mine removed at 19y.o, and they put me under general anestesia. Some discomfort and liquid/soft foods for a few days after I woke up, but overall no complaints or sharp pain. Breathing is easier and my breath sure smells a lot better

6/8/2009 8:46:46 AM

Quote :

"my oldest brother has the worst sleep apnea, and he's trying to lose some weight. hmm... seems like this is what he needs."

It just depends. Has he had a sleep study done?

My friend had his out after he had a sleep study done because his case of sleep apnea was so severe (one of the worst that they had seen) and he had a history of repeated infections.

Usually losing weight is the way to go, but my friend lost the extra weight that he carried without any improvement in his apnea.

6/8/2009 9:16:36 AM

^^Do you know what Dr you went to or how they did it?

6/8/2009 10:28:53 AM

yeah I had it as a kid, don't remember anything about it, probably no complications

but I used to get sinus infections all the time before that so it was definitely necessary

6/8/2009 2:21:22 PM

I get about two infections a year, either tonsilitis or sinusitis. I've also been told I snore lightly. I'm also considering a tonsilectomy, but I'm wondering if its worth it with all the stories of severe pain.

6/8/2009 4:57:02 PM

If the sinus infections are severely inhibiting your life, I would bite the bullet and get them out.

Mine got to the point where I couldn't move, couldn't turn lights on, couldn't go to school (missed a good chunk of my senior year of high school) so they decided it was time to get them out.

If it's only a minor inconvenience, I wouldn't do it.

6/8/2009 5:04:20 PM

i got my tonsils removed when i was a kid and i remember it sucking pretty bad

i would spit into a cup instead of swallowing

i didn't know you could bleed to death - i'm glad my parents or no one told me about that before the operation or even after

I HAD TO GET THEM REMOVED BECAUSE OF BED WETTING . . . THERE HAPPY NOW

6/8/2009 5:27:37 PM

thank god i got mine out when i was like 3
i do remember throwing up in the hospital a lot of blood

6/8/2009 8:50:51 PM

bump

4/1/2010 10:55:35 AM

having tonsil issues yet again, wanted to see if anyone's come up with anything new, like a doctro recommendation.

4/1/2010 11:20:24 AM

I had them removed when i was 19 o 20, they put me to sleep, I woke up with a sore throat, and that was it. Not being able to eat real food for the next few days and coughing up a bit of blood was an inconvenience, but not much more than that. My constant bad breath went away and I quit my occasional snoring. Other than that, I see no major differences in my wellbeing.

[Edited on April 1, 2010 at 11:33 AM. Reason : i will try to look up which doctor removed them.. ]

4/1/2010 11:32:47 AM

I had my tonsils and uvula removed on Dec 23rd for sleep apnea issues. Dr. Witsell at Duke did an amazing job, I can't recommend him highly enough.
http://www.dukehealth.org/physicians/david_l_witsell

I did not experience any overwhelming pain, just some discomfort. Lost some weight from liquid diet, and I wish I had done more research into healthy drinks etc than soda and gatorade.

4/1/2010 12:20:36 PM

^I just called his office and apparently he just does straight scalpel? no lasers or radiowaves or anything?

4/1/2010 1:53:07 PM

I don't know the technique he uses, I was told by someone that those scalpel techniques are just marketing. My tonsil sites healed up perfectly, and very fast, it was the uvula that took a while and was more painful. He was recommended to me by a Duke transplant surgeon, who researched who had the lowest complications, Witsell and Cohen were the best. Witsell specializes in throat operations for vocalists, and that was good enough for me.

I was able to leave the hospital a few hours after surgery, because I had almost no bleeding from the tonsil sites, and I had HUGE nasty tonsils.

4/1/2010 2:28:33 PM

i had mine out when i was much younger, maybe around 5th grade or so

just some average pain for a week or so, didnt like to talk much. ate the fuck out of some popsicles when i was in outpatient recovering

4/1/2010 11:11:29 PM

I had mine taken out this past September, and it was a two-week recovery period. I am now intimately familiar with Trader Joe's entire line of pureed soups.

I'm not local, though, so I don't have recommendations on a doctor. When I went for a post-op checkup, the surgeon prescribed me a cheeseburger, because I had lost 10 pounds in a month because of the inactivity and insufficient calories from the liquid diet.

4/2/2010 12:09:49 AM

i wouldn't worry too much--wikipedia tells me that you'll soon get fat...

4/2/2010 12:12:29 AM

I feel like I knew a lot of kids who got their tonsils taken out when I was younger...and I don't remember any of these bad things happening.

Scary....

4/2/2010 9:25:42 AM

my brother did

you will feel pretty ok the same day of removal, don't over do the eating though even if you feel alright, you'll feel it later in spades

4/2/2010 12:37:35 PM

I got my adenoids removed, was too young to remove the tonsils at the time and I never got them removed.

4/2/2010 10:21:13 PM